Kevin Owens Reportedly Refusing to Work Super ShowDown Event

WWE's ongoing business deal with Saudi Arabia has been a subject of controversy for well over a [...]

WWE's ongoing business deal with Saudi Arabia has been a subject of controversy for well over a year now. Between the country's politics, the WWE's usage of returning legends like Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker and Goldberg, the WWE-created promotion packages for the country and the controversy surrounding the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents, many WWE fans view the events with great negativity. Multiple WWE Superstars, including John Cena and Daniel Bryan, have reportedly requested to not be booked for the events, something WWE has outright addressed by saying they have "an open line of communication" with wrestler that does not want to make the trip.

One wrestler that can now be added to that list is former WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens. According to Sean Ross Sapp at Fightful, Owens recently told WWE officials he did not want to appear at the Super ShowDown event in Jeddah on June 7.

Sapp added that the specific reason behind Owens' request, but added that it could how Sami Zayn is not booked on those shows. Reportedly to the contentious relationship between Saudi Arabia and Syria (Zayn is of Syrian descent), the former NXT Champion has been left off of WWE's two previous events in the country.

WWE put out their own statement when the story on Zayn was initially reported.

"WWE is committed to embracing individuals from all backgrounds while respecting local customs and cultural differences around the world," the statement read.

Speaking of local customs, WWE has not been able to use women on any of the Saudi Arabia shows because of the country's rules on women appearing at public events.

As of Wednesday, seven matches have been booked for Super ShowDown. Goldberg is coming out of retirement is face The Undertaker, Triple H will lock horns with his old rival Randy Orton, Braun Strowman will face Bobby Lashley, Finn Balor is bringing out his "Demon" persona for an Intercontinental Championship match against Andrade, Roman Reigns will take on Shane McMahon and Kofi Kingston will defend the WWE Championship against Dolph Ziggler.

Universal Champion Seth Rollins and "Mr. Money in the Bank" Brock Lesnar have also been advertised for the show, though neither have been officially booked yet. It's possible Lesnar will use the briefcase for a title shot against Rollins, given that "The Architect" beat "The Beast" for the title in just three minutes back at WrestleMania.

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