WWE Responds to ESPN's Criticism of Wrestlepalooza PLE

WrestleVotes Radio has reported that, internally, WWE isn’t happy with ESPN giving the PLE a C grade. They were surprised and thought it was a bad image for ESPN. The WrestleVotes report states:

“There were a number of people within WWE surprised and puzzled that ESPN would publish an article grading their first ever WWE PLE at a C level.Those within were openly wondering why ESPN would want that kind of ‘online stigma’ after what many considered a fairly standard event from WWE.”

So it seems that this partnership is off to a rocky start. In the ESPN article, the only thing that saved it from being “truly average” was the match between Stephanie Vaquer and IYO SKY, which earned a B+. The match was to see who was going to be crowned the new Women’s World Champion, which ended up being Vaquer. Every other match on the card, even AJ Lee’s return match, got a C.

What Do Fans Think Of WWE Calling Out ESPN?

Many fans have commented on the report that WWE called out ESPN, and most of them are confused by WWE, especially because most thought that the PLE was average. One fan believed that WWE needed to hear the negatives from its partner. The fan wrote:

“WWE needed to hear that from their broadcast partners! Maybe this will make them to step up their game..”

Another fan called out WWE for over-hyping the PLE. They tweeted:

“Isn't your head of creative hyping this event with so many surprised or something like that and to ended up underwhelming? I think they said it's C is pretty generous because they payed you big money but you absolutely minimum effort.”

One fan said that WWE shouldn’t be surprised that ESPN would want a good show, considering they paid to stream it. The fan said:

“ESPN paid $1.6 BILLION to stream special events and WWE is surprised they want a good showing?”

Though one fan did see WWE’s point. They wrote:

“I mean to be fair I see their point ESPN is the one that made the partnership with them WWE looking bad also makes them look bad.”

So all there is to say is that WWE should concentrate not on the negative press from ESPN, but instead on creating a better PLE with its next event, Crown Jewel: Perth. So far, there are two matches on the card: John Cena Vs. AJ Styles and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes versus WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins to see who will be crowned as the 2025 Men’s Crown Jewel Champion.