The First Shot Fired: WWE Hosting WRESTLEPALOOZA against AEW’s ALL OUT
The two biggest North American wrestling promotions will finally go head-to-head on a premium live event level, with WWE and AEW having scheduled events on the same day. Although there have been shots fired by each promotion dating back to the creation of AEW, this is by far the biggest one. AEW had announced its "All Out" Pay-Per-View (PPV) event, taking place in Toronto, Canada, on September 20th, back in May of this year. Then, months later, WWE would announce a Premium Live Event (PLE) for September 20th. This would later be slated as the inaugural event to debut WWE's newly signed deal with ESPN, which would see ESPN become the new exclusive U.S. domestic home of WWE's Premium Live Events, valued at $ 1.6 billion over the next five years. On August 20th, WWE would formally announce WrestlePalooza as the event, and many speculate it as counterprogramming against AEW's PPV, All Out. Lastly, AEW would change the start time to 3 pm for All Out, so now fans won't have to choose between two.
This weekend will feature a loaded card for both events, as WWE will main event a historic rivalry between John Cena and Brock Lesnar. Meanwhile, AEW will either main event Adam "Hangman" Page (C) vs Kyle Fletcher for the AEW World Championship or the homecoming of COPE (FKA Edge) and Christian Cage in Toronto vs FTR.
WWE has loaded the card for the inaugural ESPN PLE, with matches like the return of AJ Lee and CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch in a mixed tag match, Cody Rhodes (C) vs. Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship, and Stephanie Vaquer vs. Iyo Sky for the vacant Women's World Championship.
The star power presented at WrestlePalooza will be unmatched. Still, AEW has loaded its card with ten matches and a "Saturday Tailgate Brawl" preshow that will air live on TNT and HBO Max at 2 pm. Although AEW is missing stars like Will Ospreay and Swerve Strickland due to long overdue surgery recoveries, they will still be showcasing stars like MJF in a "Tables n Tacks" match against Mark Briscoe, Mercedes Monè (FKA Sasha Banks) will defend her TBS Championship against the first AEW Women's Champion Riho, Jon Moxley will face Darby Allin in a "Coffin Match" and Toni Storm will defend her AEW Women's Championship in a 4-way match.
With all the headlines focusing on WWE, it has been overshadowed that All Out will be AEW's first PPV that will be available for purchase on HBO Max for the exclusive price of $39.99. In contrast, it is listed at $49.99 on Amazon Prime Video. To watch WrestlePalooza on the ESPN app in the U.S., you must have ESPN included in your TV provider plan or purchase the direct-to-consumer ESPN Unlimited plan, which is $29.99.
Saturday is a full-on wrestling frenzy for fans who watch both WWE and AEW. With AEW: All Out PPV on HBO Max up first at 3 pm and WWE: WrestlePalooza on the new ESPN app at 7 pm. It is promising to be an exciting night with history being made on all sides of the sport. It could feature debuts or returns of our favorite stars, we will have to wait and see.
