ESPN Executives State WWE Wrestlepalooza Scheduling Not Driven by Competition with AEW
ESPN executives clarified Wednesday that the decision too launch their WWE programming with Wrestlepalooza this Saturday, coinciding with AEW’s All Out, was not a strategic move to compete with the rival wrestling promotion. The explanation came during a media call promoting the launch of WWE content on ESPN networks and its new streaming platform.
The scheduling arose from a confluence of factors,including WWE’s pre-existing event calendar and the accelerated timeline of ESPN’s partnership with the wrestling giant. Originally slated to begin in April 2026,ESPN’s premium live event (PLE) deal with WWE was moved up after WWE successfully negotiated an early exit from its agreement with NBCUniversal/Peacock in August. ESPN specifically sought a high-profile WWE event in September to bolster the launch of its streaming service.
Matt Kenny, ESPN VP of Programming and Acquisitions, emphasized a collaborative approach to scheduling with WWE, mirroring their process with partners like the UFC. He stated, “We will work collaboratively with WWE on the schedule and in this case, many of WWE’s events had already been scheduled for the year…working together on a calendar.” kenny also confirmed they had no direct interaction with Peacock regarding the schedule change, expressing excitement when presented with the opportunity to begin the ESPN-WWE relationship early.
Kenny further explained that ESPN views competition broadly, citing the numerous collage football games scheduled on Saturdays as an example. “really, it had less to do with any particular wrestling competition. In fact, we take a holistic view…We welcome competition and do take a ‘game on’ approach. We are focused in this particular case to super-serve WWE and wrestling fans on our platforms,” he said.
