WWE Superstar MVP risked facing the death penalty had he appeared at last night’s WWE Crown Jewel event.
Before the show went live, it was reported that MVP would not be at the event, which saw Braun Strowman defeat his client ‘the Nigerian Giant’ Omos.
MVP has been aligned with Omos since the Raw after WrestleMania 38, when he turned on Bobby Lashley.
Punishments
MVP did not attend WWE Crown Jewel 2022 due to the very serious issues his presence in Saudi Arabia would have brought.
Fightful Select reports that MVP didn’t make the show as he is a former Muslim, but now considers himself an atheist.
In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the renouncing of Islam by a Muslim is a serious offense and is punishable by death.
While there have been no confirmed executions for this reason since 2011, the possibility of extrajudicial executions still remains.
A Gallup poll taken in 2017 found that 19% of Saudis asked considered themselves non-religious while 5% call themselves atheists.
MVP changed his name from Alvin Antonio Burke Jr. to Hassan Hamin Assad after converting to Islam during a nine-and-a-half-year prison sentence for armed robbery and kidnapping.
WWE’s Saudi Controversy
WWE held its first Saudi show in 2018 and the lucrative deal between the two remains a source of controversy.
Initially, the shows did not allow any women to appear, though that has since changed.
There were calls for WWE to cancel their 2018 Crown Jewel event in the wake of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, allegedly at the request of the Saudi royals.
In 2019, talent were delayed after that year’s Crown Jewel, which many believe was due to WWE cutting off the broadcast in Saudi Arabia, allegedly as the Saudi royals had not paid for the show.
An official statement explained the issue as “aircraft problems including mechanical issues,” and the flights were later allowed to leave.
