On August 6, it was announced that WWE had signed yet another major streaming deal.
Beginning in 2026, WWE’s premium live events will stream exclusively in the US on ESPN’s new streaming service.
While this won’t affect international audiences – who will continue watching monthly events via Netflix – the big-money deal is likely to bring several changes within the company.
Here are five potential changes we could see as a result of the new WWE & ESPN deal for PLEs.
5. Two-Night Royal Rumble
One change promised by WWE’s Chief Content Officer Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque is bigger and more spectacular shows.
Appearing on ESPN’s Get Up show, he claimed that “WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble are going to be bigger than ever. They’re going to be more of a spectacle than ever before.”
This could mean that we soon see Royal Rumble join WrestleMania and SummerSlam as two-night affairs.
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4. More Money To Spend On Talent
Another change is the money that WWE is making as a result of this new deal, according to CNBC, the deal is reportedly worth $1.6 billion over five years – $325 million per year – an increase on the $180 million per year that WWE was making from its existing PLE deal with Peacock.
This is more money that could be spent on acquiring talent.
The past few years have seen WWE lose out on big names it tried to sign, such as New Japan Pro-Wrestling stars Kazuchika Okada, Will Ospreay, and Jay White, who chose AEW, reportedly, due to bigger contract offers.
Now, with such increased revenues, we could see WWE make moves for the biggest names in Japan and Mexico, offering more than its rival.
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3. WWE Going Back To PPV?
With WWE leaving Peacock in the US, could the promotion’s fans once again have to pay for individual PLEs on the new ESPN streaming service?
ESPN does have form for this – on its ESPN+ service, which is the current home of the UFC, users have to both subscribe to the service and also pay for individual UFC PPVs.
With the UFC and WWE owned by the parent company TKO, it seems like this could be an option.
From launch, this does not appear to be the case, with all of WWE’s 10 annual PLEs included; however, whether WrestleMania and SummerSlam could eventually be moved to the PPV tier remains an unanswered question.
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2. Access To The Archive Gone?
One change appears to be that the available archive of past WWE PLEs will not be moved across from the current streamer in the US, Peacock.
ESPN’s original announcement made no mention of archive content, although Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston reported that PLEs streamed on ESPN will remain on the service for replays.
Yet, what this means for the back catalogue of WWE PPVs and PLEs currently on Peacock remains unclear.
Will the rights be bought by Netflix, or will they appear on WWE’s dedicated YouTube channel, WWE Vault?
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1. More Content
One change resulting from the deal with ESPN is more WWE content.
Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston reported that “ESPN also has rights to create original WWE-related content.”
This includes, according to Thurston, plans for ESPN’s flagship SportsCenter news show to broadcast from the locations of WWE PLEs.
We’re also likely to see other original content, such as ESPN-produced WWE documentaries.
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