In shocking news, WWE had a press conference today at King Fahd International Stadium in Saudi Arabia and announced there will be a women’s match at WWE Crown Jewel tomorrow.
This is surprising because Saudi Arabia would never allow women to wrestle there before due to their rules concerning women’s rights.
The match will see Natalya Neidhart battle Lacey Evans. According to Tony Maglio of The Wrap on Twitter, Natalya and Lacey Evans were chosen because they “check every box.”
There is no word on what that means, although it might be because of Natalya’s family history and Lacey Evans’ history as a U.S. military officer.
Furthermore, there were questions about how the women would dress considering, once again, Saudi Arabia’s rules against what women can and can’t do in their Kingdom.
Maglio reported that Natalya and Lacey Evans would dress similar to how Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss dressed when they competed in the first-ever women’s match in Abu Dhabi.
I’m told by a source inside WWE that Natalya & Lacey will be wearing full body suits like Sasha & Alexa in Abu Dhabi.
Source says WWE has been trying to have a women’s match in Saudi Arabia "since the first show."
As to why Nattie & Lacey: “They check every box.”#CrownJewel https://t.co/LK4o7GDMXc
— Tony Maglio (@TonyMaglio) October 30, 2019
This means both women will wear full-body suits covering all skin outside of their faces.
It was expected but @TonyMaglio is reporting that both Lacey Evans & Natalya will be wearing full body suits for their match, much like Sasha & Alexa did in Abu Dhabi. #WWE #CrownJewel #WWECrownJewel #SaudiArabia https://t.co/68qUtE2OEp pic.twitter.com/iWLVGBQw4W
— ᴛᴡᴍ ᴡʀᴇsᴛʟɪɴɢ – #Lockdown2020 (@TWMWrestle) October 30, 2019
WWE has been trying to get a women’s match at a Saudi Arabia show since they signed their long-term multi-million deal to hold PPV events there each year.
Here is a look at the full card for WWE Crown Jewel that will air tomorrow afternoon on the WWE Network.
- WWE Championship Match: Cain Velasquez vs. Brock Lesnar
- WWE Universal Championship Falls Count Anywhere Match: “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt vs. Seth Rollins (Match cannot be stopped for any reason)
- WWE United States Championship Match: Battle Royal Winner vs. AJ Styles
- World Cup Tag Team Turmoil Match: The Viking Raiders vs. The Revival vs. The New Day vs. Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode vs. Heavy Machinery vs. Lucha House Party vs. Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins vs. The OC vs. The B Team
- Team Hogan (Roman Reigns, Rusev, Ricochet, Ali, Shorty Gable) vs. Team Flair (Randy Orton, Drew McIntyre, King Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley, and Shinsuke Nakamura)
- Braun Strowman vs. Tyson Fury
- Cesaro vs. Mansoor Al-Shehail
- Natalya vs. Lacey Evans
- Kickoff 20-Man Battle Royal US Championship #1 Contender’s Match: Sunil Singh, Mojo Rawley, Erick Rowan, R-Truth, Sin Cara, The Brian Kendrick, Titus O’Neil, Tony Nese, Akira Tozawa, Shelton Benjamin, Apollo Crews, Buddy Murphy, Andrade, Drake Maverick, Eric Young, Luke Harper, Cedric Alexander, Heath Slater, Humberto Carrillo, No Way Jose
WWE Crown Jewel airs on October 31 at 1 p.m. EST on WWE Network.