Greatest Royal Rumble! Women attend pro-wrestling event for first time in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has allowed women to attend WWE pro-wrestling show in Saudi Arabia for the first time, as the country's crown prince leads a modernisation drive.

Friday night's "Greatest Royal Rumble" in Jeddah included women in attendance to watch the likes of WWE star John Cena and others.

A previous WWE event held in the ultraconservative kingdom in 2014 was for men only.

Organisers, however, only allowed women to watch the show at King Abdullah Sports City if they were accompanied by male guardians.

The show was part of a series of social changes pushed by the kingdom's assertive 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Recently Saudi Arabia has embarked on a wide-ranging programme of social reforms that includes boosting sports and entertainment and allowing women to drive.

The kingdom still has the most oppressive restrictions on women in the world, including the male guardianship system.

Some fans have also slammed the WWE for excluding women pro-wrestlers from the landmark show.

Social media users criticised the WWE for allegedly yielding to Riyadh's ultra-conservative customs.

Others said the company had allowed Saudi officials to use entertainment as a "propaganda arm" to whitewash its repressive laws.

WWE is wildly popular across the Middle East.

The organisation has an Arabic website and has held events in other Gulf Arab nations.