You have to wonder how much Saudi blood money has to be going to WWE to get Wrestlemania to Riyadh in 2027.
Seriously, it’s gotta be at least in the nine figures.
“This is an opportunity to show the world what I think most people already know: that WWE is a global brand that reaches every corner of the world and excites fans from everywhere,” a tone-deaf-AF Paul Levesque said at a press conference in Las Vegas on Friday, trying to make ‘Mania in the Middle East being something other than what it is.
WWE and the Saudi royal family inked a billion-dollar deal in 2018 to run shows in the kingdom over the next 10 years, including next year’s Royal Rumble, the biggest of what WWE now calls “premium live events” to date.
The Saudi PLEs to this point have been little more than really expensive high-school-gym spot shows, usually featuring Attitude Era stars in main events that would have gone over well in the ‘90s, and undercards that are “Raw” or “Smackdown” weekly episode-quality.
Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority, who had already leaked the news about ‘Mania coming to the kingdom earlier this week, said the royal family’s vision is “to elevate this iconic event to unprecedented heights and deliver a WrestleMania unlike anything the world has ever seen.”
No matter how hard they try, the ’27 Wrestlemania in Riyadh could not possibly top the 2018 beheading of Jamal Khashoggi in terms of pure spectacle.
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Chris Graham
