If you thought being an NFL fan was expensive, being a professional wrestling fan is far more daunting for your bank account. With new streaming deals, including WWE's Premium Live Events moving to ESPN starting next year, it's almost twice as expensive to watch every WWE and AEW event as it is to stream every NFL game.
At least, that's the claim that was brought to my attention by some wrestling fan friends of mine. So I decided to investigate just how much it would cost to watch all WWE and AEW broadcasts with the new streaming deals that take effect next year or have already taken effect. After researching exactly what broadcasts and events the WWE and AEW completionists would need to watch, and all the streaming services you'd need to subscribe to so you can watch them all, I found that it was even more expensive than the wrestling fans in my life claimed it would be.
Brace yourself — to watch every WWE and AEW event in 2026, you'll need to pay ... $1,400.
No, that's not a typo. It will essentially cost you a month's rent in many major U.S. cities to watch every broadcast from the two major professional wrestling outfits. That's because you'll need ESPN, a live TV streaming service, an antenna, Netflix and HBO Max to stream every event from WWE and AEW.
Again, that's the price for a completionist. If you only want to watch major events, things get a bit more affordable, especially with WWE now transitioning from pay-per-view events to Premium Live Events, which are included in your ESPN Unlimited subscription. Below, I've broken down how much it will cost to watch every WWE and AEW wrestling live event by brand, and I've let you know what streaming services you'll need to do it.
WWE Premium Live Events
If you want to watch WWE's Premium Live Events, you're going to need ESPN, at least in the U.S. Globally, the rights belong to Netflix, but in the U.S., these events, which were formerly known as pay-per-view events, are moving from Peacock to ESPN Unlimited starting in 2026 (though some, like Wrestlepalooza on Sept. 20, 2025 have already moved to ESPN).
The good news is these events won't cost extra. If you have ESPN Unlimited, you can watch PLEs like Royal Rumble and WrestleMania as part of your subscription. And while an ESPN Unlimited subscription costs $29.99 a month, which isn't cheap, it's less than what PPV events typically cost, and cheaper than AEW's PPV events (more on those later).
Now, here are two big caveats you need to take note of. First, I'm projecting you'll need ESPN Unlimited for all 12 months of the year, but at present, only three months in 2026 currently have a PLE scheduled. Obviously, if there's no PLE in a given month, you can cancel ESPN for that month.
Second, you can get ESPN Unlimited for free if you have cable or a live TV streaming service, but only with select providers. For example, Spectrum and DirecTV offer ESPN Unlimited for free to many customers, as does Verizon Fios. But YouTube TV, our best live TV streaming service, doesn't yet have a deal with ESPN to allow YouTube TV subscribers to access ESPN Unlimited as part of their subscription.
However, if you want to spend the least amount of money possible, I recommend getting ESPN Unlimited a la carte rather than getting it through a provider as part of your plan.
In conclusion, if you want to watch WWE PLEs next year, you'll need ESPN Unlimited for 12 months. That's $29.99 a month for an entire year, for a total of $359.88.
WWE Premium Live Events total: $359.88
WWE Raw
WWE Raw is WWE's premiere weekly show, featuring the professional wrestling promotion's biggest stars every Monday night, live on Netflix at 8 p.m. ET.
While the most casual WWE fan might be satisfied with just PLEs, many pro wrestling aficionados will declare Raw is a must-watch. Having seen Raw live in person myself, I definitely get why. The bouts themselves can be hit or miss, but the theatrics and verbal jousting of Raw is unparalleled.
You'll need Netflix for all 52 weeks of the year to catch every episode of Raw, meaning you'll pay $7.99 a month for 12 months, for a total of $95.88. You can pay more to remove ads from shows and movies, but if all you want is Raw, don't pay extra. Live events are subject to commercials on all Netflix tiers.
WWE Raw total: $95.88
WWE Smackdown
OK, here's where things start to get a bit tricky. But if you want to save money, sometimes you need to find all the shortcuts available to you.
If you want to watch WWE SmackDown, you need to tune into USA Network every Friday at 8 p.m. ET. This show is also one of WWE's flagship programs, but frankly, it's a slightly lesser product than Raw these days. WWE fans would consider it essential viewing, but if you're only picking Raw or SmackDown, you're picking Raw.
