ESPN Dropped Letter Grades From WWE PLE Reviews After Backlash

ESPN has quietly removed WWE letter grades from its event reviews — and the move comes after the outlet faced backlash over its scoring of recent shows

The development comes months after ESPN reviewer Andreas Hale got backlash for giving WrestlePalooza a C and other shows using a traditional A-to-F scoring system that sparked debate among wrestling followers.

Now, according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, ESPN has quietly removed those grades entirely — and he claims the change may have happened after WWE pushed back behind the scenes. Meltzer addressed the situation after noticing the grading system had disappeared from ESPN’s WWE coverage. According to him, the topic came up following a weekend show, and a source connected to the WWE side suggested the company played a role in the change.

“If you thought WWE didn’t care about that, clearly you have to think again given they disappeared. The story came up after the weekend show and it was confirmed to me by someone on the WWE side that WWE had gotten it killed.”

The grading system was used by ESPN writer Andreas Hale when reviewing WWE premium live events, including Crown Jewel 2025, where matches like John Cena vs. AJ Styles received high praise while others landed lower scores. But a follow-up report suggests the story may not be that simple.

According to PostWrestling, ESPN did not confirm Meltzer’s claim when asked directly about the change. The outlet reported that an ESPN spokesperson declined to comment publicly on the situation: “An ESPN spokesperson declined to provide comments for this report.”

Despite the lack of an official statement, PostWrestling reported that a source familiar with ESPN’s internal approach insisted the decision to remove the grades was made by the network itself — not by WWE.

“However, one source with knowledge of ESPN’s approach maintained that the decision to discontinue letter grades was ESPN’s alone and that WWE did not request the change.”

When the outlet attempted to get more clarity about why the grading system was removed — and whether WWE had complained about the reviews — the source reportedly chose not to elaborate.

“When pressed to explain the reasoning for the removal of grades and whether WWE took issue with the reviews, the source declined to respond further.”

For now, the result is clear: ESPN’s WWE reviews no longer include the letter-grade system that previously ranked matches and entire shows. Whether that change came from editorial preference or pressure behind the scenes remains a point of debate.

Do you think WWE had anything to do with ESPN removing letter grades from its show reviews, or was it simply a decision made by the network? Let us know what you think and leave your feedback below.