WWE India serves as the biggest market for the company when it comes to TV viewership. Be it the Raw or Smackdown shows or the premium live event, no other country in the world provides more TV numbers for the WWE in the whole world. This is the reason the company has been thinking of providing an opportunity for the fans to experience live action after a long time.
The last time a WWE India event took place was back in October 2017 and hence it’s been more than five years since the subcontinent fans could go for a live show on the home turf. A piece of good news came earlier this year predicting that a large-scale show was planned for the beginning of 2023 but nothing materialized out of the sketched plans.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/57016589/20170927_WWEIndia_feedcard__a84217f7e2e995ba342d281c21a0f114.0.jpg "Wwe India Live Event Tentatively Set For Post Wrestlemania 39 Season 2")
The earlier reports claimed that the WWE India event was scheduled to happen after 5 years on January 18th, 2023, at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad. It was also informed that the company possibly had plans to experiment with TV tapings so that future Raw/Smackdown outings as well as premium live event tapings could be possible.
WWE India event stuck for Sony-Zee merger
To provide more updates on a future WWE India Live Event, the company CEO Nick Khan has spoken about it on the recent 4th quarter 2022 financial earnings call. Khan said that they are waiting for the Zee and Sony India merger to be approved before the large-scale live event could reach fruition,
“So as soon as we have a sense of when the regulatory approval happens on Zee and Sony India, look for a big live event in India. The best way to grow viewership, and I think we’re seeing it proven out with our UK shows, with the upcoming Montreal show, and in other markets, is to have live events there. It’s a much easier sale for our partners with their partners.”
Khan also noted that the merger could be complete within April after which they plan on doing a WWE India Live event during the post-Wrestlemania 39 season. Nothing, in particular, was given away by Khan but he seemed excited about bringing in more numbers just like they’ve done with the recent United Kingdom PLE, Clash at the Castle.
