As PWMania.com previously reported, ESPN removed all listings related to AEW from their website, although they continue to publish news about the promotion.
These significant changes in ESPN’s coverage of AEW come on the heels of a major deal with WWE, which will have WWE’s Premium Live Events (PLEs) broadcast on ESPN platforms.
According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the issues between ESPN and AEW began before this deal, dating back to a 2023 interview with CM Punk.
During this interview, Punk made “highly negative” comments about AEW World Champion “Hangman” Adam Page. It is believed that AEW leaked the interview to its talent, which then surfaced on various wrestling websites before ESPN published it.
Following this incident, ESPN reportedly lost interest in working with AEW. Events like All In at Wembley Stadium were considered “too big to ignore.”
Dave Meltzer noted that this decision likely stems from ESPN rather than WWE, as WWE would likely avoid such actions due to their past experience with antitrust violations, which resulted in a $20 million settlement with MLW.
