Report: WWE Planning to Return to Saudi Arabia for October Event
It appears as though WWE is headed back to Saudi Arabia in a few months. It has been reported by Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men Podcast that WWE is planning to run a show in Saudi Arabia on October 21, which is a Thursday. Here’s what he tweeted about it.
Hearing from source:
WWE will be returning to Saudi Arabia in October.
(If there are no restrictions at that time)Heard 10/21 but have not double confirmed. #WWE#Newspic.twitter.com/ojILv6yyEC
— Andrew Zarian (@AndrewZarian) July 26, 2021
Andrew has been right about several things he has reported this year, so we trust him as a reliable source.
This would be the first WWE event in Saudi Arabia since February 27, 2020 right before the COVID-19 pandemic took over the world and shut a lot of things down for over a year.
WWE has a ten-year agreement with the Saudi General Sports Authority to put on two events per year. The deal began three years ago with WWE reportedly being paid about $50 million per show.
WWE gets $50+ million from the Saudi government for each event. If true (Andrew has a good track record), would expect WWE to confirm by Thursday's earnings call since it would improve financial outlook for 2021 and allow for clearer guidance. https://t.co/jWTwnYgGKP
— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) July 26, 2021
Since there was only one show last year and there will only be one show this year, perhaps that will push the agreement back another year. Either way, WWE will likely be running two shows per year for most of the rest of this decade.
WWE has run five events in Saudi Arabia so far:
* Greatest Royal Rumble on April 27, 2018 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at the King Abdullah International Stadium
* Crown Jewel (2018) on November 2, 2018 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at King Saud University Stadium
* Super ShowDown (2019) on June 7, 2019 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at the King Abdullah International Stadium
* Crown Jewel (2019) on October 31, 2019 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the King Fahd International Stadium
* Super ShowDown (2020) on February 27, 2020 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the Mohammed Abdu Arena on the Boulevard
No official announcement has been made by WWE yet.