Triple H Wants WrestlePalooza to Be WWE’s Next WrestleMania

WWE isn’t just adding another Premium Live Event to the calendar—they’re building what could be the next WrestleMania.

TKO President Mark Shapiro pulled back the curtain during the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference and gave fans a look at WWE’s evolving strategy, including the launch of WrestlePalooza on ESPN+, a high-stakes new event spearheaded creatively by Triple H.

When asked about the company’s growth strategy and success in locking down long-term media rights, Shapiro began by highlighting WWE’s decision to move its Premium Live Events (PLEs) to ESPN+ earlier than required, a bold move meant to capitalize on momentum and plant the flag for a brand-new tentpole show.

“On the PLE front, look, that deal wasn’t up till the end of April, and instead we are launching September 20th. Next weekend we’re launching in Indianapolis with a brand-new franchise, which we hope will be an annual recurring franchise — and that’s WrestlePalooza.”

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Financially, the deal is already a win. Shapiro broke down how the agreement significantly boosts revenue compared to WWE’s previous rights package:

“And that was at a 1.8x. And if you really look at a lot of the rights and revenue streams we were able to either claw back or retain, it’s really closer to a 1.9x is the way we pencil it out. So you know, that’s a winner for us.”

He emphasized that WWE’s streaming and broadcast deals are now built around long-term value, predictable revenue, and expansion opportunities:

“So just all in all, you’re looking at long-term media deals. Long term, right. Recurring stable revenue streams with escalators across the board and expansion of rights. Ten years on RAW with Netflix, five years on SmackDown and the new ESPN PLEs…”

But the spotlight shifted when Shapiro began discussing the creative force driving WrestlePalooza—Triple H. According to Shapiro, WrestlePalooza isn’t just a placeholder PLE. It’s being engineered as WWE’s next big franchise event, and Triple H is obsessively working behind the scenes to elevate it to elite status.

“Triple H is spending night and day creatively around making that — making that what we think it can be, which is another WrestleMania or another SummerSlam.”

Shapiro compared the effort to WWE’s existing hierarchy of mega-events and suggested that WrestlePalooza could soon earn a permanent place among them.

“Those two stand out above the rest. Royal Rumble’s right beneath that. And we think WrestlePalooza can get into that quadrant.”

From a business standpoint, Shapiro added that the event could deliver tremendous upside if executed correctly.

“Hopefully WrestlePalooza is a winner and we can bring that back annually, because that could just be a marketing bonanza for us if we do that right.”

With WrestlePalooza launching September 20 in Indianapolis and WWE’s new ESPN+ partnership beginning with it, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Triple H is all in—and so is TKO.

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