One of the biggest pay-per-view (PPV) events of WWE, the Royal Rumble, will be held outside the US for the first time in 2026, reports have claimed. According to PWInsider, the 2026 premium live event will be held in Saudi Arabia.
Royal Rumble, along with WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, is often referred to as one of the "big four" events of WWE and has been a fixture of the annual calendar since the 1980s.
Several WWE sources confirmed the development to PWInsider, which reported that more details, including the name of the host city, could be officially announced on the January 6 episode of Raw, when the show makes its debut on Netflix.
"We are told the deal to take the event to Saudi is locked in and that an official announcement could come as soon as this Monday¡¯s Raw Netflix premiere,¡± PWInsider said.
The development should not come as a surprise, as Saudi Arabia and WWE have been working closely since 2018. WWE is one of several major international sporting events Saudi Arabia has brought to the country in recent years, as part of what many call sportswashing by the kingdom.
WWE and Saudi Arabia had inked a 10-year deal that will run till 2028, and the wrestling promotion has been holding several live shows and the Crown Jewel PPV in the kingdom. Last year, there were reports that Saudi authorities were campaigning to bring the Royal Rumble or even WrestleMania to the country.
In 2023, before WWE was purchased by TKO, there were reports that the Saudi kingdom was interested in buying the biggest wrestling promotion in the world.
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