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Mansoor’s 2019 match against Claudio Castagnoli (then Cesaro) at WWE’s Crown Jewel was a big deal to Vince McMahon, as he apparently thought that the WWE’s deal with Saudi Arabia depended on it.
Speaking onTalk Is Jericho, Mansoor reflected on his match at WWE Crown Jewel 2019. He recalled about how Vince McMahon was worried about how “the Saudis” would feel if they saw Mansoor in a compromising position. He noted that McMahon believed that if the match did not go well, WWE’s relationship with Saudi Arabia would be ruined,
“I think he just didn’t want the Saudis to get hot,” said Mansoor. “I honestly think that he believed if the Saudis saw me in a compromising position, that they would perhaps jeopardize the deal. I had a match with Claudio, it was Crown Jewel, I don’t remember the year.
“But, apparently the deal was in jeopardy. Vince was telling our producer Shane Helms that this has to be a WrestleMania level match, the fate of this deal depends on it. Vince believed that if this match didn’t go well, it was going to ruin the whole thing. He needed the Saudi boy to have this amazing and spectacular performance and what a better wrestler to [face] than Claudio, 100%.” (H/t Fightful)
WWE released Mansoor in September 2023. He went on to sign with AEW/ROH.
Click here to see what Mansoor had to say about signing with AEW.
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