During the latest episode of the “Something To Wrestle With” podcast, JBL discussed the business and logistical implications of moving WrestleMania 43 to Saudi Arabia in 2027. He acknowledged the massive financial investment from the Kingdom but argued that it makes business sense for them as they work to change their global image. He then made a bold prediction about how WWE will handle the traditional WrestleMania weekend experience for its traveling fanbase, who may not be able to make the trip to Saudi Arabia.
JBL believes that the company will create a new, separate, large-scale event in the United States to fill that void. JBL first explained the business sense behind the massive site fee paid by Saudi Arabia.
“It’s going to be huge, absolutely huge. But it’s worth it to the kingdom to do that. It’s been worth it to them to get what they’ve gotten, from soccer to golf to all the things that they’ve done… This is a country that is trying to get away from the petrol-based economy and do something different. And I think they’ve got a legit plan here. That certainly appears to be working.”
He then predicted that a second major event would be created for US fans and those who travel to the US every year for Mania.“Short answer, yes. Will there be two Wrestlemanias? Yes. Now they may not call it the other one Wrestlemania. It may be WrestlePalooza or something else when you’re in Saudi Arabia… The fans that come over from Europe and have that incredible day the day after Wrestlemania, when they hijack the show on Monday nights, they have so much fun.
And it’s such a fun show to be a part of. And you have the whole weekend that’s taken away from those fans because of Saudi Arabia for the most part. I think they’re going to replace that with something else. Now, what do they call that WrestleMania America version, or Wrestlemania, some other version? I don’t know, and they may make a new name for it, but I think they’re going to have a separate big weekend in the United States that’s not too close to it, probably, that fills in that void for what fans want to be a part of. So, yeah, I think there’s going to be a second one.”
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