Additional Details On WWE WrestleMania Reportedly Heading To Saudi Arabia In 2027

For the first time in history, WrestleMania will be held outside of North America as it was recently reported that WWE have agreed to bring their biggest event of the year to Saudi Arabia in 2027. The news was originally broken on Snapchat by Turki Alashikh, the chairman of the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia, and an official announcement is set to be made in the coming days, with WWE's upcoming press conference in Las Vegas on September 12 being the location of the announcement. It's a news story that sent shockwaves through the wrestling business, and in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer broke down how the deal came about, and what fans could expect from WrestleMania 43.

According to Meltzer, the deal was officially completed on August 6 and had been kept under wraps since, with sources in Saudi Arabia confirming earlier this year that Alashikh wanted to bring WrestleMania to the country in the near future. However, the Snapchat video of Alashikh, as well as an Arabic press release that circulated on September 10, spoiled the news that was originally meant to be revealed in conjunction with the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terrence Crawford boxing match that is being promoted by TKO in Las Vegas.

Saudi sources also noted that WWE were happy to bring WrestleMania to the country in 2028 as the company was looking to make good on letting New Orleans, Louisiana host the show after WrestleMania 42 was moved from New Orleans to Las Vegas. With that said, Meltzer claims that the plan for WrestleMania 43 to be held in Saudi Arabia was something people in WWE were told earlier this year, despite significant talks with officials in Nashville, Tennessee, who even went as far as to say they had agreed a deal. London, England was also discussed internally, but Meltzer didn't clarify if talks to bring WrestleMania 43 to the English capital made any real progress.

Given that talks of bringing WrestleMania 43 to Saudi Arabia have seemingly been going on for some time, Meltzer claimed that there was an original plan that WWE had in mind; two WrestleMania's. One would take place in Saudi Arabia as Alashikh and the Saudi government want to have a lot of major events in 2027 to celebrate the 300 year anniversary of the country being founded, and the other would take place in the United States so WWE wouldn't alienate their core North American fanbase who usual travel from all over the country to attend the event.

Of course, that is no longer the case, and instead WWE opted for the nine-figure payday that they will get for hosting the event in Saudi Arabia. A source within the country told Meltzer that the pay-out is confirmed to be north of $100 million, but couldn't confirm the exact figure. However, they did confirm that WWE asked for a sum larger than $100 million due to what they are planning for that show.

As it stands, the plan is for a four-show weekend, with "WWE SmackDown" taking place on the Friday night, WrestleMania 43 taking place on the Saturday and Sunday, and "WWE Raw" capping off the weekend on the Monday night. Meltzer noted that there are currently no plans for a second WrestleMania in 2027, and that WWE will try to build up something like SummerSlam or another major Premium Live Event as WrestleMania-worthy, making it a two night event and holding it in a big North American stadium.

This obviously means that WrestleMania weekend festivities that take place with multiple companies flocking to the host city to put on their own shows will likely not happen, and it's also not yet known if "WWE NXT's" annual WrestleMania weekend event, Stand and Deliver, will take place in Saudi Arabia either.

We have the background, we have the schedule, but who exactly will be making the trip to Saudi Arabia in 2027?

Meltzer noted that at the upcoming press conference in Las Vegas on September 12, Paul "Triple H" Levesque will be on hand, as will WWE Hall of Famers Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, and Logan Paul. The likes of Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan, Stephanie Vaquer, and Charlotte Flair will also be appearing to represent the women's division, who have made big waves in Saudi Arabia in recent years. Whether all of those people will be at WrestleMania 43 remains to be seen.

One person that Saudi Arabia are very keen on getting for the event is Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, to the point where the final payment number for the show will be affected if "The Final Boss" is not there. The Saudi source who stated that the deal was worth over $100 million did so with the knowledge that The Rock would be on the show, and the General Entertainment Authority expect the most star-studded WrestleMania of all time for the money they are paying. Meltzer claimed that sources in the country believe that a deal is close to being agreed on for The Rock to be on the show, and while Meltzer was unable to confirm this with WWE, he did note that The Rock's payoff would be far and away the biggest for any pro wrestler in history.

Meltzer went on to say that The Rock could always say no to the offer as he is already financially set, and that the idea of him being the size he was at WrestleMania 40 in three years time isn't the healthiest. However, Saudi Arabia are reportedly pushing for The Rock to face either Cody Rhodes or Roman Reigns in the main event, and are willing to pay him the equivalent of what a top boxer would make to get him there. 

The other major name discussed is Stone Cold Steve Austin, who will be 62 by the time WrestleMania 43 rolls around. Austin is not confirmed for the event, but Meltzer stated that a source in Saudi Arabia has been told that either WWE or Austin himself wants to make sure he is healthy and physically ready to perform as it's likely he will be working a match on the show. Austin was reportedly very happy with his match with Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38, and was content on that being his final match, even turning down a cameo appearance at WrestleMania 40, and only appearing at WrestleMania 41 because it's near to where he lives.