TKO says WWE's Nick Khan has sustained 'strong' partnership with Saudi Arabia

Though Vince McMahon is no longer involved, WWE's business relationship with Saudi Arabia remains strong.

As part of a deal with the Saudi government, WWE has held PPVs/PLEs in the country since 2018. The long-term deal calls for WWE to hold two events in Saudi Arabia per year, receiving an estimated $50 million for each show. The next of those events will be King & Queen of the Ring on May 25.

Saudi official Turki Alsheikh recently told ESPN that an "enhancement" to WWE's deal with Saudi Arabia will be announced later this month. Alsheikh said Saudi Arabia is hoping to host a future Royal Rumble or WrestleMania.

During TKO Group's first quarter earnings call, TKO executive Mark Shapiro was asked about WWE potentially expanding its Saudi relationship. Shapiro said WWE could potentially look to increase the amount of shows it holds in the country, but nothing is planned right now beyond the two annual events.

Shapiro noted that, while there was speculation the WWE-Saudi partnership could be negatively impacted by McMahon being gone, WWE President Nick Khan has maintained a "very, very strong relationship" with Saudi Arabia.

What I would say there is, let’s remember, we have a strong and healthy relationship with the Kingdom through WWE and doing two annual events a year. And I’ll just remind folks... those deals were primarily and highly tied to Vince McMahon. And there was a lot of speculation with Vince being gone, ‘Would that impact the relationship in a negative way? Would they be looking to get out of it?’ And I would say proudly that Nick Khan, in particular, has developed and sustained, cultivated, nurtured a very, very strong relationship in a handoff from Vince.

They [Nick Khan and Saudi Arabia] have a lot of trust in each other. They have a lot of faith. We’ve been delivering on those events. Potentially we could look to do more events, but nothing is planned beyond those two events at this time. And we will continue to look at eventizing or festivalizing those WWE events more than we already do.

The UFC, which is also owned by TKO, announced an extension to its partnership with Saudi Arabia this week.