Now is the time for WWE Saudi superstar Mansoor Al-Shehail

Mansoor Al-Shehail has quickly become a man of firsts. The WWE superstar was the first Saudi-born wrestler to sign for the WWE; he made his debut in 2018 on WWE’s first-ever live event in Jeddah, and followed it up a year later by winning of the largest Battle Royal in WWE history at the Super Showdown event in Riyadh. As if that wasn’t enough firsts for the perennial pioneer, he recently made his debut on Monday Night Raw – the WWE’s flagship weekly TV show – an accolade he describes as being in the top one percent of the industry.

Making a success of yourself in the immensely competitive and cutthroat world of sports entertainment is difficult enough, but add that list of trailblazing accolades to a 25-year-old’s shoulders and, as Esquire Middle East finds out, it takes a person of serious character to not only survive but thrive.

***

ESQ: You’re the first Saudi Arabian to join the WWE roster. Do you feel added pressure?

MANSOOR: No, not really. I don’t really think about it much. I feel like the bigger the stage is the more comfortable I am. I enjoy being in the centre of the ring, watched by ten of thousands of people. The first time that happened was at The Greatest Royal Rumble event in Jeddah. I was not even part of the company and I was in the ring as part of the try-out in front of a packed stadium. I got on the microphone and spoke to the audience and, for some reason, it was the least amount of nerves I’ve ever had in wrestling. I’ve wrestled in front of crowds as small as 30 people in a high-school gym before, and that is always more nerve wracking.

ESQ: Why did you choose wrestling?

MANSOOR: I grew up in Saudi, and my older brother Talal introduced me to the WWE and I was a huge fan. We used to play all the video games on the Playstation, and it’s what I felt I was born to do. Someone once said to me, “why do you like wrestling more than acting? It’s the same thing!” It isn’t the same thing, because there are a million Romeos and Juliets, but there is only one John Cena.

ESQ: You recently made your debut on Monday Night Raw. The big stage. In terms of your career, what does that mean to you?

MANSOOR: It is an honour. Raw has been the biggest flagship for more than two decades, so to be part of it is a part of history. It’s to be in the top one percent of the industry. It has been my dream for the longest time, so I am thankful but also trying to keep my feet on the ground. The real work starts now.

ESQ: Plus, you made your debut against Sheamus in a US Title match. That’s one hell of a debut!

MANSOOR: It was a trial by fire! He’s one of the hardest-hitting guy in the entire company, and when he’s got your arms tangled in the ropes and beating you on the chest you certainly feel it! To me it was like “Hey new guy, welcome to RAW”, you know what I mean?

ESQ: Who on the current roster would you like to work with?

MANSOOR: A dream match for me has always been with Mustafa Ali. He was always somebody who reached out to me and was generous and kind from the first day I showed up. I think a program with him would be really amazing. It would be too easy to just say: “Hey we’re both Muslims, let’s shake hands and have a match” but that only works for one night. The skill is about how you can take that and stretch a storyline out to last a month or two and then make people care about it enough to watch it on pay-per-view. That said, the goal of any WWE Superstar is to have a title.

ESQ: How important are the title belts in wrestling?

MANSOOR: For us wrestlers, they are very important. Essentially they are a sign that you are trusted to represent the company every week on the shows, mainly because you are doing something right and people want to see you wrestle or be featured. But there are other accolades that are also important, like working a program with people like The Undertaker – that doesn’t have to be for a title, because having a match with a legend like him is prestigious in itself. I’m at the point in my career where I want to win a title to legitimise myself as a consistent performer and competitor. I want to be given the ball, to run with. That’s all I want.

ESQ: You mentioned Mustafa Ali, a fellow Muslim. It seems like there is an important diversity wave going through in the WWE at the moment. How exciting is it to be a part of?

MANSOOR: When I first told my father than I wanted to be a wrestler, he warned that in the entertainment business people who look like us are either seen as stereotypes or jokes. I thought about it for a while and decided, that I wanted to be the guy who disproves that. Just because I am Arab, it doesn’t mean I can’t be successful. I remember watching [Syrian WWE superstar] Sami Zayn on TV, who had Arabic writing on his tights, and that was huge for me. Even just to be a little part of that sort of radical change in the culture of professional wrestling and WWE is a huge honour.