Everything we know about WrestleMania 43 in Saudi Arabia

It's official. WrestleMania 43 will be in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as a part of Riyadh season.

The news itself was released via a snapchat video by Turki Al-Sheikh earlier in the week well ahead of when WWE planned. To the point that some in the industry familiar with Turki thought it was a fake because they were baffled it would be released that early. However, a press release in Saudi Arabia briefly went out this week before being pulled. Earlier this year, Blake Avignon of The MMA Draw reported that TKO had to have Nick Khan step in to Netflix-UFC talks because Turki and Netflix executive Bela Bajaria kept clashing. There were some in WWE that wished that Turki had not tipped off the announcement, and other who thought it was intentional to kick up buzz.

WWE staff had been prepared for the announcement in Las Vegas throughout the week, but most weren't outright told what it was. WWE had a number of wrestlers come in and participate in media row Thursday for the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford boxing fight that TKO is promoting this weekend. Most of them didn't speak, and media and the public were not permitted at the announcement.

A higher up that Fightful Select spoke with said that any talk of who will or won't perform on the show is purely hypothetical at this point. They also sent us a link of a report claiming the Rock would be paid more than any pro wrestler for an event, and said that hadn't even been broached, much less negotiated, and said that it's a fair assumption, but just an assumption. We're told that the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Rock have not yet been approached for potential matches over a year and a half down the line.

The majority of WWE talent aren't bonused for working shows in Saudi Arabia, and it's simply worked into their deals as a part of their contracts now.

As of a few months ago, WWE had three 2026 dates planned and only one for 2025. We've not been told if that has changed. Those working on the Saudi events in the country have not been given a firm date as of yet. That will depend on the venue plan, which they will start developing soon. One source speculated it could be a custom structure due to the size of WrestleMania. The event concepts will be started on in the coming weeks.

There was word earlier this year of WWE attempting to do "WrestleMania branded" events in Saudi Arabia, while still doing a WrestleMania event in North America. We're told by sources connected to the Saudi shows the government made it clear they wanted an actual WrestleMania. WWE sources also suggested that this is why WWE has gone so hard in promoting WrestlePalooza as a huge event out of the gate, and plan to moving forward.

WWE has had a long relationship with Saudi Arabia, dating back to 2017. Outside of the plane ride incident in 2019, we're told the relationship has been a smooth one.

Wrestlers we spoke to said that while the Saudi Arabia shows said that the trips largely felt like it was safe for them to compete at this point. That wasn't always the case, as after the 2019 incident a number of wrestlers refused to go back. Saudi Arabia still faces heavy criticism as the number of executions increases by year, with allegations of arbitrary arrests and repression of dissent, as well as transnational repression and harsh sentencing, among other things.