WrestleMania 43 - Saudi

[FUM]

Felt this was worth a thread as WrestleMania goes international.

Looks like this is a done deal. Chairman of Saudi’s General Entertainment Authority announced it on a stream. PWInsider appears to be reporting it as the main numerical Mania as opposed to a special show that was being touted.

I mean it’s pure nonsense and I’d rather they didn’t but a 5pm WrestleMania does have appeal.

[SaitoRyo]

[Onyx2]

Punk to main event night 2.

[Callum1993]

At least it’ll be on at a reasonable time. 

[Lion_of_the_Midlands]

1 hour ago, Onyx2 said:

Punk to main event night 2.

It will be lovely for him to finally main event a Wrestlemania. 

[DavidB6937]

No surprise. Between this and the talk of still wanting to raise ticket prices even more, it'll take a lottery win for me to get to a live event again probably.

[Lion_of_the_Midlands]

Wrestlemania 43 is where TKO announce they've sold the whole thing to the Saudi's for a big fat profit, and the Saudi's get to run both the UFC and wrestling. Tony Khan can stop worrying about counter programming but start worrying about been visited by bonesaw wielding Saudi goons. 

Edited September 11, 2025 by Lion_of_the_Midlands

[RedTwoster]

Honestly, if this ends up being true, they’re on the verge of imploding through greed. I’m a little surprised that they’re seemingly not trying to soften the blow by having night one in the US and night 2 in Saudi Arabia (or vice versa), because I’d have to imagine the build to this will contain a hell of a lot of booing every time the Wrestlemania Saudi graphic is shown. Not for moral reasons, but because the fans are losing Wrestlemania. Even their most cultish of fans will feel this one as it’ll be in a country they are very unlikely to be able to visit. This’ll bite them in the arse, I reckon.

[DavidB6937]

Just now, RedTwoster said:

Honestly, if this ends up being true, they’re on the verge of imploding through greed. I’m a little surprised that they’re seemingly not trying to soften the blow by having night one in the US and night 2 in Saudi Arabia (or vice versa), because I’d have to imagine the build to this will contain a hell of a lot of booing every time the Wrestlemania Saudi graphic is shown. Not for moral reasons, but because the fans are losing Wrestlemania. Even their most cultish of fans will feel this one as it’ll be in a country they are very unlikely to be able to visit. This’ll bite them in the arse, I reckon.

Depending on how Wrestlepalooza does, I reckon they might try and pivot to that. Probably bump it up to two nights and all the other events too because why not. They'll probably think it's a close enough name to trick people.

[FUM]

49 minutes ago, DavidB6937 said:

Depending on how Wrestlepalooza does, I reckon they might try and pivot to that. Probably bump it up to two nights and all the other events too because why not. They'll probably think it's a close enough name to trick people.

You’re not wrong. Mark Shapiro was saying just yesterday that they want Wrestlepalooza to be one of the bigger events in line with the Rumble and Mania.

[sivy]

I'm waiting to see if it's actually Wrestlemania or advertised as "The Greatest Wrestlemania" like with the Rumble. 

[tiger_rick]

[Snitsky's back acne]

1 hour ago, DavidB6937 said:

No surprise. Between this and the talk of still wanting to raise ticket prices even more, it'll take a lottery win for me to get to a live event again probably.

I'm sure I saw an interview recently where a TKO exec essentially said Vince was not doing smart business by pricing his tickets towards families.
 

[Kamran]

1 hour ago, DavidB6937 said:

Depending on how Wrestlepalooza does, I reckon they might try and pivot to that. Probably bump it up to two nights and all the other events too because why not. They'll probably think it's a close enough name to trick people.

I already feel like the importance of WrestleMania is starting to lessen with it going 2 nights, SummerSlam is now 2 nights and with more stadium shows for other PLEs. There was talk about the Rumble going 2 nights as well, I feel like it's overkill but as long as fans are buying the tickets, it won't change.

Then there was this quote from WWE re their pricing strategy this week: 

Quote

“WWE is not where the UFC yet is on ticket yield. We have our work to do there.

“We know we have a lot of room there because Vince McMahon was primarily pricing tickets for families and wasn’t totally focused on maxing the opportunity there. Now that we’ve seen what we can do with UFC, we’re replicating that in terms of ticket yield and holding back and advance sales when it comes to OnLocation on the WWE side and it’s working out really well.”

“WWE is not where the UFC yet is on ticket yield. We have our work to do there.

“We know we have a lot of room there because Vince McMahon was primarily pricing tickets for families and wasn’t totally focused on maxing the opportunity there. Now that we’ve seen what we can do with UFC, we’re replicating that in terms of ticket yield and holding back and advance sales when it comes to OnLocation on the WWE side and it’s working out really well.”

(Source; Yahoo Sports)

Looking at OnLocation for WrestleMania next year, they've got some 'Elite Experiences' starting from $37,500, absolutely bonkers! Obviously, WWE think there is a lot more money to be made from fans, it doesn't seem to be causing any issues yet but it will be interesting to see how much longer they can go selling out everywhere as prices continue to rise.

 

Edited September 11, 2025 by Kamran

[tiger_rick]

Who had Vince McMahon: Babyface on their bingo card for 2025?