"YOU SOLD OUT" Chants Plague WWE's WrestleMania 43 Announcement (WWE News)
Fans at AAA Worlds Collide were less than thrilled by WWE's trip to Saudi Arabia.
Wrestling fans in attendance for Friday's WWE x AAA: Worlds Collide event in Las Vegas booed an announcement video hyping up that WrestleMania 43 will beam live from Saudi Arabia in 2027. Earlier, WWE dignitaries like Triple H, Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker had been on hand for a special press conference announcing that WrestleMania Riyadh would be taking place.
That was a closed press event in Vegas - there were no fans present, which might've been a tactical choice by WWE.
They know that fan response to the announcement hasn't exactly been favourable. Firing up any social media app shows that many people are grumbling about 'Mania taking place in Saudi. However, at Worlds Collide, the promotion looked on powerless as the live crowd inside the Cox Pavilion jeered the hype vid and started blasting it with loud "YOU SOLD OUT" chants.
Not quite the response TKO/WWE would've been hoping for.
WWE Wanted To Book 'SaudiMania' In 2028 Instead
WWE originally planned to offer 2028's WrestleMania 44 to Saudi Arabia, but news filtered in via Wrestling Observer Radio that Turki Al-Sheikh (who serves as an ministerial advisor to the Royal Court and is Chairman of Saudi's General Entertainment Authority) flexed his financial muscle and pushed that forward by a full year. He wanted 'Mania 43 in 2027 as part of ongoing celebrations for Saudi's 300th anniversary.
Money talked, and Turki got his wish. Now, he and the country's wealth hope to coax retired stars like Steve Austin, 'Taker and HBK back into the ring for matches come 2027. They're also interested in having The Rock on the show, but it remains to be seen if any of that will come to fruition.
The general goal for the GEA in Saudi is to make Riyadh's version of 'Mania "the most star-studded show ever".
Fans in attendance for Worlds Collide in Las Vegas were less than thrilled by any of this. They booed the video announcement, then boomed their thoughts directly at TKO top brass, Triple H and the 'Mania reveal in general.