WrestleMania 43
2027 WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
WrestleMania 43, also promoted as WrestleMania Riyadh (Arabic: ريسلمانيا, romanized: rislmanya), is an upcoming 2027 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by the American company WWE. It will be the 43rd annual WrestleMania and is planned to take place as a two-night event in 2027 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as part of the 2026–2027 Riyadh Season, held for wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brand divisions.
| WrestleMania 43 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Promotional poster featuring the Riyadh skyline | |||
| Promotion | WWE | ||
| Brand(s) | Raw SmackDown | ||
| Date | 2027 | ||
| City | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | ||
| Venue | TBA | ||
| WrestleMania chronology | |||
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| WWE in Saudi Arabia chronology | |||
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WrestleMania 43 was originally planned to be held at the New Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, with WWE instead wanting to hold WrestleMania 44 in Saudi Arabia, but the country pushed to host WrestleMania 43 to coincide with the 300th anniversary of the founding of the First Saudi state. It will be the first WrestleMania held outside of North America, the third outside the United States after WrestleMania VI and WrestleMania X8 in 1990 and 2002, respectively, which were both held in Canada, the 17th event WWE will hold in Saudi Arabia as part of its 10-year partnership in support of Saudi Vision 2030, and the second of WWE's "Big Five" events to take place in the country, after the 2026 Royal Rumble.
Production
Background
WrestleMania is the American promotion WWE's flagship professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, having first been held in 1985. It was the company's first PPV produced and was also WWE's first major event available via livestreaming when the company launched its former standalone service, the WWE Network, in February 2014. It is the longest-running event in WWE history and is held annually between mid-March to mid-April, featuring wrestlers from WWE's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions.[1] Along with Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and Money in the Bank, it is one of the company's five biggest annual events, referred to as the "Big Five".[2][3][4] WrestleMania was ranked the sixth-most valuable sports brand in the world by Forbes in 2019,[5] and has been described as "the Super Bowl of sports entertainment".[6]
In early 2018, WWE began a 10-year strategic multiplatform partnership with the Ministry of Sport (formerly General Sports Authority) in support of Saudi Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia's social and economic reform program.[7][8] In May 2024, the chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority (GEA), Turki Alalshikh, announced that the country was in talks with WWE to bring either the Royal Rumble or WrestleMania to the country in 2026 or 2027.[9] In September the following year, after it was confirmed that the 2026 Royal Rumble would be held in Saudi Arabia, rumors began circulating that WWE were also planning on hosting a WrestleMania in the country. On September 11, 2025, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque posted on X that a huge announcement would be made via WWE's YouTube channel the following day.[10] That day at a press conference featuring Levesque and Alalshikh, as well as WWE Hall of Famers The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels and active WWE wrestlers Seth Rollins, Logan Paul, Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan, Stephanie Vaquer, and Charlotte Flair, WWE announced that WrestleMania 43 in 2027 would be the first WrestleMania to take place outside of North America, as it would be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as part of the 2026–2027 Riyadh Season, with the event also promoted as WrestleMania Riyadh. This will be the 17th event in the Saudi Arabian partnership. The exact date and venue were not confirmed.[11]
In April 2026, WrestleVotes reported that WrestleMania 43 may be held on the weekend of March 27, 2027, as that would coincide with the end of Riyadh Season, but with the weekend of April 10 as an alternative. There were also reports that WrestleMania 43 could return to a one-night format, but Fightful said this was unlikely as WWE's primary U.S. broadcast partner, ESPN, prefers the two-night format. These reports, however, have not been confirmed by WWE.[12]
WrestleMania 43 was originally intended to be held in the United States at the New Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, as in May 2023, Burke Nihill, president and chief executive officer of the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League, claimed that WWE were committed to holding the event at the stadium if its construction was complete in time.[13] In April 2026, Nashville's tourism group confirmed this was the original plan, but the 2027 date did not work out and they were looking at future years to host the event.[14] WWE had also originally wanted to book WrestleMania 44 in 2028 for Saudi Arabia; however, according to wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, GEA Chairman Alalshikh pushed for WrestleMania 43 as it coincided with the 300th anniversary of the founding of the First Saudi state.[15]
Broadcast outlets
In addition to airing on traditional pay-per-view worldwide, WrestleMania 43 will be available to livestream on the ESPN streaming service in the United States, Netflix in most international markets, SuperSport in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Abema in Japan.[16]
Storylines
The event will include matches that result from scripted storylines. Results are predetermined by WWE on the Raw and SmackDown brands [17][18] while storylines are produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.[19]
Criticism
Like WWE's other events held in Saudi Arabia, the selection of Riyadh as WrestleMania 43's location was condemned by fans due to the country's human rights record. Criticism was also levied for choosing Riyadh over other cities, particularly London: John Cena previously stated London "deserved" a WrestleMania during the 2023 Money in the Bank event.[20][21] During WWE's Worlds Collide event in September, fans booed a promotional video for WrestleMania 43 shown during the event's broadcast.[22]