WWE Wrestlepalooza Set to Kick Off New ESPN Partnership

WWE will begin its new partnership with ESPN’s direct-to-consumer streaming service next month instead of waiting till 2026.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the first Premium Live Event to stream on ESPN will be Wrestlepalooza on September 20, taking place in Indianapolis, the same city that hosted the 2025 Royal Rumble. The event will stream live at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, marking ESPN as the exclusive home for all WWE premium live events moving forward.

This means the rest of 2025’s PLEs, including Crown Jewel and Survivor Series, will also stream on ESPN. Starting next year, WWE’s biggest shows, WrestleMania and SummerSlam, will make the move as well, ending a five-year run on NBCUniversal’s Peacock. It was also reported that, despite the move to ESPN, NXT will still see its Premium Live Events stream on Peacock.

It was noted that WWE met its Peacock PLE commitment earlier than expected by splitting WrestleMania and SummerSlam into two-night events. According to a source, this allowed WWE to fulfill its required tally ahead of schedule.

To adjust, WWE and Peacock reached a new agreement that will bring fresh main-roster WWE programming to the NBCUniversal streaming platform. Specific details about what shows or content will be included are expected to be revealed soon.

Paul “Triple H” Levesque called the partnership a major milestone, promoting it as a union between the biggest names in wrestling and the top brand in sports media.

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

Wrestlepalooza is shaping up to be a massive event, headlined by John Cena, who will wrestle in Indianapolis for the last time. He’s currently planned to face off against Brock Lesnar at the Premium Live Event.

Now that the ESPN era of WWE Premium Live Events will be kicking off with WWE Wrestlepalooza in September, we’ll have to wait and see just how effective the transition will be from Peacock as there’s a lot of expectations with the move.

What do you think about WWE leaving Peacock for ESPN? Will this new partnership make it easier — or harder — for fans to watch Premium Live Events? Sound off in the comments.