WWE's 2020 Super Showdown event has provoked a mammoth backlash from wrestling fans, with one result in particular generating much controversy. Ever since WWE started putting on shows in Saudi Arabia, the partnership has been widely criticized. Fans and commentators argue that the country's policies on homosexuality and gender are drastically out of line with WWE's "women's revolution" movement and its supposed stance on equality, and female wrestlers have only recent been allowed to compete on the shows, albeit with strict dress guidelines. More senior figures such as John Cena, Daniel Bryan and Kevin Owens have refused to take part in the shows, while Sami Zayn isn't welcome due to his heritage - another contentious factor to the Saudi agreement.
WWE came under even more intense fire when they continued plans for a Saudi Arabia show shortly after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. The company were accused of sacrificing moral integrity for a lucrative pay packet, especially since their deal to perform in Saudi Arabia was made directly with the state. At first, the WWE Saudi shows were presented as non-canon glorified house events, with little of significance taking place, however the PPVs have been gradually integrated into wider WWE storylines.
2020's Super Showdown was the most consequential WWE Saudi Arabia event yet, but not in a way fans were especially happy to see. Undoubtedly the biggest furor surrounds the result of the WWE Universal Championship match between Goldberg and The Fiend, in which Bray Wyatt's character was soundly beaten. There are many angles to the backlash that this result has caused; at 53 years-old, Goldberg is unarguably past his prime and competed in an abysmal match against The Undertaker at last year's Super Showdown. Although the WCW legend has since redeemed himself, the GIF of his Jackhammer attempt on Bray Wyatt has gone viral for all the wrong reasons.
More importantly, The Fiend is generally considered to be the best character WWE has produced for many years, and after winning the belt, the deranged kids' show host definitively won feuds against top superstars like Seth Rollins and Daniel Bryan. Many fans are incensed that such a protected and popular current talent would be made to look weak against a mostly-retired figure from the past, and also claim that the result damages The Fiend's past victims by association. Others have gone on to note that Bray Wyatt's WWE career before becoming The Fiend was harmed by repeated losses in big matches, and The Fiend being comprehensively beaten by Goldberg is an ominous sign for the future of the now-former champ.
To make matters worse, the Goldberg vs. Fiend result wasn't even the only match to attract criticism on social media. The decision to have AJ Styles beaten by a single Undertaker chokeslam continued the theme of old trumping new (although Styles isn't a spring chicken himself, in fairness), and the one-sided match between Brock Lesnar and Ricochet did little to elevate the high-flyer.
WWE supporters are countering these arguments by citing Goldberg's big-name value in the lead up to Wrestlemania, and simultaneously suggesting that The Fiend's character doesn't need a championship to be effective. Both claims hold a certain amount of merit, but WWE's performance metrics have been stuttering of late, with drops in WWE Network subscriber numbers and show attendance. With AEW now on the scene, how long can WWE's reliance on the fabled attitude era continue?