WWE announced next year’s Royal Rumble event will be held outside North America for the first time ever.
This year’s blockbuster will take place on February 1 at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.
However, next year’s event will emanate in January and air in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as part of the wrestling giants’ lucrative partnership with the Middle Eastern nation.
WWE issued the following statement: “WWE, in partnership with The General Entertainment Authority (GEA), on behalf of HE Turki Alalshikh, announced that the 39th annual Royal Rumble will be held in January 2026 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“This landmark event marks the first time the Royal Rumble will be hosted outside of North America.”
This isn’t the first time the Royal Rumble takes place outside the United States however.
WWE’s first ever event back in 1988 aired at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton Ontario, Canada.
The wrestling company signed a ten-year partnership with the Saudi Arabia Ministry Of Sport in 2018.
There is currently no confirmation on whether the deal will be extended.
However, WWE Chief Content Officer and head of creative Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque recently suggested the partnership will continue.
The partnership between the sports entertainment giants and the kingdom of Saudi Arabia has sparked controversy throughout the years.
Saudi chiefs initially didn’t allow women to compete until the historic match between Natalya and Lacey Evans at Crown Jewel in 2019 – the fouth event after the two sides signed their partnership.
The kingdom’s alleged human rights abuse also came under the spotlight in 2018 following the brutal murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who was a prominent critic of the Saudi government.
