ESPN Denies Wrestlepalooza Scheduling Was Aimed at Countering AEW All Out – Executives at ESPN insist that WWE’s decision to stage Wrestlepalooza on the same day as AEW All Out was not motivated by counter-programming. Instead, the move was described as a strategic effort to launch ESPN’s new streaming partnership with WWE on a high-profile stage.

Speaking during a media call on Wednesday, September 17, ESPN VP of Programming and Acquisitions Matt Kenny addressed the reasoning behind the date selection. He explained that the timing was chosen to “super-serve WWE and wrestling fans” as part of the new deal, not to deliberately clash with AEW.

“Really, it had less to do with any particular wrestling competition. In fact, we take a holistic view. We know there is competition everywhere. Certainly in the fall on Saturdays… there’s no shortage of college football competition throughout the day,” Kenny said. “We welcome competition and do take a ‘game on’ approach. We are focused in this particular case to super-serve WWE and wrestling fans on our platforms.”

Kenny added that ESPN and WWE will coordinate on scheduling going forward, though many of WWE’s 2025 dates were already set before the partnership was accelerated. Originally, the company’s Premium Live Events were not slated to move to ESPN’s direct-to-consumer platform until April 2026. However, WWE secured an early exit from its deal with Peacock, finalizing the shift in August and enabling ESPN to fast-track its rollout with a marquee September event.

The announcement initially positioned Wrestlepalooza directly against AEW’s All Out, a flagship event for Tony Khan’s promotion. To avoid forcing fans to choose, AEW later adjusted by moving All Out to an earlier afternoon slot. This ensured that viewers would be able to watch both pay-per-views without conflict.

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ESPN Denies Wrestlepalooza Scheduling Was Aimed at Countering AEW All Out

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