Add as a preferred source on Google In 2018, WWE signed a long-term 10-year partnership with the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which still includes holding at least two events per season in the country to this day.
With the exception of 2020 and 2021, years in which WWE could not fulfill its schedule in the country due to health restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the company held events there in every other year.
In fact, WWE has stepped up its schedule in the Middle Eastern country. This year, the first-ever edition of the Royal Rumble was held there. In addition, in April 2027, the company will hold its first-ever WrestleMania outside the United States in Jeddah.
However, according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there is a strong chance that no new events will take place in the country after 2029, when the current partnership comes to an end.
The journalist notes that the Public Investment Fund does not have as much money as it once did, requiring financial support from the country’s billionaires. On top of that, Saudi Arabia feels it has already projected the image of being a “humanitarian” country to the rest of the world, which was its main goal in staging these major events. Because of this, the local government would be unlikely to spend another fortune to strike a new deal with WWE.
It is worth remembering that, in 2034, the country will host a World Cup for the first time in its history. Before that, however, soccer’s biggest event will be held in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco in 2030.