A rumor that surfaced on social media involving WWE and an ESPN reporter has been denied by both parties. Many were surprised when the “Wrestlepalooza” event received a C grade from ESPN’s Andreas Hale. The event was WWE’s debut show in their multiyear agreement with the top sports network.
Reports surfaced claiming that WWE was puzzled by such a low grade, followed by rumors that the company pushed to have Hale fired from his position at ESPN. Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp reports that higher-ups at WWE and Hale have denied the rumor. Sapp also noted that if WWE were to convince ESPN to cut Hale, it could’ve led to a lawsuit.
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ESPN’s Review of ‘WWE Wrestlepalooza’
The highest-graded match in Hale’s review was Stephanie Vaquer’s WWE Women’s World Championship win over Iyo Sky. That match received a B+ grade. The rest of the “Wrestlepalooza” card couldn’t get any higher than a C grade. That includes AJ Lee’s first wrestling match since 2015. Lee returned to the ring to team with CM Punk in a successful outing against WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins and WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch.
The lowest-graded match that ESPN gave to the “Wrestlepalooza” card was Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena. Hale gave the match a C-grade, which many fans agreed with. It was considered to be a standard Lesnar match that was fairly one-sided. Many wonder what the point of the match was, as Cena is retiring in December and Lesnar reportedly won’t be seen on WWE TV again for a while.
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