By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE issued the following press release on Wednesday to announce the Wrestlepalooza premium live event for Saturday, September 20, in Indianapolis, Indiana, at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
August 20, 2025 – ESPN and WWE today announced that WWE Premium Live Events will debut on ESPN platforms beginning September 20, earlier than previously announced.
The first WWE PLE to kick off the ESPN partnership will be the first-ever Wrestlepalooza on Saturday, September 20, live from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis – host city of the 2025 Royal Rumble®, which set the event’s all-time attendance record. Wrestlepalooza will stream live on the new ESPN direct-to-consumer streaming service, beginning at 7pm ET/4pm PT.
On September 20, ESPN becomes the exclusive U.S. domestic home of all WWE PLEs, with all PLEs available to ESPN DTC subscribers with the unlimited plan. Additional upcoming WWE PLEs this year include Crown Jewel® on Saturday, October 11, and Survivor Series® on Saturday, November 29.
Wrestlepalooza will feature a blockbuster headline attraction with John Cena, as well as Undisputed WWE Champion “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes, World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch, CM Punk and Drew McIntyre in major matches throughout the night. This event, held in partnership with Indiana Sports Corp, will mark the last time Cena wrestles in Indianapolis.
“On September 20, WWE and ESPN are coming together for a can’t-miss event to kick off our new partnership,” said WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque. “The biggest Superstars in WWE. The biggest brand in sports media. Are you ready?”
Tickets for Wrestlepalooza will go on sale starting Friday, August 22 at 10am ET/7am PT via Ticketmaster.com. Presale for Wrestlepalooza tickets will begin tomorrow/Thursday at 10am ET/7am PT.
Additionally, official Wrestlepalooza Priority Pass packages are now available through WWE’s exclusive partner, On Location, offering fans premium seating, hospitality events featuring Superstar appearances, exclusive photo opportunities, and more. Fans can buy packages now to secure access before the general public. To learn more about Wrestlepalooza Priority Pass packages or to purchase, please visit: https://onlocationexp.com/
The ESPN DTC service will stream all WWE PLEs annually, in their entirety, with select simulcasting on ESPN linear platforms. Marquee PLEs include WrestleMania® and SummerSlam® – both two-night events – as well as Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, Money in the Bank®, among others. WWE PLEs will be available to all ESPN DTC subscribers with the unlimited plan.
ESPN will launch its new DTC streaming service and a set of new features on an enhanced ESPN App on Thursday, August 21. Fans can visit http://stream.espn.com/ for more information on ESPN DTC options and pricing.
Powell’s POV: If you listen closely, you may be able to hear the sound of Peacock subscription cancellations. This event is expected to feature John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar, but it was not made official in the press release. It’s no coincidence that WWE opted to run this show on the same day as the AEW All Out pay-per-view that will be held in Toronto, Ontario, at Scotiabank Arena.
Honestly this pisses me off because they announce one thing then do something else before anyone has time to decide anything. I was gonna use the rest of the year to debate if the price of the ESPN sub was worth but screw that. WWE seems damned determined to shoot themselves in the foot with these streaming service deals.What ESPN wants a month is ridiculous and only worth it if you’re a sports mega fan.
the hollywood reporter has a good article on why this happened suddenly. basically wwe hit their ple marks with WM and now SS being 2 nights. throw evolution in there and that’s the threshold. Apparently peacock had to sign off on this which baffles me even more that they raised the cost for their app. just another thing i wont have. I have the DVD set of King of Queens and The Office. my fiance will just have to DVR her SVU episodes like a regular person lol
To me, that’s a shady move by WWE to make some extra coin. Peacock knew it was coming. But the fans get blindsided and pay for it. Who even knows if the ESPN streaming thing will work at that price point yet? Strange wagon to hitch yourself to in my opinion. I hope no one watches Clash in Paris now.
I’m not gonna watch anything related to WWE after this move. I will end my subscription with Peacocktv and also Netflix. Have a feeling a lot of people will do the same. WWE claims fan’s are what these events happen, that everything is about the fans. Well, they just as someone else said, they shot themselves in the foot with this move. I’m betting they will lose a lot of money with this.