Wrestling fans know there are three ways to watch a WWE Premium Live Event: on the ESPN app with an ESPN Unlimited subscription, on Netflix internationally, or in select movie theaters.
But there’s a fourth option that won’t cost you a cent, though it comes with some tradeoffs.
ESPN’s YouTube channel uploads match highlights, complete with finishes, shortly after matches air. The practice began with Wrestlepalooza, WWE’s debut on ESPN’s streaming service last fall.
Curious to know how the highlights
compared to watching the full show, I tracked ESPN’s YouTube uploads while I watched night one of SummerSlam at my local movie theater.
Here’s how the condensed version stacked up.
What You’re Spared
The biggest benefit to the highlights was being spared advertisements and pre-match sponsorships. Before a six-man tag featuring the Bloodline, what seemed like a vignette for a debuting or returning star aired.
Instead, it was product placement for the latest Gears of War video game.
Something Gained, Something Lost
While the highlights mostly cut straight to the action, they didn’t just focus on the moves.
In the previously mentioned six-man, ESPN included Solo Sikoa “running it back” on Jey Uso and mocking Jacob Fatu, allowing his personality to shine as much as his offense.
After Sikoa’s team won, he hugged it out with his reluctant partner LA Knight, a moment that didn’t make it to YouTube. To some, that might not seem like a big deal. But it showed Sikoa’s progression from rejection to acceptance, an important part of his character’s journey.
The opening match saw Liv Morgan defending the Women’s World Championship against Iyo Sky. The highlight reel was an excellent visual summary that did justice to what was an exciting match.
Like the other SummerSlam highlights, viewers saw the final moments unfold, giving full context to the finish. Big moments, like Iyo’s powerbomb to Morgan on the floor and her Spanish Fly, were included. The video also showed Judgment Day arriving before cutting to Sky taking them out.
On the opposite end of the spectrum was the Undisputed WWE Championship match between CM Punk and Cody Rhodes. This was too methodical for my taste. But the highlights made it seem like a banger, full of false finishes and big spots, including Punk’s missed elbow drop through a table.
Not featured, though, was Punk’s moonsault attempt, which clearly missed Rhodes, though the announcers made it seem as if he hit the move perfectly.
The main event was Hell in a Cell, Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi. On YouTube, fans see Femi throwing Lesnar through a table. The highlights, though, left out the shot of welts on Lesnar’s torso that gave viewers at home a strong sense of how brutal this was.
For the most part, entrances and introductions were also lost, though Heyman’s intro of Lesnar made the cut. Post-match moments worth noting, such as the Bellas turning on Paige and Lesnar endorsing Femi, were featured as separate clips.
SummerSlam ran just over three hours. Combined, the eight highlight clips whittle that down to less than 40 minutes. Clips arrived anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes after each match, and are about five minutes long.
For fans on the go or on a budget, this was a surprisingly good way to keep up with the action. While it’s not the same as watching a PLE in full, it ultimately beats the alternative: not seeing the show at all.
