>Per a new report from POST Wrestling by Brandon Thurston and John Pollock, WWE objected to ESPN using letter grades in its editorial reviews of WWE events, & ESPN, unfortunately, abided.
>As first reported in the March 9, 2026 issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that "someone on the WWE side… had gotten [the use of letter grades] killed."
>You'll recall the pants-wetting that happened when ESPN writer Andreas Hale covered the first live event under their new five-year, $1.6 billion deal with WWE: WWE Wrestlepalooza 2025. Hale dared to give the not very good at all show a "C," and the pitchforks came out in short order for the long-time combat sports reporter.
>In October, Hale's review and grades returned as he gave a "B" to Crown Jewel. Since October, Hale's WWE reviews have not featured a letter grade.
>As Thurston and Pollock discovered, during the period when Hales' WWE reviews stopped including letter grades, his UFC reviews have continued to feature grades.
>While it could certainly be a coincidence (it's probably not), Thurston and Pollock also found that Hale or other ESPN digital reporters have not had a story with original comments from WWE talent since a Hale piece written two days before Wrestlepalooza.
>WWE will tell you until it's blue in the face that they don't care what people think, that they are focused on their business goals, the internet isn't real, blah, blah, blah, but it's clear time and time again, they are VERY worried and very aware of what people think and say about them.
WWE are such gotten-to babies
