WWE’s new partnership with ESPN’s direct-to-consumer streaming service will begin next month, moving up the timeline from the originally planned start in 2026. The first Premium Live Event to stream exclusively on the platform will be Wrestlepalooza on Saturday, September 20, live from Indianapolis at 7 p.m. ET.
The move means that all remaining 2025 main roster PLEs, including Crown Jewel and Survivor Series, will now be on ESPN. Major events such as WrestleMania and SummerSlam will transition to the new platform starting in 2026, concluding a five-year run on Peacock. NXT’s Premium Live Events, however, will continue to stream on Peacock.
According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, WWE was able to accelerate the move after fulfilling its PLE commitment to Peacock ahead of schedule. This was accomplished by expanding both WrestleMania and SummerSlam into two-night events. In response to the change, WWE and Peacock have negotiated a new agreement that will bring different main-roster programming to the NBCUniversal streaming service, with specific details to be announced soon.
In a statement on Wednesday, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque commented on the new partnership.
“On September 20, WWE and ESPN are coming together for a can’t-miss event to kick off our new partnership. The biggest Superstars in WWE. The biggest brand in sports media. Are you ready?”
The inaugural event is set to be headlined by two major matches. The first will feature John Cena taking on Brock Lesnar in what is being billed as Cena’s final match in Indianapolis. The bout also marks Lesnar’s return to the ring following his hiatus after SummerSlam 2025.
Wrestlepalooza is scheduled to take place on the same night as AEW’s All Out. The name “WrestlePalooza” is a throwback to a legacy ECW pay-per-view, with WWE reportedly securing a trademark arrangement with F1rst Wrestling, which has held the rights since 2013.
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