New WWE Shows & Hosts Announced For ESPN Debut

WWE wants Wrestlepalooza to be a major success, and it’s launching several new shows to bolster its ESPN debut.

WWE is stacking Wrestlepalooza as the show was originally meant to go head-to-head with AEW All Out, but perhaps more importantly, it marks the sports entertainment giant’s debut with ESPN. WWE and ESPN inked a huge deal for PLE rights in the United States, and that deal kicks off with Wrestlepalooza on September 20th.

Wrestlepalooza will be headlined by Brock Lesnar taking on John Cena after Lesnar made his shock return to WWE after two years in the wilderness at SummerSlam. AJ Lee will compete in her first match in over a decade as she teams with CM Punk to face another husband and wife team in Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins.

The WWE Championship will be on the line as Cody Rhodes defends his title against Drew McIntyre. The Usos will reunite to clash with The Vision’s Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker, but after recent developments between them, LA Knight might be keeping a close eye on that bout.

There will also be a new WWE Women’s World Champion crowned as Stephanie Vaquer and IYO SKY clash for the title that Naomi vacated when she announced her pregnancy.

ESPN Introducing Some New WWE Shows

Now WWE has announced a slew of new shows to accompany Wrestlepalooza as the company makes the move to ESPN. Variety has reported that the ‘ESPN Wrestlepalooza Special’, hosted by Pete Rosenberg, will air on September 19th. Tyrese Haliburton is set to appear on that show as an analyst.

Later that night, WWE Hall of Famer Booker T and his podcast co-host, Brad Gilmore, will host an ESPN Radio show called ‘Countdown to Wrestlepalooza.’ O’Shea Jackson Jr and TJ Jefferson will then host a ‘Road To’ show on the afternoon of Wrestlepalooza itself. WWE’s PLE pre-show will air as usual following the ‘Road To’ show.