ESPN is very happy about how their deal with WWE is doing so far. That doesn’t mean fans are pleased, and a new lawsuit proves that.
A new class action lawsuit is taking aim at WWE over how fans were told they could watch premium live events on ESPN. The lawsuit was filed Thursday night in U.S. District Court in Connecticut. It accuses WWE of misleading marketing tied to the move of WWE premium live events to ESPN’s direct-to-consumer streaming service.
Some fans who already received ESPN through cable or live television streaming services still had to pay an extra monthly fee to watch WWE events, and that is the real problem. The plaintiffs say that conflicts with how the rollout was presented to consumers.
The lawsuit represents U.S. customers who paid for ESPN’s director to customer service in the lead-up to Wrestlepalooza on September 20 while already receiving ESPN through traditional providers.
The lawsuit names only WWE as a defendant. ESPN and its parent company Disney are not included. The plaintiffs say this was done to avoid arbitration and class-action waiver clauses found in Disney’s subscriber agreements. The suit claims more than $5 million is at stake. If this lawsuit is successful, then affected customers could receive refunds or a partial reimbursement.
The confusion started when WWE PLEs moved to the ESPN app in September as part of a new rights deal that pays WWE about $325 million per year. That figure is a big jump from the roughly $200 million Peacock previously paid for WWE events and content.
Under the new ESPN deal, access has varied by provider. Some pay television subscribers could authenticate into the ESPN app and watch WWE premium live events, but others could not. Access depended on individual agreements between Disney and each TV provider.
Cox recently told customers they now have ESPN app access. YouTube TV and Disney renewed their agreement as well, which is expected to allow access for those subscribers. Other providers already allowed authentication before Wrestlepalooza.
For fans without that access, the only option was ESPN Unlimited at $29.99 per month. That included cord-cutters and also cable customers whose providers had not yet enabled app access. The lawsuit argues this situation contradicted how the service was marketed.
An August 6, 2025 press release stated that the app’s features would “be available to all fans who watch on the ESPN App on mobile and connected TV devices, whether they subscribe directly or through a traditional pay TV package.” The plaintiffs say that language was misleading.
They also point to public comments from Nick Khan during an appearance on the Varsity podcast, where he discussed WWE’s move away from pay-per-view.
“When we did the Peacock deal in 2020, same thing, no upcharge for what were pay-per-views. Same thing here with what has been referred to as ‘ESPN Flagship.’ You subscribe to that product, you get WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble, all of our other premium live events, with no upcharge.”
The plaintiffs argue that statement led existing ESPN customers to believe they would not need to pay extra.
ESPN declined to comment on the lawsuit. WWE did not respond to a request for comment when contacted.
The complaint paints this situation as a bait-and-switch that pushed existing ESPN customers into buying the new streaming product just to watch WWE events.
In total, two plaintiffs are named in the lawsuit. Michael Diesa of New Jersey says he pays about $116 per month for Xfinity cable, which includes ESPN. He says he upgraded his Disney+ bundle on August 22, so his nine-year-old son could watch WWE events.
Rebecca Toback of New York says she pays $82.99 per month for YouTube TV. She says she subscribed to ESPN’s DTC service on September 20, the day of Wrestlepalooza, and canceled after watching the show.
The proposed class would include customers who paid for ESPN Unlimited between August 6 and September 20 while also receiving ESPN through providers that did not yet offer app authentication. Customers of DirecTV, Fubo TV, Hulu + Live TV, Spectrum, and Verizon Fios would be excluded, since those services allowed access by September 20.
The potential refunds are small, about $30 in many cases. Still, the plaintiffs argue that’s exactly why the case belongs in court as a class action. The complaint cites estimates that WWE content drove between 95,000 and 125,000 signups during the proposed class period.
WWE has not yet responded in court. Early questions will likely focus on whether WWE can be held responsible for ESPN’s rollout and whether its public statements rise to the level of deceptive marketing. Class certification is also expected to be a major issue as the case moves forward. Only time will tell how this pans out, because WWE has a team of legal experts for things like this.
What’s your take on WWE’s latest lawsuit? Do you think that they will have to pay up? Let us know what you think in the comments section!
