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Disney, WWE Ink Expanded Partnership
Disney and WWE are expanding their partnership with two events at Walt Disney World in December and a tie-in with Marvel’s upcoming film, Avengers: Doomsday. The move takes their collaboration beyond ESPN’s streaming of WWE premium live events into live experiences and retail.
The John Cena Classic will take place on 14 December at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports, featuring Raw, SmackDown and NXT wrestlers competing for a belt chosen by Club WWE members; it will stream on Netflix. On 15 December, WWE will stage an Avengers: Doomsday-themed Worlds Collide featuring WWE, NXT and AAA talent. Two-day tickets, an on-site WWE World fan event with Fanatics, and co-branded merchandise are planned.
In short
- Disney and WWE are broadening their partnership beyond ESPN.
- Two events are planned at Walt Disney World on 14 and 15 December.
- Avengers: Doomsday branding will feature in an event and merchandise.
Explained simply
Disney is a major entertainment company that owns the Walt Disney World resort in Florida and Marvel, the studio behind the Avengers films. WWE is a wrestling company whose performers compete in scripted matches and appear on weekly programmes including Raw, SmackDown and NXT.
The companies have worked together through ESPN, which streams WWE’s major live events. Their wider partnership brings WWE programming and characters into Disney venues and products, while Marvel links the collaboration to its film franchise. AAA, a Mexican wrestling promotion, is also involved in one of the planned events.