Could AEW Benefit From WWE WrestleMania 43 In Saudi Arabia?

With WWE making the bold choice to take WrestleMania to Saudi Arabia, has that left the door open for Tony Khan and AEW?

WWE recently announced that 2027’s WrestleMania will take place in Saudi Arabia. Following two years of the showpiece event in Las Vegas, TKO has made the decision to take WrestleMania out of North America for the first time ever.

Retired WWE stars are already being targeted for returns, with the Middle East Kingdom ready to spend big to get the show that they want.

But with WrestleMania growing its own wrestling ecosystem around it, thanks to independent shows and conventions, could AEW take advantage of WWE’s absence in 2027?

AEW Ready To Take WrestleMania’s Place?

Speaking on her Eyes Up Here podcast, former ECW star Francine even weighed in on the discussion, explaining how WWE’s decision could benefit AEW:

Being that there’s a lack of that wrestling hype that weekend with the Wrestlecon joining in and all of the indie shows doing what they do, would Tony Khan consider doing a large show that weekend? Maybe a stadium show or just a large show like All In or Double Or Nothing? I’m not saying it’s that particular title that’s going to be used but something big that a Wrestlecon can latch onto them because I don’t see Wrestlecon going to Saudi Arabia.

Could that be an alternative for something that we’ve had consistently year after year because it is a major loss for the wrestling community not having it in the States.

It should be noted that Conrad Thompson’s Starrcast has operated during AEW shows in the past and did so in July 2025 in conjunction with All In Texas.

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