Premium Live Events Explained: What a PPV Is and Why It Matters

Every big wrestling promotion runs two kinds of show. The weekly television programme is the engine of the product, and the premium live event is the payoff. If you only watch one thing from a promotion, the premium live event is usually it.

PPV, PLE and the name changes

"PPV" stands for pay-per-view, the original way these events reached fans: you paid a fee to watch one show on television. Most promotions now sell or stream them through subscription services and digital purchases, and some have adopted terms like "premium live event" (WWE's name for them). Fans still say PPV out of habit, and so does Wrestl. What matters is the idea: a special, bigger show, held on a fixed date, usually with a championship or a long-running rivalry on the line.

Where you can watch depends on your country, and it changes as streaming deals change. That's why each event page on Wrestl lists where to watch by region instead of this guide promising anything. Start at the events page.

How the build works

A premium live event is announced weeks ahead. In the run-up, the weekly shows set up matches, trade insults, stage confrontations and sometimes cause chaos that forces a match to be made. This is the build, and it's why those events feel earned: the match you see on the night has been developing for a month or more.

The card is the list of matches. The main event is the final and most important match of the night; everything before it is the undercard. Many events also have a pre-show, often called a kickoff show, with a smaller card before the main broadcast begins.

The major events by promotion

These are the long-running events each promotion is best known for. Dates vary from year to year.

• WWE: WrestleMania (first held in 1985, and the company's biggest show), the Royal Rumble, SummerSlam and Survivor Series, often called the "Big Four".
• AEW: Double or Nothing, All In, All Out, Full Gear and Revolution among others. All In began life in 2018 as an independent show before AEW existed.
• NJPW: Wrestle Kingdom, held at the Tokyo Dome in early January, plus the G1 Climax tournament in the summer and events such as King of Pro-Wrestling and Power Struggle.
• TNA: Slammiversary and Bound for Glory.
• AAA: Triplemanía, the promotion's flagship event.
• ROH: Supercard of Honor and Final Battle.

The promotion pages bring each company's events, champions and news together in one place.

What to do around one

• Check the events page for the match card and where to watch in your region.
• Watch the final week or two of the weekly show beforehand; that's where the stories are tightened up.
• After the show, rate it. A premium live event is the kind of show where fans disagree most about what was good, and the community score shows how the room felt.
• If you're avoiding spoilers, stay off headlines and social media until you've watched. Results spread within minutes.