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The Undertaker, Goldberg, Brock Lesnar Confirmed for WWE's Saudi Arabia Event

Mike Chiari

WWE announced Wednesday that it will hold another event in Saudi Arabia this summer at Jeddah's King Abdullah Sports City Stadium on June 7.

As part of the announcement, WWE noted that Roman Reigns, The Undertaker, WWE champion Kofi Kingston, Braun Strowman, Universal champion Seth Rollins, Goldberg, AJ Styles and Brock Lesnar will all be featured on the show, which will stream live on WWE Network.

Goldberg has not competed for WWE since dropping the Universal title to Lesnar at WrestleMania 33 two years ago, while Lesnar has not been seen on WWE programming since losing the Universal Championship to Rollins at WrestleMania 35 last month.

WWE held a pair of events in Saudi Arabia last year. The first was the Greatest Royal Rumble in April 2018, and it featured Strowman outlasting 49 other competitors to win the first-ever 50-man Royal Rumble match.

In November 2018, WWE returned to Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel amid a deluge of controversy following the the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Turkey.

WWE went ahead with the show anyway, and it was headlined by Triple H and Shawn Michaels beating The Undertaker and Kane in a tag team match. The bout marked Michaels' return to the ring for the first time since WrestleMania 26 in 2010.

While WWE held the show, it was careful to avoid any mention of the fact that they were in Saudi Arabia throughout the Crown Jewel broadcast.

WWE has made a habit of utilizing several legends and part-time Superstars at the Saudi shows, and the June event will be no different.

Goldberg's return is significant since he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame last year, and it was unclear if the 52-year-old would ever wrestle again. It is possible that Goldberg could simply be appearing and not wrestling, much like Hulk Hogan, who opened Crown Jewel with a promo segment.

If Goldberg does compete, Lesnar is a potential opponent given their history and comfort working together. UFC President Dana White told ESPN's Brett Okamoto on Tuesday that Lesnar is retired from MMA, and the fact that he is advertised for the June Saudi show supports the notion.

The Undertaker has not wrestled since Crown Jewel last year, and he didn't even appear at WrestleMania 35. The Deadman did show up the next night on Raw, though, and interrupted a musical performance by Elias.

Given that interaction, a match between The Undertaker and Elias could be in the offing at the event. It wouldn't be the first time Taker has faced a young star in Saudi Arabia, as he defeated Rusev in a casket match at the Greatest Royal Rumble.

With the next Saudi show taking place on June 7, WWE has about five weeks from now to build toward it, and it will have less than three weeks in between the May 19 Money in the Bank pay-per-view and the Saudi event.

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