Latest On Crown Jewel And WrestleMania 43 Amidst Travel Concerns (WWE News)

Saudi Arabia is going BIG for WrestleMania 43.

by Andrew Pollard
WWE WrestleMania 43
WWE

While questions remain over WWE Crown Jewel 2026 and WrestleMania 43 amidst travel concerns surrounding Saudi Arabia, there's now somewhat of an update on those upcoming Saudi PLEs.

Of course, this comes on the heels of the US Department of State issuing a Level 3 travel advisory for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which urges people to "reconsider travel to Saudi Arabia due to risk of Iranian drone and missile targeting of American interests, armed conflict, terrorism, exit bans, and local laws regarding social media activity." As one would expect, this has led to concerns from some of the WWE roster, particularly with Crown Jewel coming up on November 7th from Riyadh.

In an update on this, Fightful Select reports that building work for the site of Crown Jewel is due to start in Riyadh later this week. That venue, Riyadh Seasonal Stadium, will be a temporary outdoor stadium. Given that WrestleMania 43, which also takes place in Riyadh, still has yet to have a date announced, WWE sources told Fightful that there's hope that the 'Mania 43 date will be announced around the time of Crown Jewel, if not before then.

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As for WrestleMania 43, Fightful was told that the Saudi Arabia side of things wants to make the 2027 Showcase of the Immortals as big as possible, and Saudi representatives were at WWE headquarters a few weeks ago to discuss that PLE.

With the wait continuing for WrestleMania 43 to be given a set date, various independent wrestling promotions are waiting on that announcement as they look to make plans for what would usually be their big WrestleMania Week shows; shows that many speculate could end up being built around a major US-held AEW event in and around the usual 'Mania timeframe.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.