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Night of Champions is taking place in Saudi Arabia and in the past a few wrestlers have refused to work in the country due to personal reasons. One wrestler, in particular, hasn’t been able to perform in the country due to certain reasons. That wrestler is none other than one-half of the current Undisputed Tag Team Champion, Sami Zayn. But just this Friday, WWE announced that Zayn will be performing on the Night of Champions. So, what has changed all of a sudden?

WWE confirms that Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens will compete in Saudi Arabia

On the recent episode of WWE SmackDown, the return of Roman Reigns turned heated when he confronted his cousins, The Usos after losing championship matches. While the tension was boiling up, Reigns announced his next move to hoard all the championships in the company. He will face the tag champions, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, along with Solo Sikoa at Night of Champions.

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But many fans immediately questioned Zayn’s appearance on a Saudi Arabia show and how will it come to pass.

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For those unaware, Saudi Arabia has decided to continue their diplomatic mission in Syria. After the Syrian War broke out in 2011, this is the first time the two countries are working together. Also, this occurred just a few days after Syria was readmitted to the Arab League in Cairo. Consequently, the relations between the two nations have improved.

This is a great thing for Zayn’s fans as they will be able to see him in the WWE-Saudi shows in the future. But you must have the question, did Saudi Arabia ban Zayn to work in the country’s previous WWE PLEs?

Why didn’t Sami Zayn wrestle in Saudi Arabia before?

When WWE first announced its ten-year deal with Saudi Arabia, to hold PLEs in the country, many wrestlers called out the company. Prime among them was Sami Zayn. Supporting him, his long-time friend, Kevin Owens, as he has shown on the main roster, also refused to work in the country.

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Due to the prevailing situations in Syria at the time and their strained relations with Saudi, WWE kept Zayn away from the PLEs in the gulf country.

But with the growing relations between the countries, Zayn will be free to enter the country and compete in the upcoming PLE, Night of Champions.

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We hope that Zayn puts on a hell of a performance on the Saudi show scheduled on May 27, 2023.

Written by

Murtaza Bharmal

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One take at a time

Murtaza is a seasoned WWE writer at EssentiallySports with a passion for storytelling in journalism. His love for pro wrestling began during the legendary Randy Orton-John Cena feud in the 2010s, and his enthusiasm for the sport reached new heights after witnessing the masterful performance of Sasha Banks and Bayley in NXT. As an expert in the field of pro wrestling, Murtaza epitomizes the fans' perspective at ES.
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Edited by

Sherjeel Malik