Last week WWE announced that WrestleMania 43 will emanate from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2027, nine years after the company first started running shows in the country. It was also reported last week the Saudi government is paying WWE a "mind blowing" amount of money to host "The Showcase of the Immortals." The money, and the initial deal signed back in 2018, are why WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray said on "Busted Open Radio" that WWE taking WrestleMania to the country is just business, no matter how upset the fans in the comments of the announcement telling WWE "you sold out" were.
"Because to me, it's business," he said. "I always talk about the scope of the playing field and the reason why the term 'the scope of the playing field' or 'the scope of the contract,' I always bring these words up because they really stuck out in my mind when I read my first WWE contract, and the contract read, 'the scope of the contract is the world... ' They're going to Saudi Arabia. Are we really shocked? Everybody's like, 'Oh my god. I can't believe they're doing this! I can't believe they're going to do business over there!' Clutching the pearls and yelling and screaming and b******* and moaning. They've been going for five frickin' years already."
The Hall of Famer said that fans chanting "you sold out" in sold-out crowds at WWE shows aren't going to make a difference.He said WWE isn't going to care about social media posts, either, and if fans want to truly show WWE how upset they are, the time to show it isn't after WrestleMania 43.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
