On Friday, Saudi Arabia made history once again by televising its first World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) event dubbed 'The Greatest Royal Rumble', which took place in the coastal city of Jeddah.
50 wrestlers, instead of the usual 30-man show, participated in this memorable match and Saudi women - as long as they were accompanied - were also allowed to attend.
Unexpectedly, however, the appearance of three female wrestlers wearing tank tops, bras, and leotards - part of a wrestlers uniform - in a promo video ultimately caused quite a stir on Saudi Twitter.
The video, which authorities in the ultra-conservative kingdom called "indecent", featured WWE superstars Carmella, Bayley, and Sasha Banks.
The promo video that caused the fuss
And another one from a different perspective
Not all Saudis had the same reaction to the broadcast of this video ad
The mixed crowd unceasingly cheered on their favorite wrestlers throughout the night, more so after the three female performers appeared in the video.
Still, many Saudis deemed the video to be unacceptable and demeaning to the social norms of the country, demanding for such a mistake not to be repeated.
Saudi state television eventually >cut off the live broadcast momentarily and the country's sports authority ended up apologizing for the "controversial and indecent" clip.
"The authority has made sure to ban showing of any segment that involves women wrestling or any scenes related to it, and stipulated that to the company (WWE)," the kingdom's sports authority said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia's General Sports Authority tweeted an apology
And Saudis responded with such arguments
"I don't know who told you that prudishness and decency are only for women. How do you allow families to attend events with men wearing this?"
"A brave apology from the sports authorities... we thank you for the clarification"
Tweeps demanded the launch of an investigation
"An apology is not enough. We demand an investigation so that no such thing is repeated in the future. Our country comes before anything else."
"We demand the authorities to be held responsible of protecting the religion and community"
"Is it possible to air clips without revision first?"
"The apology and promise are a positive thing. But, could it be possible to ignore reviewing ads before they're aired? What if the ad has pornography, alcohol, blasphemy, or is against national security, etc... How would an apology help then?"
While others demanded that female wrestlers participate in future events
"You don't have to apologize to anyone. We hope that next time these female champions will participate, out of equality."
The 10-year deal between Saudi Arabia and WWE
In March 2018, Saudi Arabia signed a >10-year contract with WWE to hold wrestling events in the kingdom.
The move came as part of the General Sports Authority's efforts to boost sporting initiatives, as it is already preparing to host the Formula One Grand Prix and the Super World Boxing Cup final this May.
As the news of 'The Greatest Royal Rumble' was confirmed, the entertainment brand managed to >spark outrage among Twitter users for its exclusion of female wrestlers from the 50-person lineup.
At the time, numerous social media users >called out WWE for conforming to Saudi Arabia's customs and traditions, which contradicts its "Women's Evolution" program that encourages women to partake in wrestling matches.
Nonetheless, the show was a success
The historic event took place at the King Abdullah International Stadium, with 60,000 attendees filling up the seats of the sold-out event.
The Greatest Royal Rumble didn't go by without funny moments that soon turned into viral memes online.
One specific incident, in which professional wrestler Titus O'Neil >stumbled and fell beneath the stage while entering, soon became the topic of discussion on Twitter, ultimately turning into a viral meme.
At the end of the night, American wrestler Braun Strowman emerged as the winner of the 50-wrestler event.