When Finn Balor wrestled for the Intercontinental championship at the Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia, he did so in plain black gear. After his big display at WrestleMania 34, where he wore rainbow gear and had an entrance that included a large group of members of the LGBTQ community, there seemed to be an expectation he would do something similar, or at least WWE’s decision to go into Jeddah for a major event while Balor was promoting such a thing would lead to criticism.
Sure enough, there were plenty of messages like this floating around:
Finn Balor, who has been wearing “Balor Club” shirt with the rainbow flag promoting LGBTQ rights at all WWE events, comes out without one in Saudi Arabia. So much for progress. #WWEGRR
— Karim Zidan (@ZidanSports) April 27, 2018
For his part, Balor had this to say:
My Rainbow Gear was a statement at Wrestlemania Weeekend
— Finn Bálor forEVERYone (@FinnBalor) April 28, 2018
Although the gear has not been worn since in 6 appearances(Hartford CT, Cape Town x2,Pretoria, Johannesburg ,St.Louise
Saudi Arabia)
My support continues despite any color choice, change or laundry schedule. #dirtypants
That would seem to be just about the best statement he could make on this situation. The criticism isn’t so much about Balor individually but rather WWE as a company choosing to go about this event the way they did. Finn just got caught up in the crossfire.