WWE Royal Rumble bombshell as main event to be held outside of US for first time as deal 'locked in'
WWE Royal Rumble is set for a major shakeup in the land of sports entertainment.
The only main event to rival the immortal Wrestlemania has dazzled audiences since its debut. The Royal Rumble match was created by wrestler and WWE Hall of Famer Pat Patterson and the event was established by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). After the match was first tested at a house show in October 1987, the first Royal Rumble event took place on January 24, 1988, and was broadcast live as a television special on the USA Network.
The following year, the event started to be broadcast on pay-per-view (PPV), and thus became one of the "Big Four" annual PPVs, along with WrestleMania, Survivor Series, and SummerSlam, the promotion's then-four biggest shows of the year. The Royal Rumble match is based on the classic battle royal, in which a number of wrestlers (traditionally 30) aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over the top rope, with both feet touching the floor. The likes Cody Rhoades, The Rock, Triple H, Stone Cold and even Rhonda Rousey have been named winners.
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The 2025 Royal Rumble will be the 38th edition and takes place on Saturday, February 1, 2025, at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. But if you follow Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com, the 2026 winner will be celebrating on different shores.
According to "multiple sources" from within the company it will be held in Saudi Arabia next year. It will be the first time it is held outside of the United States since the Rumble graduated into a PPV back in January 1989. The report adds that the deal is "locked in" and that an official announcement could come as soon as the Raw Netflix premiere on Monday, January 6.
The development should not come as too much of a surprise, as Saudi Arabia and WWE have been working closely since 2018. WWE and Saudi Arabia had inked a 10-year deal that will run till 2028. Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the Saudi Arabia General Entertainment Authority, stating earlier this year that the state is keen to get both WrestleMania and the Royal Rumble within the next two years.
