WWE finally has a new home in the Middle East and North Africa—MBC Shahid.
Starting with WWE WrestleMania 38 on April 3 and 4 and following with Raw and Smackdown each week, the sports entertainment company will be streaming on Shahid live.
The deal also includes the WWE Network, bringing the company’s huge archive of original programming and decades of PPVs (now called premium live events), which will now come free with an MBC Shahid subscription. WWE Network will be accessible through a dedicated channel on MBC Shahid. WWE’s developmental brand NXT 2.0 will be available through the MBC Shahid platform a day after it airs in the US.
Raw and Smackdown will also air on TV through MBC Action, a free-to-air channel. The channel will also carry WWE shows Afterburn and Main Event.
Want to stream WWE? Here’s how to get a subscription:
- Click here to get the MENA promo.
- Scroll and click ‘join now’
- Select the ‘Sports on Shahid VIP’ option.
- Follow the instructions and subscribe for either AED 59.99 a month or AED 39.99/month for the full year.
- Follow the instructions on how to find WWE below!
Have a subscription? Here’s how to find WWE:
- Go to the main Shahid VIP site.
- Click ‘Sports’ on the top left or click here.
- Scroll through the page, or find WWE here.
- Add it ‘my list’ to be sure not to miss each episode.
Want to watch Raw and SmackDown live on MBC Action? Here’s how:
Beginning 26 March 2022, Shahid will air SmackDown live on Saturdays at 4:00 am KSA in Arabic, with a one-hour version of SmackDown then airing the same-day with Arabic subtitles on MBC Action at 9:00 PM KSA.
Shahid is currently available on the Apple devices, including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K, and Apple TV HD; Google platforms and devices, including Android, Android TV devices, Chromecast, and Chromecast built-in devices; PCs, Macs, and a wide range of connected Smart TVs including Samsung, LG, Hisense, TCL, Sony & Toshiba.
“MBC GROUP is a market leader in the region and a great partner for WWE,” said WWE President Nick Khan. “By delivering our premium live events including WrestleMania and SummerSlam, our weekly programming including Raw and SmackDown, as well as WWE’s massive library, we believe we will expand our reach throughout the Middle East and North Africa.”
“It’s no secret that WWE is massively popular in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the MENA region. This new partnership is sure to be incredibly exciting for fans, and with more and more live sporting events – including WWE – coming to the Kingdom, we cannot wait to see where this partnership takes us. We’re delighted that Shahid will be the home of WWE!” added Natasha Hemingway, Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer at Shahid.
Into WWE? Here’s our recent interview with WWE Hall of Famer Lita about her potential future with the company.
How do you feel that you’re a different person now than you once were?
I think that when you’re active, there are so many voices in your head, whether it’s producers, or fans, or the media getting at you, and putting doubt in your head. You’re constantly fighting that vicious cycle of wanting to be good enough, and also wanting to be better each week. When I stepped away, I could just reflect on the good parts of my career, the accolades I have, and feel really accomplished and good at what I did. To step away, live my own life and go, ok, oh, there is life outside of wrestling. I didn’t know that.
Because when I’m there, that’s all I’m thinking about. I don’t feel as desperate, if that’s the right term, because when you’re fighting for that championship, actively as a full-time competitor, your eyes should be on that prize, you should be chasing that, right? Because you want to be at the top of your game. This almost feels like a ‘why not?’ kind of thing, as opposed to ‘my life will be over if this doesn’t happen’. And I think just being able to approach it with that, I just might be able to pull this off.
You never stepped away completely, and have remained a big part of the WWE. How are the conversations with the other competitors backstage different now that you’re competing again?
Oh, it’s so great. It’s so cool, because they’re so gracious, and so many of the current superstars tell me how I inspired them coming up. But now, I’m the one that needs a little extra confidence and support, having stepped away.
They’re there, right before I go out of the curtain, or when I come back, they’re like, how are you feeling? Are you good? They say, ‘I’m excited to watch your segment’, and then coming back and they say, ‘that was awesome’. ‘You hit that moonsault like you never left!’ They’re inspiring me to adjust as much as I was able to inspire them to set them on their journey. It feels like a real honour that I did that. Now they’re paying me back, right now.