Tag: espn

WWE reveals Wrestlepalooza hype video

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE has released a new hype video celebrating the start of a new era for the company.

Starting with Wrestlepalooza tonight, WWE PLEs will be broadcast on ESPN’s new streaming service. It’s a partnership that will now see WWE’s biggest events featured alongside ESPN’s sports offerings. While there are differences between WWE matches and those traditional sports, this opening video for Wrestlepalooza celebrates the WWE & ESPN relationship as a natural marriage between two companies that were once upstarts and have risen to the top through their storytelling.

“Wrestling isn’t a metaphor for the national condition, but a reflection of it. As are all games we play,” Paul “Triple H” Levesque said while narrating the video. “Sports is entertainment. Always has been, always will be.”

The WWE-ESPN PLE deal is for five years and will include select future events being simulcast on ESPN’s traditional TV channel. Wrestlepalooza is only airing on the streaming app.

To promote the PLE, the cast of ESPN’s College GameDay made predictions for John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar this morning in addition to their regular college football picks.

Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis is hosting Wrestlepalooza tonight. The main card has a start time of 7 p.m. Eastern.

WWE Wrestlepalooza (Saturday, September 20) —

  • WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defends against Drew McIntyre
  • Mixed tag match: AJ Lee & CM Punk vs. Becky Lynch & Seth Rollins
  • Stephanie Vaquer vs. IYO SKY for the vacant Women’s World Championship
  • The Usos vs. Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed
  • John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar

ESPN WWE Wrestlepalooza media call: Brock Lesnar, creative control, streaming questions

Posted on by Josh Nason

ESPN will have no creative control or jurisdiction over WWE talent as part of their five-year deal that kicks off this Saturday with Wrestlepalooza.

ESPN+ senior vice president JT Lasker and vice president of programming & acquisitions Matt Kenny were asked that question during a Wednesday media call with Kenny confirming they don’t have or want any say on creative.

He said their relationship in that regard is not dissimilar to relationships they have with other rights holders, acknowledging that the stick/glove/ball sports are different than combat sports.

“They retain creative control which, by the way, we are fine with. I don’t need to opine on what a script should be to WWE,” he said. “I think we’re excited about what they do, how they do it and we’re excited for Saturday.”

The question was tied into the inclusion of Brock Lesnar on the show given he was named in the still-ongoing lawsuit between Janel Grant, Vince McMahon and WWE.

Here’s some other highlights from the call that included a declaration that WWE & wrestling coverage would not be affected, and that there was no ulterior motive in running Wrestlepalooza on the same day as AEW All Out:

  • Wrestlepalooza will be part of the ESPN’s multi-view option, allowing fans to watch action alongside other ESPN live sports programming.
  • They are continuing to work out deals with various cable/streaming providers that ESPN airs on in order to give those subscribers access to ESPN Unlimited. It was said that “by the turn of the calendar year,” the “vast majority” of their existing ESPN subscriber base will have access to the service with the ultimate goal of turning “vast majority” into “all.”
  • As of now, deals with providers like Xfinity/Comcast and YouTube haven’t been completed while subscribers of DirectTV, Fubo, Spectrum, Hulu Live and Verizon FIOS do.
  • Asked about the future of WWE archive content, it was noted their deal is for PLEs which will be available on demand. They directed questions about the broader library to WWE.
  • They deferred questions about a Baseball Tonight or NFL Live-esque WWE coverage show, but said it’s a big deal for SportsCenter to be on site at Wrestlepalooza considering it’s a college football Saturday.
  • Just like with UFC, WWE will continue to handle all production.
  • Asked if any new PLEs will be added on the calendar and specifically in December that is absent of one, Kenny didn’t have any real answer as the relationship is still very, very news, saying, “anything on that will bear itself out.”
  • Asked about what metrics they are using to determine whether this relationship is a success, Lasker couldn’t share target numbers, but said they want to grow ESPN’s overall audience and attract new subscribers who might not subscribe in another way. They also want to create new value for existing subscribers.
  • Kenny said there is a “minimum threshold” of times when WWE PLEs will simulcast on ESPN’s linear networks. That will be determined in a collaboration between them and WWE that begins with the ESPN content strategy team to identify opportunities that exist within the massive amount of commitments with ESPN’s existing portfolio of rights. Kenny said it’s still very early in all of this, but acknowledged the simulcasts could end up being more beneficial which would result in a change in how they look at doing them.
  • Kenny was asked about the reaction internally to the WWE deal given what it is. He said he lived the same question when UFC was brought on and it’s a challenge to create advocacy within the company. He used the example of The Usos coming to their headquarters in Bristol Tuesday which was a short notice thing, announced internally with a sign on the door for employees coming in. Despite that, the demand was enormous with north of 250 employees wanting to get pictures and a line that had to be cut off, showing there is more of an interest and acknowledgment than some realize.

