WWE announces new weekly Arabic show

While in Dubai this past week to take part in a Women In Leadership Panel, Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon also participated in the announcement of a new television show WWE is launching specifically for the Arabic market.

WWE Wal3ooha will air weekly on OSN, a satellite network serving the Middle East and North Africa out of the United Arab Emirates. A mix of exclusive interviews and highlights from Raw, SmackDown and pay-per-view (PPV) events will be presented by Moein Al Bastaki, a professional magician, and Nathalie Mamo, a basketball star.

According to the company’s press release, Wal3ooha means “light it up” (no word on if AJ Lee’s entrance will be the show’s theme). Their announcement also touts the show will be “specifically curated with localized Arabic WWE content, created for the region, from the region.”

McMahon is quoted as saying:

We are excited to partner with OSN to bring our passionate fans original and localized content featuring their favorite WWE Superstars. WWE Wal3ooha provides a new destination for our fans in the Middle East to enjoy WWE’s unique blend of action-packed, family-fun entertainment.

It’s an interesting move, especially when considered along with the recent tryouts in Dubai, and all the attention the company is paying to India of late. WWE looks to be focusing on staking their claim to new markets rather than spending a lot of resources going after ones where pro wrestling is already an established commodity, such as Mexico and Japan... although those certainly remain on their radar, as well.