WWE WrestleMania 42 has come and gone and WWE is looking ahead to the future. More specifically, their future in Saudi Arabia. Ahead of “The Show of Shows” last weekend, Nick Khan said that the ongoing conflict between US and Iran would not affect plans for WrestleMania 43 in Riyadh. On Thursday, WWE announced that they’ll be returning to the country this summer. Night of Champions will emanate from Riyadh on June 27.

WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful Select is reporting that Riyadh is still the planned location for WrestleMania 43, and there is a targeted date of March 27, 2027. There is also a possibility it could be during the weekend of April 10. “The Showcase of the Immortals” could also go back to being a one-night event next year, but Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp reports that ESPN prefers that it stay at two nights.

“NXT” Stand and Deliver has traditionally taken place during WrestleMania weekend. This year, it was held as a stand alone event in St. Louis. According to WrestleVotes Radio, Stand & Deliver is not planned or expected to take place in Saudi Arabia during WrestleMania week next year.

Should WrestleMania 43 be held on March 27, it will fall on Easter weekend with Easter Sunday one day later. If ESPN gets it’s wish for a two-night event, Night Two will take place on Easter.

After American sports analyst Pat McAfee told fans that the wrestling business had passed him by in March, he returned to WWE three weeks ago and inserted himself into the WrestleMania feud between Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes. McAfee’s involvement was heavily criticized by fans, but it was reported that TKO CEO Ari Emanuel requested that the former NFL kicker be added to the storyline. McAfee later claimed that he would never return to the industry again if Orton lost his title match against Rhodes, and after “The American Nightmare” walked out of WrestleMania victorious, it seems like he’s keeping his word.

According to Dave Meltzer on the “Wrestling Observer Radio,” McAfee legitimately wanted out of WWE, which also shut down the idea of the rumored tag team match between himself and Orton versus Rhodes and American singer/songwriter Jelly Roll at WWE’s first event after WrestleMania, Backlash.

“He opted out, so that’s what actually led to everything changing … that’s why the tag match from Backlash was taken off,” he explained. “Cody Rhodes may not be okay for Backlash anyway with that eye.” Meltzer also revealed that both McAfee and Jelly Roll were aware of the criticism from fans about their involvement in a major wrestling storyline. “They were very cognizant about what has been said about celebrities in wrestling and both of them love wrestling. I think that they realized that there was a lot of negative sentiment about it. They listened and they understood and I think they saw the fans side of it.” 

Following WrestleMania, Jelly Roll admitted in a post-show vlog that he and McAfee had no business being involved in the feud between Orton and Rhodes and stated they should just focus on what they’re good at going forward.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Wrestling Observer Radio” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

In September 2023, WWE and UFC officially merged to become TKO Group Holdings. In January of that year, Vince McMahon forced his way back into WWE to help broker a sale of his company; he eventually sold it to Endeavor. The sale of WWE and how it came about has been the subject of a shareholder lawsuit. Last December, TKO President Mark Shapiro was deposed in relation to the lawsuit.

POST Wrestling’s Brandon Thurston has uncovered that in Shapiro’s deposition, he was asked if McMahon being in the executive chair role was necessary. Shapiro replied that it wasn’t, “especially with all the baggage.” An attorney asked whether retaining McMahon was the goal and Shapiro stated it “wasn’t a goal of ours. No, no it was not.” Thurston points out that this contradicts the public record.

At the time of the merger, Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel and McMahon went on CNBC to discuss the deal. When asked about McMahon staying involved, Shapiro said he would’ve “bodyslammed him” if he tried to leave. WWE’s 4-S SEC filing claimed that Endeavor needed McMahon to stay on for his leadership during the merger. Securing McMahon was why Endeavor increased its offer from 43% to 49% of shares, according to the filing. He was supposed to have a lifetime role as Executive Chairman, board nomination rights, and veto power over some transactions.

McMahon and Emanuel have also been deposed, but their depositions have not been made public as of this writing. McMahon resigned in January 2024 after Janel Grant filed a federal sex trafficking lawsuit against him and WWE. The shareholder’s lawsuit is scheduled for a June trial.