ESPN will have ‘church and state’ relationship with news coverage of WWE & other wrestling

Posted on by Josh Nason

For those concerned on how ESPN will cover WWE and/or pro wrestling in the future, two executives want to put those concerns to rest.

During a media call Wednesday to promote Saturday’s launch on the ESPN networks with Wrestlepalooza and specifically their new streaming platform, ESPN+ senior vice president JT Lasker and vice president of programming & acquisitions Matt Kenny were asked if those who report on wrestling will have “full independence” in how they do so.

Lasker answered, “I think the answer to that is an emphatic yes.” Kenny then followed up with “an unequivocal yes. That’s a separation of church and state. We have some PR folks on the call that can underscore that, but yes.”

On their website, WWE has a home right next to UFC on the main navigation that leads to a well-populated landing page. Under ‘More Sports,’ there is a ‘Professional Wrestling‘ section which has nearly all WWE content on there as well.

There is an AEW section within the wrestling area that leads to a very lightly populated page with an events schedule and listing of AEW World Champions. The last feature was from over 200 days ago.

ESPN addresses WWE Wrestlepalooza running against AEW All Out

Posted on by Josh Nason

With regard to WWE Wrestlepalooza running this Saturday against AEW All Out, wrestling competition had nothing to do with it, according to ESPN executives.

During a media call Wednesday to promote Saturday’s launch on the ESPN networks and specifically their new streaming platform, ESPN VP of programming and acquisitions Matt Kenny was asked about WWE choosing to run against a competitor and if that was a strategy for the future.

Kenny said they will work collaboratively with WWE on the schedule and in this case, many of WWE’s events had already been scheduled for the year. He said traditionally, ESPN would work with a partner as part of a lengthy process in scheduling dates (using UFC as an example), working together on a calendar.

ESPN’s PLE deal with WWE wasn’t supposed to start until April 2026 and it wasn’t until WWE negotiated with NBCU/Peacock (revealed in August) to get out early that ESPN was able to move the timetable up.

Kenny said ESPN wanted a marquee WWE event in September to help with the launch of the new streaming platform.

He mentioned during the call that they had no dialogue with Peacock and “we were excited when presented the option to start that relationship early.”

“Really, it had less to do with any particular wrestling competition. In fact, we take a holistic view. We know there is competition everywhere. Certainly in the fall on Saturdays…there’s no shortage of college football competition throughout the day. We welcome competition and do take a ‘game on’ approach. We are focused in this particular case to super-serve WWE and wrestling fans on our platforms,” he said.

WOL: The return of AJ Lee

Posted on by Andrew Zarian

Andrew Zarian is back from a summer break with an all-new Sunday edition of Wrestling Observer Live, catching up on all things pro wrestling.

He starts out catching up on all the things that happened this summer on his break, including the partnership between ESPN and WWE to carry all the PLEs. Why are they doing it, will it work, and how will it be perceived on a sports-centric network?

The big story of the week happened on Friday’s SmackDown with the return of AJ Lee to confront Becky Lynch after she again attacked CM Punk in a well-done segment. I discuss the differences between when she left and the current landscape of women’s wrestling, which she’s now entering.

He also discusses this week’s AEW Collision, including FTR’s presentation as 1980’s throwback heels, and the nostalgic presentation in the 2300 Arena. But, does it resonate with a larger viewing audience?

Plus, HBO Max is carrying AEW PPVs, Bryan Danielson is now on the AEW announce team, a Dynamite preview, and MJF gets married.

All this and more!

Click here to listen or watch on YouTube

WWE thanks Peacock during Clash in Paris as PLEs move to ESPN

Posted on by Bryan Rose

WWE took time to thank Peacock as they move their PLEs to ESPN.

Sunday’s Clash in Paris marked the final WWE PLE streaming live on the service as next month all of WWE’s premium live events will be broadcast on ESPN’s new streaming platform. Michael Cole on commentary took time to thank Peacock prior to the main event of the show.

“We want to thank all of our friends over at Peacock for what has been an incredible five years including Rick Cordella. Rick has always been there for everyone in WWE. It’s been a tremendous partnership and again, hats off to Peacock,” Cole said.

WWE announced earlier this month that their new deal with ESPN would be starting earlier than expected with a new PLE titled Wrestlepalooza on September 20. That show will air not only on ESPN’s streaming service but also on cable. It will go head-to-head with AEW’s All Out pay-per-view.

