This is a bit of a weird piece to write because not very often do the worlds of professional wrestling and Arab politics cross paths. Yet it’s exactly what is going on with World Wrestling Entertainment and the Arabic Peninsula. WWE has started making a ton of inroads in the Arab world, having held shows in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. The most recent one was last Friday, called Greatest Royal Rumble, emanating from Al Jawhara Stadium in the Kingdom. The Saudi show was definitely a success from a financial standpoint with the entire event sold out. It’s part of a ten-year agreement between WWE and the Saudis announced in March.

WWE’s decision to hold the massive event in Saudi Arabia got a lot of press and generated a bit of controversy because of the county’s horrible human rights records. There were no women on the show, something company executive Paul “Triple H” Levesque was questioned about in The Independent. His response was pretty interesting and seemed to be more focused on the future (emphasis mine).

“I understand that people are questioning it, but you have to understand that every culture is different and just because you don’t agree with a certain aspect of it, it doesn’t mean it’s not a relevant culture.

“You can’t dictate to a country or a religion about how they handle things but, having said that, WWE is at the forefront of a women’s evolution in the world and what you can’t do is affect change anywhere by staying away from it.

“While, right now, women are not competing in the event, we have had discussions about that and we believe and hope that, in the next few years they will be. That is a significant cultural shift in Saudi Arabia…”

Levesque’s comments are pretty important because WWE has been on the forefront of cultural change in the Arab Peninsula. Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss had the first-ever female wrestling match in United Arab Emirates last December a feat which cannot be ignored, even if the pair were in decorative bodysuits instead of their traditional two-piece ring gear. It’s still a major accomplishment by WWE and shows how free markets can and do encourage freedom. More on that in a bit.

The Saudi event itself wash’t without controversy as Saudi Arabia’s General Sports Authority issued an apology on Twitter for something which aired during the show. PWInsider.com posted a translation of the apology for so-called indecent material:

“The General Sport Authority would like to apologize to the viewers and attendees of last night’s WWE event that took place in Jeddah, over the indecent scene involving women that appeared as an ad before a segment. It would like to confirm it’s total disapproval of this, in the shadow of its commitment to eliminate anything that goes against the communities values.

“The authority has made sure to ban showing of any segment that involves women wrestling or any scenes related to it, and stipulated that to the company (WWE). The authority also disapproved any promotional stuff with pictures or videos showing women in an indecent way, and emphasized on commitment of this rule. And it’s a commitment that the authority would still commit to forever in all of it’s events and programs”

The video the Saudis were apologizing for is actually pretty innocuous but features six female wrestlers which is a “no-no” in Saudi Arabia. Yet it’s interesting the Saudis apologized for this and not the fact Chris Jericho wore a scarf with a cross and Rey Mysterio wrestled in a mask which prominently features a cross. It’s true Mysterio and Cedric Alexander had to cover up their cross tattoos but the fact crosses were shown without an apology shows Saudi’s liberalization may not be a farce. After all, Saudi is now starting to allow female drivers with ride-sharing companies Uber and Careem at the forefront of the push.

This is why free markets are so important to seeing countries become more and more free. WWE, Uber, and Careen all worked on getting Islamic nations to relax regulations on women and it’s slowly succeeding. China is still run by communists but they’re also liberalizing by letting the shadow economy slowly come into the light. It’s not perfect, obviously, because there is still horrible human rights abuses in both regions. One thing Cato’s James A. Dorn wrote in 2016 is how China’s slight liberalization started in small steps with individuals deciding to ignore the government and privatize certain farms.

The most cited case of spontaneous privatization occurred in November 1978, when peasants from 18 households in Xiaogang Village (in Fengyang County, Anhui) secretly got together and agreed to engage in private production. They would still meet state and collective quotas, but use the land at their disposal for private gain. In their contract, they promised to take care of the children of local cadres in case they were disciplined for failing to prohibit decollectivization (Zhou 1996: 55–56). When farmers in Xiaogang were highly successful in increasing their yields and prospering from leaving the production teams to cultivate their own plots, nearby villagers had a strong incentive to join the movement (Coase and Wang 2012: 47).

China (and also Saudi Arabia) will never be considered free market paradises while they’re cracking down on dissidents and jailing Christians. They’re still small steps towards liberalization in both countries with WWE involved. The company is able to visit the countries because of its popularity and the demand across the globe. That demand forces the government to liberalize, in small steps, to make sure WWE keeps visiting and gives other companies the opportunity to visit and sell their non-wrestling wares bringing about more reform. Federic Bastiat was correct when he wrote Richard Cobden in 1847 saying, “Free trade means a little more wealth; the spirit of free trade is a reform of the mind itself, that is to say, the source of all reform.”

It may take years for everyone to get to a point where rights are equal but it’s worth the push.