Professional wrestling may seem to exist on the fringes of mainstream pop culture, but it has a bigger cultural bootprint locally and internationally than many people might realise. A long-established performance art, wrestling moved onto screens in the early days of television and is still big business for TV, live events and streaming.
A company like WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) has the economic clout to have cities bidding for the right to hold major events. Its ongoing partnership with Saudi Arabia has also led to serious concerns about the company aiding Saudi Arabia in “sportswashing” human rights abuses.
Perth is the latest city with a connection to WWE – a major show is set to be held in its 60,000-seat Optus Arena and streamed internationally after negotiations with the WA government. Government partnerships like this seemingly reduce or remove financial risks for organisations such as WWE while allowing governments to promote tourism benefits.
