WWE Events Like WrestleMania/SummerSlam Are Officially Headed To ESPN In 2026

WWE announced a new streaming deal with ESPN this morning, where all future "Premium Live Events" (pay-per-views like WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble, etc) will be available exclusively on ESPN's new app for $29.99 per month/$299.99 per year. It's definitely a bit of a bummer to hear that price tag at first, considering we're currently getting the same thing for $9.99 over on Peacock - but this new app will obviously include more than just the WWE, and apparently if you already have ESPN in your cable package, it's free....

I kinda feel like they should be leading with that - because right now everyone is freaking out over the $29.99 headlines, but oh well! It's just a bit absurd that if you're a WWE fan who just wants to follow the main product - you now need Netflix for RAW, cable (or streaming cable like YouTubeTV) for SmackDown/NXT, and this ESPN app for the PPVs. It costs like $50 a month to be a fan! And we gotta deal with ads all over the canvas and tables and ladders like some kinda NASCAR gimmick now, which is also pretty annoying. I think that's just the TKO era, though - so get used to it! If Stephen A Smith starts doing segments on the product, though - it'll all be worth it immediately.

I'm honestly not sure what else to add on this, because it'll still take a few months to kick in, but one request I will make: PLEASE list PPVs correctly on the new app. Not "SummerSlam Season 20 Episode 1" - just "SummerSlam 2008". PLEASE!!! I don't know how Peacock never corrected that and it's absolutely infuriating to me.