Enter SPW: Taking Saudi wrestling to new heights

RIYADH: Saudi Pro Wrestling is currently getting ready for its biggest show, Rimal Tuwaiq (Arabic for “Sands of Tuwaiq”), which will be held during the second half of the year. With the WWE holding their premium offerings in the Kingdom through their partnership with the General Entertainment Authority to cater to Saudi fans of the genre, three local hopefuls have taken it upon themselves to offer an additional dose of professional wrestling action.  

The local wrestling promotion SPW was founded by Turki Al-Mutairi, Abdulaziz Al-Juraid, and Naif Al-Mutairi, who is also a champion for the promotion. The three spared no effort in creating Saudi Arabia’s first professional wrestling promotion.  

The concept came to Naif after the WWE held tryouts in Jeddah in 2017, which exposed the need for a local wrestling academy and organization. 

He and his partners thus founded SPW in 2019. The first requirement to start a wrestling promotion is to have a roster of wrestlers, and Naif, who is Saudi Arabia’s first wrestling champion, told Arab News that getting help for training was critical due to the lack of professional wrestlers and training facilities in Saudi. 

The founders of SPW scouted and brought in wrestling performers from around the world to help get their roster ready. “We attracted Austin Aries, a five-time world champion, alongside Zafir, a wrestling champion from Pakistan who was trained by Seth Rollins, and the UAE champion of wrestling Shaheen,” Naif said. 

The SPW roster currently consists of 15 wrestlers, and all have had some training by WWE superstar Mansour Al-Shuhail, online training by Mark Henry and the Santino Brothers Academy as well. 

Naif and his roster were also cast in the popular Saudi film