In what could be a major shake-up for wrestling fans, WWE’s premium live events may begin streaming on ESPN platforms as early as next month, well ahead of the originally announced 2026 start date.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Bryan Alvarez discussed the possibility of WWE accelerating its rights deal with ESPN. “I’m hearing we may have ESPN going forward,” Alvarez said.
This comes after earlier reports suggested that the unannounced September 20 premium live event, expected to be headlined by John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar, could be the first to air on ESPN.
WWE’s five-year, $1.6 billion agreement with ESPN is officially set to begin in 2026, once its current U.S. rights deal with Peacock expires in March of that year.
However, Alvarez hinted at how the transition might happen sooner. “I don’t know this 100 percent, but I was kind of given the impression that the way it worked with Peacock was they were contracted to X number of events and they’ve added events because there’s a second night of SummerSlam, they added the Evolution show. So they may have met the quota.”
If WWE has indeed fulfilled its event quota for Peacock, the company would be free to kick off its new and more lucrative partnership with ESPN ahead of schedule.
