WrestleMania brings a financial windfall to any market who gets to host the destination event. Cities across the world bid to host WWE’s biggest show of the year and another city is preparing a strong offer to host the event in 2027.
Today, on a Detroit local radio station, it was shared that the Detroit Sports Commission is in the process of preparing a proposal to host WrestleMania 43 at Ford Field. The stadium was built in 2002 and is the official home of the NFL Detroit Lions, with a capacity of 65,000.
WrestleMania 41 was confirmed this last week to take place in Las Vegas on April 20 and 21 at Allegiant Stadium. As of this writing, WWE has not booked WrestleMania 42 or 43’s location.
Detroit’s WrestleMania History
This would make sense in the realm of history. WrestleMania 43 will mark the 40th anniversary of WrestleMania 3. The event was known as the “biggest main event in sports entertainment.” In the final match, WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan defended his title against André the Giant.
During the match’s finish, Hogan executed a legendary scoop slam on André that will live on forever. He followed this by hitting the ropes and delivering a leg drop. After retaining the WWE Championship, Hulkamania was running wild.
Detroit also played host to WrestleMania 23, where Vince McMahon and Donald Trump stole the show with their battle of the billionaires.
WWE could soon be hosting the Royal Rumble or even WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia, if the nation’s big plans for TKO Group Holdings come to fruition.
Since 2018, the company has hosted major shows from Saudi Arabia as part of the nation’s ‘Saudi 30’ vision to bring mainstream Western entertainment to the kingdom WWE is paid handsomely for these events In November 2022, a report revealed that the eight events in Saudi Arabia at the time had earned WWE more than the first 38 WrestleManias.
Turki Alalshikh, Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority Chairman, tells ESPN that an ‘enhancement’ of the current deal between WWE and Saudi Arabia will be revealed later this month. He stated their desire to host WrestleMania or the Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia, but did not specify if hosting either would be part of the forthcoming announcement.
They also want to host major UFC pay-per-views. “We will do big things with the UFC and TKO,” Alalshikh said.
UFC 306 will take place this September in Las Vegas but will feature plenty of promotional material for the annual Riyadh Season of entertainment. Alalshikh explained that Saudi Arabia has plans for WWE and UFC, both of whom fall under TKO Group Holdings.
WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia?
Talk of WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia comes at an interesting time in the event’s history. Both John Cena and Cody Rhodes have advocated for the first non-North American WrestleMania to happen in the UK, an idea that has been supported by recently-reelected London Mayor Sadiq Khan. With that said, WWE President Nick Khan has stated that the ‘Big 4’ events will remain in North America for the time being.
Will Saudi Arabia’s work with TKO bring WrestleMania to the nation?
There’s also the question of how a Saudi Arabian WrestleMania will be received by fans. Initial events as part of this deal faced serious backlash as women were banned from competing. That has since changed though women wear outfits that cover their entire bodies in accordance with the nation’s standards. Ultimately, the money Saudi Arabia is willing to pay could bring WrestleMania to the nation, but this will be a decision that should not be made without careful consideration.
In April 2024, McMahon filed to compel arbitration in the case that would see this lawsuit settled quietly outside of court, a move John Laurinaitis, who is also among the defendants, supports. In a new filing, it is revealed that WWE will align with both men in their efforts to compel arbitration.
“WWE also anticipates filing a motion to compel arbitration and stay this action pending arbitration”, which removes any doubt that all three defendants will be moving to compel arbitration.”
It is proposed that the three defendants file their motion by Tuesday, May 14. WWE has yet to file a motion while Laurinaitis has filed the motion but not a memorandum in support. McMahon has already filed both.
Does WWE’s current method of paying talent leave Superstars reluctant to the ‘grind’ that Paul Levesque spoke of during WrestleMania week?
At a WWE World event, the WWE COO spoke of talent choosing other promotions because they don’t want to deal with the ‘grind’ of being a Superstar. While Triple H didn’t mention any names or companies, AEW’s Will Ospreay saw the line as a dig at him which led to a scathing comment about Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.
