The six-match card for WWE Night of Champions reportedly came at ESPN‘s request.
The card for the WWE Night of Champions Premium Live Event this past Saturday featured six matches. While the promotion has stuck to a five-match card for most PLEs over the years, WrestleVotes Radio (via Fightful Select) reports that ESPN approached the promotion about adding another match or two to the event’s lineup.
ESPN reportedly requested adding more matches to strengthen the paid standalone portion of the WWE Night of Champions broadcast that streamed on ESPN+, which is separate from the first hour that airs for free on traditional ESPN.
Night of Champions featured major moments, including Oba Femi and IYO SKY winning the King and Queen of the Ring Tournaments, respectively. The show also saw Sami Zayn shock the world by beating Cody Rhodes and GUNTHER to win the Undisputed WWE Championship. The match between Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker at the event had some surprising editing changes in the Netflix replay.
WrestleVotes further noted that they’re told the first hour of WWE PLEs being free is expected to continue at least through the fall of 2026.
WWE and ESPN announced their historic five-year partnership worth $1.6 billion in August 2025 to stream all WWE Premium Live Events on the ESPN+ app in the United States. Though the deal was initially set to kick off in 2026, it started early with the debut of Wrestlepalooza in September 2025.
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