World Wrestling Entertainment is restructuring its touring focus. Following the successes of both WWE Clash at the Castle in the United Kingdom and WWE Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia, chatter among top WWE officials has pointed to the company looking to continue its overseas momentum into 2023. That comes alongside an increased emphasis on stadium shows, as 2022 alone saw WWE hold six large-venue events, which was an even split of three international trips and three domestic events. While these global stadium shows have been home to premium live events, WWE’s next overseas venture could be exclusive for those in attendance.
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As reported by WrestleVotes, WWE is looking to run an “international live event” on either January 18th or January 19th. As of this writing, the desired location is unknown and it is uncertain whether this show would be televised or streamed on Peacock.ย
It’s worth noting that the pitched dates fall on a Wednesday and Thursday, which is outside of the three weekdays that WWE holds its televised programs of Monday Night Raw, WWE NXT, and WWE SmackDown. Beyond that, the company is scheduled to be in Cincinnati, Ohio for Raw on January 16th and in Detroit, Michigan for SmackDown on January 20th. Based on the proximity of those shows, this “international live event” taking place in Canada makes the most sense travel-wise.
As for the show’s televised chances, it is more likely that this would be a traditional live event. WWE Royal Rumble takes place just over a week after both pitched dates, and it is hard to believe that the company defer focus away from one of its biggest events of the year.
Regardless of how this potential event unfolds, it does align with WWE’s mentality of bringing its product to more international markets. WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque has teased a bigger picture vision of creating a “World Cup-type scenario” for the company.
“I think the long-term goal in that is to be in markets all around the world with product that can eventually be competing against each other,” Levesque said. “World Cup-type scenarios that are feeding into Raw to SmackDown and to WrestleMania.”
Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for updates on WWE’s 2023 international plans.
