WWE Brings Back Old ECW Event - ESPN Debut THIS YEAR? (WWE News)

WWE Wrestlepalooza heading to ESPN this September?

by Andrew Pollard
ECW Wrestlepalooza
WWE

With it previously reported that WWE was looking to counter-program AEW All Out with its own special event on 20 September, it appears that the market leader is turning to ECW for inspiration.

Per WrestleVotes, it looks like WWE is reintroducing the Wrestlepalooza name for this show:

For those maybe not too familiar with that name, ECW put on four Wrestlepalooza specials during the Land of Extreme's heyday.

The inaugural ECW Wrestlepalooza took place in 1995, headlined by the Gangstas defeating the Public Enemy in a brutal stretcher match. Sitting out for a year, Wrestlepalooza would return in 1997, this time with the Eliminators retaining the ECW Tag Team Titles against the Dudley Boyz in the main event. We then had Wrestlepalooza 1998 closed out by ECW World Champion Shane Douglas successfully defending the gold against Al Snow, and the final Wrestlepalooza took place in 2000 and featured an all-star 'babyface' team of Tommy Dreamer, the Sandman, and New Jack picking up a win over Cyrus the Virus' Network faction. Away from those main events, though, these shows - three of which were TV specials, 1998 being a PPV - featured plenty of other fantastic battles, such as Rob Van Dam vs. Sabu, Tommy Dreamer vs. Raven, and Terry Funk vs. Chris Candido.

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ECW Wrestlepalooza 1998 Al Snow Shane Douglas
WWE

While it appears that WWE's 20 September event will indeed be called Wrestlepalooza, there are still no announced details in terms of location. That said, WWE is running the 19 September SmackDown from Toledo, Ohio's Huntington Center, and the 22 September Raw emanates from Evansville, Indiana's Ford Center, with it understood that this mystery PLE will take place in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Given how WWE is looking to go big as it goes up against AEW All Out, there have been plentiful rumblings that we could well see John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar take place at what appears to be WWE Wrestlepalooza. While Lesnar's return at SummerSlam earlier this month has caused a whole lot of controversy and discourse, he and Cena is certainly a major match, a major attraction, and the sort of match-up that will grab mainstream attention.

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On that front, PWInsider reports that there have been talks of having this event air on ESPN as a preview of the type of WWE content that will be heading to ESPN once the new Premium Live Event deal kicks in next year. For those who missed it, 6 August saw it announced that WWE had agreed a mammoth deal with ESPN for all PLEs to be a part of the new ESPN direct-to-consumer service as of 2026. That deal is believed to start in March 2026, when WWE's existing deal with Peacock is up, and will see the pro wrestling market leader net a cool $325 per year on a five-year agreement.

As mentioned, WWE PLEs are currently licensed to Peacock in the United States, but there is currently no September PLE on Peacock's schedule. This month has seen SummerSlam air on Peacock, with Clash in Paris on the way for 31 August, but the next PLE for Peacock after that is Crown Jewel on 11 October. This PWInsider report notes that WWE is expected to formally announce the full details - including broadcast information - for this 20 September event at some point this week.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.