Wednesday afternoon WWE revealed that they will be hosting the Evolve 10th Anniversary Celebration — otherwise known as Evolve 131 — on their streaming service, the WWE network. The date of Evolve 131 is July 13, which just so happens to be the exact same day as AEW’s upcoming Fight For The Fallen event in Jacksonville, Florida, which will stream free on B/R Live.
AEW wrestler and Executive Vice-President Kenny Omega, took exception to WWE’s decision to stream Evolve 131 on the same day as Fight For The Fallen, and took to Twitter to voice his displeasure. The tweet has since been deleted, but you can view a photo of it below.
Kenny’s mention of “charity show” is referring to the fact that a portion of the proceeds from Fight For The Fallen will be donated to the Victim Assistance Advisory Council, a service for victims of violent crime and their families located in Jacksonville, Florida.
Of course Omega’s “blood money” comment is directed at WWE’s decision to sign a contract with Saudi Arabia that sees the company putting on live shows in the Middle Eastern country for the next ten years. Saudi Arabia has been long known for its infamously awful human rights record, and came under fire internationally when it was revealed that agents of the country’s government lured journalist Jamal Khashoggi to Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Turkey and brutally murdered him.
WWE has received criticism from fans, wrestlers, US government officials, and fellow wrestling promotions for its decision to continue working with Saudi Arabia. The opinion at-large is that WWE doesn’t care what Saudi Arabia does as long as the country continues to pay WWE huge amounts of money. Regardless of your stance on WWE’s relationship with Saudi Arabia, the company’s decision is surely to heat up the rivalry between the two companies.
Less than a half an hour after making his initial comment on the WWE announcement, Omega deleted his original tweet and put a new tweet up. You can view it below.
I’ve said my piece and it opened the door to a very toxic environment. It wasn’t a message to fans, or the boys, just the decision makers. I wish everyone wrestling on any show that day all the best. That is all.
— Kenny Omega (@KennyOmegamanX) June 26, 2019
Clearly, part of WWE’s decision behind streaming Evolve 131 is aimed at competing with AEW, but to call them out for undermining a charity is a little bit of a stretch. Especially when you look the blood money comment and consider the fact that Chris Jericho, an active member of the AEW roster, wrestled at the Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia last year.
Sound off in the comments and let us know what you think of the situation.
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