Natalya credits Vince McMahon with opening Saudi Arabia to WWE women

WWE veteran Natalya credited former chairman Vince McMahon with helping open the door for female performers to compete in Saudi Arabia, saying he fought for the company to include women on its Saudi shows and made it possible for her to take part in the first women’s match there at Crown Jewel in 2019. Natalya made the remarks during an appearance on the Ring the Belle podcast while promoting her forthcoming book, The Last Hart Beating.

Natalya said she asked McMahon early on to be the first woman to wrestle in Saudi Arabia and that he delivered on that request. "I said to Vince McMahon, when WWE first started doing stuff in Saudi Arabia, I said, Vince, I really want to go. I want to be the first woman to wrestle in Saudi Arabia. Vince made it happen," she told the podcast. She added that McMahon sought greater visibility for women in the market and had to negotiate with other decision makers to secure that change.

The Crown Jewel bout, in which Natalya faced Lacey Evans, marked a turning point for WWE’s shows in the Kingdom. Earlier Saudi events did not include female performers, and the match was staged with cultural considerations in mind; both competitors wore merchandise...