Backstage Update on WWE-ESPN Relationship Amid ESPN’s Recent Request For More PLE Matches

WWE presented its annual Night of Champions Premium Live Event from the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, last weekend. The show marked a departure from the non-WrestleMania and SummerSlam formats for PLEs in the Triple H era, as it featured six matches and not five.

Yesterday, WrestleVotes on Fightful Select reported that it was actually ESPN that requested WWE to add one or two matches to the card to strengthen the paid portion of the premium live event. As fans must be aware, the first hour of WWE PLEs is simulcast for free on TV by ESPN, while the rest of the card is exclusive to ESPN Unlimited subscribers.

In this week’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON), Dave Meltzer backed up the report from WrestleVotes and also provided an insight into the WWE-ESPN relationship. According to Meltzer, sources noted that ESPN is not a “silent partner” in this deal and is always coming up with new ideas.

Night of Champions was headlined by the Undisputed WWE Championship Triple Threat Match between Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn, and Gunther. The highly entertaining bout ended in Zayn’s favor when he countered a Cross Rhodes attempt from Cody into a pinning combination and secured the pinfall to become a WWE World Champion for the first time in his career.