In a recent interview with WWE alum Maven Huffman, Mace and Mansoor discussed how being paid works in the modern-day. Maven explained how when he was under contract, he was paid a percentage of what events made, giving him a reason to try and work events as much as possible.
Those days are a thing of the past, as Mansoor explained how like Maven, modern talent are paid weekly, but at a fixed rate no matter what.
“So we do get a check in the mail every week, but it’s the same number every time. No matter how many shows you work; no matter how many times you wrestle. Even if you don’t wrestle at all. We get the same payment every week. We get guaranteed money no matter what.”
Mace added that a talent knowing they will receive the same amount each week may be discouraged from working as they’ll make just as much money sat at home.
“In a way you’re actually not incentivized to work because when you’re working house shows, doing all these dates, you have to pay for your car. You have to pay for your hotel and the only thing we don’t pay for are our flights. If you were just sitting at home hurt, you’re just getting your weekly paycheck.”
Maven questioned how factors like merch sales and appearances are relevant given this system and Mansoor would explain how the ‘bucket system’ works.
“Every time you work a show, you get an invisible payment that doesn’t actually go into your bank account. It goes into the metaphorical bucket. The top of the bucket is your downside… If your downside is $125,000, then every time you work a show, they make an invisible payment of $1,000. Now you don’t see that $1,000 until you make $125,000 worth of bookings on top of your downside. So everything above $125,000 is a bonus for you.”
With the bucket system, talent can be left waiting for some time before they see the benefits of working house shows and other events. Unfortunately, as the pair explained, a talent getting close to overflowing their ‘bucket’ may find themselves be kept off TV and house shows with the reasoning that ‘creative has nothing for you.’ This, of course keeps talent from being paid the bonus they would have had their ‘bucket’ overflowed.
WWE’s way of paying talent has clearly changed since Maven’s tenure and while it may have flaws, it has made many wrestlers (and of course the company) a lot of money. In this new era, we can’t count out that WWE could change its payment to a system more favorable to the talent in the ring.
Drew McIntyre has continued to hype a showdown with CM Punk in the Scottish Warrior’s home country as part of WWE Clash At The Castle.
During this week’s Raw, Punk once again had plenty to say about McIntyre, albeit after his nemesis had already left the arena. Teasing a showdown at the June 15, event, Punk said:
“I’m gonna find you. If you make me go to Glasgow, Scottland, I’m gonna be hiding in a bowl of haggis, and I’m gonna pop out, and I’m gonna break your face.”
Now McIntyre has also teased confronting Punk in Scotland. In a lengthy Twitter video, the three-time WWE World Champion ends by saying he’d be ready if Punk does indeed come to Glasgow.
“I heard what you said. If you actually turn up to Glasgow, you’re not going to leave in one piece.”
Because I’m sick and tired of these childish games.
Because I need to vent.
Because I didn’t get the chance to say this at #WWERaw
Should Punk appear in Glasgow, he may not receive a warm welcome from the UK crowd. Not only will McIntyre receive a hero’s welcome in his home country but the fans at AEW All In gave a mixed-at-best response to Punk for what would eventually be his final All-Elite match.
Will CM Punk and Drew McIntyre come to blows in Glasgow?
WWE Clash At The Castle: Scotland
The June 15, event will be WWE’s second Clash At The Castle event and will follow on from the 2022 show in Cardiff, Wales. The name is somewhat inaccurate this time around, as while Cardiff and the surrounding area is home to several castles, there is no actual castle in Glasgow. Clash At The Castle: Scotland will take place at the OVO Hydro which will also host a SmackDown taping the night before.
Something is going on between WWE Superstars Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan. Wrestling fans have noticed a series of subtle hints linking the Judgment Day member and the former Women’s World Champion. With Rhea Ripley off TV due to injury, it seems there’s another woman stealing Dirty Dom’s attention as of late.
