He hasn’t had an official match in almost five years, but Titus O’Neil still works for WWE as a “global ambassador”. These days, that means answering questions about fan backlash to 2027’s WrestleMania
43 taking place in Saudi Arabia.
During an appearance on TMZ’s Inside the Ring podcast, O’Neil offered this in response when host Branson Quirke brought up “mixed opinions” about the upcoming Saudi ‘Mania:
“I can say this, you know, because I’ve been to Saudi Arabia several times now: I feel safer in Saudi Arabia than I do in most places — or a lot of places — in the United States of America.
“I think in the United States, we have this mindset that we’re the greatest country in the world. And we are a great country, but people don’t move to the United States because we’re the greatest country in the world. They move because we have the greatest amount of opportunity. And I think that the biggest difference between places like overseas in Japan, Saudi Arabia, Middle East, all those places and the United States are morals and convictions. They actually live by theirs, whether you like them or not. They’re going to pray five times a day. They’re going to stop during the day, and they’re going to do their thing no matter what, who likes it and don’t like it.
“You don’t hear about mass shootings in Saudi Arabia. You don’t hear about mass shootings in China. You don’t hear about mass shooters in Japan. I think if people went over to Saudi Arabia or had a chance to go there, their views would change dramatically. And I’m not saying that they get it all right, but we don’t get it all right either to be pointing fingers at anybody.
“For us to be able to go to Saudi Arabia, when I went the first time and people had all these negative things to say and there were a whole lot of scare tactics and scare verbiage — in my hotel room, it’s one in the morning, and I see kids running around on the beach. Kids. I get up the next morning and ask my driver, ‘Are you guys not worried about some of these kids getting sexually assaulted or beaten or brutalized or kidnapped?’
“They said, ‘No, because it’s an automatic death sentence.’ So kids are safe over there, but kids are not safe in the United States. My perspective of us going to Saudi Arabia for WWE — yeah, it’s business, but it’s also changing cultures. When we first went over there, women were just now, they were just now getting introduced and being able to drive. Things are changing over there, and so many people have this mindset… in America, it’s like if somebody talks about race, ‘That was so long ago.’ It actually wasn’t. It’s 2025 now. It was 1960s, ’70s, ’80s, and even up to the present. We still have systemic issues with racism. I’d rather go as performer where I’m going to be celebrated, not tolerated, and it’s going to be a first-class experience for everybody that chooses to come to the show.
”WWE is a platform that caters to one audience. That’s the audience of one, no matter what color you are, no matter what religion you practice or don’t practice, no matter where you come from. We have too many people on our roster from various places around the globe to be prejudiced, to be antisemitic, or anything of these things. So if there’s ever a platform for us as a company to take and utilize, to show what unity can look like, to show what good business looks like, to show what other cultures look like, and how they embrace what we do, no matter where they are and what they come from, and how they dress — Saudi Arabia is definitely one of those places, in my opinion. I think if the WWE brass and TKO brass didn’t feel that way, the decision would not have been made.
“So for anyone that — first and foremost, most of the people that are complaining about the show being over there, would never book a ticket to go over there anyway. Watch the show on TV, it’s going to be a spectacle. Saudi Arabia does nothing small, and WWE does nothing small. So get ready for a hell of a show and a hell of an experience on a global stage that’s going to show everyone why this business, and particularly TKO and WWE, do it better than anyone in the world.”
A lot of people are going to have a lot of different takes about O’Neil’s sales pitch. My knee-jerk ones are:
- Titus’ first example of Saudi principles, the Islamic Call to Prayer, does not appear anywhere on my list of concerns about WWE’s relationship with the Saudi ruling class.
- I don’t doubt O’Neil feels safer in Saudi than he does in the U.S. I have a theory or two about why (hint: they involve money and wealth), but I don’t question his personal experiences in either country. I doubt many gay, lesbian, or trans people would say they feel safer in the KSA than they do in the U.S., and many probably don’t feel particularly safe here, either. That’s without mentioning Saudi activists working for their safety, or otherwise upsetting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his friends and relatives. And if you’re an American citizen reporting on MBS? You may not be safe anywhere in the world.
- Regarding the trade-offs between capital punishment and public safety, while I have no sympathy for people who hurt children and would probably want horrible things to happen to anyone who hurt anyone’s child, and certainly my own — I’m okay with supervising them at any time of the day or night if it means a few less innocent people will be killed because someone found them threatening. I’d also bring up that when Americans prioritize public safety over human rights, it’s usually at the expense of humans with black or brown skin.
Offer your takes on Titus O’Neil’s comments, or mine… we both put them out there… in the comments below. And check out the rest of Titus’ appearance on TMZ’s Inside the Ring, including talk of his own famous Saidi moment, a possible return to the ring, and following his friend Dave Bautista to Hollywood, here.
