Vince McMahon in Saudi Arabia: says the country is ‘our home now’, discusses relationship with Dana White

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Originally published at Vince McMahon in Saudi Arabia: says the country is ‘our home now’, discusses relationship with Dana White

Vince McMahon is in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for Saturday’s boxing match between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou.

McMahon was filmed at a reception at Kingdom Hall (formerly Boulevard Hall) before the event, accompanied by The Undertaker.

Vince McMahon is here for #FuryNgannou

With The Undertaker! pic.twitter.com/5hsytbOXxO

— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohn) October 28, 2023

Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie and other reporters caught up with McMahon, and asked him about Saudi Arabia as a destination for sports and entertainment. He was also asked about his relationship with UFC President Dana White.

During the rare exchange with reporters, McMahon said Saudi Arabia was “our home now.” WWE returns to Riyadh at the nearby Mohammed Abdu Arena next Saturday for its Crown Jewel event.

McMahon also denied trying to “F” Dana White on multiple occasions and sticking him in the “cheap seats” at WrestleMania.

He claimed he and White get along very well, although he (McMahon) was the better businessman. The Undertaker, who was by McMahon’s side, found the fact that White and McMahon were in business together “hilarious.”

The interview is below:

Reporter: I guess just for you, first, Vince. Obviously you’ve done a lot of business here already. TKO is gonna be bringing a UFC event here in March. We have this going on. In your mind, is this place the future of sports and entertainment?

McMahon: Yes is the answer. You’re holding microphone, and the answer is yes.

Reporter: What are they doing so well in your mind?

McMahon: Well, I think they’re doing so much. They’re delving into the superior aspects of all of sports and entertainment, and everything that’s the best in the world — it’s gonna be here.

Reporter (to Undertaker): What are your thoughts on these spectacular events that are happening?

Undertaker: I believe they’re awesome, and it’s a commitment that you can tell that they’re making to bring the absolute most outstanding sporting events and entertainment — they’re trying to bring it here, and they’re doing everything possible to make that happen.

Reporter (to McMahon): This is a pretty special venue, obviously, just coming together. Is this where you’re expecting to hold events going forward?

McMahon: Well, this is our home now. It’s been pronounced. This is our home. WWE’s home.

Reporter: Vince, I had a question. What’s it like, to put it bluntly, now working with Dana White after busting his balls for so many years?

McMahon: Busting his chops?

Reporter: He said you tried to ‘F’ him on multiple occasions.

McMahon: Please, I don’t do business that way. I don’t bust anybody’s chops, unless they get in the way. But Dana and I do get along very, very well. He’s really a good guy. And —

Reporter: Do you think it’s a case of two alpha males in the same spot and they’re gonna have to try and take each other out or eventually realize they can coincide and build it even bigger?

McMahon: We’re good partners and good businessmen. If you’re good businessmen, you get along.

Reporter: Is it true that you stuck him in the cheap seats for WrestleMania?

McMahon: No, no, no. Not at all.

Reporter [to Undertaker]: What are your thoughts on the dynamic between Vince and Dana now that they’re working together?

Undertaker: I think it’s hilarious. They’re so similar, the both of them. So it’s, well, all due respect —

McMcahon: He’s a tough guy, come on.

Undertaker: But yeah, they’re very similar. They say what’s on their minds and they’re both really good businessmen. And they both, they definitely want the best for each of their brands.

McMahon: I’m a better businessman.

Undertaker: Oh, by far, yeah, yeah, no doubt.

Reporter (to Undertaker): You’ve obviously been a big mixed martial arts fan for a long time. To have these two companies under the same umbrella now, what do you think the future is, and the possibilities for this TKO group?

Undertaker: I’m gonna get a lot of good, good tickets to UFC and WWE events. You know he charges me. He didn’t even let me in. I’m just kidding, but no, it’s gonna be a lot of fun.

Obviously, you know, I’ve been involved with WWE for 33 years and been a big fan of the UFC for a long time, so I’m really excited about the merger and the potential for growth worldwide.

Reporter: Lastly for you, Vince, what coming up on the schedule for you has you most excited that the fans should be looking forward to and that you’re looking forward to the most?

