RIYADH: Saudi Pro Wrestling is currently getting ready for its biggest show, Rimal Tuwaiq (Arabic for “Sands of Tuwaiq”), which will be held during the second half of the year. With the WWE holding their premium offerings in the Kingdom through their partnership with the General Entertainment Authority to cater to Saudi fans of the genre, three local hopefuls have taken it upon themselves to offer an additional dose of professional wrestling action.
The local wrestling promotion SPW was founded by Turki Al-Mutairi, Abdulaziz Al-Juraid, Mohammed Waheed and Naif Al-Mutairi, who is also a champion for the promotion. The three spared no effort in creating Saudi Arabia’s first professional wrestling promotion.
The concept came to Naif after the WWE held tryouts in Jeddah in 2017, which exposed the need for a local wrestling academy and organization.
He and his partners thus founded SPW in 2019. The first requirement to start a wrestling promotion is to have a roster of wrestlers, and Naif, who is Saudi Arabia’s first wrestling champion, told Arab News that getting help for training was critical due to the lack of professional wrestlers and training facilities in Saudi.
The founders of SPW scouted and brought in wrestling performers from around the world to help get their roster ready. “We attracted Austin Aries, a five-time world champion, alongside Zafir, a wrestling champion from Pakistan who was trained by Seth Rollins, and the UAE champion of wrestling Shaheen,” Naif said.
The SPW roster currently consists of 15 wrestlers, and all have had some training by WWE superstar Mansour Al-Shuhail, online training by Mark Henry and the Santino Brothers Academy as well.
Naif and his roster were also cast in the popular Saudi film “Sattar” and trained actors Ibrahim Al-Hajaj and Ibrahim Khairallah for the movie.
“My experience with ‘Sattar’ is unique,” Naif said. “It made us enter acting from a big door, and my wrestling training for the actors was a strange thing. I saw the perseverance of Ibrahim Al-Hajaj with my own eyes and how he (endured) the pain for this role.”
SPW has held several events in Riyadh and other parts of the Kingdom, such as the Eastern Province, and its last show unveiled a cross-promotion with the involvement of Saudi comedian and actor Al-Hajaj. The promotion’s wrestling shows are also streamed on its YouTube channel.
“My special message to Arab News viewers and readers (is): Thank you for your interest. We will meet soon in international forums,” said Naif.
Naif and his peers want to make SPW a flourishing wrestling promotion in line with the vision of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to raise the level of Saudi sports to be among the best in the world.
