WWE WrestleMania 43 Officially Scheduled To Take Place In Saudi Arabia

WrestleMania 43 is officially heading to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2027, WWE announced today in Las Vegas, Nevada.

WWE aired a special announcement video on the company's YouTube channel with a press conference setup – although there was no one else in the room – as WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque and his "friend" Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the Saudi Arabia General Entertainment Authority, officially revealed that WrestleMania 43 would be hosted in Riyadh. They were flanked by The Undertaker, Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair, Shawn Michaels, Liv Morgan, Stephanie Vaquer, Logan Paul, and Seth Rollins.

No definitive date for WWE WrestleMania 43 beyond the show taking place in 2027 was revealed.

Triple H teased a game-changing announcement on Thursday, which came just one day after Turki Alalshikh announced on Snapchat that WrestleMania would be taking place in Saudi Arabia in 2027. An Arabic-language press release also confirmed WrestleMania 43 would be held in Saudi Arabia, although the release was quickly pulled as it had been published early in error.

The deal for WrestleMania 43 in Saudi Arabia is believed to be worth well over $100 million. This is a monetary increase from WWE's usual events in Saudi Arabia, which are worth approximately $55 million per event.

WWE and Saudi Arabia began working together in 2018, with WWE often presenting two pay-per-views from the Middle East per year. The partnership has received heavy criticism, particularly during the early years of the relationship following the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi just weeks before WWE held the first Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia.

WWE have also faced their own issues with Saudi Arabia, notably the infamous flight delay while trying to leave the country following Crown Jewel 2019, something which resulted in WWE settling a shareholder lawsuit for $39 million.

WWE’s partnership with Saudi Arabia has only expanded since that incident, though, and WrestleMania 43 in the Middle East is very much the culmination of that expansion. This is despite there still being serious human rights issues in Saudi Arabia.

As of 2024, the US State Department's report on human rights practices noted there were credible reports in Saudi Arabia of arbitrary or unlawful killings, disappearances, torture, inhuman treatment, arbitrary arrest and detention, repression against individuals in another country, serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom including arrests or prosecutions of journalists and censorship, restrictions on religious freedom, and the prohibition of independent trade unions.

A report from The Athletic in April 2025 noted that Turki Alalshikh (also known as Turki Al-Sheikh) allegedly has a prison wing named after his nickname of ‘Tutu’ at al-Ha’ir Prison, the largest prison complex in Saudi Arabia. Abdullah Alaoudh of the Middle East Democracy Centre told The Athletic they have verified over 10 cases of people being detained in Saudi Arabia for criticising Turki Alalshikh.

"We have personally verified either the charges against or sentences of more than 10 cases of people being detained in Saudi Arabia for criticising Turki Al-Sheikh. Most of the victims were people who didn’t even criticise the government, but who criticised decisions Al-Sheikh made regarding entertainment or sport during his time at both commissions," Alaoudh said.

Alaoudh claimed those who have been imprisoned for criticising Alalshikh face abuse from prison guards while detained, from being slapped in the face to being hung upside down by their heels. 

The Athletic also reported that one individual was kidnapped and driven to Riyadh, where he was personally confronted by Alalshikh about social media criticism of him, having accused Alalshikh of bias earlier that day. The person, who only had a handful of social media followers, claimed they were then slapped three times in the face by Alalshikh. The GEA Chairman then allegedly told the person to delete the post or face imprisonment. Under duress, the person agreed to delete the post and was later released in the middle of the highway and told to find his own way home.