McMahon: Well, it’s Crown Prince — “Crown Prince”, I might meet him later on — It’s Crown Jewel quite frankly. We’re gonna be here next week, and this is our home.

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Thank you, Vince, for the reminder why I shouldnt consume any WWE products again.

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Vince declaring Saudi as WWE’s new home should really make some headlines.

But, I’m sure Tony tweeting mean stuff about John Cena and Undertaker will continue to take people’s attention.

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Was he talking about the country or the stadium?

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“This is our home now”

Ewwwww.

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I mean, is one better than the other? If the stadium in Saudi is their home, then isn’t Saudi their home?

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I’m asking because I don’t know, so I could be wrong here. But if I’m standing in Madison Square Garden, and someone asked me if “this venue is home” then I’m going to assume that I’m being asked about the building and not New York City.

And as for the reason why Vince’s quote isn’t newsworthy, it’s because it’s the fifth year of a 10 year deal. What else is there to say? Watch the shows or don’t.

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My take was that he has to mean the country. Tonight’s fight is at the new Kingdom Arena. Crown Jewel is at the Mohammed Abdu Arena, which is nearby. He calls it generally “home” again at the end of the interview. There’s no reason to doubt they’ll go to Jeddah again also.

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Thanks, my fault. I thought they were at the same venue.

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Not at all. I had to check it, and it doesn’t help that the venues all have at least three names!

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I don’t think anyone on this board has ever said that Tony Khan is worse than Vince McMahon morality wise. I assume this remark in response to what Alex said earlier which I think is very unfair.

If Alex said “Tony Khan is more immoral then Vince McMahon” then I would 100% agree with your comment, but thats not what he said. He just said that Tony comes off bad on Twitter, which he does.

Just because Vince McMahon is a really shitty person, it doesn’t mean anyone who does things less shitty should just be let off the hook because “hey, Vince is worse”.

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Thank you for being a voice of reason.

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You can go back on this board and find threads with just about everybody expressing their displeasure about the WWE relationship with Saudi Arabia. Didn’t realize we have to clutch our pearls publicly every single time it comes up.

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Does disapproving or being disgusted at something ongoing have a timeframe of statute of limitation?

I’m specifically responding to a thread where Vince is loudly and clearly saying “Saudi Arabia is WWE’s home” now.

This isn’t a subject where “WWE’s relationship is awful and a deal-breaker… But man, the Bloodline is really cool!”

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I was responding to the person calling you “the voice of reason” when clearly you were here just to do your daily ritual of making sure Tony Khan still wants to be your friend.

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I was just using this as an example.

The Tony tweets thread generated like 50+ responses, while news like this is barley a blip on the radar.

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I think that’s pretty easy to explain. You are going to generate more “reaction” out of people when something happens that changes your perception.

For example…99.9% of the posters on this board, I would even venture to guess 100%, but Ill say 99.9% to be safe, view overall Vince as a scumbag on a morality level. We’ve all ragged on Vince for making the Saudi deal to begin with, then when you take into account the weird incident a few years ago where wrestlers were stuck on the place, him saying this doesn’t “change” anyone’s opinion or surprise anyone.

Tony is someone that wrestling fans are still getting to know and people are still forming an opinion on… Football fans may have known him longer, but the average wrestling fan is still learning what he is about as he’s only been involved now for what, 4 years, compared to Vince’s 40-50 years. So when he says something that makes you shake your head, it’s going to generate discussion, because it may alter your opinion of him.

If an article came out today that Bill Cosby raped 4 more women, I don’t think many people are going to say much, because they already think of Cosby as a rapist. Nothing changes their opinion. It will be discussed, but the average person will likely say “not surprised, he’s a piece of shit”.

Now lets say Actor X who has been relatively squeaky clean was accused of calling an actress a slut shaming slur, obviously not ok, but not as bad as raping 4 people, I would guess that Actor X would become the main topic of discussion the next day because its something that is shaping people’s opinion of that person. But again, its not an indication that saying a slur is worse then raping four people.

If you’re equating “responses” to how upset or outraged people actually are, I think that is the wrong way to quantify it.

Please someone tell me if you disagree, but NOBODY on this board thinks that Vince McMahon is above Tony Khan on the morality scale. Now if we’re talking Twitter or Tik Tok, ya they are cess pools and I’m sure that opinion exists.