Tag: Wrestlemania 43

Update on ‘targeted’ WWE WrestleMania 43 date

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WrestleMania could be moving back to the end of March in 2027.

WrestleVotes reports that the weekend of March 27, 2027 is the “targeted” date for WrestleMania 43 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. That would coincide with the end of the annual Riyadh Season festival. WWE has not officially confirmed the date for the show yet — and WrestleVotes says the weekend of April 10 is also on the table.

Traditionally, most WrestleManias have been held in either late March or early April. WWE made a change starting in 2025 to push the event back to mid/late April so WrestleMania would avoid going against Final Four weekend of the NCAA basketball tournament.

The WrestleVotes report states that it’s possible but unlikely that, for one year only, WrestleMania could return to a one-night event for WrestleMania 43. Fightful adds that WWE’s broadcast partner ESPN is said to prefer two nights.

While there’s been some uncertainty amid the war between the United States & Israel and Iran, WWE is moving ahead with its plans for Saudi Arabia. The company announced today that Night of Champions 2026 will be held in Riyadh on Saturday, June 27.

WrestleMania 43 will be the first time WWE’s marquee event has ever been held outside of the United States or Canada.

Before Saudi Arabia was chosen, Nashville, Tennessee was in consideration as the host city.

Nashville tourism board says the date to host WrestleMania in 2027 ‘didn’t work out’

Posted on by Josh Nason

Even though WWE already announced that next year’s WWE WrestleMania 43 was heading to Saudi Arabia, there was apparently an idea of it heading to Nashville, Tennessee, at one point.

However, according to local tourism groups, that plan “didn’t work out” due to the dates involved, but they are looking to host it in future years.

Reported today by Fox 17 in Nashville, “leaders with the Tennessee Titans and Nashville tourism groups” had previously said the biggest event of the wrestling year would be coming to the new Nissan Stadium in April 2027, just two months after the venue is set to be completed and which would be one of the first big events to be hosted there.

However, the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp (aka Visit Music City) told the outlet that, “the date didn’t work out, and we are looking at future years.”

It’s unclear where the comments and confidence from the city came from and at what point they were out of the running for 2027. The venue is where the NFL’s Titans will play after moving from the existing stadium in the city.

The Rock teases ‘good’ conversations regarding WWE WrestleMania 43 participation

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

With a year left for WWE WrestleMania 43, The Rock has opened up and teased some “good news” surrounding his participation in the PLE.

For the first-time ever, the 2027 edition of WrestleMania is set to take place in Saudi Arabia, as a part of WWE’s relationship with KSA. However, with still a year left for the show, The Rock recently appeared with Raffi Boghosian of Raffi Talks, where he addressed the speculations surrounding his presence on the PLE.

“I’m excited for the brand of WrestleMania, I’m excited for the Kingdom because that is a big show. I’m also excited not only for the brand, but I’m excited for our athletes to be able to participate in an event like that, and that is a global event,” The Rock said. “And so I can’t wait. In terms of the conversations I’ve been having, it’s all good. It will always be good.”

WWE-Saudi Arabian events have often in the past hosted and brought some of the promotion’s biggest stars, such as Goldberg, Kane, The Undertaker, and even Shawn Michaels.

With The Rock’s in-ring performance and involvement at WrestleMania 40, rumors and speculations began to circulate about his possible participation in WrestleMania 43 in KSA. Despite the teases, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has not yet officially confirmed or denied any of the rumors.

Saudi Arabia is also set to host the upcoming 2026 Royal Rumble PLE on January 31st, 2026.

Titus O’Neil: I feel safer in Saudi Arabia than most places in US

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE ambassador Titus O’Neil is fully on board with the company’s decision to bring WrestleMania to Saudi Arabia.

Appearing on TMZ’s Inside the Ring podcast, O’Neil responded to the backlash that WWE holding WrestleMania 43 in Saudi Arabia in 2027 has received. O’Neil said he feels safer in Saudi Arabia than a lot of places in the United States — and he doesn’t believe we as Americans have the right to point fingers at anyone.

