Following the immense success of Backlash 2023, WWE officials are look at Australia for the companies next destination.
Australia has never been one to have many WWE tours over the years. Due to the long fights and logistical problems, the country has never been a key part of WWE’s touring schedule.
The company first toured Australia in 1985, following it up with another the year after. They returned in the early 2000s, as well as a pay per view in 2018 called Super Show-Down.
WWE CEO Nick Khan stated during the recent Q1 2023 earnings call that WWE is negotiating with local governments and tourism groups around the world about possibly receiving subsidies to run Premium Live Events in their markets. This trend began when the Welsh government paid WWE a significant sum to bring Clash at The Castle to Cardiff, Wales in September 2022. Khan made his recent comments when asked about officials in Puerto Rico paying WWE a seven-figure subsidy for Backlash.
“In terms of Puerto Rico and the subsidies, yes, I think we kicked it off with our show [Clash at The Castle] last Labor Day weekend in obviously, Wales, where there was what we believe to be a significant government subsidy for that event. We hit all the markers on it. And we’ve now started to replicate that, both domestically and continue to do so internationally. So Puerto Rico, we’re having conversations with a number of different cities in the United States and abroad in terms of what we can do.”