The worldwide sports media network ESPN crafted a new streaming service for consumers to have access to their linear networks and multiple leagues. But in a move that stunned the wrestling fandom, ESPN would also include WWE in the fun by agreeing to broadcast premium live events like the Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, Money in the Bank, and WrestleMania. Though the partnership was set to begin in 2026, both parties decided to move the timeline up to this past September with a brand-new event in Indianapolis called Wrestlepalooza.
Hilarious name aside, expectations were high as WWE was entering yet another era with a new streaming platform and a show that included a returning AJ Lee fighting alongside her husband CM Punk in mixed tag team action, a polarizing stop on the John Cena retirement tour, and an Undisputed WWE Championship match between Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre. But what did Wrestlepalooza ultimately reflect about WWE and ESPN's partnership? What lessons were taken from an event that irritated some fans at worst and surprised others at best? Let's explore.
WWE on ESPN Deserves to Be Celebrated as a Big Step in Sports
During the Wrestlepalooza Countdown show, WWE play-by-play commentator Michael Cole narrated a montage called "Crossover," in which he gave an account of the relationship that wrestling has had with ESPN, from their programming of the American Wrestling Association (AWA), National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), to their occasional WrestleMania coverage and everything in between.
There was also a cold open narrated by WWE CCO Paul "Triple H" Levesque that operated as a time capsule that weaved wrestling and sports together by highlighting their similarities. Both of these featurettes brought light to a quiet question that many wrestling fans have had: why isn't wrestling taken seriously as a sport? Over the years, there have been doubters, hardcore sports fans, and jaded former wrestling fans who have balked at the validity of the combat and theater-driven entity. Comments like "Isn't that stuff fake?" "They don't actually get hit, right," and "It's not like football, basketball, or hockey" have haunted wrestling lovers for generations.
But with the ESPN and WWE marriage, those ignorant mindsets are relegated to a whisper. With consistent coverage on programming like First Take, College Gameday and SportsCenter, as well as advertisement during other sporting events, WWE is being treated with the respect that it has always deserved. Many of their top stars built their athletic skills from participating in sports such as football, volleyball, rugby, track and field and the like. For wrestling to have taken this long to be acknowledged as a sporting medium has been a disservice to those who have put their bodies on the line constantly. With this partnership, WWE can get the exposure and credit that it has always deserved as a sports leader.
Women's Wrestling in WWE Deserves More Investment as a Top Attraction
In his honest review of Wrestlepalooza, ESPN writer Andreas Hale stated that the Women's World Championship match between Iyo Sky and Stephanie Vaquer "saved the show from being truly average." Other fans held the opinion that CM Punk and AJ Lee versus World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins and Women's Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch was great due to the satisfaction of watching the diminutive best-selling author lace up her Chuck Taylors and fight her opponents with no ring rust.
In the advent of WWE's partnership with ESPN and the critical acclaim of this year's Evolution, it would be beneficial if the promotion invested deeper into the coverage of their women's divisions. 2025 has been a banner year for female superstars as they have taken stories, new championships, and matches and turned them into pure greatness. Why not reward their efforts with more visibility on the network? WWE could become more involved in the growing narrative of bringing women's sports to the level of equality that it deserves. There could be multiple opportunities to position the women as intriguing athletes that every sports fan could learn about or love.
Imagine going to a sports bar and seeing an exclusive interview of Rhea Ripley on SportsCenter or a 30 for 30 documentary on the first Women's Royal Rumble. With the partnership being as lucrative as it is, there is so much that could happen for the female athletes who steal the show. The talent and the demand are there. All WWE and ESPN have to do is use it to the fullest.
*Trigger Warning* The Partnership Does Not Need Brock Lesnar
After John Cena's championship loss to Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam: Night 2, the fans expressed their gratitude to a renewed babyface who gave his all. The good vibes would eventually shatter as the sound of Brock Lesnar's theme song radiated throughout the MetLife Stadium.
The man known as The Beast would then go on to challenge and defeat Cena at Wrestlepalooza in a shocking and deflating opening match. Before the event even began, clips of his appearances in past ESPN commercials and his UFC matches were shown to represent his crossover appeal in both combat worlds. Lesnar's presence was the dark cloud over an otherwise positive accomplishment by WWE. Their allowing him to return after being named in a sex trafficking lawsuit could be viewed as a dependable crutch that they have used before to appeal to the sports audience. Remember when SmackDown premiered on Fox and he defeated Kofi Kingston for the WWE Championship in order to prop up a fight with disgraced fighter Cain Velasquez? This could be the same script, but with a slightly different cast.
WWE has accrued so much growth in the years since Lesnar was exposed for his misdeeds. With all of the stars that they have created, why bring someone who only brings negativity back? Why are they aiding an alleged abuser? What does this say to the victims who seek escape from their trauma through wrestling, only to be reminded of their pain with Brock's presence? In a wrestling world that is full of diverse talent that represents the future of what WWE could be, a man who may have allegedly hurt vulnerable people does not belong. The best way a person knows that they are healed after an injury is to walk on their own. WWE has proven that they can walk without the Lesnar crutch. They just have to trust it.