ESPN Will Air WWE PLEs Starting September 20, Match Details Revealed

WWE PLEs have a new home now. The ESPN deal was expected to start next year, following the expiration of the Peacock deal, which began in 2020. Then new rumors emerged that WWE is thinking of reviving an ECW PLE called Wrestlepalooza that would not only compete with AEW’s All Out PPV on September 20 but also become the first PLE to air on ESPN’s new DTC service.

At that time, fans speculated that this would be a one-time thing because, of course, Peacock still had an agreement with WWE until next year. However, it has now been confirmed that Clash in Paris on August 31 will be the final WWE PLE on Peacock.

Peacock Will Stream the Final WWE PLEs Later This Month

On August 20, WWE and ESPN announced that they’re going to start their deal early with the Wrestlepalooza PLE next month. The Hollywood Reporter said that ESPN didn’t buy out Peacock’s contract with WWE. Instead, Peacock made a mutual decision with WWE to end this deal early.

Bryan Alvarez of Figure Four Online confirmed this happened because of the two-night SummerSlam and Evolution filling the annual PLE quota for Peacock.

“We have it confirmed that due to the added day of SummerSlam and additional shows including Evolution, the Peacock quota for PLEs will be fulfilled with Clash in Paris, and all future shows will be through ESPN.” (H/T Figure Four Wrestling Online)

For those who don’t know ESPN signed a $1.6 billion deal with WWE to give them exclusive PLE rights in the United States. This deal, however, doesn’t give them rights to the WWE library.

Wrestlepalooza Will Take Place On September 20

While Peacock will no longer air WWE PLEs after Clash in Paris, they’ll still have the WWE Library until the end of this year and will air NXT PLEs till March 2026. Additionally, Saturday Night Main Event will remain exclusive to Peacock.

Triple H commented on the early launch of the ESPN and WWE deal, and said:

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

Wrestlepalooza will air on ESPN’s DTC service on September 20. John Cena will headline the event, and stars like CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, and Drew McIntyre are going to be featured on the show.

Many fans may not remember or know about this, but Wrestlepalooza was first created by Paul Heyman’s ECW in 1995 as a live event. It also aired in 1997, 1998 (as a PPV), and finally in 2000. According to WrestleVotes, many people in WWE didn’t like the name Wrestlepalooza, and there was some “negative pushback,” but it still made the final cut.

It’s safe to say that WWE wants this to be a huge show. They’ve announced that John Cena will headline the event, and many fans are expecting Brock Lesnar to be his opponent. It’s been a decade since these two stars faced each other in a one-on-one match in the WWE ring.