Update On WWE's Saudi Arabia Relationship After Night Of Champions 2025 Controversy (WWE News)

WWE and Saudi Arabia are set for their biggest year yet in 2026.

by Andrew Pollard
WWE Night Of Champions 2025 Cody Rhodes Randy Orton
WWE.com

With Night of Champions now in the company's rearview mirror, there's an update on what lies ahead for the relationship between WWE and Saudi Arabia.

Having spoken to sources "instrumental" in putting Night of Champions together, Fightful Select reports that work will begin in the next few weeks for next year's Royal Rumble, which is currently set to take place in Riyadh in January.

For those wondering, Night of Champions will be the one and only WWE Premium Live Event to take place in Saudi Arabia this year, but 2026 is a slightly busier year for this working relationship. Per this Fightful report, there are set to be three WWE PLEs taking place in the Kingdom next year.

Advertisement

As well as the Royal Rumble, 2026 will see Saudi Arabia host two further PLEs that have yet to be named or given set dates. That said, these events are tentatively planned for May and November of next year.

When thinking of November and WWE, historically, that has meant WWE Survivor Series, which is an event that's taken place in November every year since its inception back in 1987. More recently, WWE has scheduled Survivor Series to fall on Thanksgiving weekend. Upon Fightful reaching out to WWE sources, they were told that the November PLE in Saudi Arabia either wouldn't be Survivor Series, or if it was, it wouldn't take place on Thanksgiving weekend, meaning talent won't have to travel overseas during a period where most would usually be spending time with their families and friends.

Advertisement

2026 will mark the first year that WWE has run more than two PLEs from Saudi Arabia.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

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, 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 the 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, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.