ESPN ‘always coming up with ideas’ in WWE partnership
In their PLE deal with WWE, ESPN is said to be an active partner that is “always coming up with ideas.”
It was reported this week that Night of Champions 2026 having a six-match card was ESPN’s idea, with the network having approached WWE about adding another match or two to the lineup as a way to strengthen the paid PLE portion of the card. ESPN simulcasts the first hour of these events for free on television before the remainder of the lineup is exclusive to ESPN Unlimited subscribers. Having six matches instead of five meant that four bouts were exclusive to Unlimited.
Dave Meltzer backed up the original report from WrestleVotes in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and provided a bit more information on how active of a partner ESPN has been to WWE:
- WrestleVotes reported that this show was six matches instead of five due to ESPN feeling that they needed at least four matches not on television to convince people who aren’t ESPN Unlimited subscribers to subscribe. This was largely confirmed to us as accurate and it was noted that ESPN are definitely not silent partners in this deal and are always coming up with ideas.
ESPN-WWE partnership —
We’re now approaching one year since the ESPN/WWE PLE partnership began. The five-year agreement kicked off in September 2025 with WWE Wrestlepalooza. There has been no announcement as to whether Wrestlepalooza will be back on the WWE PLE calendar for 2026.
Along with airing PLEs, ESPN has been heavily involved in promoting WWE. The ESPN programming lineup always has several WWE guests during the week of PLEs. Paul “Triple H” Levesque believes that this promotion the company gets is “worth its weight in gold” because of how it elevates WWE in the cultural conversation.
ESPN is WWE’s exclusive PLE partner in the United States. Internationally, the shows are broadcast on Netflix.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.