While it's been heavily criticized in the past, WWE's lucrative deal with Saudi Arabia is still firmly in place, and may even be getting an upgrade in the future. Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in hosting major WWE events like WrestleMania or the Royal Rumble, and it seems like the country may be getting its wish, as the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority has indicated that talks are underway with WWE to potentially bring one of these events to Saudi Arabia in either 2026 or 2027.

Saudi Officials Want To Enhance Their Deal With WWE

Saudi Arabian officials are having discussions with WWE to potentially host either WrestleMania or the Royal Rumble in 2026 or 2027, with the Rumble the more likely event to take place. The chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, Turki Alalshikh, revealed plans for an "enhancement" to their agreement with WWE, with an announcement expected soon. These discussions come amidst ongoing collaborations between WWE and Saudi Arabia, which includes the upcoming King & Queen of the Ring event scheduled for May 25th in Jeddah.

Turki shared these details in a new interview with Mike Coppinger of ESPN, stating that an event in 2026 or 2027 was the ultimate goal:

“We are talking in the future about WrestleMania and Royal Rumble. We are talking around ’26, ’27.”

The Greatest Royal Rumble Might Get A Legitimate Sequel

If the deal goes through, this won't be the first time Saudi Arabia will host a Royal Rumble match. While it wasn't a traditional Royal Rumble event with the winner getting a WWE Title shot at WrestleMania, Saudi did host The Greatest Royal Rumble PLE on April 27, 2018, in Jeddah. It featured the largest Royal Rumble match in WWE history with 50 participants, won by Braun Strowman.