WWE could be hosting a future Royal Rumble or even a WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia.
In 2018, the company and the country entered an agreement to host a Premium Live Event twice a year. Beginning with The Greatest Royal Rumble, the relationship was marred by controversy in the beginning and still is met with apprehension before each show. With massive shows feeling very over the top in the beginning, shows were gradually toned down over the years and felt more like regular PLEs as opposed to supershows. However, although WWE has continually presented big shows from the Kingdom over the past few years, a new report appears to indicate that they may soon be hosting the big show.
ESPN’s Mike Coppinger has been told by Turki Alsheikh, the Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia that an enhancement to the existing agreement will be announced in the near future and that the country is looking to host a future Royal Rumble or even a WrestleMania:
.@Turki_alalshikh tells ESPN an enhancement to Saudi Arabia’s existing agreement with WWE will be announced later this month. Specifically, Alalshikh is looking to bring January’s annual Royal Rumble or WWE’s top event, WrestleMania, to Saudi Arabia. Since 2018, WWE has held at least one of its premium live events in Saudi Arabia. WWE first staged events in the Kingdom in 2014. On May 25, one week after the Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk undisputed heavyweight championship boxing match in Riyadh, WWE will hold King and Queen of the Ring in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
If this does take place, this will be the first time that either event has been held outside of North America. It has been previously reported that WWE is looking at financial benefit as the main priority when selecting host locations for PLEs, meaning that Saudi Arabia has a good chance of this happening in the future as they pay multimillions for each event.
WWE Returns To Saudi Arabia Later This Month
On May 25th, the company will once again return to the Kingdom to present the King and Queen of the Ring tournament. On top of the finals of each tournament, multiple title matches have been announced for the event.
Featured image: WWE
