Tyson Fury made his WWE debut in typically bombastic fashion.
The former unified heavyweight champion entered the Riyadh Stadium in Saudi Arabia in full Arab gard, strutting his almost seven foot frame down the platform to the soundtrack of the Isley Brothers to confront pro-wrestler Braun Strowman with whom he has been building “a beef” with for over the past month.
It was a different type of ring the 31-year-old is used to entering, but once again Fury didn’t fail to put on a show in Saudi at the WWE’s Crown Jewel match.
The man who holds a 29-0-1 boxing record immersed himself in the occasion, even pulling off an Undertaker-style back-from-the-dead routine at one point in the match, a cheeky nod to similar events that unfolded during his first fight with American heavyweight champion, Deontay Wilder.
Proving himself a true beast in the Middle-East, the ‘Gypsy King’ took his blows from the American before returning with a few of his own. At one point Strowman strutted around the ring before ending up on the wrong end of a Fury drop-kick, to the delight of the onlooking crowd.
It may not be the best orchestrated wrestling match you’ll ever see, but entertaining it surely was and it demonstrated once again why Fury is one of the most watchable sportsmen on the planet at the moment.
The fight had been set up since the beginning of October, when Fury had to be restrained by security at the WWE Smackdown Live event in Los Angeles after being called out by The Monster Among Men.
On this occasion in the Middle East however, Fury took the win and the glory.
Fury, an unabashed wrestling devotee had expressed his passion for the sport, at a press conference saying how ‘honoured’ he was to be accepted into the world of wrestling, “It is something I have always dreamed of, being a lifelong WWE fan.”
Fans had a taste of what to expect once Fury entered the arena donning a traditional Arab headdress, and seemed perfectly suited to the role at the ‘Showdown in Saudi’.
The Wythenshawe-born boxer hasn’t discounted putting on a display again though he has commented "I've got a big fella called Deontay Wilder to see to, and then we see where we go from there."
Fury is set to return to boxing with a long-awaited rematch with nemesis Wilder in February 2020.
In December last year, Fury held the undefeated heavyweight champ to a controversial split draw in L.A. Wilder next takes on Luis Ortiz on 23 November.