The latest ‘blink you and you miss it’ clue was shown on this Monday’s 5/6 WWE Raw. Mysterio appeared in-ring with his signature purple bandana, but was not wearing it later in the show during a backstage segment with The Judgment Day and Carlito.
Mysterio didn’t address his missing bandana on Raw, but we may have found it. Morgan posed for a photo backstage at Raw and if you look closely at her front left pocket, there’s a purple bandana poking out.
Oh, there it is!
Could Liv Morgan’s efforts to ruin Rhea Ripley’s life lead to her stealing Dominik away from her? Or is there another reason why the two have been getting closer in recent weeks? All we know is that something appears to be brewing between the former SmackDown Women’s Champion and ‘Dirty Dom.’
Dominik isn’t the only goal in Morgan’s sights, however. The young Superstar will challenge Becky Lynch for the WWE Women’s World Championship (a title Ripley once held) at WWE King and Queen of the Ring.
NXT ring announcer Alicia Taylor’s hard work has paid off as she will soon take over her announcing duties on SmackDown.
Reports floated that Alicia Taylor would be called up to the main roster and NXT Creative Head Shawn Michaels recently took to X and confirmed the move. He said that Taylor is an “irreplaceable part” of NXT and acknowledged her for the “countless unforgettable moments” on the brand. HBK is delighted that “she’s bringing her endending passion” to SmackDown. He thanked her for her valuable contributions and congratulated her on her next step.
Following last night’s edition of NXT, on-air personnel, wrestlers and the broadcast team assembled to give a farewell to Taylor. Michaels also posted a video clip of the announcement being made to the NXT locker room about Taylor’s main roster move.
An irreplaceable part of the soundtrack for countless unforgettable #WWENXT moments, and now she's bringing her unending passion to #SmackDown.
Alicia Taylor has gained massive popularity for her unique announcing style. The 43-year-old has a heavy metal background which has a major influence on her voice. Taylor is also a drummer and has played drums for Kate Nash, Kelly Osbourne, Colton Dixon, Selena Gomez, and more.
Alicia Taylor signed with WWE in 2018 and has ever since been the lead announcer of NXT. However, she has filled in on the main roster as per the requirements. Now, she has secured her move to the blue brand permanently.
As Alicia Taylor will announce for SmackDown, Mike Rome, who has enjoyed a lengthy tenure on the blue brand, will return to NXT. Meanwhile, Samantha Irvin will continue her duties on Raw. Taylor’s move to the main roster has also scripted history as this marks the first time WWE main roster will feature two black women announcers.
Paul Bearer would’ve loved being in one final WWE storyline after his passing, according to his long-term ally The Undertaker.
The legendary manager’s passing rocked the wrestling world in 2013, as did WWE’s decision to incorporate it into a storyline. Bearer’s passing was repeatedly poked fun of by CM Punk as part of the Best in the World’s ‘mind games’ with The Undertaker ahead of their clash at WrestleMania 29.
At the time, many felt that WWE crossed a line and that more respect should have been shown to Bearer after his passing. On his Six Feet Under podcast, however, The Undertaker argued that being in the story is what his late manager would’ve wanted.
“Everybody was a little uptight about bringing that to me, thinking it might be disrespectful. I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ Paul would love the fact that even after he’s gone… I don’t think he would have felt like it was disrespectful.”
The Undertaker isn’t the only one who feels this way. Speaking to TMZ at the time, Bearer’s son Michael Moody made clear WWE had the family’s permission.
“We felt that dad would have wanted us at RAW last week and agreed to the angle… We knew Dad wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”
The storyline ultimately saw The Undertaker defeat CM Punk at WrestleMania, giving the Phenom his 21st win at the event; the final win of his legendary undefeated streak. As for Paul Bearer, he’d be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame that same year, and would have relished one last time in the spotlight.
WWE took its first steps towards crowning a new King and Queen of the Ring this week with a total of six first-round matches on the May 6, episode of Raw.
