By Jason Ounpraseuth & Brandon Thurston
WWE President Nick Khan told staff in a TKO town hall on Monday that WWE was “monitoring” the situation in the Middle East, with Night of Champions scheduled for June 27 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
WWE announced last week that Night of Champions would take place in the country, and is committed to holding WrestleMania 43 next year in Saudi Arabia, despite the ongoing wars involving Iran, Israel, and Lebanon.
According to audio obtained by POST Wrestling of the internal call, Khan stated that WWE would only run Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia and would not hold the surrounding Raw or SmackDown events there. WWE often runs Raw and SmackDown in the same area of a PLE, and has in the past, around major Saudi events. Locations for what would be SmackDown and Raw, respectively, on June 26 and 29, are not currently announced
“We’re only going if it’s safe or if we’re allowed there,” Khan said. He would be traveling to Riyadh for the event, as well as Paul Levesque, whose agreement to work for WWE was recently extended.
“We are monitoring with our heads of security internally and with our government affairs folks externally, the situation there,” Khan told staff. “If U.S. citizens are allowed in at this moment in time, it is declared and deemed safe, we’ll all be going there.”
“Saudi is deeply desirous of getting WWE back there and getting events restarted, especially those that come from the United States,” Khan added.
Khan seemed to acknowledge the challenge of running WrestleMania in the same location two years in a row, which some suggested contributed to lower attendance for the events this year.
“That was ultimately my decision,” Khan said. “Maybe we don’t do that one again in terms of back-to-back, but ultimately it ended up being a successful event.”
Khan also teased the staff about the location announcement for WrestleMania in 2028.
“Wait until you hear the announcement on where we’re going to be for WrestleMania in 2028,” he said, without offering any hints about the location.
TKO Chief Financial Officer Andrew Schleimer spoke at the town hall about the company’s use of AI. He noted that they’ve only run tests and pilots and are still in the early stages. He cited the use of AI for data and analytics on WWE and UFC consumers, as well as minor uses to enhance broadcasts.
TKO President and COO Mark Shapiro called the company’s embrace of AI a “major priority,” emphasizing how AI could help employees become more efficient and productive. He noted how the UFC uses AI for fighter rankings and explained WWE’s use of AI.
“Nick Khan and Triple H are using AI for storylines with the WWE,” Shapiro said. “What’s resonating? What superstars are resonating? In what pockets of the country are they resonating? That helps us with, obviously, our content, our editorial, our creative, our mapping, our touring, and of course, maximizing revenue and getting our product out to the fans most in need of it.”
Dean Garfield, who TKO hired last year to be its Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, spoke briefly about the TKO-backed Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act. UFC Senior Executive Vice President Lawrence Epstein had praised the “excellent results” from Khan’s testimony on April 22, and Garfield reiterated that praise.
Garfield highlighted that part of his job was to help get the Ali Revival Act passed within a year, rather than the typical seven years, as government acts typically take. U.S. Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Jacky Rosen of Nevada are part of the committee that oversees the Ali Revival Act. Both have received donations from the TKO PAC, according to Federal Election Commission data.
WWE communications staff did not immediately respond to a request to provide comments for this story.
