ESPN grades WWE Wrestlepalooza a ‘C,’ Ricochet responds

ESPN has given out a middling grade to the first WWE show of its new PLE era.

In his review of the event, ESPN combat sports writer Andreas Hale graded Wrestlepalooza as a “C,” praising the Women’s World Championship between Stephanie Vaquer and IYO SKY but saying that everything else was “either underwhelming or a setup for a future match.” Hale gave out the following grades:

  • Brock Lesnar defeats John Cena: C-
  • Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed defeat The Usos: C
  • Stephanie Vaquer defeats IYO SKY to become the new Women’s World Champion: B+
  • CM Punk & AJ Lee defeat Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch: C
  • WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defeats Drew McIntyre: C

“The excellent Vaquer vs. Sky match saved this show from being truly average. It was a phenomenal display inside the squared circle. Everything else was either underwhelming (the short Rhodes-McIntyre match) or a setup for a future match (Lesnar dominating Cena),” Hale wrote. “For a card that promised to have epic moments, it fell a little short of expectations.”

ESPN said prior to Wrestlepalooza that its wrestling writers would have full independence in their coverage, and there would be a “separation of church and state” despite the network’s relationship with WWE as the promotion’s new PLE broadcast partner in the United States.

After the WWE-ESPN PLE deal was announced, ESPN’s website took down its AEW-dedicated page before later putting it back up, though there has never been much coverage in the section.

Wrestlepalooza and AEW All Out took place on the same day, with All Out moving its start time to the afternoon after the WWE competition was added.

AEW star Ricochet posted a tweet responding to ESPN’s Wrestlepalooza grade:

The WWE-ESPN PLE deal is a five-year agreement. Up next is Crown Jewel: Perth on October 11. That PLE has a special start time of 8 a.m. Eastern, streaming live on the ESPN app in the United States and Netflix internationally.