“I can say this, you know, because I’ve been to Saudi Arabia several times now: I feel safer in Saudi Arabia than I do in most places — or a lot of places — in the United States of America,” O Neil said.

“I think in the United States, we have this mindset that we’re the greatest country in the world. And we are a great country, but people don’t move to the United States because we’re the greatest country in the world. They move because we have the greatest amount of opportunity. And I think that the biggest difference between places like overseas in Japan, Saudi Arabia, Middle East, all those places and the United States are morals and convictions. They actually live by theirs, whether you like them or not. They’re going to pray five times a day. They’re going to stop during the day, and they’re going to do their thing no matter what, who likes it and don’t like it.

“You don’t hear about mass shootings in Saudi Arabia. You don’t hear about mass shootings in China. You don’t hear about mass shooters in Japan. I think if people went over to Saudi Arabia or had a chance to go there, their views would change dramatically. And I’m not saying that they get it all right, but we don’t get it all right either to be pointing fingers at anybody.”

O’Neil said there were a lot of “scare tactics” and “scare verbiage” when he went to Saudi Arabia the first time for WWE, but he saw a group of kids playing on the beach at 1 a.m. one night. When he asked his driver the next morning if people in Saudi Arabia were worried about that, the driver said no because there would be an automatic death sentence if the kids were sexually assaulted, beaten, kidnapped, or brutalized.

“So kids are safe over there, but kids are not safe in the United States,” O’Neil said. “My perspective of us going to Saudi Arabia for WWE — yeah, it’s business, but it’s also changing cultures. When we first went over there, women were just now, they were just now getting introduced and being able to drive. Things are changing over there.”

O’Neil said WWE doesn’t care what color fans are, what religion they practice or don’t practice, or where they come from. He believes holding WrestleMania in Riyadh is a chance to show what unity can look like and how other cultures embrace what WWE does.

“So if there’s ever a platform for us as a company to take and utilize, to show what unity can look like, to show what good business looks like, to show what other cultures look like, and how they embrace what we do, no matter where they are and what they come from, and how they dress — Saudi Arabia is definitely one of those places, in my opinion,” O’Neil said. “I think if the WWE brass and TKO brass didn’t feel that way, the decision would not have been made.

“So for anyone that — first and foremost, most of the people that are complaining about the show being over there, would never book a ticket to go over there anyway. Watch the show on TV, it’s going to be a spectacle. Saudi Arabia does nothing small, and WWE does nothing small. So get ready for a hell of a show and a hell of an experience on a global stage that’s going to show everyone why this business, and particularly TKO and WWE, do it better than anyone in the world.”

The Saudi WrestleMania is the first time WWE’s biggest event has ever been held outside of North America. WWE and the Saudi government have been business partners since 2018. That controversial relationship has grown to the point where Saudi Arabia is hosting the Royal Rumble in 2026 and WrestleMania in 2027.

It’s been five years since O’Neil last competed in the ring. When asked about potentially wrestling again at some point, the 48-year-old O’Neil left the door open to the possibility if WWE wants him to. But he’s enjoying everything he’s doing outside of the ring right now. He was recently featured on the Bravo reality show “Kings Court” and has hopes of breaking into Hollywood like his friend Dave Bautista has.

Nick Khan: WWE believes fans will travel to Saudi Arabia for WrestleMania

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE isn’t concerned about the logistical issues presented by bringing WrestleMania to Saudi Arabia.

Last month, it was confirmed that Saudi Arabia will host WrestleMania 43 in 2027 with the event being held in Riyadh. It’s the first time WrestleMania will take place outside of the United States or Canada. That means an earlier start time for the two-night broadcast and a longer trip for most fans who usually travel to the show, but Nick Khan believes viewership will be strong and fans will still travel.

Khan was in Saudi Arabia on Thursday for a panel at Joy Forum 2025. He spoke about the decision to take WrestleMania outside of North America for the first time.

“It was a natural next step for us,” the WWE president said. “I think at WWE, we realized a number of years ago — you can’t simply pipe American product out globally and hope to be a global product. You actually have to have boots on the ground. So if you look at what we’ve done with our Premium Live Events — formerly known as pay-per-views — over the last few years, about half of those now take place outside of the United States.

