Nearly one year after WWE Premium Live Events began airing through ESPN in the United States, Paul "Triple H" Levesque says the partnership has exceeded his expectations by bringing professional wrestling into the heart of the daily sports conversation.

Speaking on The Stephen A. Smith Show ahead of Night of Champions, WWE's Chief Content Officer explained that having ESPN personalities such as Stephen A. Smith, Mike Greenberg, and Pat McAfee regularly discussing WWE has created exposure that simply did not exist when he was growing up as a wrestling fan.

"I think ESPN is incredible for us," Levesque said. "It's where you go to hear the conversations with people that are either like-minded to you, you love their opinions, hate their opinions, or just do you want to hear those arguments about what you love. For us to be in there, for us to be in that conversation on a day-to-day basis. You see it. You'll see it this weekend on ESPN linear television where the pre-show is on there for a couple of hours and then we go right into the [main card]...

"The ability for us to be in that conversation on a day-to-day basis, everywhere you go. One of the most frustrating things for me as a kid, and maybe it was for you growing up, I don't know, but was when wrestling took place, no matter who it was, there was no place to hear talk about it, find out about it, what was going on. You couldn't have that conversation except for with your friends. This conversation is everywhere now. And because of ESPN, we're on the top of everybody's mind. You see it in Danhausen across the NBA with the Knicks in the biggest way possible. You see us connecting with not only the fans but the superstars of those sports as well. So that opportunity for us that [ESPN executives] Jimmy Pitaro, Burke Magnus have created. They've just all pushed us to another level in the common, everyday conversation that we can't get anywhere else. And that, to me, is worth its weight in gold, and it's awesome."

Levesque believes the expanded exposure has also strengthened WWE's relationship with athletes from other major sports, helping the company reach audiences beyond its traditional fanbase.

ESPN has heavily promoted this weekend's Night of Champions event, with Seth Rollins, Trick Williams, Michael Cole, and Joe Tessitore all appearing on the network throughout the week. The Premium Live Event takes place on June 27, with the opening hour airing on ESPN's main television channel before the full event continues on the ESPN Unlimited app in the United States. International viewers will be able to watch on Netflix.

The King and Queen of the Ring tournaments conclude at Night of Champions, with Oba Femi facing Jey Uso and IYO SKY taking on Liv Morgan in the finals. Both winners will earn World Championship opportunities at SummerSlam.