Cole reiterated that NXT PLEs will remain on Peacock, with No Mercy airing on September 27. In addition, episodes of Saturday Night’s Main Event will also stream exclusively on Peacock, leaving NBC.

Seth Rollins: ESPN deal will legitimize WWE even further

Posted on by Joseph Currier

For Seth Rollins, WWE’s new partnership with ESPN is a dream come true.

The World Heavyweight Champion was a guest on ESPN’s Get Up this morning, discussing the news that WWE’s new PLE deal with the network will now begin earlier than expected. The first WWE event to stream live on ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer service will be Wrestlepalooza from Indianapolis on Saturday, September 20.

“I’m stoked, man. I’m stoked to be a part of the ESPN family,” Rollins said. “For me personally, a lot of people had the Saturday morning cartoons or the morning cartoons before school — I grew up watching SportsCenter. That’s what kind of sports fan I was. I grew up watching replays of SportsCenter in the morning before I went to school. So the fact that we’re here teaming up with ESPN, it’s like my two favorite things in the world — sports and WWE — coming together.

“And it’s huge for us as an industry. Professional wrestling has been a part of kind of Americana for many, many, many, many, many years in different iterations. And as we start to dip our toe even further into the mainstream and really integrate ourselves into the mainstream, this is a huge step for us, legitimizing what we do as artists, as athletes. Like I said, for me personally, to be a part of the ESPN family is huge. I’m looking forward to this partnership and everything that it brings.”

Rollins is advertised for the Wrestlepalooza event but does not have an opponent yet. Later this month, he’ll be defending his World Heavyweight Championship against CM Punk, LA Knight, and Jey Uso in a fatal four-way match at WWE Clash in Paris.

It’s expected that John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar will headline Wrestlepalooza.

Clash in Paris will be the last WWE PLE to air on Peacock before the ESPN era begins. The WWE-ESPN deal is reportedly worth $1.6 billion ($325 million per year for five years) and is only for main roster PLEs. In addition to airing on the new ESPN streaming service, some select PLEs in the future will also be simulcast on ESPN’s linear TV networks.

The ESPN streaming service launched today and is priced at $29.99 per month or $299.99 per year. Some viewers who already pay for ESPN through a cable provider can access the new service at no extra cost.

WOR: Lawlor, Ospreay, Nick Wayne, Dynamite, ESPN/WWE

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Image: AEW

Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including updates on Tom Lawlor, Will Ospreay, Nick Wayne, the WWE/ESPN deal and how Peacock plays into all of this, the go-home AEW Dynamite for Forbidden Door, all the news, Collision spoilers and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!

Timestamps:
Start: Tom Lawlor recovering following hip replacement surgery
6:29: Should Will Ospreay be wrestling on Sunday?, Nick Wayne injured
16:20: WWE starting PLEs on ESPN next month, new Peacock/SNME changes
35:23: Collision numbers down, More on Triplemania numbers and other ratings
45:18: CMLL notes, Jake Paul’s upcoming fight
53:42: AEW Dynamite recap
1:17:27: WWE NXT notes
1:21:15: AEW Collision spoilers

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Subscriber exclusive: Dave Meltzer on WWE PLEs leaving Peacock and moving to ESPN imminently

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Dave Meltzer has a new article on WWE moving their premium live events to ESPN starting next month and what this means for the rest of their content on Peacock including the future of Saturday Night’s Main Event and WWE’s archives.

Subscribers can read this article here.

Key details emerge on WWE/Peacock/ESPN arrangement, new main roster show

Posted on by Josh Nason

While it was a bit of a surprise to see WWE’s premium live event deal with Peacock end seven months before it was contractually supposed to, new details out Wednesday illuminate some of the thinking behind the new arrangement: more WWE content.

Announced Thursday, ESPN will take over as the domestic home for PLEs starting with September’s freshly-announced Wrestlepalooza instead of with this April’s WrestleMania 42 as had been the contractual plan.

The thinking, as our Bryan Alvarez had previously reported, was that WWE believed they had honored their commitment of PLEs to the NBCU-owned streaming service with the additional night of WrestleMania, the additional night of SummerSlam, and then this year’s Evolution.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, ESPN did not buy out the seven months. Rather, a deal was brokered first between WWE and Peacock and then brought to ESPN. ESPN is launching their new streaming service on Thursday with this news being a big part of their launch day and WWE a key part of the early success of the service.

The outlet reported that WWE personnel is currently in Indianapolis, Indiana, where Wrestlepalooza will take place to mark the occasion Thursday.

So what does Peacock get out of this? The outlet reported that the deal between they and WWE will “include new main-roster WWE programming to stream on the NBCUniversal digital platform; details of that programming are expected to be announced soon.”

