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Finally, the rumors have been confirmed: WrestleMania 43 in Saudi Arabia is now official. The grand event of WWE will be held for the first time in its history outside of North American territory as part of the Riyadh Season in 2027. The announcement was made just an hour ago at a press conference with Triple H and Turki Al-Sheikh as the top representatives of WWE and the Saudi government.
The news did not come as a surprise to anyone, as in recent days an official Arabic document had been leaked confirming the event in their country. However, few within the company expected the announcement to come so soon, as revealed in a recent report by Fightful.
"The news was revealed earlier this week through a video on Snapchat posted by Turki Al-Sheikh, much earlier than WWE had planned. It was so unexpected that some in the industry who know Turki thought it was fake, as they were surprised that it was announced so soon. However, a press release in Saudi Arabia was briefly published this week before being removed," the media wrote.
"Earlier this year, Blake Avignon, from The MMA Draw, reported that TKO had to have Nick Khan intervene in the negotiations between Netflix and UFC because Turki and Netflix executive Bela Bajaria were constantly clashing. Within WWE, there were those who wished Turki had not leaked the announcement, while others thought it was intentional to generate excitement," Fightful wrote.
"WWE staff was prepared for an announcement in Las Vegas throughout the week, but most did not know exactly what it was about. Several wrestlers participated on Thursday in a media day for the boxing match between Canelo Álvarez and Terence Crawford, which TKO promotes this weekend. Most of them did not speak to the press, and neither the media nor the public were able to attend the announcement," the media reported.
"A high-level source that spoke to Fightful Select commented that, for now, any speculation about who will participate or not in the event is purely hypothetical. They also shared a link to a report claiming that The Rock would be paid more than any other professional wrestler for that event, and they assured that this has not even been considered, much less negotiated. They added that it is a reasonable assumption, but only an assumption. We are informed that neither Stone Cold Steve Austin nor The Rock have been contacted yet for possible matches more than a year and a half in advance,"
The media also highlighted that most of WWE's roster does not receive extra compensation for appearing at events in Saudi Arabia. "Most of WWE's talent does not receive bonuses for working at events in Saudi Arabia; it is simply included in their contracts as part of their obligations," Fightful wrote on the matter.
"Until a few months ago, WWE had three dates planned for 2026 and only one for 2025. It has not been confirmed if this has changed. Those working on the Saudi events have not yet received a specific date. That will depend on the venue's plan, which they will start developing soon. A source speculated on the possibility of a customized structure due to the size of WrestleMania. The conceptual design of the event will begin in the coming weeks," the media wrote.
"Earlier this year, there was talk that WWE wanted to organize 'WrestleMania-branded events' in Saudi Arabia, also maintaining a WrestleMania in North America. Sources close to the Saudi events assure that the government made it clear that they wanted an authentic WrestleMania. WWE also suggests that's why they have promoted WrestlePalooza so intensely from the beginning, and plan to continue doing so."
"WWE has had a long relationship with Saudi Arabia, which began in 2017. Except for the plane incident in 2019, we are told that the relationship has been smooth," the report continued. "The wrestlers we spoke to stated that, at this point, trips to Saudi Arabia feel mostly safe to compete. It was not always like this: after the 2019 incident, several wrestlers refused to return. Saudi Arabia continues to face harsh criticism due to the annual increase in executions, with accusations of arbitrary detentions, repression of dissent, transnational repression, and severe sentences, among other issues."
WrestleMania 43 will take place in Riyadh in 2027 on a date yet to be revealed. At the moment, it is unknown if the grand event will follow the trend of recent years, being held over two nights. Similarly, it has not been specified which venue will host the show, which could well be the King Fahd International Stadium, the city's largest capacity stadium with 68,000 seats.
