The American wrestling event WrestleMania could be staged at an open-air football stadium in London in 2027, Mayor Sadiq Khan has indicated.
As part of his promise to bring more world-class sporting events to the capital, Mr Khan held talks at City Hall on Thursday with WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) president Nick Khan and chief content officer, Paul “Triple H” Levesque.
Speaking on Friday to the Evening Standard, the mayor hinted that a venue the size of Wembley Stadium would be needed to cope with demand for tickets – and suggested the event could be held over two days.
Asked if 2027 was the earliest year that London could realistically host WrestleMania, Mr Khan said: “Watch this space.”
Mr Khan said his aides were in conversations with WWE about the year that the event could come to London and the host venue.
WrestleMania was held in Philadeplhia this year and is due to be held in Las Vegas in 2025.
Mr Khan said: “I have seen some of these shows. WrestleMania is massive. The last WrestleMania in Philadelphia was huge. The next one is going to be in Vegas.
“I have been blown away by the number of Londoners, people from across the country and from Europe, who have approached me since I first talked about this in April. That is why it is so exciting.”
“One of the things we are always very keen to do is to make sure London benefits from these things. We don’t want a ‘spaceship’ landing and then leaving – we want to make sure there is a legacy.
“The idea is not just one night but over a couple of days. We could use a number of venues. My understanding is that conversations are in train for 2026 for another city.
“Yesterday was the first meaningful conversation, and it’s the first time probably they have had any conversations with a city outside North America. They have had 38 in USA and two in Canada.
“The fact they are talking to us shows the esteem in which we are held. We are the sporting capital of the world.”
WrestleMania, a pay-per-view sporting event, has a cult following but has never been held outside of the US, though an event was held in Glasgow last month.
This year’s event in Philadelphia attracted more than 145,000 fans from 64 countries.
Asked if it was more likely to be held outdoors at Wembley Stadium or the former Olympics stadium, or indoors at The O2 Arena, the mayor added: “Philadelphia was an outdoor stadium, 80,000 capacity I think, the same as the year before.
“The level of interest there is from Londoners, those across the country, across Europe, French, Germans, Spanish… I think an indoor arena may not be able to deal with the demand.
“Those are the sort of conversations we are having with WWE and TKO [the US conglomerate]. There could be a number of events taking place, I think the appetite is so huge.
“WWE is not just sports fans – it’s people who love entertainment as well. I think it will probably be an outdoor stadium.”
Mr Khan recalled watching British wrestling on TV as a child, but said WrestleMania was in another league in terms of athleticism and its fan base.
He said: “I was speaking to Triple H yesterday and he also grew up watching Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks, Dickie Davies and World of Sport.
“I’m a Big Daddy fan – Giant Haystacks was the baddie. WWE are supreme athletes. I say this in a respectful way: WWE are proper athletes in a way that Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks weren’t.”
Nick Khan said after Thursday’s meeting: “There is a lot that needs to be discussed further but we share the ambition of Mayor Khan in trying to bring a stand-out WWE Premium Live event to London.”
Mr Levesque described the meeting as “excellent”.
He said: “This year alone WWE has taken record-breaking events around the world to Australia, France, Scotland, Saudi Arabia and Canada – the appetite from the fans is there, and the excitement from the Mayor and his team in London is palpable.”
