Sports Illustrated reporter sends strong message on blowback from ESPN’s critical WWE Wrestlepalooza review

Sports Illustrated reporter sends strong message on blowback from ESPN’s critical WWE Wrestlepalooza review originally appeared on The Sporting News

The Internet Wrestling Community was hit with a shocker following this past Saturday’s WWE Wrestlepalooza: the fed’s official broadcast partner, ESPN, actually covered the show through an objective lens.

And in ESPN’s Andreas Hale’s eyes, the show had issues.

“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). For a card that promised to have epic moments, it fell a little short of expectations,” Hale wrote.

Hale’s mostly negative review rocked the IWC, and rumors leaked that it created a stir within WWE. Hale denied the rumors on X.

Sports Illustrated’s Jon Alba agreed with Hale that it didn’t create the stir within WWE that’s being rumored. Alba then defended Hale from the hate he’s received for giving his objective analysis on the show.

“I’m sorry, but it’s total, unequivocal bull**** Andreas Hale has had to deal with this s*** this week,” Alba wrote.

“ESPN, on a public call, swore it will cover WWE journalistically and without editorial bias, despite being a partner. This is that in practice. 

“People gotta get over it.”

ESPN wasn’t going to sunshine pump the show and have the IWC overreact in the other direction. That’s too on the nose. Hale delivered as relatable a post to hardcore wrestling fans as possible. It was thorough and respectful to the performers.

Fans might’ve been worked here, thinking Hale's piece was a shoot. WWE and ESPN are obviously going to be in lock-step after signing a $1.6 billion deal to be partners. Everything any ESPN writer publishes is going through many editors, including decision-makers at WWE.

Hale’s review shone a spotlight on the women’s world title match, emphasizing the abilities of the Raw women’s division’s top two stars, Iyo Sky and new champion Stephanie Vaquer. That helps the narrative that the WWE has a new box office draw in Vaquer, and it's at the expense of Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Cody Rhodes, and Drew McIntyre, who all certainly don’t need the rub at this stage of their careers.

That Hale’s piece produced outrage means ESPN and WWE got what they wanted. And they kept kayfabe alive in doing so.

A gullible fanbase that believed Seth Rollins was legitimately injured before cashing in the Money in the Bank contract on CM Punk at Summerslam may have gotten worked again.