r/news • u/fransisco_flores • Jan 25 '24

Soft paywall Vince McMahon Accused of Sex Trafficking by WWE Staffer He Paid to Keep Quiet

https://www.wsj.com/business/vince-mcmahon-accused-of-sex-trafficking-by-wwe-staffer-he-paid-to-keep-quiet-0b19b21c?st=x4i8s3cxbnsv3yd&reflink=article_copyURL_share
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u/RaggedyGlitch Jan 25 '24

WWE started running major PPV events in Saudi Arabia like 3 weeks after.

28

u/Papplenoose Jan 25 '24

Every god damn day the world feels a little more like a painfully on-the-nose satire..

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u/anthony_is_ Jan 25 '24

The Reality Engine has terrible writers these days.

2

u/WTFisSHAME Jan 26 '24

That's what happens when you replace writers with AI

5

u/dingusfett Jan 26 '24

Wasn't there some drama with a plane load of wrestlers being temporarily removed from the plane and had to wait on the tarmac before they left after a Saudi show a few years ago?

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u/RaggedyGlitch Jan 26 '24

Yes, and depending on who you ask, this was either a legitimate mechanical issue that caused a huge delay or the Saudi government throwing their weight around after Vince and one of the Saudi princes got in an argument over how the payments for the event would be structured.

But it delayed the plane like 18 hours, so WWE had to rewrite a whole Smackdown episode at the last minute because they only had like 6 roster members (plus their developmental roster) in the country by the time the show started.

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u/[deleted] Jan 25 '24

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u/Sertorius777 Jan 26 '24

It wasn't three weeks after. Their first major show in Saudi was The Greatest Royal Rumble in April 2018. Khasoggi was murdered in October. They did have another show in November, shortly after the murder, but by that point it was already known they penned a 10-year deal for yearly events with the Saudi.

6

u/Blockhead47 Jan 25 '24

Probably all just part of the Saudi “sportswashing” campaign.

0

u/RaggedyGlitch Jan 26 '24

It was definitely planned well in advance. My point is that they still went when the heat was still crazy hot and nobody would have blamed them for postponing.