WrestleMania is set to leave North America for the first time in its history when WrestleMania 43 takes place in Saudi Arabia, and TKO executives used the company’s third-quarter 2026 earnings call to explain the terms of the agreement and to address questions about whether the event could still be moved.
According to Fightful, TKO chief financial officer Andrew Schleimer gave fresh detail on the structure of the deal during the call. Schleimer said there are no key performance indicators, or KPIs, built into the agreement regarding visitation numbers, meaning WWE’s Saudi partners are not contractually tied to hitting specific attendance or turnout targets tied to the show. Schleimer also noted that the company’s partners in Saudi Arabia retain the box office revenue from the event, a detail that clarifies how the financial arrangement is structured between TKO and its Saudi counterparts.
Separately, WrestleZone reported that TKO president Mark Shapiro addressed broader concerns about the event amid an ongoing conflict, asserting that WrestleMania 43 remains on track to happen as planned. According to WrestleZone, Shapiro discussed the possibility of the show shifting away from Saudi Arabia ahead of its scheduled date in April 2027, while acknowledging that global events can be unpredictable.
Taken together, the two reports give the clearest public picture yet of how TKO is both defending and explaining the unprecedented decision to stage WrestleMania outside North America for the first time. The lack of visitation-based KPIs suggests the deal was not structured primarily around guaranteed attendance figures, while the Saudi side retaining box office revenue points to a financial setup distinct from how WWE has historically operated domestic WrestleMania events. Shapiro’s comments, meanwhile, signal that despite external questions about the volatile geopolitical climate, company leadership is publicly committing to Saudi Arabia as the host for April 2027.
Neither report detailed the specific venue in Saudi Arabia, the full financial value of the agreement, or any contingency plans should circumstances change before April 2027. TKO has not been reported to have announced any alternative location, and both executives’ comments on the earnings call reflect confidence that the current plan will hold.
