Shadia Bseiso, the first woman WWE wrestler from the Middle East, is all set to begin her training in Orlando. Achieving this significant landmark was not an easy task for Shadia as she had to go against the cultural taboos. The 31 years old Shadia who is from Jordan is a TV anchor turned Jiu-Jitsu expert. The path she has traveled to reach this destination follows an inspirational story for women.
WWE’s attempt to sign Shadia might be a tactic to expand its franchise to the Middle East region. But the incident is just another turning point in the lives of the women from the Muslim world.
Here is the path that Shadia followed to be the first woman WWE wrestler from the Middle East.
The Crazier, the Better
Shadia’s life struggle is much exciting and even hilarious. In an interview to ESPN, her sister recalls the time when Shadia walked into a radio station and convinced the authorities for allowing her to do an internship as a presenter. After two years of internship, she finally landed a job at the same station. At that time she was only 18 years old.
Shadia doesn’t think that geographical constraints can bar people from pursuing their dreams. As in a message to Middle East women, she has conveyed the idea that one must have a goal and that too crazier one. As long as someone has strong urge to achieve a goal, it doesn’t matter where they stand.
From TV Audition to WWE
During her broadcasting career in Dubai, Shadia happened to attend a seminar on Jiu-Jitsu in her gym and then started taking classes for mastering this body art, as Shadia calls it. She got an opportunity to present her art in Asian Open Cup and won a bronze model.
It was her auditioning for presenter WWE’s first Arabic show that exposed her passion for jiu-jitsu to selectors. From here, she got an opportunity of a wrestling tryout that led her to the signing of with WWE.
On the Women of Middle East
Being a first woman WWE wrestler from the Middle East, is what making Shadia talk of the town. But she is lucky enough to start her struggle at the right time. As we see, things are changing for Arab women. Allowing driving to the women in Saudi Arabia, and Nike coming up with hijab for female athletes, shows how governments and brands are now empowering women. Despite all this, Shadia didn’t get an even path to start her journey. Not seeing representation on behalf of female athletes from the Middle East made her not to expect any possibility of becoming a wrestler. In an interview to arabnews, she talked about a women’s revolution happening in WWE and gave credit to London Olympics for the participation of women athletes. She opined that it was the perfect time for her to join. As an athlete, she is gearing up for starting her training while setting her eyes at the stardom.
