RIYADH: Prepare the welcome and the ring, too.
Less than a week before the countdown for the big event hits zero, Dolph Ziggler couldn’t wait to land in Riyadh from the United States for the WWE Live in Riyadh set for Nov. 3-4 at the Green Hall Stadium.
Arab News interviewed Ziggler, born Nicholas Theodore “Nick” Nemeth, by phone on Tuesday. He is part of the touring team of WWE superstars that will gather in the Saudi capital to perform in the flesh in front of an expected huge crowd of wrestling aficionados.
Riyadh is hosting WWE for the second time in three years, and the 2016 edition is looking pretty much like the last — a big success.
“We are really thankful for the response of the Saudi public. The impact on social media is amazing and grows exponentially every day. The sales are going well but we still encourage WWE fans and Riyadh people that want to live an amazing and unique experience to buy tickets for the event before it's sold out,” said Hector Alegre, CEO of organizer Time Entertainment, in a statement.
The 6-foot well-built Ohio-born pro wrestler of Hungarian ancestry has been to many places all over the world, but Saudi Arabia is “extra special” to him.
“The last few years I’ve been part of the tour there. So it’s not only great time but fun fun. It’s extra special part for the most part where we you get to stay in the same area for a couple of nights, which is huge, and which only happens once or twice a year. So we get a chance to stay in beautiful hotel, get some sight seeing, walk around and actually see the sights and everthing. That’s what's different with other tours around. It was great time that to do the tour you actually see the sights, people. It’s really fun in same place, people are really good. Always a great time,” says Ziggler.
Of the countries he visited, Ziggler shares: “Its really hard to say. It’s a lot. I’ve been to several countries, several continents all over the world. Every couple of months I find out that WWE is reaching out into to a new territory, new area or new country.
Almost everywhere it shows how far the opportunities are with WWE. It keeps expanding its shows and someone has to go wherever it takes.”
While an amateur wrestler at St. Edward High School in Lakewood, Ohio, his Wikipedia profile says Nemeth holds the school record for most pins in a career with 82.
Nemeth was a collegiate wrestler at Kent State University, eventually setting what was then the record for most career wins in the team's history. His record was passed in 2006; as of 2010, he stands second all-time in career victories at Kent State.
He had 121 career wins between 2000 and 2003.
Nemeth won championships in three consecutive years. He was a three-time All-Mid-American Conference champion, winning the 165 lb (75 kg) tournament in 2000, 2002, and 2003; as of 2010, he is the last wrestler from Kent State University to have won three amateur wrestling championships.
Reaching his sterling record even before turning professional is no longer a surprise. Consider: Nemeth started wrestling at an early age and never looked back.
“I am someone who grew up watching wrestling. I started wrestling when I was 5 years old.”
“I did the amateur style and Olympics style wrestling all the way through high school and college and then eventually had a tryout with WWE and because of my credentials and the record that I have broken and my background, getting in was a breeze. I enjoy so much being part of the outfit and the show with the pyrotechnics and all that stuff,” says Ziggler.
“It’s your dream when you’re a kid and got to live it out. It’s what I wanted to do and I was lucky to do it .”
In closing, Ziggler said: “ I’m very excited. By match alone is worth the prize of the mission. It will be fun. It wil be exciting. It will be the best match.”
Dolph Ziggler: Saudi tour is ‘extra special’
Dolph Ziggler: Saudi tour is ‘extra special’
It’s the US (and the US) against the world as the NBA All-Star Game tries yet another format
- 3 teams — veteran American All-Stars, younger US players, and a third representing the rest of the world — will play a round-robin tournament of 12-minute games Sunday, with the top two meeting again in the final
INGLEWOOD, California: The NBA is trying its fourth All-Star Game format in four years this weekend as it attempts once again to answer one of the bigger existential questions in professional basketball.
How do you get both the players and their fans to care about this midseason showcase?
The newest scheme appears to be the most promising yet, at least according to people like Victor Wembanyama who still believe this game should matter. A team of veteran American All-Stars, a team of younger US players and a third team representing the rest of the world will play a round-robin tournament of 12-minute games Sunday, with the top two meeting again in the final.
It’s bold and different, but will it make the All-Stars give more effort than they’ve provided in these glorified pickup games over the past two decades? And will this setup draw in TV viewers who are already in a nationalistic mood from watching the Winter Olympics?
“I think it definitely has a chance to, and the reason is simple, in my opinion,” Wembanyama said Saturday. “We’ve seen that many of the best players have been increasingly foreign players, so there is some pride on that side. I guess there is some pride also on the American side, which is normal. So I think anything that gets closer to representing a country brings up the pride.”
Others aren’t so sure, to put it bluntly.
“With the teams split up, you don’t really know who you’re playing with or what the score is,” Kawhi Leonard said. “I’d rather it just be East and West, and just go out there and compete and see what the outcome is. I don’t think a format can make you compete.”
“Yeah, it is what it is at this point,” Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards said with a smirk.
This new concept is debuting in the NBA’s newest arena: Intuit Dome, the futuristic $2 billion basketball shrine opened in 2024 by Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer. All-Star Saturday featured Damian Lillard’s third career victory in the 3-Point Contest, followed by Miami’s Keshad Johnson winning the Slam Dunk Contest.
While the players got a welcome weekend in the Southern California sun, the league is optimistic they’ll also provide a more entertaining product on Sunday.
“I’ve had conversations with our guys ... and our guys are coming to play,” said Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff, who will coach the younger American team. “They’re going to set a tone. I know that for sure, and I know that the group we have is a group of competitors. So I think the new format is going to help. It’s going to raise the level of competition and put some pride in the game, and then you’ll see the stars that are here being the best of themselves.”
The distinctions on these rosters are more than a bit fungible. The younger Americans’ team is called the “Stars,” and the older players are “Stripes,” but injury dropouts have blurred the lineups.
The World team has a powerhouse lineup with Wembanyama, Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic — but it also includes Norman Powell, a born-and-raised Californian who plays for Jamaica internationally, and Karl-Anthony Towns, a New Jersey native who represents his mother’s Dominican Republic.
The NBA has repeatedly changed its All-Star format in the past decade while the sport wrestles with declining interest from both television audiences and the players themselves. The NBA ditched the long-standing East vs. West conference battle in 2018 to allow captains to pick their teams for six seasons, only to go back to the East vs. West format for a year before introducing a four-team tournament last year in San Francisco.
That tournament drew decidedly mixed reactions while Stephen Curry won the MVP award in his home arena. The NBA liked the mini-tournament format enough to bring it back for another year but with the added twist of nominally dividing the players by nationality.
With this iteration, the league is hoping that national pride and novelty will lead to entertaining hoops — but injuries have taken a toll even before the ball is tipped.
Curry won’t be playing for only the third time in the past 13 years, while the World team will be without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, two former league MVPs. But Leonard will represent the hosts, while Luka Doncic and LeBron James will play despite injury concerns.
James is appearing in his record 21st All-Star Game after being selected for the 22nd time in his unprecedented 23-year career.
The changes could spark excitement, but they’re also a bit confusing to fans who grew up watching the East take on the West each winter. That includes Pistons All-Star guard Cade Cunningham, who doesn’t think he’s really had the true All-Star experience yet.
“I grew up just wanting to be in the All-Star Game, (and) my only two years now, it’s been these different formats,” Cunningham said. “I would like to experience the East versus West. I want to be able to experience what all the greats played in, but I’m just playing the cards I was dealt. I’m sure it will come back eventually.”
