Triple H Says Christmas Came Early With WWE ESPN Deal, Confirms Pat McAfee Will Be at Wrestlepalooza

– During an interview with Brian Custer on ESPN SportsCenter earlier today, WWE Chief Creative Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque discussed the recent move of WWE PLEs to ESPN’s new DTC service starting on September 20 with Wrestlepalooza. Triple H also confirmed that former WWE Raw broadcaster Pat McAfee will be at Wrestlepalooza next month, as it’s being held on his home turf of Indianapolis, Indiana. Below are some highlights:

Triple H on what fans can expect with the WWE PLEs on ESPN: “Well, the thing is that’s great about it, and thanks for having me here, is it’s like getting Christmas early now, right? The whole thing starts now. You know, nobody presents big events bigger or creates big events bigger than the WWE, and nobody presents them to fans better than ESPN. So, this is the perfect partnership. Yes, starting early September 20th, Wrestlepalooza in the home of the one and the only Pat McAfee, who’s like family to us.”

On Pat McAfee being at Wrestlepalooza: “You know, Pat will be there. He’s going to light the place up. It’s going to be exciting. Indianapolis, we were just there for the Royal Rumble, 70,000 fans there. It was incredible, so we’re looking forward to being back there. And this whole thing starts there, where, as you mentioned, you’re going to get to see John Cena’s last time in Indianapolis with a big match. You’re going to get to see all the stars, Seth Rollins, the WWE Champion, Cody Rhodes, Becky Lynch, Drew McIntyre, they’re all going to be there.”

On what’s next for WWE on ESPN DTC: “It’s going to be an incredible night, and the relationship just gets started at Wrestlepalooza on September 20th because after that we’re we’re full guns blazing on ESPN. We are headed into Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. We are headed into Survivor Series. And then right on the other side of that is the Royal Rumble and the road to WrestleMania. So, it’s not going to get any bigger. And as I said, this is the perfect partnership to take what we do and take it to a whole other level. I can’t wait.”

On how fans can expect things to become even bigger and better from WWE on ESPN: “I think they can expect even bigger and better from WWE. The thing that I’m most excited about is the sort of ESPN ad, that ability for us to be able to be across the family now that is ESPN with us to promote these events, to give shoulder programming around these events, to incorporate your folks into the events. You know, Stephen A., Pat McAfee, you know, the it’s not going to get any bigger than that on a microphone. So, we’re excited for this and excited for the partnership and excited for the opportunity to work together to not only show the world our brand of sports entertainment, but show off ESPN to our WWE universe as the home of sports that is entertainment.”

Triple H on if two-night premium live events will become the norm: “I think it’ll be something that we see over time. You know, one of the great things is once we do this on September 20th with Wrestlepalooza, you go to the ESPN app at that point and you’re getting all the ESPN, I mean, all the WWE content, right? Crown Jewel, Survivor Series, as I mentioned, but you’re also going to get the Rumble. You’re going to get WrestleMania for two nights. You’re going to get SummerSlam for two nights. You’re going to get all that content on that app. It’s going to be incredible and an incredible place to watch. As far as will more of our larger events go to two nights, I think time will tell. And it’s really for us about super serving our fans, just like for ESPN.”

The WWE PLE move to ESPN starts on September 20 with Wrestlepalooza.

If using any of the above quotes, please credit ESPN, with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.