WWE will not bring back brand-exclusive PLEs as long as ESPN doesn’t change the rules

For some time now, a part of the WWE fanbase has been wondering about the return of exclusive premium brand events, a formula that once allowed lesser-utilized talents to shine and build broader card lineups. However, that model seems farther away today than ever, not due to a lack of roster or creative ideas.

The current reality of WWE is much more conditioned by television agreements than by nostalgia or roster balance. In this context, the joint Raw and SmackDown PLEs are not an artistic choice, but a direct consequence of how the audiovisual rights contracts are structured.

During a recent Q&A session on Fightful, journalist Sean Ross Sapp discussed the possibility of WWE bringing back brand-exclusive events to give more exposure to underutilized talent. His response was clear: the decision does not depend on WWE, but on their media partner.

They didn't pay for a full roster in a PLE. What they did pay for were events with five or six matches. That's what has become the standard now.

As Sapp explained, this reduced format even benefited WWE for a while, as it allowed important matches to be moved to weekly television, strengthening the value of Raw and SmackDown. But that balance comes at a cost: less space in major events for the rest of the roster.

The underlying problem is purely contractual. WWE has a minimum number of events agreed upon with ESPN, and until that agreement is economically expanded, there is no real incentive to produce more PLEs or divide them by brand.

Sapp was firm on this: if there is no additional compensation for those extra events, the return of exclusive PLEs benefits no one within the company. Not the calendar structure, not the television planning, not the business itself.