The Professional Bull Riders are charging into the new year with momentum that rattles the chutes. Packed arenas, primetime broadcasts and a cultural wave that has suddenly decided cowboy boots are not just acceptable but cool. From New England to New York City, PBR is opening the calendar with presence and plenty of noise, proving once again that bull riding is not just surviving. It is thriving.

Call it timing, or jokingly call it the Bella Hadid effect. Somewhere between rodeo roots, cowboy hats popping up on fashion runways and Western culture bleeding deep into pop culture, the lifestyle PBR has always lived is suddenly everywhere.

A New England One Two Punch

After launching the season in Manchester, and stampeding into Chicago, the Unleash The Beast tour heads to Boston, marking PBR’s first visit to the city in its history.

The move south to TD Garden after launching the season in New Hampshire underscores the tour’s growing footprint in the Northeast. Last January, PBR’s elite tour had its first event in Pittsburgh and sold out both nights. This year, on Valentine’s Day, Pittsburgh Steelers legend Brett Keisel will officiate the marriage of fans on the dirt. It could be you and your till-dirt-do-us-part dearest – to nominate yourself click HERE.

Before PBR ushers in true romance, Western style, Boston arrives early on the schedule as title contenders try to begin to separate themselves from the field and fans in the Northeast pack the building with a mix of curiosity and loyalty Demand has followed, too, with limited ticket inventory remaining as the tour makes its way into one of the sport’s fastest-growing regions.

It is a reminder that bull riding no longer belongs exclusively in Texas country. It’s thriving coast to coast.

In early 2025, PBR opened the calendar by selling out its first five performances across the first two weekends, igniting the season with immediate buzz. That success was global – the sport welcomed 1.43 million fans in 2024 and broke that record in 2025.

On television, with CBS and CW leading the charge, PBR reached more than 44 million viewers in 2025.

For now, in early January all attention is on Boston and New York, headling the opening stretch, with fans already circling dates and snapping up seats. These buildings are filling fast, and not just because Chicago wind or negative New England temperatures have people seeking a warm place to be.

New York, New Year and a Historic Return to the Garden

After the ball dropped on Jan. 1, the bulls buck as PBR will once again open the New York Stock Exchange in early January, this time with partner Boot Barn on Friday January 9. Then, the bulls buck that night and through the weekend, as PBR returns to Madison Square Garden for the 19^th  time. This milestone underscores just how deeply the sport has planted its flag in one of the most iconic arenas in the world.

This year’s New York stop brings its usual dose of drama and high stakes bull bucking.

The Monster Energy Buck Off at the Garden will mark the first Monster Energy Team Challenge weekend of the 2026 Unleash The Beast season, adding another layer of intensity – and team competition – to an already electric environment.

The Monster Energy Team Challenge brings head-to-head PBR Teams matchups into select Unleash The Beast events, layering team vs. team action on top of the individual world title race. In New York, the Texas Rattlers–Austin Gamblers rivalry reignites in true Unleash The Beast fashion, taking the fight for the Texas throne all the way to Madison Square Garden. Meanwhile, the defending 2025 PBR Teams champions, the Carolina Cowboys, face the New York Mavericks in back-to-back games at the Garden.

It’s the Cowboys first Team Challenge appearance since getting red hot when it counted most and walking out of Las Vegas as world champions last October.

While Monster Energy Team Challenge results do not count toward official PBR Teams regular season records, they do shape standings, playoff qualification and seeding, with games airing on CBS Television Network.

Riders compete for Unleash The Beast points and prize money while also riding for their teams, ensuring every qualified ride impacts both individual positioning and team bragging rights. The season culminates in a four-team playoff, ending in a winner take all seven-on-seven championship game at the final Unleash The Beast event of the season in Tacoma, Washington, where the 2026 Monster Energy Team Challenge champions will be crowned.

Momentum Behind the Chutes

What’s driving this season isn’t just what’s happening in the dirt.

As part of the broader TKO ecosystem, PBR continues to benefit from expanded reach, resources and partnerships, including a new RAM partnership spanning PBR’s top four United States tours. The deal, tied into a larger TKO agreement with UFC and WWE, reinforces PBR’s position at the intersection of sport, lifestyle and mainstream visibility.

It is a powerful alignment, a performance-driven brand backing a sport built on toughness, precision and horsepower as PBR continues to grow under the TKO umbrella.

On the competition side, the 2026 Unleash The Beast season is already delivering. Championship contenders are jockeying for position, returning legends are reentering the fold, rising stars are seizing opportunity and the margins are razor thin from the very first weekend.

Fans do not have to miss a moment of it.

Every Unleash The Beast event streams live on Paramount+, giving viewers a front row seat to the wrecks, the walkoff wins and the monster rides that reshape the standings in real time.

Western style may be having a moment, but PBR hasn’t shifted to meet it. The rest of the world simply caught up.

From Manchester to Chicago. From Chicago to Boston. From Boston to New York. From opening weekend to the final buckle.

Buckle up. Limited seats remain, and you won’t want to miss what happens in May.

A new PBR World Champion will be crowned May 14–17, 2026, at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media