WWE WrestlePalooza was originally scheduled to go head-to-head with AEW All Out. This led fans to believe WWE or ESPN was intentionally counterprogramming the new event against AEW. However, two ESPN executives said that the scheduling has less to do with competition, and it’s more about how they can best serve their fans.
ESPN Vice President of Programming and Acquisitions, Matt Kenny, and Senior Vice President, John Lasker, took part in a media call ahead of WWE WrestlePalooza. The event marks the first time a WWE PLE will air on ESPN platforms, and it’s also a new event on the WWE calendar.
Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp asked about how the network approached scheduling the event, noting that WWE has scheduled against its competition before. Kenny said ESPN and WWE work in collaboration with each other, and a lot of events on WWE’s end were already set. In this case, ESPN wanted to have a marquee event to start the relationship off, downplaying the idea that it was created to specifically conflict with AEW’s plans.
“For us, we work collaboratively with WWE on the schedule. In this particular case, many of their events had already been scheduled. Normally in these types of arrangements that [we] work on, there’s a lengthy process where you work with the partner to identify specific dates. You build out your schedule so you align in that regard,” Matt Kenny explained. “So on some level, WWE’s schedule for the rest of the year, throughout 2025, there had been a number of dates already on the calendar.
“In this particular case, we’re just laser-focused on launching WWE. We knew we wanted to have a marquee WWE event in September to support the launch of ESPN’s direct-to-consumer offering,” Kenny added. “So it had less to do with any other wrestling competition. In fact, we take a holistic view; we know there’s competition everywhere.”
Kenny continued, pointing out that there’s plenty of competition in college football on Saturdays too. He said they welcome competition, but in this case, they are focused on what they can serve up to WWE fans on ESPN platforms.
JT Lasker added to Kenny’s comments, noting that fans will likely be watching WrestlePalooza side by side with other content. He hopes they can drive more interest to WWE and in turn, hopes WWE fans will go check out their other offerings. No matter if there’s competition or not, Lasker said that the more fans on their platform on Saturday night, the better for them.
AEW All Out has since changed its start time, and will now begin at 3 pm EST on September 20. WWE WrestlePalooza will begin at 7 pm EST.
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