WWE in Saudi: Super Showdown to be held in Riyadh this February

The event was held in Jeddah last year, but now fans will be ringside in Riyadh

Saudi Arabian wrestler Mansoor won the 51-man Battle Royal at WWE's Super Showdown event in Jeddah last year. Courtesy WWE 

WWE is returning to the Middle East: Super Showdown will take place in Riyadh on February 27.

The announcement of the Saudi Arabia event was made during the live broadcast of the Royal Rumble show in Houston, Texas on Monday.

There isn't much detail on who will be flying into Saudi next month, but last June there was a Super Showdown in Jeddah and the main event saw The Undertaker defeat Goldberg, while Seth Rollins also defeated Baron Corbin.

In Jeddah, there was also a battle royal with 51 participants that was won by Saudi WWE rookie 23-year-old Mansoor Al Shehail.

Whether the February event will feature a women's match is as-of-yet unknown: last year, Alexa Bliss and Natalya traveled to Jeddah for the Royal Rumble, but didn't perform.

The Super Showdown is part of WWE's 10-year partnership with the Kingdom's General Sports Authority, part of the Vision 2030 social and economic reform programme.

We spoke to Saudi star Mansoor Al Shehail last year about the importance of diverse representation in the wrestling world.

He told us his greatest inspirations are WWE wrestlers Sami Zayn (of Syrian heritage), Mojo Rawley (of Palestinian and Syrian ­heritage) and Ali (of Pakistani and Indian heritage). “These guys paved the way for me. It’s like yes, I’m Arab, but that’s not the thing that defines me. It just happens to be something I’m proud of that’s a part of me."

"When I'm wrestling in these NXT shows in Florida and on television, it makes me happy that people can see that I'm just like them," he added. "That's the thing about wrestling that's so great – no matter where you go, no matter the cultural differences, wrestling is a universal language."