WWE’s annual SummerSlam pay-per-view takes place this Saturday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. And while this year’s show holds special significance to the WWE given the massive crowd following the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly every SummerSlam winds up getting compared to the iconic 1992 event at Wembley Stadium in London. Headlined by Bret Hart vs. The British Bulldog, that show marked WWE’s first major pay-per-view to be held outside of North America, something that remains incredibly rare to this day. Drew McIntyre, Jinder Mahal and Sheamus all spoke with ComicBook heading into this weekend’s show and each pitched which international venue they believe could be a great host for a WWE pay-per-view.
“I would say Ibrox (Stadium) because it’s the Glasgow Rangers soccer club’s stadium,” McIntyre said. “That’s my favorite team. Realistically probably (Murrayfield Stadium) which is in Edinburgh, it’s their biggest stadium.”
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Back when McIntyre held the WWE Championship he talked about taking part in a WWE pay-per-view based in the UK, and went so far as to start up a rivalry online with heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury.
“I want multiple big shows all across the world. We’re really getting rolled in with some big shows,” McIntyre said. “Remember Australia had a big super show. Obviously, we did a couple in the Middle East and with our WWE Network and on Peacock, the streaming service, I believe it’s possible again. That’s not my department. I don’t understand the logistics, but I know one should happen in the UK at least and I would like to see multiple ones across the world. Again, like I told you last time, if it takes Tyson Fury Drew McIntyre on the card to draw those outside eyeballs, let’s fricking do it and make it happen.”
Sheamus’ pick was none other than Dublin’s Croke Park, one of Ireland’s most famous venues.
“Croke Park is probably the most famous venue in Ireland, it’s where we play our national sports of hurling and Gaelic football. Everybody’s performed there, all the big acts, it’s insane. I think it fits 80,000 people or something like that. The atmosphere as well, just the way that stadium is. I feel like Croke Park is better than Wembley, mate, (better than) any venue that I know.”
Mahal picked several venues across India he believed would be great spots — “Dehli or Mumbai are the two biggest cities, for obvious reasons just drawing a crowd and everything, they have the stadiums already in place. But I would really like for it to be in Punjab, Chandigarh is a big city. They have a big stadium in a city called Ludhiana, it’s called the Guru Nanak Stadium, and I actually wrestled there before for Great Khali. It’s a huge stadium, kind of like Allegiant Stadium where we’ll be having SummerSlam.”
Where do you think WWE should hold a pay-per-view beyond North America? Let us know your picks down in the comments!
