WWE President Nick Khan has commented further on the decision to have WrestleMania 43 take place in Saudi Arabia, noting the company is optimistic that fans will make their way to the Kingdom for the biggest show of the year.
On September 13, WWE confirmed that the rumours were true and that WrestleMania would be coming to Saudi Arabia in 2026, marking the first time that The Show of Shows has taken place outside of North America in its 41-year history. With a notable amount of fan backlash following the announcement due to the expectation of the country, many fans who regularly travel to the host city have made it clear that they will not be in attendance for the upcoming show. Additionally, fans in the States have much further to travel compared to a domestic show, which would also come with increased costs.
Despite this, Khan has remained positive about the attendance from outside the Kingdom. Appearing at Saudi Arabia on October 16 for a panel at Joy Forum 2025, the WWE President described the move as a “natural next step”, adding that they expect viewership and international attendance to be strong when the event rolls around in 2026:
“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.”
Nick Khan Explains Why WWE Chose Saudi Arabia As WrestleMania 43 Host
Later in the interview, Khan was asked why the company specifically chose Saudi Arabia to host the 2026 show, to which he responded that their strong partnership was a major factor:
“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 should also be noted that Saudi Arabia reportedly paid around $100 million to host the event.
H/t to F4WOnline for the use of transcriptions.
Featured image: WWE
