Nick Khan is in talks to bring WWE back to Tokyo, Japan, next year.
The news was revealed by Mark Shapiro, TKO’s president and COO, during Wednesday’s investors call to discuss the company’s financial results for the third quarter of the year.
When talking about international expansion plans for WWE and UFC, shortly after bringing up UFC’s talks with Abu Dhabi, Shapiro said:
“I’m also pretty bullish about some conversations that Nick Khan is having about bringing WWE to Tokyo next year.”
But Shapiro did not reveal the format. So at this point, it’s unclear if the talks are for a PLE, episodes of Raw and SmackDown, or a house show tour.
Shapiro stressed that nothing has been finalized so far:
“No deals done, but the runway is open and we have clearance.”
Since October 1, Netflix has been the new home of WWE in Japan. It airs Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and the PLEs at no additional cost to subscribers. Netflix took over from ABEMA, which had held the rights to WWE programming in the country since October 2023.
WWE has returned to Japan more often in recent years. In July 2024, WWE ended a five-year hiatus from Japan with three shows in Osaka and Tokyo.
WWE has yet to officially announce Japan dates for 2027.