Sadiq Khan has met with WWE President, Nick Khan, and WWE Chief Content Officer, Paul 'Triple H' Levesque, at City Hall to discuss bringing WrestleMania to the city. It is thought that the event would result in a $1.25 billion boost to the capital's economy.
It would be the first international version of set piece. The Mayor of London pledged during the mayoral election campaign in April to bring together a taskforce to explore bringing even more sports from North America and around the world to London – including WrestleMania.
Mr Khan took a swipe at a WWE icon as he revealed what his superstar name to MyLondon. "I think I'd be The Rock Squared," the mayor said. "The Rock's ok, but I'm The Rock Squared; I'm better than The Rock."
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He did not like the sound of our suggestions: 'Khanage', 'Clean Air Khan', and 'The Khannon'.
Mr Khan said: “I am delighted to have met with WWE Hall of Famer Paul 'Triple H' Levesque and WWE President Nick Khan today to discuss how we can work to make London WrestleMania’s first international destination. London has great pedigree in hosting the biggest international sporting events from around the globe – and I’m determined to cement our city’s reputation as the undisputed sports capital of the world, as we work together for a better London for everyone.
“It’s exciting to be working with the WWE team. The meeting was really productive, and talks will continue about how we could turn our ambition into a reality.”
Paul 'Triple H' Levesque, added: “WWE and London have a long and successful history dating back many decades, and meeting with Sadiq Khan to discuss what the future of this partnership could bring has been excellent. This year alone WWE has taken record-breaking events around the world to Australia, France, Scotland, Saudi Arabia and Canada – the appetite from the fans is there, and the excitement from the Mayor and his team in London is palpable.”
A spokesperson for the mayor's Tory rival during the mayoral election, Susan Hall, previously told MyLondon regarding Mr Khan's sporting plans: "Sadiq will say anything to distract from his litany of failures as Mayor, and his plans to bring in pay-per-mile. He doesn't deserve another four years. His poor performance over the last eight have proven that."
Mr Khan has said that a pay-per-mile scheme is ‘off the table’ as long as he is mayor. This is despite the mayor telling MyLondon in March 2023: “The ultimate destination is a smart road user charging scheme in London."
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2024-07-26T09:03:08Z dg43tfdfdgfd