WWE's Lita Explains What Convinced Her to Wrestle in Saudi Arabia at Elimination Chamber
The WWE Elimination Card is starting to come together, and one of the bigger matches on the card to this point is Lita vs Becky Lynch for Lynch's Raw Women's Championship. The match is set to take place in Jeddah, and there have been more than a few criticisms of WWE's relationship with Saudi Arabia. Lita previously talked about her issues with that relationship, so some were surprised when she was announced as part f the card. In an interview with Ring The Belle, Lita was asked what changed her mind, and she explained it was because of what the women who took part previously had to say.
"So I will say I was outspoken on the early relationship between WWE and Saudi. 'Oh, they say they want women to wrestle over there, but like, I don't know if I believe it. There's no women on this card.' There's women on the card [now] -- and I've talked to the women personally that have been over there," Lita said. "And they're like, 'It's unbelievable. There are women crying, never thinking they would get to see two women be so strong in the ring.' They're like, 'It's really powerful. You're gonna enjoy that.' And so, sure, do they have a long way to go? Do we as a society have a long way to go? Absolutely, but you've got to take the opportunities when they're there."
Natalya and Lacey Evans were the first WWE superstars to wrestle in Saudi Arabia, and since then Naomi, Bayley, Zelina Vega, Doudrop, Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, and Sasha Banks have all competed.
As for Lita's previous comments, here is what she initially said back in 2018. "I understand that they are a business, a global business and they are always looking to expand their global presence. However, I do feel this was a direct conflict of interest with them maintaining any integrity or truth to the fact that they say they would like to push forward women, their roles and their reputations in this business as anything resembling equal to a male."
"Make the money, that's fine, but don't try to cover it up. Don't say, 'No, we are doing this because in the future we would like to help progress their culture forward!' No, you want the money, you're a business and businesses make money. That's okay. From my perspective over here, I don't own your business so that's your call. From a PR perspective don't say you are doing it because, 'We want to help progress that culture forward.' No, it's a direct conflict of interest, in my opinion," Lita said.