WWE stands by controversial move despite fan backlash

WWE has stood by its controversial move despite fan backlash. In the last few months, the Stamford-based company has faced scrutiny over ticket prices, booking, and other aspects.

However, last month the promotion made a major announcement that divided fans. On September 12, WWE's Chief Content Officer Triple H revealed that WrestleMania 43 will be held in Saudi Arabia. This will mark the first time the company's biggest event will be taken outside North America.

This decision was met with disdain and criticism by fans online, especially those in the U.S. But speaking at Joy Forum, WWE President Nick Khan justified the move. He said it was only natural for the sports entertainment juggernaut to move in this direction.

"It was a natural next step for us. I think in WWE, we realized a number of years ago, you can’t simply pipe American product out globally and hope to be a global product. You actually have to have boots on the ground. So, if you look at what we’ve done with our Premium Live Events, formerly known as pay-per-views, over the last few years, about half of those now take place outside of the United States," he said.

Khan said that he was excited about WrestleMania coming to Saudi Arabia and believes that the viewership will be strong. He was then asked why did they choose the Gulf Nation specifically over any other country.

"WWE had received a number of different offers from entities again outside of the US, and to me, as I try to help lead the company, it’s all about relationships. A word used too often in our collective business is ‘partnership,’ but when you’re actually partners with somebody and you can call them and say, ‘Hey there is an issue on this. Can we fix this?’ ‘Yeah, no problem.’ That’s what Turki (Al-Sheikh) and (others) have done with us, repeatedly. So, when Turki expressed interest in having it here, we got together for a couple of different meetings, worked out the deal in short order," he explained.

While many fans have called out the move, legends such as Rob Van Dam and JBL have defended the decision to take WrestleMania to Saudi Arabia.

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WWE's Saudi WrestleMania announcement was booed by fans

Soon after the announcement was first made, fans didn't take long to vent their anger at the TKO-led promotion.

During the WWE x AAA Worlds Collide event in Las Vegas, a video package hyping the announcement of Saudi Arabia hosting WrestleMania 43 was aired.

This was met with disapproval from fans as they heavily booed the video and also lashed out with chants of "You sold out" directed at the promotion.

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If you use quotes from this article, please credit YouTube channel of Turki Alalshikh and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.