Backstage Update On ESPN Possibly Being Unhappy With WWE Relationship

Earlier on Wednesday afternoon, the seemingly happy relationship between WWE and ESPN was suddenly called into question by Freddie Prinze Jr. While reviewing Survivor Series: WarGames for his podcast, the "Wing Commander" lead and former member of the WWE creative team casually let slip that a friend of his within Disney had suggested ESPN wasn't thrilled so far with the results WWE PLE's had produced so far. Prinze didn't elaborate as to why that was the case, though he did hint that lower than expected PLE buys could've been a factor.

A few hours later, both WWE and ESPN are suggesting that Prinze Jr. is mistaken. Fightful Select reports that a rep within ESPN has said they have heard no such chatter that ESPN is unhappy with WWE. On the contrary, the rep stated that the broadcaster has "enjoyed working with WWE" in the nearly four months the two sides have been working together. WWE's denial was even more forceful, with one WWE higher up taking a shot at Prinze Jr. by stating that "no one in WWE upper management is aware of Freddie Prinze's role in wrestling or otherwise," suggesting Prinze Jr. won't be receiving a Christmas card from WWE this year.

Ultimately, any issues between WWE and ESPN are likely meaningless at the moment, as the two sides are still in the first year of an agreement that is set for five years and $1.6 billion, with no opt out clause believed to exist in the contract. WWE and ESPN are next set to collaborate at the start of February, when the 2026 Royal Rumble PLE will air on ESPN DTC live from Saudi Arabia.

Read more: Why WWE Won't Rehire These Current Wrestlers

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Read the original article on Wrestling Inc.