Back in 1996, the World Wrestling Federation (now the WWE) came to Kuwait for a huge event held at Al Arabi Stadium. It was one of the first major sporting events to take place in Kuwait after the Gulf War. I was a senior in high school at the time and went to the event with my older cousin. I recently found some photos I took and thought they’d be cool to share.
I don’t remember much from the event other than the fact that it was complete chaos, but in a good way. I was a huge WWF fan back then, and so was pretty much everyone else there. Going by the photos I took, it looks like I had pretty good seats. I was close to the ring, but also right by the entrance ramp, which meant I could stick my hand out to the wrestlers as they made their way in.
It was surprisingly difficult to find an accurate list of the fighters who came in 1996, but after checking multiple sources, this seems to be the correct lineup:
Shawn Michaels
Stone Cold Steve Austin
The Undertaker
Bret Hart
Yokozuna
Owen Hart
British Bulldog
Ahmed Johnson
Savio Vega
Bob Backlund
Bushwhackers (Butch & Luke)
Isaac Yankem D.D.S. (later Kane)
Leif Cassidy
The following year, there was another WWF event in Kuwait, which included the likes of The Rock, Mankind, and Vader. That was also when the infamous altercation between the KTV host, Bassam Al Othman, and Vader took place. The Undertaker and Vader were being interviewed live on the morning show when the host asked whether what they did in the ring was real or fake. Vader took offense to the question and attacked the host.
After the interview, the host filed charges at the police station, and Vader was arrested and placed under house arrest for a couple of weeks until the WWF eventually managed to get him out of the country.
Click here if you want to check out all the photos from the event.
3 replies on “When the WWF Came to Kuwait in 1996”
Amazing post!
I remember my father mentioned that the fighters were put up at the Le Meridien Hotel (now Salhia Shopping Complex or Marriott?) and we have pictures of him with The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Ahmed Johnson! (he used to work there).
Based on Shawn Michaels video they were at the regency
They came to AIS as well. It was crazy and there were crowds pushing to get into the auditorium and they almost cancelled the event (or threatened to at least).