ESPN Writer Responsible For WWE PLE Letter Grades Denied Access To WrestleMania

The ESPN writer in question is Andreas Hale. Hale revealed on Twitter shortly after midday, so just six hours before WrestleMania 42 gets underway, that he won't be covering the show due to his credentials being denied by WWE. "WWE denied my credentials and blocked my access. Neither I nor ESPN has been told why. You can speculate on the reasons, but if you want answers, ask WWE. Let me know what they tell you," Hale's tweet reads.

Fans definitely didn't need to be invited to speculate, as the replies and reactions to WWE seemingly refusing Hale access to WrestleMania. The leading theory is that, despite claiming otherwise, Hale's average letter grades for WWE PLEs when they first moved to ESPN actually did sting a little, and that even now, seven months later, higher-ups in WWE and TKO still hold a grudge.

ESPN's WWE Letter Grades

Wrestlepalooza was the first PLE to air live on ESPN. Hale agreed with fans that the show wasn't all that great, awarding the PLE a C grade in ESPN's write-up. That caused quite a stir, and, for some, it was refreshing that the network wasn't afraid to publicly call out a WWE show for being less than, even though they had entered into a working relationship.

Earlier this year, it was noted that Hale and ESPN's WWE write-ups no longer included letter grades. It was claimed that ESPN was behind that decision, although it was also noted that there was discomfort backstage regarding the grades. The C for Wrestlepalooza was followed up with a B for Crown Jewel the following month.

You'd have thought with letter grades gone, and it seemingly being an ESPN decision, that the situation, if there ever really was one, would have been swept under the rug. Hale's update on his 'Mania plans, or lack of them, suggests otherwise. What Hale didn't clarify is whether he showed up in Las Vegas and simply wasn't allowed in by WWE, or if he was denied credentials days ago, and he revealed the news today so fans don't go looking for the coverage they'd typically expect from him.