“We’re in the eighth year of a long-term partnership with Turki Alalshikh and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia… We’re bringing Royal Rumble here at the end of January [2026]. It’s the first time Royal Rumble, which is our second or third biggest event, will take place outside of the United States or Canada. And WrestleMania 2027, as you just mentioned, will be here in April of that year, first time ever WrestleMania, as you also said, outside of the US or Canada. We’re excited. We think viewership is going to be strong. We think people will come to the Kingdom to see our show, and we’re going to put on a spectacle.”

WWE is believed to be receiving a lucrative amount of money to hold WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia. The controversial business relationship between the promotion and the Saudi government began in 2018 and continues to expand.

When asked why Saudi Arabia specifically was chosen as the location for the first non-North American WrestleMania, Khan pointed to that strong partnership as the reason.

“So when Turki expressed interest in having it here, we got together for a couple of different meetings, worked out the deal in short order and then had the good fortune of announcing it the day before Canelo vs. Crawford, our first [boxing] fight together in Las Vegas,” Khan said.

It was noted at Joy Forum that hosting WrestleMania is something that Saudi officials first mentioned as a goal seven years ago.

WOL: WWE WrestleMania 43 going global despite backlash

Posted on by Andrew Zarian

Andrew Zarian is back with another episode of Wrestling Observer Live Sunday edition, this week on location, talking all things professional wrestling.

The big story of the week was WWE’s announcement that the 2027 edition of WrestleMania will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He discusses how this is being perceived and if the country has evolved enough to become a tourism destination that can support such an event.

He also discusses the impact on all the independent shows that are usually part of WrestleMania weekend.

He also talks about the comments from TKO’s Mark Shapiro where he said that Vince McMahon priced his product for families and didn’t take full advantage of the potential. This is further proof of this not being McMahon’s company anymore.

Also, AAA x WWE Worlds Collide took place, and Dominik Mysterio is the new AAA Mega Champion after what turned out to be a very entertaining show.

Plus, early previews of AEW All Out, WWE Wrestlepalooza, and the quiet release of Andrade.

Click here to listen or watch below

WOR: WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia, Wrestlepalooza main event

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

Dave Meltzer and I are back with the Friday edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, talking about all the big news from today’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Here were some of the things we discussed:

  • WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia is official for 2027 and the possibilities of The Rock and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin for that show
  • Wrestlepalooza main event
  • Rumors of Skydance/Paramount buying WBD and how that could affect AEW
  • Preview of the weekend

Click here to listen (sub needed) or watch on YouTube

Details on negotiations for megastar to be part of WWE WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia

Posted on by Josh Nason

With the impending announcement of WWE WrestleMania heading to Saudi Arabia for the first time ever in 2027 comes speculation of who could be part of the show given the large price tag TKO is getting for bringing it there.

Enter TKO Board member Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

In this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that those close to the Saudi Arabia General Entertainment Authority both confirmed the WrestleMania deal is official and “they claimed negotiations for Dwayne Johnson were advancing and they believed the deal was close to being finalized.”

While yet unconfirmed with anyone from WWE, “The impression is that the final payment number for the show will be affected by whether or not they get The Rock in the main event. The idea is that the individual payoff for Johnson would be multiple times that of any pro wrestler for any event in history.”

WWE is reportedly set to receive more than $100 million for the weekend of events.

The goal from the Saudi perspective seems to be either the 54-year-old Johnson vs. Cody Rhodes or Roman Reigns.

The official announcement is expected to take place in Las Vegas on Friday afternoon.

That isn’t the only major star WWE is trying to recruit for the event. Read this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter for more.

Update on WWE WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia

Posted on by Joseph Currier

On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer shared the latest on WWE WrestleMania coming to Saudi Arabia.

News broke last night that Saudi Arabia will host WrestleMania in 2027. An official announcement from WWE has not been made yet, but Meltzer reports that he first heard last month that it was “for sure” that Saudi Arabia would be getting WrestleMania. At that time, there were rumors that there could potentially be two WrestleManias in 2027 with the United States and Saudi Arabia each hosting one. But Meltzer presumes WrestleMania 43 in Saudi Arabia will be the only WrestleMania that year.

