Summary
- WWE confirms a Premium Live Event will take place in Italy in early 2026.
- Almost half of WWE’s Premium Live Events now take place outside the U.S., boosting attendance and viewership.
- WrestleMania 43 will be in Riyadh; Italy PLE follows recent European shows like Paris and Bologna.
WWE President Nick Khan announced on Wednesday, September 17, a new location for its 2026 Premium Live Event schedule. SportsBusiness spoke with Khan at the IMG x RedBird Summit, and he revealed that Italy is getting a PLE. The news coincides with Italy joining Netflix’s WWE streaming deal.
WWE Going To Italy In Early 2026
Khan didn’t reveal which PLE it was or the exact date, besides it will be sometime early next year. After he revealed the location, he touted the recent success of WWE PLEs taking place outside of the United States. He said:
“Almost half of our Premium Live Events take place outside of the United States now. We believe WWE is a global property, we believe the results on these shows, both in terms of attendance and viewership (locally and globally) have been significant. We have seen year-over-year increases for viewership on each one.” (H/T: Fightful)
So if it’s early 2026 and the Royal Rumble PLE is already scheduled for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, it could be Elimination Chamber, which was this past March in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, unless it’s a WWE NXT PLE, which could either be Vengeance Day or Roadblock. The last time WWE was in Italy was earlier this year on the March 21 episode of Friday Night SmackDown. The show was part of the Road to WrestleMania and took place in Bologna, Italy.
WWE Just Went To Paris, France
The latest WWE PLE was held in Paris, France. The Clash in Paris PLE happened on August 31. In the main event, Seth Rollins successfully defended the WWE Heavyweight World Title against CM Punk, LA Knight, and Jey Uso. Though he had some help from his wife, Becky Lynch. The WWE Intercontinental Women’s Champion not only retained her title against WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella, but she was also revealed as a new member of her husband’s stable, The Vision. Lynch had helped Rollins retain his title by hitting Punk with a low blow.
Also, during the PLE, Roman Reigns defeated Bron Breakker, John Cena won against Logan Paul, Rusev defeated Sheamus in a Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook match, and the Wyatt Sicks successfully defended the WWE Tag Team Titles against The Street Profits.
The news about Italy having a PLE comes less than a week after WWE confirmed the location for WrestleMania 43 will indeed be Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It will be the first time WrestleMania has taken place outside of North America.
