Why I think it’s too early to talk about WWE moving WrestleMania out of Saudi Arabia

First of all, I get it. The situation in the Middle East isn’t getting any better, and it’s a security risk for anybody to actually go to Saudi Arabia, as they are a big ally of the United States, which means that they are an enemy of Iran in this dumb war that Trump started for absolutely no reason.

But at the same time, we’re six months away from WrestleMania, and this is an unpredictable situation that could go either way, considering who’s in charge of fixing it. Here’s why I feel it’s way too early to talk about WWE moving WrestleMania out of Saudi Arabia.

1. They have to focus on a Plan B for Crown Jewel

Right now, there are way more pressing matters for WWE than thinking about what’s going to happen six months from now. They have a scheduled Saudi PLE in a little over a month, which will probably have to be moved considering the current security risk they would face if they go to Saudi Arabia as planned.

The thing is, WWE has no choice but to produce Crown Jewel as planned because of its commitment to ESPN, which is expecting a show on that date. The security risk isn’t going to be lifted in time for them to go in November, and considering most major entertainment events in the area have already been postponed, I think the Saudi government would understand if WWE goes to Plan B for Crown Jewel, whatever that plan is.

So for now, they have more pressing things to think about than whether they will move WrestleMania or not.

2. The unpredictability of the situation

If you follow the news, you probably know how unpredictable Trump is and how unpredictable this whole mess of a conflict is. Nobody knows what’s going to happen between now and April.

The fact of the matter is that the United States started the whole mess, and Iran decided to attack the United States’ allies in the Middle East instead of attacking the United States itself, as it’s easier to attack countries that are in the same region as you are than to go into an all-out war and attack a country that is thousands of miles away.

So the point is, we don’t know what’s going to happen between now and April, and WWE doesn’t either. Only those in charge know, and you never know. Maybe Trump will put his ego aside and actually make a deal with Iran that is going to be good for both sides between now and then. Maybe he won’t, and this will escalate even further.

But WWE is playing the waiting game right now, just like the rest of us. All they can do is slowly start making a Plan B, just in case they are forced to move the show.

3. The money side of things

The last thing we need to take into consideration is the money side of things. Yes, TKO is making big profits every quarter based on how high ticket prices have been and all of the big-money international deals they have made to bring their big PLEs to different countries, and none is bigger than the Saudi deal.

Which means that if they are forced to move WrestleMania out of Saudi Arabia next year, not only would they lose a lot of money from this, but it would also cost them a lot of money just to get a last-minute deal to move it somewhere else.

The other thing that we need to realize is that if, by some unlucky chance, they are forced to move WrestleMania out of the country next year, that only means that in 2028, Saudi Arabia will get WrestleMania anyway. They would likely prioritize Saudi Arabia over anybody else considering the amount of money they are making from the deal. So we will get a WrestleMania from Saudi Arabia eventually anyway.

Conclusion

While I think it’s too early for WWE to think about moving WrestleMania out of Saudi Arabia, I’m sure that WWE is already planning a Plan B and Plan C in case they’re forced to move it.

The bigger preoccupation for WWE right now is the November 7th show in Saudi Arabia and what they do with it, which will tell us a lot about what they will do for WrestleMania next year. If they move Crown Jewel somewhere else, then there’s a really good chance that they will move WrestleMania somewhere else next year if they have no choice.

But if they go ahead with the Crown Jewel show as planned, then we know that WrestleMania isn’t going to be moving out of Saudi Arabia next year.

In the end, the power to have these shows moved is ultimately in the hands of the employees and wrestlers, since participation in those shows is voluntary. So if nobody on the roster or in production is willing to take the risk of going to Saudi Arabia right now, WWE will have to move the show. The same goes for WrestleMania in April of next year.

So until then, all we can do is play the waiting game and hope everything will be okay by then.