After his highlight win over Brock Lesnar, WWE legend Bully Ray has argued why Oba Femi should challenge for Roman Reigns’ world title.

Femi’s impressive showing against Lesnar at WrestleMania 42 has led to Ray stating on “Busted Open” that the former NXT Champion should win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship from Roman Reigns, rather than Jacob Fatu. 

“I don’t want to see Jacob Fatu beat Roman Reigns. I want to see Oba Femi beat Roman Reigns,” he began. “Oba Femi is the one who beat the one who put the one in 21-1. Anything that he does now is going to be compared to what he did to Brock. You have to put him in high-level situations.”

Fatu is set to face Reigns, with the match rumored to take place at Backlash after Fatu confronted and challenged him on the “WWE Raw” following WrestleMania 42. Ray drew parallels between Femi’s current standing and that of Hulk Hogan, when he defeated The Iron Sheik after returning to WWE (then WWF), supporting his idea of Femi beating Reigns for the title. He feels that Femi’s rise on the main roster has been quicker than that of Lesnar, Randy Orton, Kurt Angle, Batista, or any other WWE legend.

“Hogan comes in with all that pomp and circumstance, gets that match against The Sheik, becomes the champion, Hulkamania hits overnight. It’s hard to put Oba in the same sentence and breath as Hulk because it is Hulk Hogan, but I’ll be damned if Oba Femi is not doing as close to what Hulk Hogan did back in the day, and he’s done it quicker than anybody else. Kurt, Randy, Brock, Batista, you name it — Oba has done it quicker than anybody, so maybe Oba-mania will be running wild sooner than later.”

After his win against Lesnar — which prompted “The Beast Incarnate” to suggest that he’s retired –Femi appeared on “Raw” and simply uttered the words “Your Ruler has arrived” before leaving the ring.

TNA Wrestling pulling out its stars from matches with AEW wrestlers has become a topic of controversy, and AEW’s Kenny Omega has waded into the discussion and explained the cause for it and how it can be remedied.

TNA, which has a partnership with WWE, recently asked its wrestlers not to face AEW stars in matches on indie promotions, with one of the prominent matches canceled being between Nic Nemeth and MJF. Omega, while speaking with “The Takedown on SI,” said that these issues could crop up when you’re in a bubble.

“I think whether people would like to realize it or not, and I think that if you’re in a bubble for too long and you fail to realize what exists outside your bubble and how small your bubble is — and in this case, we’re talking about professional wrestling — I think you start to run into problems like this, where someone will think that they’re better than somebody else, and that there is no reason to work together, and they don’t see the upside,” he said. 

Omega argued that it is possible for promotions to work together, adding that pro wrestling could grow through such collaborations.

“And I still think that we are in a place where professional wrestling can still be more than what it is, and I do think that if there were situations where we could all play nice with each other, then I really do think that business as a whole would move in towards more of a positive direction,” added Omega.

The reason TNA canceled the matches was due to “deep contractual obligations,” according to Nemeth, who was informed by TNA President Carlos Silva.

While Kenny Omega isn’t a fan of pro wrestling promotions barring their wrestlers from wrestling stars from other promotions, he does understand why some promotions have taken the step. He feels that the amount of money involved leads to such things happening. He also noted that it would be tough for promotions to decide on match results, as a win or loss could be viewed as one promotion winning or losing against the other. 

“I understand with the amount of money that’s at play, that’s a very sensitive subject. It’s a very sensitive issue. And if you get to a point where we’re starting to cross-promote or we’re having AEW wrestlers wrestle against talent that’s affiliated with WWE, for example, it becomes a sensitive topic as to how do we promote that? Who wins? Who loses? I don’t say that specifically as a who wins, who loses on paper, but I mean, who wins, who loses as a promotion. Who’s going to come out looking like the stronger promotion,” said Omega.

But, the former AEW World Champion thinks that it is still possible for promotions to work with each other

“If everyone were to really just sit down and figure out a way to make it happen, it’s more than doable,” he added.

AEW currently works with Japanese promotion NJPW and Mexican promotion CMLL, and its partnerships with the two have spawned a few annual pay-per-views.