WWE Bringing "Big 5" Premium Live Event to United Kingdom

The global leader in sports entertainment is putting an emphasis on the first half of that title in 2023. Following the success of international premium live events like Wales' WWE Clash at the Castle and Saudi Arabia's WWE Crown Jewel in 2022, WWE laid out plans to make overseas stadium shows a regularity moving forward. While the company's contract with Saudi Arabia already confirms that there will be at least two shows in that country this year, and February's WWE Elimination Chamber was already confirmed to emanate from Canada, further international locations have remained close to the vest.

That changed today, as Daily Mail Sport reported that London's The O2 will host WWE Money in the Bank on July 1st. WWE confirmed this report, adding that this will be its first London-based premium live event in over two decades.

"The O2 is one of the world's premier venues and the perfect home for Money In The Bank," said Dan Ventrelle, EVP, Talent at WWE. "We are excited to bring one of our 'Big 5' events to the UK and look forward to welcoming the WWE Universe to London on July 1st."

WWE's touting of WWE Money in the Bank as a "Big 5" event emphasizes its permanence on the premium live event calendar. There was speculation last year that the ladder-based show could be scrapped in favor of moving the match back to WWE WrestleMania after reports surfaced of WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque axing gimmick premium live events, evident by the cancellation of WWE Hell in a Cell.

ComicBook.com's Liam Crowley asked Levesque about the future of match-based premium live events this past November at the WWE Survivor Series press conference, to which he noted his perspective on each varies.

"No one is ever going to challenge somebody and go, 'That's it, I'm tired of you, I'm challenging you to an Elimination Chamber match with five other guys.' It doesn't work, right? Same thing, 'That does it, I challenge you to Money in the Bank.' Right? I feel like there's a difference there," Triple H said. "I think we have to re-evaluate all of that. I think we have to look at that. It's really looking at the overall calendar and saying what is the best place to put this? What is the best way to entertain our fans? What makes the most sense, one after the other?"

London's premier arena holds upwards of 20,000 fans. It has been home to a number of high-profile concerts, tennis matches, and multiple events at the 2012 Summer Olympics. The O2 is championed as "the busiest music arena in the world" as of 2021 in terms of ticket sales.

"We are honoured to be hosting the first ever Money In The Bank event taking place in the UK here at The O2," said Christian D'Acuña, Senior Programming Director at The O2. "We're looking forward to welcoming back WWE fans to The O2 this summer for an unforgettable night with some of WWE's biggest superstars."

WWE Money in the Bank goes down on July 1st.