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Saudi Arabia will host the 2026 Royal Rumble, the first time the classic WWE bout will be held outside North America in its 38-year history.

The WWE announced this week a landmark partnership with Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority to host the Royal Rumble during the kingdom's Riyadh Season in 2026, a huge boost for the kingdom as it seeks to bolster its reputation for being a regional hub for entertainment.

Saudi Arabia has already hosted other key WWE events - such as the Crown Jewel, SmackDown, and Monday Night Raw - but the Royal Rumble is widely viewed as the most prestigious bout in the wrestling calendar.

"Saudi Arabia’s hosting of the Royal Rumble for the first time outside North America reflects the General Entertainment Authority’s ongoing commitment to bringing the world’s largest and most important entertainment events to the Kingdom," said Turki Al-Alsheikh, chairman of the GEA, in a statement.

"Through this partnership with WWE, we aim to enhance the entertainment sector and deliver a transformative experience that attracts a wide audience."

WWE President Nick Khan said: "WWE is a global enterprise and it only made sense to expand our relationship with the Kingdom by bringing one of our biggest annual events to Riyadh in January of 2026."

The announcement led to protests from some WWE fans, including calls for a boycott of Royal Rumble 2026 due to the kingdom's human rights record and due to it being held outside the US.

The WWE is hugely popular in the MENA region, with thousands attending the one-off Greatest Royal Rumble event held in Jeddah in 2018.

Controversy over the inclusion of women at WWE events in Saudi Arabia was mollified in 2019 when the l.

The WWE has also been accused in the past of peddling racist and anti-Muslim storylines and characters.

Saudi Arabia has held a series of high-profile sporting and entertainment events since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman took a leading role in government nearly a decade ago, including live music, mixed-gender crowd, and international tournaments bringing in visitors from across the world. It marks a radical shake-up for the conservative kingdom. In 2034 it will host one of the globe's biggest sporting events - the World Cup.