WWE KSA Prospect On Ariya Daivari's Death Threats, Buddy Murphy - 205 Live Updates (Video), Backlash
- WWE NXT Superstar Buddy Murphy made his return to WWE 205 Live this week after a storyline that previously had him not making weight to get pulled from the show. Murphy, who weighed in at 204 pounds this week, defeated local enhancement talent Liam Louie by referee stoppage. Video from their match can be seen above. Murphy vs. Mustafa Ali has been announced for next week's 205 Live episode and it looks like they are building to Murphy vs. WWE Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander.
- WWE has a new poll asking fans which SmackDown champion is in most jeopardy of losing their title at WWE Backlash on Sunday. As of this writing, 43% voted for SmackDown Women's Champion Carmella to Charlotte Flair while 41% voted for WWE Champion AJ Styles to Shinsuke Nakamura in the No DQ match and 16% voted for WWE United States Champion Jeff Hardy to Randy Orton.
- As noted, Ariya Daivari revealed on Twitter this week that he received death threats for the segment he and his brother Shawn Daivari did at last Friday's WWE Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia. The segment saw the Daivari brothers represent Iran as they tried to bully a group of WWE prospects from the Saudi tryouts, playing off of the Iran vs. Saudi rivalry. The segment ended with the prospects getting the upperhand. Mansoor, one of the prospects from the segment, took to Twitter and defended Daivari with the following comments:
Ariya is an absolute class act and it was a pleasure to meet and work with him. I owe him and his brother so much. Please remember all performers are human beings first. Adults should be able to separate reality and fiction. https://t.co/sl9itl9cJz
— Mansoor Al-Shehail (????? ??????) (@MannyFaberino) May 1, 2018
Below are the original tweets with the apology from Ariya and comments he made on finally being able to work with his brother, which were made before the comments about the death threats:
It took 12 years for my brother and I to share a WWE stage together. To make it even sweeter, it was on the biggest show in WWE history. We always had the same hard work ethic when it came to wrestling, and tonight was the ultimate payoff. A moment I'll cherish forever. #WWEGRR pic.twitter.com/pIKjjdv5VE
— Ariya Daivari (@AriyaDaivariWWE) April 27, 2018
— Ariya Daivari (@AriyaDaivariWWE) May 1, 2018
Personally, I believe you should not have to apologize. No actor, in a movie, would have to apologize for a roll, why do wrestlers?
— #MentalIllnessIsNotACrime (@JPrice02) May 1, 2018
Unfortunately some people took offense to this despite it being pure entertainment. Some threats were made against my life. I wanted to put this statement out to clarify where I as a person stand compared to my t.v. character. https://t.co/NJbnlMnn28
— Ariya Daivari (@AriyaDaivariWWE) May 1, 2018
BUBBA THE SAUDI JABRONIANS DONT KNOW WHAT IS THE SHOWBUSINESS TELL THEM TAKE A f–kING WALK https://t.co/hWe4KLtRYa
— The Iron Sheik (@the_ironsheik) May 1, 2018
Unfortunately, it's many threats coming from Iranians
— Ariya Daivari (@AriyaDaivariWWE) May 1, 2018