08 February 2024 , 21:00
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WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker swapped the wrestling ring for the world of football in the most unlikely capacity.
‘The Phenom’ made his iconic entrance in Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Arena to present the Riyadh Season Trophy ahead of Al Nassr vs Al Hilal. The players from each team were lined up as they watched the wrestling icon make his trademark slow and eerie walk to pick up the trophy accompanied by his famous druids.
He raised it in the air similar to how he lifted the urn that used to be seen with his late manager Paul Bearer on WWE programming. Cristiano Ronaldo was among the game's starters and was seen smiling and laughing with his teammates as the pre-match ceremony took place.
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Fans on social media could not believe what they were seeing as one chuckled: “Wait this is real life?! I thought it was clipped together.” Another said: “The crossover we didn’t know we wanted,” while one added: “This is weird and awesome at the same time. It’s crazy.”
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Since 2018 the WWE has been holding live events in Saudi Arabia. They received some criticism for their move due to the country’s conservative views. Women were not allowed to wrestle in the Middle Eastern nation until October 30, 2019, when Natalya and Lacey Evans made history by participating in the first-ever women's match in Saudi Arabia.
The WWE has held several women’s matches in the country since then, with the most recent contests taking place in November 2023. Undertaker himself has performed in Saudi Arabia on two occasions. In 2018 he defeated Rusev in a casket match, before beating fellow Hall of Famer Goldberg in 2019.
Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo laughed and smiled with teammates at the Undertaker presented the trophy (Twitter)Ronaldo was all smiles watching the former WWE champion before facing Al-Hilal, but it was soon wiped off his face as Al Nassr suffered a 2-0 defeat. Goals from Sergej Milinković-Savić and Salem Aldawsari propelled Al-Hilal to victory. There were no heroics from the Portuguese international on this occasion, and he received a booking and failed to hit the target.
The 39-year-old has recently returned to action after he missed his team’s 6-0 thrashing of Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami on February 1. The club was forced to postpone their mid-season tour of China because of an issue plaguing the football megastar.
Both their matches against Shanghai Shenhua and Zhejiang were called off, to the disappointment of thousands of fans. The Euro 2016 champion, apologised to fans by saying: "I have played for 22 years and I am a player that doesn't have too many injuries.
“So I'm really sad because Al-Nassr and myself have come to China to enjoy the tour. We have not cancelled the game, we want to push for the game and be back here... Unfortunately, I have some problems, but this is part of football and my life."