Shaheen wins first ever Dubai World Wrestling Championship
The pro wrestling scene in Dubai has been taking off as of late. The Wrestlefest DXB event series that we’ve been covering over the last few months has created a larger stage than ever for Dubai-based pro wrestlers and wrestlers traveling to the area. These unique events feature multiple forms of entertainment including film screenings, stand up comedy and live music with pro wrestling being the headliner and focal point.
July’s Wrestlefest DXB event featured a new and exciting first for the Dubai pro wrestling scene: the crowning of the first ever Dubai World Wrestling Champion. The championship bout between Dubai’s own Shaheen and the champion of UK-based TNT Extreme Wrestling (and former Progress Tag Team Champion and NXT UK wrestler) Dan Moloney had been set up over the past few Wrestlefest DXB events (we still have a full recap of June’s Diamond In The Dirt show coming soon).
It all started when Dan Moloney and Shaheen met up for a non-title match at Wrestlefest DXB’s Broadway Violence event. The match would see Dan Moloney, the aforementioned champion of the UK’s TNT Extreme Wrestling, meet up with the top champion on Dubai’s wrestling scene, Shaheen, the reigning champion of WrestlingME. The match was set to be a non-title exhibition between two top champions. However, following interference from Moloney’s fellow countryman Jason Reed and a vicious chair shot to Shaheen, Dan Moloney would leave Dubai with Shaheen’s title belt and declare himself the new champion of WrestlingME.
Dan Moloney poses with the stolen WrestlingME championship belt and declares himself the “new king of Dubai.” Image courtesy of Dan Moloney’s Instagram page.
The saga between the two wrestlers would continue at Wrestlefest DXB Diamond in the Dirt. Moloney was announced to be on hand for the event for a contract signing but instead appeared via video screen telling the fans he had better things to do like defend the Progress Tag Team Championships. Shaheen would face Jason Reed at this event in a best two of three falls match in an attempt to settle the score against Reed for his interference in his match against Moloney from the month prior. Due to some fishy antics from the match’s referee and Jason Reed, Shaheen would end up getting disqualified after retaliating and losing the match in the third fall. The match got some good reviews though and some clips have made their way online, including Shaheen scoring a pinfall over Reed. Shaheen would snap on the referee after the match, hitting him with a chair and locking him in a submission hold as a way to send a message to Dan Moloney.
Image courtesy of the Wrestlefest DXB Instagram page.
The stage was then set for a big match at Fahrenheit 971 on July 2nd between Dan Moloney and Shaheen. The match was set to be an anything goes, no disqualification match. Then, just a couple days before the event, Wrestlefest DXB broke some huge news with the help of pro wrestling legend Kurt Angle. The main event of Fahrenheit 971 between Shaheen and Dan Moloney would now be for the Dubai World Wrestling Championship!
By all accounts, the two had an intense match. Moloney was left bleeding at one point and cut an impassioned promo following the match. Chairs were involved, Shaheen took to the sky, and in the end, Shaheen would walk out of Fahrenheit 971 as the first ever Dubai World Wrestling Champion with Moloney vowing to return and get his hands on the belt.
Shaheen shares a moment of joy with the fans at Wrestlefest DXB after becoming the first Dubai World Wrestling Champion. Image courtesy of Shaheen’s Instagram account.
Now with a new world championship in play, things are really starting to pick up in Dubai. Several Dubai-based media platforms and pro wrestling media platforms reported on the new champion. Inside the Ropes has shared some pretty big news about the future of Dubai pro wrestling as well, stating that Will Ospreay has expressed interest in traveling to the mega city for a future Wrestlefest DXB event, something that Wrestlefest DXB themselves have confirmed.
Right now, Wrestlefest DXB and the pro wrestling scene in Dubai has all the momentum in the world. It will be exciting to see how things will pan out there over the next few months.