Meltzer notes that Saudi official Turki Alalshikh — the Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority — is the key person behind this, and Saudi Arabia is putting up “a ridiculous amount of money” to get the event.

“They’re putting up an incredible amount of money — a ridiculous amount of money,” Meltzer said. “And the idea is to present the most star-studded show ever, you know, by far. Everyone, anyone, money is no object. Any name you can imagine, obviously they’re going to be after. I presume it’s the only WrestleMania of that year, but when I first heard — one of the ideas was to do a two WrestleMania year one year so that way it keeps the American fans not upset about Saudi Arabia. But I think perhaps the deal is also that as Saudi Arabia has become more and more normalized, it appears that the outrage that probably would’ve been there even a year ago or two years ago, probably won’t be. I hardly saw any today, but we’ll see.”

Meltzer said that, because WWE had other commitments, they originally wanted 2028 to be the year for the Saudi WrestleMania event. It ended up being 2027 because that’s what Saudi Arabia pushed for, with that year marking a celebration of the 300th anniversary of the first Saudi state being formed.

The controversial WWE-Saudi Arabia business relationship began in 2018 and continues to grow. As was announced earlier this year, Saudi Arabia will host the Royal Rumble in January 2026. WrestleMania 42 will then be held in Las Vegas a few months later.

WWE WrestleMania 43 set for Saudi Arabia

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE WrestleMania looks to be headed to Saudi Arabia in 2027.

Late Wednesday afternoon, a Snapchat video ad from Turki Al-Sheikh — the Chairman of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority — emerged online with Al-Sheikh appearing to announce that WrestleMania 43 is coming to Saudi.

There has been no official announcement from WWE yet, but PWInsider reports that the news is legitimate. Our Bryan Alvarez followed up and confirmed, adding that Saudi Arabia will be getting the entire weekend including SmackDown and Raw and that he believes the deal is in the neighborhood of $100 million.

“PWInsider.com can confirm, however, that the story is 100% legitimate and an announcement is coming very soon, bringing WrestleMania to an international location outside of North American for the first time ever,” the report said.

WWE began its controversial business relationship with the Saudi regime in 2018 with Saudi hosting annual PLEs for an estimated $50 million per event. The relationship has continued to grow in recent years with Saudi Arabia set to host the Royal Rumble in 2026.

In April 2026, WrestleMania 42 will be held at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, with Vegas getting WWE’s signature event for the second straight year.

Nashville to host WWE WrestleMania 43 if new enclosed stadium built

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WrestleMania could be coming to Nashville for the first time ever.

An article from the Nashville Tennessean today confirmed that WWE has given a verbal commitment for Nashville, Tennessee to host WrestleMania 43 in 2027 as long as a new enclosed stadium is built in time. The commitment was given to Butch Spyridon, who is the CEO of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp.

The proposed new stadium would be the home of the Tennessee Titans. Nashville’s Metro Council is set to vote on the $2.1 billion proposal.

“The minute the Mayor’s office and the Titans released the stadium term sheet, we started looking for opportunities,” Spyridon said. “WWE had an incredible experience at Nissan Stadium this past summer, and we started talking. WrestleMania is considered the No. 6 top sports event brand in the world, and we are grateful for their confidence and belief in Nashville.”

WWE issued the following statement: “Nashville has exploded as a cultural center in the United States and as the land of opportunity. WWE looks forward to hosting many events in partnership with the great city of Nashville at the proposed enclosed stadium.”

WWE brought a major event to Nashville earlier this year, with Nissan Stadium hosting SummerSlam.

“(WrestleMania) is a weeklong event potentially worth upwards of $200 million and is broadcast in 57 countries,” Spyridon told the Metro Council. “This is just the beginning of what our city can do if the stadium deal is approved. Deep appreciation to WWE, the Titans and the state for getting this done.”

Los Angeles will host WrestleMania 39 in April 2023. After that, Philadelphia will host WrestleMania 40 in April 2024. The locations for WrestleManias 41 and 42 haven’t been revealed.