WWE’s WrestlePalooza was supposed to mark the beginning of a $1.6 billion partnership with ESPN in spectacular fashion—but things unraveled fast. After a frustrating night of streaming failures that left many fans locked out, ESPN’s own combat sports writer has now graded the show as “average,” saying only one match saved it from being a total letdown.
In a post-event review on ESPN’s website, writer Andreas Hale didn’t sugarcoat his thoughts. While calling the Women’s World Championship match between IYO SKY and Stephanie Vaquer “excellent,” he admitted the rest of the card didn’t deliver.
“The excellent Vaquer vs. Sky match saved this show from being truly average. It was a phenomenal display inside the squared circle.”
Hale gave the event an overall C grade, with Vaquer vs. SKY earning a B+, the highest mark of the night. Meanwhile, Lesnar vs. Cena was handed the worst individual grade—a C-—and Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre was labeled as forgettable.
“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.”
Those expectations were already shaky going into the event. On a media conference call just days before WrestlePalooza, ESPN SVP of Direct-to-Consumer, John Lasker, admitted not all ESPN subscribers would have access to the show.
“We’re not 100% there today, but over the next couple of months, the vast majority of folks that are subscribed to ESPN through an MVPD will have access to our ESPN Unlimited plan and then therefore have access to all the PLEs to come.”
Lasker clarified that only Spectrum, DirecTV, FuboTV, Hulu Live TV, and Verizon Fios subscribers had access to ESPN Unlimited—the tier required to stream WWE pay-per-views. Everyone else would need to wait as ESPN worked toward “pretty much ubiquitous accessibility” in the future.
That warning turned out to be a major red flag. When WrestlePalooza aired, fans across the country hit login walls, ran into tier confusion, or were met with streaming error messages, despite ESPN’s hours of pre-show coverage and even a live SportsCenter broadcast from the event site.
So while ESPN poured resources into launching this new era, the technical execution—and much of the in-ring product—didn’t meet expectations. With a lukewarm C rating from their own outlet, and fan frustration still simmering, WWE and ESPN may have work to do before their next premium live event hits the platform.
What letter grade would you give WWE Wrestle Palooza? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
September 22, 2025 7:00 am
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