WWE WrestleMania 43 to Be Held in Saudi Arabia in 2027, 1st Non-North American Venue

WWE chief content officer Triple H announced Friday in Las Vegas during a press conference streamed on the WWE YouTube channel that WrestleMania 43 will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2027.

It will mark not only the first WrestleMania to take place in Saudi Arabia, but also the first to be held outside North America, and the first outside the United States since WrestleMania X8 in Toronto in 2002.

In 2018, WWE and Saudi Arabia agreed to a 10-year partnership, which has seen premium live events held in country annually ever since.

While none of the Saudi Arabian PLEs have been considered to be among WWE's premier events, that changed this year when it was announced that the Royal Rumble will be held in Riyadh in January 2026.

That opened the door for other major WWE PLEs to be hosted by Saudi Arabia as well, and there is none bigger than WrestleMania.

Many have criticized WWE's working relationship with Saudi Arabia over the years due to human rights concerns in the country, especially as it relates to women and the LGBTQ community.

There was even more pushback from a portion of the pro wrestling fanbase in 2018 after Saudi-born and U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.

Although Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman denied ordering the killing of Khashoggi, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency concluded that he did.

The Saudi Arabian government has been accused of "sportswashing," which is the act of distracting from atrocities through the use of sports. Saudi Arabia has hosted numerous WWE, boxing and Formula One events, in addition to funding LIV Golf.

The arrival of WrestleMania will likely do little to allay the sportswashing allegations, although there is reason to believe WWE will go to great lengths to make the show as big as possible.

After Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority Chairman Turki Alalshikh said Wednesday in a since-deleted Snapchat video that WrestleMania was coming to Saudi Arabia in 2027, Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t WrestleTalk) followed up with some additional information.

Meltzer said he "would presume" that The Rock, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and other legends would be approached with big-money offers to have matches at WrestleMania 43 in Saudi Arabia.

He added that Saudi Arabia is "working really, really hard to get" legends on the card, and if any of them are interested in a major payday, they'll "be able to get it on that show."

However, before that, the 2026 Royal Rumble will take place in Saudi Arabia in January, followed by WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas in April.

WrestleMania 42 was originally announced for New Orleans before WWE reversed course and decided to hold WrestleMania in Vegas for a second consecutive year.

While New Orleans is still on tap to host a future WrestleMania, it is unclear when it will happen now that WrestleMania 42 and 43 are spoken for, along with Indianapolis being promised a future WrestleMania as well.