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WWE's penultimate PPV before the big one of the year, WrestleMania 36, is Super ShowDown. The Saudi Arabian show will be the fifth PPV in the Middle Eastern country and will be held on February 27, 2020.
There have been a few matches confirmed, as Goldberg faces The Fiend for the Universal title, WWE Champion Brock Lesnar defends his title against Ricochet, and Roman Reigns faces King Corbin inside a steel cage.
There will be a few other matches at the big Saudi Arabia show, possibly even a battle royal. WWE will take a big roster of Superstars to the show in Saudi Arabia, but a few will miss out due to injury or personal reasons.
Let's take a look at 8 Superstars who will miss WWE Super ShowDown 2020:
#8 Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan has competed in just one PPV in Saudi Arabia, the very first one - Greatest Royal Rumble. At that show, he competed in the Royal Rumble match, where he was the Iron Man of the match, lasting for over 1 hour 15 minutes.
But, the former WWE Champion hasn't been a part of any other Saudi Arabia show since, most probably due to issues stemming from the murder of a Saudi Arabian journalist, as well as fellow Superstar Sami Zayn not being allowed to wrestle there.
Bryan, who was last involved in a feud with The Fiend, will surely not be a part of Super ShowDown 2020, and is one of the high-profile Superstars to miss out on the show.
The Fiend will face off against Goldberg, which clearly indicates that Bryan will miss out on the show, and Bryan will most likely begin a new storyline to finalise his opponent for WrestleMania 36.
#7 Xavier Woods
Xavier Woods, one of the three members of The New Day, is currently out of action due to an Achilles injury, which will keep him on the sidelines for a long time. He suffered an injury back in October during a live event, and he could be out for between 6 and 12 months.
He won't be a part of Super ShowDown, but his New Day brethren, Big E and Kofi Kingston will be a part of the show.They will put their SmackDown Tag Team titles on the line against The Miz and John Morrison.
#6 Jeff Hardy
Jeff Hardy is another Superstar who has been out of action, having suffered an injury back in April. Recent reports have indicated that Hardy will be back to the Performance Center, which indicates that his injury is healing, but the Super ShowDown show may come too soon.
Hardy's contract doesn't expire for a while, which means that he should return this year, perhaps after WrestleMania, in April.
#5 Jinder Mahal
Jinder Mahal has been out of action since June, having suffered a knee injury, but is on the road to recovery. The former WWE Champion is back training and has constantly posted videos over the last few months about the same.
Mahal may not be a part of Super ShowDown later this month as WWE could use him on RAW in a bigger way, perhaps after WrestleMania.
But, big things are expected of Mahal once he returns as per a current WWE Superstar. In a recent appearance on The Bump, 2020 men's Royal Rumble winner, Drew McIntyre, who was a part of 3MB with Mahal, revealed that we will "see a whole new Jinder soon":
“Jinder didn’t necessarily start off on the best foot outside of the company, so he wasn’t so sure what he wanted to do. He wasn’t training and wasn’t motivated on what he wanted to do. One day, it all changed, and he became the most driven person I’ve ever known in my entire life… You’re going to see a whole new Jinder soon.”
#4 Sami Zayn
Sami Zayn has not been a part of any of the four Saudi Arabia shows due to his Syrian descent. Syria and Saudi Arabia do not have good political relations, which has resulted in Zayn not being a part of the show.
It's almost a certainty that he will not be in Saudi Arabia later this month at Super ShowDown. Zayn is currently the manager of Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro on SmackDown, neither of whom have a match on the PPV at the moment.
#3 Kevin Owens
Kevin Owens is another Superstar who has refused to take part in Saudi Arabia PPVs due to political reasons, as well as to support his best friend, Sami Zayn. Owens has been a part of only one Saudi Arabia PPV, the very first one back in 2018.
Owens is currently in a feud with Seth Rollins, AOP, and Murphy on RAW, and is part of a faction of The Viking Raiders and Samoa Joe.
#2 Lars Sullivan
Lars Sullivan has also been out for a long time, injuring himself back in June 2019. He was set to be out for 6-9 months, and he could be on the road to recovery, but his issues off-screen could keep him out for a prolonged period.
It is still uncertain as to if he even has a WWE career, but one thing that is certain is that he won't be at Super ShowDown. Coincidentally, his penultimate match in WWE before his injury was at last year's Super ShowDown, where he faced the Lucha House Party in a handicap match and won.
#1 Aleister Black
Aleister Black is yet another Superstar who will not be at Super ShowDown because of political reasons.
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter revealed that Black was mostly likely pulled out of the past Saudi Arabia shows because of his tattoos and the religious symbolism behind it.
“This was not his choice. This was a choice made for him. I don’t know if it was made by the Saudi Arabian government or it was made by WWE because they didn’t want to offend the Saudi Arabian government. The deal with him is that his tattoos apparently have some religious connotations that the belief is will offend the host of the show so they don’t want him going. That’s the Aleister Black story.”
