WWE Credit: WWE.com
ArticlesWWEBy Chris Novak on

Early Thursday morning, World Wrestling Entertainment made a huge announcement. WWE will take its Backlash Premium Live Event overseas next year. After Puerto Rico hosted the event in spectacular fashion this past year, the preeminent pro wrestling company will bring the event to the country of France.

WWE revealed that the event will be held at LDLC Arena in Lyon-Decines, France, on Saturday, May 4, 2024.

The announcement came in the form of a post on X, the website formerly known as Twitter, at the ripe hour of 4 a.m. Eastern, or about 11 a.m. local time in Lyon-Decines.

Over the last year, WWE has made an apparent and tangible effort to take their Premium Live Events internationally. Outside of their agreement with Saudi Arabia, WWE has held shows in Montreal, Puerto Rico, Cardiff, and London in the last 15 months. They plan to head to Berlin, Germany, next year also for ‘Bash in Berlin,’ a new PLE to the calendar. WWE also intends to go to Perth, Australia for next year’s ‘Elimination Chamber’ show.

This begs the question: Where else should WWE go to hold their PLEs? Let’s go over some potential spots.

Dublin

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, it appeared WWE was geared up to head to Ireland. NXT UK TakeOver: Dublin appeared like it was going to be a reality. After the world shut down, however, those plans were nixed and thus far, there’s been no known attempt made to go back. However, this is a move that would make all of the sense in the world. If nothing else because some of WWE’s biggest stars are from Ireland.

In fact, one of their biggest, Becky Lynch, is a Dublin native herself. Picturing Lynch being in front of her hometown for a big-time PLE match would be a sight to behold. Especially given how popular and powerful a figure she is in WWE.

Perhaps Croke Park will be open on one Saturday for The Man and others to do business.

London, but a Football Stadium

WWE went to London this past July for its ‘Money in the Bank’ event. But clearly, there are still options aplenty in England’s most recognizable city. Namely, one of its football stadiums.

WWE hasn’t run a big, big show in London since the 1992 edition of SummerSlam. That year, the company ran Wembley Stadium in one of the most famous editions of the show. MITB 2022 was the first time they hosted a PLE event of that magnitude.

So where could they go? The NFL’s London Games have often taken place at Wembley and at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Both are solid choices because even though AEW wants to hold an event at Wembley annually, that doesn’t necessarily mean WWE wouldn’t try there, either.

London Stadium, known for its standing during the Olympic Games and where the MLB London Games are held, could also be an option potentially.

The UK, and England especially, are one of the WWE’s biggest international fanbases. You’d imagine that they will continue to try and cater to them, and maybe think bigger next time.

Mexico City

For all of the history that WWE and, really, professional wrestling has had with the country of Mexico, it’s perhaps surprising that WWE hasn’t even run television down there. Annually, the company goes on live event tours in the country’s biggest cities. But Mexico doesn’t get to enjoy WWE PLEs like their other North American brethren do.

So, why not Mexico City? Estadio Azteca would be a tremendous scene for a WWE PLE. Wrestling fans would surely be in for a treat with how much history, heritage, passion, and otherwise is often put on display in the country during pro wrestling shows. It would be tremendous to see WWE go to Mexico City, or anywhere in the country, in part to help celebrate the country’s long and storied history with the genre.

Paris

This one is… sort of cheating, only because WWE will be going to France. But Paris, obviously, offers a lot as France’s capital city.

The reason they’re not going to Paris in 2024 is probably the most obvious reason you can think of: The Olympics are going on next summer. You’d imagine logistics were nightmarish. But… how about after they’re done?

It’s another unique situation for the country, which, much like many other European countries, don’t get to see WWE often as the North American population does. So hitting a landmark city like Paris would provide for an incredible scene.

And, hey, it sounds like the roster would endorse it too.

Tokyo

Last, but certainly not least, we have Tokyo, Japan.

WWE hasn’t held many events in the country over the years, besides an annual tour that doesn’t happen nearly as frequently anymore.

In this century, there’ve been two major instances in which they took their shows to Japan. In 2005, they ran tapings for Raw and Smackdown at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Then in 2015, WWE produced ‘Beast in the East’ from the famed Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.

A major WWE card in Japan would be pretty sweet. The country has a lot of relevant history and heritage to play ff of as well. It would all come down to logistics there as well, especially with the numerous wrestling promotions in Japan. Still, you’d love to see it happen one day for what would be an awesome sight.

[WWE on X]

About Chris Novak

Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022

View all posts by Chris Novak