WWE boss Triple H jokes one thing could still scupper London WrestleMania plans after flying for landmark meeting with Mayor Sadiq Khan
WWE WrestleMania finally heading to London looks to have moved a step closer after top bosses flew to London for a meeting with Mayor Sadiq Khan.
Wrestling mad Brits have been pleading for WWE to bring its annual megashow to these shores for the best part of four decades.
Though Wales ended a long wait for a first UK WWE stadium show with Clash at the Castle in 2022 and Scotland hosted the 2024 instalment of the Premium Live Event, no traditional 'big four' event has been held on this side of the pond since 1992.
That year saw SummerSlam, one of WWE's historically biggest quartet of events alongside Mania, Royal Rumble and Survivor Series, staged at Wembley Stadium in front of more than 80,000 people.
Fans have been itching for more of the same and appeared to be given hope earlier this year when Paul 'Triple H' Levesque, WWE's Head of Creative, said he was open to discussions with London Mayor Khan over making a WrestleMania happen in the city.
Now, those plans have moved a step closer to reality after Levesque and WWE CEO Nick Khan flew to London this week to meet with London chief Khan in person and discuss details.
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The WWE exec explained: "Sadiq Khan and his team are working hard on positioning London as a sport and entertainment capital of Europe and it has been great to hear more on his vision for how WWE can support them on that journey.
"WrestleMania has delivered more than $1.25 billion in economic impact for its host cities, with this year’s event in Philadelphia attracting over 145,000 fans from 64 countries.
"There is a lot that needs to be discussed further but we share the ambition of Mayor Khan in trying to bring a stand-out WWE Premium Live event to London."
The trio posed for pictures in London, with the Mayor event presented with a miniature replica WWE championship belt.
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Later speaking to Mailsport, multi-time former wrestling world champion Levesque, now retired from in-ring action, claimed it was a 'quite productive' meeting.
He added: "We've had an exciting afternoon here, meeting with the mayor, sitting down with everybody here in London to try to determine the next steps on what the big spectacle WWE event is that we can bring here to London and for all the fans here."
Pressed on whether it would be Mania itself heading to London rather than another high-profile event similar to Clash at the Castle or Money in the Bank, held in London last year, Triple H was clear that the Show of Shows remains the goal - though accepted the British weather could still cause issues.
"We'll see," he went on to say, while stood in the rain. "I think we're all focused on the same goal which is bringing WrestleMania here, but we'll see where it goes.
"As the sprinkles come down on me right now, weather sometimes is a factor here, the time of year.
"We'll see. We're all here concentrating on the same goal and hopefully it'll end up in a great place."
Both WWE's representatives and the Mayor remained tight-lipped about when WrestleMania - or a similar event - might head this way, though Nick Khan noted that anything beyond next year's 41st Mania in Vegas is 'part of the conversation.'
For his part, Mayor Khan, re-elected earlier this year, added: "This is the start of a conversation we're going to have with WWE… these things often take time.
"It took us a long time to get baseball to London, we're working to get basketball to London as well, so we're going to have those conversations.
"I know, though, that there are fans desperate to see Damian Priest, Cody Rhodes and others in London, and also the legends.
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"The great thing about WWE is that they organise fantastic events when it comes to WrestleMania.
"We've seen the difference they've made in Philadelphia, previously in other cities from Detroit to New York, and I think it will be a huge benefit to London, and indeed fans across the country and Europe who will come to London to watch WrestleMania, that's affordable rather than having to fly to America."