ESPN reporter who covered Janel Grant says WWE denied WrestleMania credentials
An ESPN reporter says WWE has blocked his access for WrestleMania 42.
Andreas Hale, who has covered the Janel Grant lawsuit against WWE and Vince McMahon for ESPN, as well as published letter-grade reviews of WWE PLEs, revealed the news on Saturday.
He posted to social media that he will not be covering WrestleMania for ESPN, saying WWE denied his credentials and blocked his access. Hale said neither he nor ESPN has been told why.
Hale wrote:
“I will not be covering #WrestleMania for ESPN.
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.”
On April 2, Hale published an ESPN story on the Janel Grant lawsuit against WWE and Vince McMahon, noting he had reached out to WWE for comment but did not hear back. Hale also covered the story when it was first filed in January 2024.
Hale has also written WWE PLE review pieces for ESPN using letter grades. He gave the September 2025 Wrestlepalooza event a C.
Hale’s post is below:
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.