Details on negotiations for megastar to be part of WWE WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia
With the impending announcement of WWE WrestleMania heading to Saudi Arabia for the first time ever in 2027 comes speculation of who could be part of the show given the large price tag TKO is getting for bringing it there.
Enter TKO Board member Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
In this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that those close to the Saudi Arabia General Entertainment Authority both confirmed the WrestleMania deal is official and “they claimed negotiations for Dwayne Johnson were advancing and they believed the deal was close to being finalized.”
While yet unconfirmed with anyone from WWE, “The impression is that the final payment number for the show will be affected by whether or not they get The Rock in the main event. The idea is that the individual payoff for Johnson would be multiple times that of any pro wrestler for any event in history.”
WWE is reportedly set to receive more than $100 million for the weekend of events.
The goal from the Saudi perspective seems to be either the 54-year-old Johnson vs. Cody Rhodes or Roman Reigns.
The official announcement is expected to take place in Las Vegas on Friday afternoon.
That isn’t the only major star WWE is trying to recruit for the event. Read this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter for more.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.