The cheapest way to watch USA Network is Sling Blue. Sling is a great cable TV alternative, and, more importantly, it lets you sign up for just a day at a time. With Sling Day Pass, you can sign up for Sling Blue every Friday night for just $4.99 per 24 hours, and watch SmackDown live on USA. Even in a month with five Fridays, this would cost just $24.95, far less than any monthly subscription to a live TV streaming service.
To recap, for WWE SmackDown, your best option is to get Sling Blue via a Sling Day Pass. On average, that will run you $21.62 a month, with some months costing a bit more and some costing a bit less, depending on how many Fridays are in a given month. Either way, by the end of the year, you'll spend $259.48 to watch every SmackDown broadcast.
WWE SmackDown total: $259.48
WWE NXT
WWE NXT is where some pro wrestling fans might start to tune out. Unless you're a true mark, you might save your money rather than watch WWE's show that highlights the next generation of potential Raw and SmackDown stars.
However, NXT is actually the cheapest WWE show to watch, because it's the only one that airs on a broadcast network. WWE NXT episodes air Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW. That means to watch it live, all you need is one of our best antennas, and you can get The CW broadcasts free over the air, provided your antenna can pick up a local CW station. Our pick for the best antenna is the Mohu Gateway Plus, which has a 60-mile range and easily hooks up to your TV.
Once you buy the antenna, NXT is free to watch, provided you're in range of a local CW network station. Otherwise, you can watch NXT free the next day on The CW app.
You could also opt for DirecTV's Entertainment package, which includes ESPN Unlimited, USA Network and The CW for $84.99 a month (plus taxes and fees). I only recommend this, though, if you can't access The CW through an antenna or aren't willing to watch for free the next day, or if you decide you want a cable TV alternative for reasons beyond professional wrestling.
WWE NXT total: $79.99
AEW Pay-per-view events
We've now covered everything from WWE, so let's move on to AEW. This professional wrestling promotion has quickly gone from pesky upstart to full-blown WWE rival, at times even taking some of the latter's biggest stars.
Like WWE, AEW also has premium events throughout the year, though it still uses a pay-per-view model rather than tying these premium events to a streaming service subscription.
However, you still need a streaming service to access these PPV events. Previously, these had been available through Prime Video (no subscription required), but now AEW has struck a deal with HBO Max to offer PPV events at $39.99 per event. Here's the catch, though: You'll need an HBO Max subscription. Any subscription will do, though, for reasons I'll get into shortly, you'll want the Standard plan for $16.99 a month, which comes with the ability to live stream sports.
Here's one important caveat: these PPV events should still be available for purchase through Prime Video. However, they will cost more on Prime Video ($49.99) than on HBO Max ($39.99), according to the research I've done.
Based on past years, I'm projecting 10 AEW PPV events in 2026, which will cost $39.99 each, for a total of $399.90. This doesn't include the cost of an HBO Max subscription, which I'm about to get into when I discuss the best way to watch AEW Dynamite and AEW Collision.
AEW Pay-per-view total: $399.90 (plus cost of HBO Max subscription)
AEW Dynamite and AEW Collision
If you're a true wrestling completionist or you love AEW, then watching AEW Dynamite and AEW Collision is a must. These programs are essentially AEW's equivalent of Raw and SmackDown, though unlike its WWE counterparts, AEW doesn't divide its roster of wrestlers between the two programs.
AEW Dynamite is broadcast live every Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET and is simulcast on TBS and HBO Max. Collision is broadcast on Saturdays at 8 p.m. ET and is simulcast on TNT and HBO Max. So if you have HBO Max, you can stream both shows, and, because you want to watch the AEW PPV events, you should already have HBO Max.
I've calculated the total cost to watch every episode of AEW Dynamite and AEW Collision in a given year at $203.88, which is 12 months of HBO Max Standard at $16.99 a month.
AEW Dynamite and AEW Collision total: $203.88
How much it'll cost
To recap, if you're in the U.S., you'll need ESPN, Netflix, Sling Blue and an antenna to watch WWE Premium Live Events, WWE Raw, WWE SmackDown and WWE NXT, respectively. If you're outside the U.S. many of you will get away with just Netflix, which is the global rights holder for most WWE content outside the U.S.
For AEW, everything you'll want to watch is on HBO Max, including pay-per-view events, Dynamite and Collision. Just remember, you'll need to pay extra for those PPV events.
In total, this will set you back nearly $1,400, an eye-watering amount. But if you're a real mark, hopefully I've at least found you some ways to get your wrestling fix for less.
TOTAL: $1,399.01
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