Both tournaments will culminate at the WWE King and Queen of the Ring PLE later this month which will take place in Saudi Arabia. WWE had initially planned on hosting the event last year but nixed the idea in favor of WWE Night of Champions. That event saw Roman Reigns reach 1,000 days as Universal Champion and Seth Rollins crowned World Heavyweight Champion.
King of the Ring Results
On Raw, the recently called-up Ilja Dragunov defeated new WWE Speed Champion Ricochet to advance to the next round. Meanwhile, Jey Uso got payback on The Judgment Day with a tournament victory over 2021 runner-up Finn Balor. Originally, Drew McIntyre was supposed to be in Jey’s spot but his injury forced changes to be made. Dragunov and Jey will face each other in the quarter-finals next week.
Queen Of The Ring Results
Raw also saw Zoey Stark advance with a win over Ivy Nile, while Lyra Valkyria defeated Dakota Kai. Like Jey Uso, Kai was a last-minute replacement for Asuka, who Damage CTRL confirmed is out with an injury. Stark and Valkyria will face each other in the next round on the May 13, episode of Raw.
What’s To Come?
While WWE promoted four matches from each tournament for Raw, only three took place. At a WWE live event this week, Kofi Kingston and Rey Mysterio will face off in a first-round match. This was supposed to be Rey Vs. Xavier Woods but the latter has been replaced due to not being medically cleared. The winner will face GUNTHER next week.
Shayna Baszler and Zelina Vega will also do battle at a WWE live event, despite being previously promoted for the Raw taping. The winner will face IYO SKY on next week’s Raw with a spot in the semi-finals on the line.
First-round matches will continue on the May 10, episode of WWE SmackDown. Carmelo Hayes, LA Knight, and Santos Escobar have all announced their participation.
The corporate shake-up of WWE continues forward with the appointment of Chris Legentil as the new Head of Talent Relations.
Legentil is set to replace Dan Ventrelle who parted ways with WWE in April 2024. Ventrelle had worked closely with WWE President Nick Khan and WWE CCO Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque during his run and worked with the NFL’s Oakland Raiders before making the move to the squared circle.
A memo sent out by Khan, obtained by PW Insider, reads as follows:
“WWE has begun the process of reorganizing its Talent Relations group. Moving forward, Chris Legentil, in addition to his new role in Comms, will help us in leading this new group. Matt Altman, in addition to his role in Marketing, will be working closely with Chris to help in this endeavor.
“Talent Development and Recruiting will now report into Shawn Michaels.
“All of Talent, which includes Talent Relations, Development and Recruiting, will continue to ultimately report into Paul Levesque.
As of today, Dan Ventrelle will be moving on from WWE.
We thank Dan for his tremendous contributions.
Sincerely,
Nick Khan
Legentil joined WWE at Khan’s behest in 2021 and had previously been a part of sports broadcaster DAZN. In WWE, Legentil had previously been a part of the Communications department before adding Head of Talent Relations to his resume.
As the role’s name suggests, Legentil will oversee all manner of talent-related matters ranging from handling of in-house stars to recruitment of wrestlers outside the promotion. This new role will mean he’ll continue to work closely with Levesque and Khan.
Chris Legentil is WWE’s new Head of Talent Relations.
Legentil will be hoping to distance himself from the efforts of John Laurinaitis, a former Head of Talent Relations who was removed in the wake of Vince McMahon’s resignation in 2022. Laurinaitis has also been tied to Janel Grant’s lawsuit and recently came out supporting McMahon’s efforts to compel arbitration.
Ultimately, WWE is seeking to move on from the controversial names of its past, and hope that Legentil will be part of the team to do just that. With WWE boasting a massive roster across its three brands and with plenty of non-WWE names on the company’s radar, Legentil will be kept plenty busy in his new role.
More WWE Exits
Ventrelle isn’t the only long-standing WWE name to go. Here are some recent articles regarding others who have left WWE offices.