WWE’s final PLE on Peacock will be next weekend’s Clash in Paris. October’s Crown Jewel and November’s Survivor Series will air on ESPN.

At this point, NXT PLEs will continue to air on Peacock through March 2026. With WWE moving their PLEs to ESPN, the NXT special events do not have an announced home after that date. The future of the WWE archives currently on Peacock is also unknown after March 2026.

WWE announces Wrestlepalooza PLE, will kick off ESPN era

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The first WWE PLE of the ESPN era is now official with Indianapolis set to host Wrestlepalooza this September.

It was confirmed today that the first-ever WWE Wrestlepalooza will emanate live from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Saturday, September 20. The show will be the first WWE PLE to stream live on ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer service, which officially launches this week.

Originally, the WWE-ESPN deal was not supposed to begin until 2026. But WWE is finishing up its PLE commitments with Peacock at the end of this month, paving the way for this new event to be added and the ESPN era to begin earlier than anticipated.

“On September 20, WWE and ESPN are coming together for a can’t-miss event to kick off our new partnership,” Paul “Triple H” Levesque said in a press release. “The biggest Superstars in WWE. The biggest brand in sports media. Are you ready?”

No matches are confirmed for Wrestlepalooza as of now, but it’s expected that the card will be headlined by John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar. WWE has not officially announced Lesnar for the show yet, but Cena, Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, CM Punk, and Drew McIntyre are all advertised.

Tickets for Wrestlepalooza are going on sale to the general public this Friday (August 22) at 10 a.m. Eastern time.

The WWE-ESPN PLE deal is reportedly worth $1.6 billion ($325 million per year for five years). In addition to airing on the new ESPN streaming service, some select events in the future will also be simulcast on television.

ESPN has confirmed that the streaming service will also carry WWE’s two remaining PLEs for 2025: October’s Crown Jewel and November’s Survivor Series. The service is priced at $29.99 per month or $299.99 per year, though at least some viewers who already pay for ESPN through a cable package will receive the service at no extra cost.

Netflix is still the broadcast home for WWE PLEs outside of the United States, with Wrestlepalooza set to stream on Netflix for international viewers.

September 20 will be a busy night for wrestling fans with Wrestlepalooza going head-to-head with AEW All Out 2025.

WOL: Filthy Tom, WWE/ESPN/Peacock, NXT TV, more!

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Lance Storm is back with tons to talk about including an update on Filthy Tom, the latest on the WWE/Peacock/ESPN deals, when the last Peacock PLE will be, Takeshita and the G-1, the NXT TV report and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!

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WOR: WWE/ESPN, TripleMania, G-1, RAW, Naomi, Lawlor

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including Tom Lawlor, Naomi’s pregnancy, WWE and ESPN, TripleMania, the G-1, Chris Jericho’s future, ratings, the RAW report, some mailbag questions and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!

Timestamps:
Start: Tom Lawlor undergoing hip replacement on Tuesday, Naomi & Jimmy Uso announce pregnancy
2:53: WWE could put September PLE on ESPN
6:00: Mexico notes on Triplemania numbers, CMLL, Worlds Collide
21:21: AAA Triplemania rundown
37:29: Konosuke Takeshita wins the G1 Finals, upcoming NJPW cards, Stardom notes
47:32: Chris Jericho future speculation
51:53: Ratings, Dana White gives long odds for Jon Jones fighting on the White House card
57:16: WWE Raw recap
1:12:15: Q&A

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Report: Possible name, broadcast location for WWE’s September PLE

Posted on by Bryan Rose

WWE could be debuting on ESPN as soon as next month.

PWInsider reported Sunday that there have been discussions that the previously reported WWE PLE for September 20 could end up airing on ESPN, going head-to-head with AEW’s All Out pay-per-view. PWInsider describes the move as “a preview of the type of programming WWE will bring to that new partnership.” Additionally, they were told that plans to unveil the still unannounced PLE, including where it will broadcast, will be announced sometime this week.

ESPN did not comment when contacted by PWInsider. Their new deal with WWE to pair PLEs in the United States is set to start in 2026.

WrestleVotes on social media hinted at a potential name for the show, Wrestlepalooza. That was a name for a series of ECW shows held between 1995 and 2000.

Reports have indicated that the headline match for WWE’s PLE will be Brock Lesnar taking on John Cena. Their feud was reignited back at SummerSlam when Lesnar, who had been gone from WWE television for two years, made his return and laid out Cena with an F5. Lesnar hasn’t appeared since, with Cena next taking on Logan Paul at WWE Clash in Paris on August 31.