TKO CFO Says WWE Will Only Have One Saudi Arabia PLE In 2025, But Three In 2026

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is getting the 2026 Royal Rumble, seemingly showing an evolution of the relationship between the Middle Eastern kingdom and WWE. While Saudi Arabia will be hosting one of the big four PLEs next year, in 2025, the company is temporarily pulling back on the Saudi shows.

In the Q4 earnings call, TKO Group Holdings CFO Andrew Schleimer said that the company would only be putting on one PLE in Saudi Arabia in 2025, but that there will be three in 2026, including the Royal Rumble. It has not been announced when the 2025 Saudi Arabian PLE will take place, nor has the date of the 2026 Royal Rumble been announced yet. Schleimer said that fewer Saudi PLEs in 2025 will have an "unfavorable impact" on the company's revenue to the tune of $55 million. Until 2025, WWE had run two PLEs in the kingdom per year since the beginning of the deal between the company and the Saudi General Sports Authority in 2019.

WWE has increased the number of international PLEs in recent years. Where Saudi Arabia used to be the sole location for non-North American international PLEs, the company has since held events in Scotland, Wales, Paris, Berlin, Perth, and the US Territory of Puerto Rico. WWE is set to return to Paris on August 31 for Clash in Paris at the Paris La Defense Arena, which is the only other international PLE announced for the year outside of March's Elimination Chamber event in Toronto, and the yet-to-be-announced Saudi show.