WWE President Nick Khan has confirmed that WrestleMania will be held in Saudi Arabia for the first time, while also making it clear that the company does not adjust its business or creative decisions based on social media backlash.

Speaking at the Sports Business Journal event during the CAA World Congress of Sports in Los Angeles on April 15, Khan outlined WWE’s international strategy and future direction.

On the topic of WrestleMania going overseas, Khan stated that the move is already planned.

“We’re doing WrestleMania next year in Saudi, first time ever WrestleMania will be outside of the United States or Canada, and we’ve had a big fruitful partnership with them.”

Khan emphasized that WWE’s global expansion has played a major role in revenue growth over the past several years.

“We realized years ago we can’t simply pipe out American content internationally. You got to be boots on the ground, and if you look at our revenue from international now, it’s substantially greater than it was five and a half years ago.”

He also addressed criticism from fans online, making it clear that WWE does not use social media feedback to guide decisions.

“I’ve never read X or Twitter as it relates to our business. That is a vocal minority. We don’t adjust our business based on complaint, we adjust our business based on ratings, revenue, and relevancy.”

Khan doubled down on that stance later in the discussion.

“We will never respond to social media criticism. Again, if ratings are down, if revenue is down, if relevancy is down, it’s up to us.”

Khan also pushed back on the narrative that WWE changed plans involving The Rock and Cody Rhodes leading into WrestleMania in Philadelphia.

“The plan was always how it ended up in Philly two years ago. Sometimes it’s a predetermined outcome in wrestling. You want to throw the fans off, you want to let things bake, and then boom, it ends up the way we wanted it to end up. It never changed. That was just online rumors and gossip that we were changing.”

Another key focus of Khan’s comments was WWE’s effort to build its next generation of stars. He revealed that he held a strategy meeting over a year ago with Triple H, WWE head of communications Chris LeGentile, and Shawn Michaels to accelerate talent development.

“We said, hey, look, we have John Cena on his retirement tour, Rock came back, our other big stars, CM Punk is 46, we have a number of men who are 40 or older performing at a high level. We got to accelerate the next generation of talent.”

Michaels’ solution focused on live experience for younger wrestlers.

“We need to take them on the road so they get the crowd response of a live crowd. If you’re getting cheered, great. If you’re getting booed, great. If there’s no response, terrible. You need that live crowd to figure that out.”

Khan pointed to Oba Femi as an example of that strategy working, referencing his high-profile WrestleMania match against Brock Lesnar.

“That match was probably the most talked-about match on Sunday, and that guy’s only been on main roster for six months.”

Khan also shared a personal story about attending WrestleMania IX at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas while working as an usher during his college years.

“I was a terrible usher. Someone would come up with a hard copy ticket and it would say Section C, Row L, and I’d be like, ‘It’s right this way, here’s your seat,’ and they’d be like, ‘This isn’t Section C.’ So I’d just walk away.”

Khan’s comments offer a clear look at WWE’s current priorities, from global expansion to talent development, while reinforcing the company’s stance on ignoring online criticism.

Nick Khan Addresses Fan Criticism and Creative Direction

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