Booker T on WWE's WrestleMania 43 in Saudi Arabia: It's About Money

On his podcast, The Hall of Famer, Booker T told his co-host Brad Gilmore that people are upset because the indie event, WrestleCon, which is always around WrestleMania, is in limbo. He also said that he gets WWE’s side, because he thinks like a businessman. The WWE Hall of Famer said:

“It’s gonna be crazy man. No WrestleCon, that’s what a lot of guys are really ticked off about, that WrestleCon is going to be preempted for two big shows, so there’s a lot of upset people out there right now. I get it, it is about dollars and cents at the end of the day. It is about the talent and creating a lot of revenue to pay these guys, hopefully they’re making the most money they’ve ever made in their lives. It doesn’t last forever, you want to make as much money as you possibly can and be ready to parlay it into something else. For me, I get it. For the people that are upset, I understand their gripe, but for me, as a businessman, this is what I say — what would you do?” (H/T: Fightful)

Booker T isn’t wrong in a business sense. The country, according to Bleacher Report, is reportedly paying around $250 million for WrestleMania 43 to be in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It will mark the first time WrestleMania will be outside of North America. Criticism about the location has been mainly due to the Kingdom’s severe restrictions. WWE faced lots of controversy when it decided to go to the country in 2018 for the Greatest Royal Rumble event, due to the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Though Triple H has stated in the past that to help change, you have to be there in the forefront. When WWE first held events in the country, female talent weren’t allowed to wrestle, but things changed in 2019.

WrestleMania 42 Will Be Back In Las Vegas

Before WWE makes history with WrestleMania 43, there has to be WrestleMania 42. The event is taking place again at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on April 18 and April 19, 2026. It’s the same location as WrestleMania 41 was. It’s worth noting that the place was originally going to be in New Orleans.

As per a May 2025 report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter via WrestlingInc, one of the reasons was because of how well WrestleMania 41 did, and the company didn’t think that it would make similar revenue. Just how good did WrestleMania 41 do? The PLE is considered the most successful and the highest-grossing event in the company's history. That’s a big feat that WWE would like to see again, especially before it takes a big risk of moving the popular event.