WrestleMania 43 - Saudi

[Ro_y Disco]

Much as I'd love to imagine WWE fucked themselves with this, the reality is it'll probably allow them to soar to even greater heights of profitability. They get to be make more than they would in the US with SaudiMania (plus the Raw and SmackDown's either side, you'd imagine). At the same time, WrestleMania weekend is such an established thing, they can put Stand And Deliver in a bigger arena for the huge amount of US fans who will still want to pay for a Mania weekend WWE-branded show. 

I wonder where the Hall of Fame will be held? 

 

[Infinity Land]

1 minute ago, Ro_y Disco said:

I wonder where the Hall of Fame will be held? 

Saudi and Vince will be the main inductee. 

[Supremo]

CM Punk being inducted into the Hall of Fame at SaudiMania. Chef’s kiss.

[Devon Malcolm]

1 hour ago, LCJ said:

Does anyone else think that when Stephanie McMahon went and advertised that VPN on her podcast, implying that Americans could watch WWE a lot cheaper, she did so as a ‘fuck you’ to TKO?

Or she did it because they paid her a lot of money to do it. 

[Ro_y Disco]

54 minutes ago, Infinity Land said:

Saudi and Vince will be the main inductee. 

The Crown Prince making himself the headline inductee. The ultimate money mark. 

[LCJ]

17 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said:

Or she did it because they paid her a lot of money to do it. 

That goes without saying but payment aside, it just came across as super odd that Triple H’s wife would pretty much tell people not to subscribe to ESPN. If she’d have said “use the internet anonymously and with peace of mind for security” or “watch your region’s streaming in other countries while on vacation”, that would’ve made more sense.

[MVP RULZ]

2 hours ago, Infinity Land said:

Saudi and Vince will be the main inductee. 

I was just saying to a fellow fan at work earlier when talking about this that I wouldn't be surprised if this works as a perfect way for them to get Vince into the HOF without any huge backlash from the fans in attendance (tho it still remains to be seen exactly what reaction Vince would actually get in front of a live audience now anyway) 

The Saudis love him, during the press conference yesterday the Saudi Prince mentioned Vince McMahon by name various times during his remarks so he would definitely be welcomed over there.

[Chris B]

2 hours ago, LCJ said:

That goes without saying but payment aside, it just came across as super odd that Triple H’s wife would pretty much tell people not to subscribe to ESPN. If she’d have said “use the internet anonymously and with peace of mind for security” or “watch your region’s streaming in other countries while on vacation”, that would’ve made more sense.

It's about the same level as WWE selling 'We Hate Cena' t-shirts. It's making money from the people who will subscribe and the people who won't.

Trying to turn this into 'maybe, somehow, the people making incredible amounts of money from this are actually secretly fighting to be the good guys' is weird.

[Supremo]

Triple H and Stephanie are the goodies! Look at the smiles they’re putting on faces!

[Handsome Tex Hardcastle]

This historic deal proves that WWE truly is for everyone, in every corner of the globe. Except families. 

[nickp1991]

 New Orleans (Superdome) would be more than happy to have AEW after being rejected by WWE

[Kamran]

15 minutes ago, nickp1991 said:

 New Orleans (Superdome) would be more than happy to have AEW after being rejected by WWE

As nice as that would be, I don't think an 80,000+ stadium would be a good idea, I think they'll need to stick to around 40,000 for now. They're still only getting around 3K fans for their Dynamites/Collision shows in the US and their ticket prices are cheaper than WWE.

[Infinity Land]

26 minutes ago, Kamran said:

As nice as that would be, I don't think an 80,000+ stadium would be a good idea, I think they'll need to stick to around 40,000 for now. They're still only getting around 3K fans for their Dynamites/Collision shows in the US and their ticket prices are cheaper than WWE.

I really wouldn't run New Orleans. One of the reasons WWE do well is all the fly-ins. AEW aren't going to have those numbers. 

TV maybe isn't the best measure of what AEW is capable of stateside. They've always been incredibly poor at local marketing. Then this year they've practically given up with arenas and don't even run buildings that could get 3k.

LA, NY/NJ, Toronto are places for a fairly normal PPV AEW can get 10k+. Have it in a MLS or MLB stadium, could probably get close to a sell-out with the local population and fly-ins. The same might be true of DFW after All In Texas but I have my doubts that would be replicated.

[air_raid]

On 9/13/2025 at 4:08 PM, LCJ said:

Does anyone else think that when Stephanie McMahon went and advertised that VPN on her podcast, implying that Americans could watch WWE a lot cheaper, she did so as a ‘fuck you’ to TKO?

 

On 9/13/2025 at 4:26 PM, Supremo said:

Forgive me for not thinking she has much of a moral compass or normal sense of empathy/reality.

Randomly, this whole debacle jumped back into my brain today as I showed the Old Age In-laws a small town car boot sale. Reminded me how I’ve never considered WWE and the folks working there to be more carny. Further cemented the image I have of Michael Hayes trying to negotiate a bulk buy deal on rusty tools, random plugs, an old Sky+ box, a yellowing corded landline handset and a stack of CDs given away with the paper, as the gruff local running the stall quips “Don’t mind him, I swear he’s just been wandering up and down with the same three quid for 20 years” to another punter.

[The Reverend]

On 9/12/2025 at 11:33 PM, RIDDUM_N_STYLE said:

How do you even go about planning that? Especially with having to do TV there, the Hall of Fame and NXT. How will the Indy companies be able to piggyback on it? Or Wrestlecon? Could we see a year where the Mania week transfers to being tacked onto one of AEW’s big shows, a Double or Nothing or better yet the Wembley show assuming they do one in 2027?

Haven't they been trying to shut down on Indy shows running in the same location as Mania? Something makes me think that a few years back they put a block on, or bought out venues, near to whichever Arena they were using. The most petty thing in the world - because a show with 250 in attendance in some small sports hall is really going to put a dent in the pockets of WM. 

Normally I'd say that idea would be just ridiculous, but this is WWE - they would see it as a result that by moving to the other side of the world they can sink a bunch of Indy promoters who have just taken the obvious business opportunity to run a show around Mania. 

Saying that, the UK start time of it being Saudi does sound appealing to me. Sorry.