WWE Set to Make Major Production Change on Future Saudi Arabia Shows

The first-ever WWE Royal Rumble event from Saudi Arabia is in the books and was a memorable way to kick off the Road to WrestleMania.

This year's Royal Rumble match winners were Liv Morgan and Roman Reigns. Morgan won her first Rumble match by eliminating Tiffany Stratton, entering the match at number 13. As for Reigns, he outlasted Gunther to win the match and entered at 26.

Reigns is now a two-time winner of the match, and both Morgan and Reigns now head to WrestleMania in Las Vegas to wrestle for a world championship of their choosing.

WWE WrestleMania 43 — WrestleMania 43 | WWE.com

This year's Rumble was the first marquee WWE event to take place in Saudi Arabia. Next year, the company will be running WrestleMania 43 in the country. However, after the Rumble on Saturday, WWE will reportedly be making some key tweaks to upcoming Saudi shows.

The controversy on Saturday concerned lights that appeared to be mounted on the tops of every seat in the pop-up arena in Riyadh. With those lights on, it appeared that much of the arena was empty, when in actuality, the building was filled with nearly 25,000 fans.

WWE makes big Saudi Arabia change ahead of next year's WrestleMania

According to a new report from PWInsider, WWE will not be moving forward with the special seat lights again. People inside the company concluded that they looked better live in the building than they did on television.

That production choice comes at the right time. Early in 2025, WWE announced that they would be running their annual WrestleMania extravaganza in Saudi Arabia in 2027. Because of the empty look the lights created, it's important for WWE to pivot ahead of its biggest show next year.

With the Royal Rumble in the rearview mirror, WWE is now headed to WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas. With Reigns as the men's Royal Rumble winner, reports indicate that he'll be wrestling CM Punk in one of the show's main events.

As for Morgan, right now, she can either choose to face Stephanie Vaquer for the WWE Women's World Championship or Jade Cargill for the WWE Women's Championship. This week on Raw, Vaquer is scheduled to defend her title against Raquel Rodriguez in a Philadelphia Street Fight.

The final stop on the Road to WrestleMania for WWE will be the Elimination Chamber PLE in Chicago. In the past year, the men's and women's Elimination Chamber matches have determined participants in other world championship matches at WrestleMania.

The Latest On WWE, AEW & More

WWE Raw Preview (2/2/26): Start Time, Match Card, How To Watch & Live Stream

New Report Answers Whether Brie Bella’s Royal Rumble Return Was a One-Off

The Rock's Daughter Ava Publishes Polarizing Social Media Post After Leaving WWE

The Latest on Chris Jericho After Not Appearing at the WWE Royal Rumble