For forty-two years, WrestleMania has been an exclusively North American spectacle. That tradition is now officially over. During a press conference held at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas on Friday, WWE confirmed that WrestleMania 43 will emanate from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2027.
The landmark announcement was delivered by Paul “Triple H” Levesque, who appeared alongside HE Turki Alalshikh to make the historic move official. This marks the first time in its history that WWE’s biggest show of the year will be held outside of the North American continent.
While the news was leaked earlier in the week, the confirmation puts an end to months of speculation, including a now-debunked rumor that the event might be co-hosted with Nashville. The “why” behind the unprecedented move appears to be financial, with a report from PWInsider describing the payment from Saudi Arabia to secure the premium live event as a “mind blowing” amount of money.
WWE intends to bring its full slate of programming for the week-long celebration, with plans already in place for episodes of WWE SmackDown and WWE Raw, as well as the annual Hall of Fame ceremony. As of the announcement, the status of an NXT-branded event during the week remains unconfirmed.