According to a report from WrestleVotes Radio, there is significant interest within WWE for Chris Jericho to return to the company after his contract with AEW expires at the end of this year. One source believes a deal is expected to be completed when the time comes.
In an interview with Brian Custer on ESPN SportsCenter earlier today, WWE Chief Creative Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque addressed WWE’s upcoming shift of pay-per-view events to ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer service, John Cena’s retirement tour, Pat McAfee’s return to WWE, and more.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
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.”
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.”
On his thoughts on John Cena’s retirement tour: “John is the greatest of all time. And I think that this type of tour shows why he is. For him, this sort of year-long tour is about him giving back. It’s about him, you know, going to all these cities and towns that he has been, that have made him one of the biggest WWE superstars of all time, that have made him the Hollywood box office attraction that he is, that have made him so successful and helped him along that journey. This is him going back to them and saying thank you. This is him going back to that and saying thanks for the ride. Thanks for following me.”
On how John Cena will always be part of WWE: “He’ll always be a part of the WWE. He is ingrained in our fabric as we are ingrained in his. So John isn’t going anywhere, but you know, from an in-ring standpoint, we all get to the end of that athletic road. And that’s where John is at. And I’m happy for him that he has not only had the career that he wanted to, but is able to end it sort of on his terms in a way that he wants it to, without being, you know, having a doctor tell you you’re done or anything else. It’s his time right now, and he’s doing it in his way, and I love it.”
