Titus O’Neil: I feel safer in Saudi Arabia than most places in US
WWE ambassador Titus O’Neil is fully on board with the company’s decision to bring WrestleMania to Saudi Arabia.
Appearing on TMZ’s Inside the Ring podcast, O’Neil responded to the backlash that WWE holding WrestleMania 43 in Saudi Arabia in 2027 has received. O’Neil said he feels safer in Saudi Arabia than a lot of places in the United States — and he doesn’t believe we as Americans have the right to point fingers at anyone.
“I can say this, you know, because I’ve been to Saudi Arabia several times now: I feel safer in Saudi Arabia than I do in most places — or a lot of places — in the United States of America,” O Neil said.
“I think in the United States, we have this mindset that we’re the greatest country in the world. And we are a great country, but people don’t move to the United States because we’re the greatest country in the world. They move because we have the greatest amount of opportunity. And I think that the biggest difference between places like overseas in Japan, Saudi Arabia, Middle East, all those places and the United States are morals and convictions. They actually live by theirs, whether you like them or not. They’re going to pray five times a day. They’re going to stop during the day, and they’re going to do their thing no matter what, who likes it and don’t like it.
“You don’t hear about mass shootings in Saudi Arabia. You don’t hear about mass shootings in China. You don’t hear about mass shooters in Japan. I think if people went over to Saudi Arabia or had a chance to go there, their views would change dramatically. And I’m not saying that they get it all right, but we don’t get it all right either to be pointing fingers at anybody.”
O’Neil said there were a lot of “scare tactics” and “scare verbiage” when he went to Saudi Arabia the first time for WWE, but he saw a group of kids playing on the beach at 1 a.m. one night. When he asked his driver the next morning if people in Saudi Arabia were worried about that, the driver said no because there would be an automatic death sentence if the kids were sexually assaulted, beaten, kidnapped, or brutalized.
“So kids are safe over there, but kids are not safe in the United States,” O’Neil said. “My perspective of us going to Saudi Arabia for WWE — yeah, it’s business, but it’s also changing cultures. When we first went over there, women were just now, they were just now getting introduced and being able to drive. Things are changing over there.”
O’Neil said WWE doesn’t care what color fans are, what religion they practice or don’t practice, or where they come from. He believes holding WrestleMania in Riyadh is a chance to show what unity can look like and how other cultures embrace what WWE does.
“So if there’s ever a platform for us as a company to take and utilize, to show what unity can look like, to show what good business looks like, to show what other cultures look like, and how they embrace what we do, no matter where they are and what they come from, and how they dress — Saudi Arabia is definitely one of those places, in my opinion,” O’Neil said. “I think if the WWE brass and TKO brass didn’t feel that way, the decision would not have been made.
“So for anyone that — first and foremost, most of the people that are complaining about the show being over there, would never book a ticket to go over there anyway. Watch the show on TV, it’s going to be a spectacle. Saudi Arabia does nothing small, and WWE does nothing small. So get ready for a hell of a show and a hell of an experience on a global stage that’s going to show everyone why this business, and particularly TKO and WWE, do it better than anyone in the world.”
The Saudi WrestleMania is the first time WWE’s biggest event has ever been held outside of North America. WWE and the Saudi government have been business partners since 2018. That controversial relationship has grown to the point where Saudi Arabia is hosting the Royal Rumble in 2026 and WrestleMania in 2027.
It’s been five years since O’Neil last competed in the ring. When asked about potentially wrestling again at some point, the 48-year-old O’Neil left the door open to the possibility if WWE wants him to. But he’s enjoying everything he’s doing outside of the ring right now. He was recently featured on the Bravo reality show “Kings Court” and has hopes of breaking into Hollywood like his friend Dave Bautista has.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.