The latest WWE and AEW News and Results
Dave Meltzer and Garrett Gonzales are back on Wrestling Observer Radio discussing the major stories from today’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We discussed:
Click here to listen (sub needed) or watch on YouTube
WWE commentator Joe Tessitore has now been announced as a part of the upcoming Zuffa Boxing broadcast team.
Earlier, TKO and Zuffa Boxing announced that Tessitore will be the play-by-play announcer for the boxing promotion. Zuffa Boxing is scheduled to hold its first numbered event on Friday, January 23rd, 2026, where Tessitore will be doing play-by-play duties.
Max Kellerman, Antonio Tarver, Mike Coppinger, and Andre Ward will join Tessitore as fight analysts, while Joe Martinez will act as the ring announcer. Molly Querim will host the event with Heidi Androl providing reporting. Zuffa Boxing 1 will be available to stream live on Paramount+.
A popular name in the broadcast industry, Tessitore is one of the lead announcers for WWE and a play-by-play announcer for college football. Apart from his college football on ESPN duties and WWE announcing role, Tessitore has also provided play-by-play commentary for ABC’s Holey Moley, as well as provided voice-over work for several films and television shows.
TKO announced on Thursday that they are bringing prediction markets to both the UFC and Zuffa Boxing via industry leader Polymarket.
WWE’s parent company signed a multi-year deal “to integrate prediction market technology directly into the live fan experience. Polymarket will create a new storytelling metric, visualizing fan sentiment and perceived momentum that complements, not competes with, regulated sports betting.”
The partnership will see integration on live UFC shows and social media. Broadcasts will feature what is being called a “fan prediction scoreboard” that will visualize “how fans around the world are forecasting each fight as it unfolds” in order to measure “the unofficial pulse” of fans for every show.
WWE was not mentioned in the release.
The technology will be integrated starting in January 2026 when UFC debuts on Paramount+ as part of their new seven-year, $7.7 billion domestic media rights contract.
Polymarket is also known for being a betting market of sorts for political races.
Paramount/Skydance is doubling down on their relationship with TKO, announcing a media rights deal with their budding Zuffa Boxing promotion.
Announced on Monday morning, it is a “long-term media rights agreement in which Paramount+ will become the exclusive home of Zuffa Boxing throughout the U.S., Canada, and Latin America.”
Unlike the UFC’s seven-year, $7+ billion contract signed in August, no financial terms were disclosed.
The promotion is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh and includes UFC’s Dana White and WWE’s Nick Khan as the management team.
The deal begins in January 2026 with 12 events in the calendar year “with plans to grow that number in subsequent years.” The shows will stream on Paramount+ “with the potential for select events to be simulcast on CBS.” The wording was less definitive on the CBS front than in their UFC release.
TKO was involved in the promotion of this month’s Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford fight in Las Vegas.
