Last week, WWE officially announced that for the first time in its history, WrestleMania will be held outside of North America. The company confirmed that WrestleMania 43 in 2027 will emanate from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The announcement was made by WWE Chief Creative Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque and Turki Alalshikh, the Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, as part of the country’s “Riyadh Season” initiative. The decision to take WWE’s biggest event of the year to the Middle East has been met with a negative reaction from fans.
The official announcement followed a press conference held last week on September 11, which featured several WWE stars but was notably closed to both the media and the public. According to a new report in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the decision to bar attendees was made by WWE’s parent company, TKO Group. Dave Meltzer reported that the move was made because the company feared fans “could possibly have booed the announcement” and wanted to avoid “real questions” from the press who were in town for a major boxing event.
This WrestleMania announcement is the latest development in a long-term partnership between WWE and Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority that began in 2018. As part of a 10-year strategic deal, WWE has presented two premium live events in the kingdom almost every year. These shows have been a significant source of revenue for the company but have also been a consistent source of controversy and debate among fans due to the country’s human rights record.
