WWE announces Wrestlepalooza PLE, will kick off ESPN era

The first WWE PLE of the ESPN era is now official with Indianapolis set to host Wrestlepalooza this September.

It was confirmed today that the first-ever WWE Wrestlepalooza will emanate live from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Saturday, September 20. The show will be the first WWE PLE to stream live on ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer service, which officially launches this week.

Originally, the WWE-ESPN deal was not supposed to begin until 2026. But WWE is finishing up its PLE commitments with Peacock at the end of this month, paving the way for this new event to be added and the ESPN era to begin earlier than anticipated.

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

No matches are confirmed for Wrestlepalooza as of now, but it’s expected that the card will be headlined by John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar. WWE has not officially announced Lesnar for the show yet, but Cena, Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, CM Punk, and Drew McIntyre are all advertised.

Tickets for Wrestlepalooza are going on sale to the general public this Friday (August 22) at 10 a.m. Eastern time.

The WWE-ESPN PLE deal is reportedly worth $1.6 billion ($325 million per year for five years). In addition to airing on the new ESPN streaming service, some select events in the future will also be simulcast on television.

ESPN has confirmed that the streaming service will also carry WWE’s two remaining PLEs for 2025: October’s Crown Jewel and November’s Survivor Series. The service is priced at $29.99 per month or $299.99 per year, though at least some viewers who already pay for ESPN through a cable package will receive the service at no extra cost.

Netflix is still the broadcast home for WWE PLEs outside of the United States, with Wrestlepalooza set to stream on Netflix for international viewers.

September 20 will be a busy night for wrestling fans with Wrestlepalooza going head-to-head with AEW All Out 2025.