Kevin Owens’ current deal with WWE runs out in a matter of few months – nine months to be precise. The former World champion recently got fans’ attention when he was not-committal about competing at future WrestleMania events. During an interview with Alistair McGeorge for Metro, Kevin Owens revealed WWE contract expires in nine months, which puts us around late January/early February 2025. As things currently stand, he’s not certain that he’ll remain a WWE Superstar by WrestleMania 41.
“I really don’t take anything for granted, I’ve nine months left on my contract, and I don’t know what can happen from here on out,” Owens revealed.
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at WrestleMania 39
Unbreakable Bonds
As he faces this uncertainty, the Canadian grappler can’t help but mourn the loss of the dear friends he’s lost along the way, including Brodie Lee, Bray Wyatt, Jay Briscoe.
“That’s just life,” Owens said. “If I’ve learned anything over the last few years, it’s that nothing is guaranteed. I’ve learned that through some very unfortunate events, we’ve lost so many good people that was never expected. That’s just one example of how I do not take anything for granted, how I look at things now.”
Owens has been a part of the WWE roster for a decade. During that time, he’s developed unbreakable bonds with his peers and has a hard time thinking about these people not being part of his life anymore.
“This has been my home for 10 years and it’s beyond the locker room. There’s some very, very, very special people that work behind the scenes that I’ve become very close with, and I really can’t imagine not seeing them as part of my life.”
Former AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman took notice of the possibility of Owens becoming a free agent next year.
KO teamed up with Randy Orton and faced The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga) in a losing effort at WWE Backlash: France this past weekend. The match featured the WWE debut of Tanga Loa, Tama’s brother, who interfered and assisted The Bloodline to win.
WWE Contracts: World Champions Re-Sign
There had been concerns regarding the contract renewal of a handful of top wrestlers. Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, and Finn Balor most recently inked new deals with WWE. However, alongside Kevin Owens, other superstars such as Becky Lynch and LA Knight’s future remains up in the air as they are yet to sign a new contract. Here’s some of our recent coverage of WWE contracts:
Former WWE wrestler Cameron Grimes (Trevor Lee) is returning to wrestling in July.
Grimes has a 90-day no-compete clause as he was released from WWE last month. On April 23, the former Million Dollar Champion posted an emotional video on social media and informed his fans that he was let go from the company. However, he is all set to make his first appearance after the release.
Elevation Pro Wrestling has announced on X that Cameron Grimes, who has switched back to his old ring name, Trevor Lee will be making an appearance at the promotion’s Homecoming event on July 27.
?SHOW ANNOUNCEMENT?
Elevation Pro Wrestling presents:
“HOMECOMING ”
Join us as we WELCOME HOME former WWE superstar TREVOR LEE!
??: Saturday JULY 27, 2024
?: Elevation Pro Wrestling Arena 599 S. Railroad St. Lexington, NC 27292
— Elevation Pro Wrestling (@TheElevationPro) May 5, 2024
Grimes was among the list of recently released wrestlers that included Jinder Mahal, Sanga, Veer Mahan, Xyon Quinn, Xia Li and Von Wagner. It also came to light that the former NXT North American Champion’s release took the roster by surprise.
Cameron Grimes’ WWE career
Grimes had signed with WWE back in 2019 and had a successful run in the company’s developmental brand, NXT. He soon captured the NXT North American title and also won the Million Dollar Championship. He received a main roster call-up in May last year but he had a lackluster run. After being part of last year’s WWE Draft, Grimes joined SmackDown but was only featured a handful of times. His last match for the company took place on April 12 episode of SmackDown where he was squashed by Bron Breakker.
According to reports, many didn’t see Grimes’ release coming as his skill set transcended other wrestlers who were on the list. The 30-year-old wrestler was noted to be improving and was quite ‘over’ in NXT. Though he was not featured often on WWE TV, he was still a regular at the live events.
