Matt Hardy Weighs In On WWE Sending 2027 WrestleMania To Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Former WWE star Matt Hardy has reacted to WWE moving WrestleMania to Saudi Arabia and detailed the possible reasons for it.

Hardy discussed on "The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy" podcast how he isn't surprised that "The Show of Shows" will air from the Middle East in 2027, and how TKO and WWE are looking to optimize revenue.

"It's wild," Hardy said in reaction to WrestleMania going to Saudi Arabia. "Not terribly [surprised]. I mean, especially if they have made it their goal to maximize income, that's a place they can maximize income. No doubt."

Aside from WWE's greed being one of the criticisms over the Saudi Arabia switch, there's also the matter of the WrestleMania ecosystem being disrupted when the show is moved outside North America. Hardy wondered if fans would travel to the country to watch WrestleMania, and also explained that WWE is just following other sports that have also held events in the country.

"So it's going to be really interesting to see how many people that typically go to WrestleMania every single year, whatever else, how many of those people still attend WrestleMania. That's the goal. That's what Saudi Arabia is trying to get out of it, obviously. [But] I don't see WrestleCon being over there," said Hardy. "It is what it is. It's just kind of the state of the business, too. You know, they do UFC fights over there, like you said, football games, WWE. I mean, they [Saudi Arabia] want things and they have the money to command them, you know, so they can they can make it happen. And once again, when you're looking to maximize your revenue and the money you're going to be making and make as much profit as possible, that turns into an option that people are absolutely into."

Bully Ray also shared a similar opinion about the move to Saudi Arabia, stating that the average fan is being priced out due to rising ticket prices for WWE shows.