Steve Carrier on April 22, 2026
WrestleMania 42 made a strong showing on traditional TV, even as the full event streamed on ESPN’s new platform.
The first WrestleMania under the ESPN Unlimited banner also aired preview coverage on ESPN2 and ESPN, giving fans a free look at the action — and the numbers turned out to be impressive.
On Saturday, the first hour of WrestleMania 42 aired on ESPN2 and featured major matches including The Usos and LA Knight teaming up to face IShowSpeed, Logan Paul, and Austin Theory, along with Drew McIntyre battling Jacob Fatu.
According to Front Office Sports reporter Ryan Glasspiegel, night one delivered a strong audience despite heavy sports competition. Night one on ESPN2 drew 1.62 million viewers, going head-to-head with NBA and NHL playoff games.
Sunday night saw another strong turnout when the first hour aired on ESPN. That broadcast included Oba Femi defeating Brock Lesnar and Penta successfully retaining the WWE Intercontinental Championship in a ladder match. Night two performed even better, pulling in 1.82 million viewers on ESPN.
WWE also touted the success internally, noting that Saturday’s WrestleMania broadcast became the most-watched program on ESPN2 this year, while Sunday’s showing ranked as the most-watched program on ESPN for the entire weekend.
The numbers show that even with WrestleMania shifting to a new streaming platform, WWE still managed to pull major TV audiences during one of the busiest sports weekends of the year.
Do you think airing the first hour on ESPN helped bring in new fans, or were most viewers already planning to watch WrestleMania anyway?
1 hour ago
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