WWE reportedly wants four legends for WrestleMania 43 in Saudi Arabia — but much could go wrong

On Friday, Sept. 12, WWE confirmed that WrestleMania 43 will take place in Saudi Arabia. The flagship event is the company's biggest program of the year, and it will undoubtedly be a money-spinning venture in its Middle East debut.

WrestleMania 43 will take place in 2027. Therefore, there's no way of knowing what matches or storylines will be the driving force within the company. However, that doesn't seem to be a problem, as according to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, the Saudi regime wants to ensure it's "the most star-studded show ever." 

"They have matches that they want and they’re working really, really hard to get — even though it’s a couple of years, I don’t know if they’re gonna be able to get them, but they’re gonna spend a lot of money to get what they want obviously," Meltzer said. 

WWE has a long history of producing superstars. Therefore, Saudi Arabia could tap into a deep well of talent to be part of the event. Of course, requesting those talents and getting them to agree to take part in the event are two different things.

Four retired WWE superstars reportedly wanted

According to "What Culture," four retired superstars are already on Saudi Arabia's radar, as they look to make WrestleMania 43 a major draw.

"Some of the names mentioned include WWE mega-stars like The Rock, Steve Austin, The Undertaker and even Shawn Michaels," WhatCulture's Jamie Kennedy wrote.

The issue WWE will face is that building a show around retired superstars would be a flawed business model. WrestleMania needs every match to deliver, both in the build-up and in the ring. You can get away with one, maybe two "legend" matches, where nostalgia helps overcome the lack of match quality.

However, building a card around multiple throwbacks could lead to an underwhelming product. And, if that were the case, it would go down as one of the most disappointing WrestleManias in history.

WWE must find a middle ground 

Saudi Arabia is undoubtedly paying a substantial amount of money to host WrestleMania in the country. Therefore, it's logical that they will want to make it the biggest show in history. Their input must be heard and taken on board.

Nevertheless, WWE's creative department knows what it's doing. It can't give in to every request. Finding a way to showcase the stars on the roster will be just as important as bringing back one or two superstars of the past.

It's worth remembering that any match taking place at WrestleMania will need weeks' worth of build-up. It's not as simple as booking a spot and expecting people to care. Fortunately for WWE, it has around 18 months to figure everything out. But, the idea of filling the card with aging and retired wrestlers must be avoided.