The inevitable announcement many fans hoped would never come hit like an Alabama Slam on Friday.
At a special press conference in Las Vegas, WWE officially announced that WrestleMania 43 in 2027 is coming to Saudi Arabia. Fan reaction was swift and overwhelmingly negative. Adding salt to the wound was a post by WWE’s Chief Content Officer, Paul Levesque, in which he wrote:
“A partnership built on history, respect, and global impact. The next step in bringing the spectacle of WrestleMania to the global stage for the greatest fans in the world. The road to 2027 starts now…and it’s going to be epic.”
As fans flooded WWE’s YouTube livestream with “You sold out” messages, on X, they also criticized Levesque after his post.
“It’s a cold day in hell I guess, especially since I am saying this… But I miss Vince owning the company,” a fan wrote.
The timing of WWE’s announcement did not go unnoticed, as this observer noted: “Give it up. Announcing this the day after 9/11 is sick. Your fans don’t want any part of this.”
The news also reignited frustration among UK fans, who’ve long pushed for a London WrestleMania. One person said, “You’ve fully mugged off the UK here. First overseas one should have been in London and you know it.”
At Money in the Bank in 2023, John Cena made a surprise appearance at The O2 Arena in London, England. Then, he made an emotional plea to fans and to WWE to bring WrestleMania to the fans there. Cena’s words seemed to clash with Levesque’s view on which audience deserves WWE’s biggest event.
“You cheer. You chant. Hell, you care. In my mind, there is not a more exciting audience than the audience in the United Kingdom. So I’m here to try to bring WrestleMania to London,” said Cena then.
The announcement that WrestleMania is leaving North America for a reportedly “mind-blowing” sum in Saudi Arabia came days after Mark Shapiro, COO of WWE’s parent company TKO, hinted that ticket prices are likely to rise.
“We know we have a lot of room there because Vince McMahon was primarily pricing tickets for families and wasn’t totally focused on maxing the opportunity there,” said Shapiro, referring to WWE’s new strategy of raising ticket prices and offering premium packages to increase revenue, similar to what they’ve done with the UFC.
“I have to feel bad for wrestling fans,” said former WWE star Stevie Richards in a reaction video posted to YouTube. “I feel bad for you. I feel bad for anybody that wants to consume the WWE product — either at whatever few house shows or live events they may have, if any, TVs where I see people saying, ‘I paid $700 for nosebleed seats for Raw,’ or even around that or more for SmackDown.”
Richards criticized WWE’s corporate leadership for prioritizing profit over fans and performers. He views their decisions as driven by greed and as “spiteful” to loyal supporters. While encouraging promotions like AEW to become a more financially friendly alternative, Richards also urged fans to speak up by voting with their wallets.
“This is up to you,” said Richards. “If you want it to change, if you want their greed to change or at least be subdued to a certain point, it is up to you to not invest in WWE anymore, to not buy tickets, to not subscribe, and also not view the product.”
