ESPN’s Andreas Hale Fires Back After Fans Explode Over His WrestlePalooza Grade

WWE WrestlePalooza may have wrapped last week, but the fallout continues—and it’s not about what happened in the ring. ESPN writer Andreas Hale caught heat after giving the show a C grade, and now he’s directly responding to the backlash from fans and critics.

Speaking on Off the Ropes, Hale defended his review and said he was stunned by the extreme reaction. For him, WrestlePalooza was just an average show—not great, not terrible—and he didn’t think that would be controversial.

“Look, I gave it a C—and it deserved a C. Monday morning my mentions were on fire. We know how wrestling fans can be, how the tribalism works. I didn’t expect that kind of reaction based on an average grade. I didn’t give it an F—what are we doing here? Can we not be honest about the show?”

Hale said what surprised him most was how many people were outraged that someone from ESPN would be allowed to be critical of a show on the very network it aired on. Some fans even went as far as calling for his job.

“The most surprising part? A lot of people were shocked that ESPN would grade a show on their own network as average, bad, or say we ‘s** on it.’ Some even called for my job. Others said I was tweeting about AEW earlier in the day and called me a shill.”*

Those AEW accusations didn’t sit well with Hale either. He insisted his wrestling fandom is lifelong and broad.

“I’ve loved pro wrestling since I was three. I watch everything—All Out, NXT, TNA. People who know me know that. But those who don’t assume I’m on one side or Tony Khan’s side. That surprised me—that people were shocked someone from ESPN gave it an average grade.”

He argued that the rating changes nothing about WWE’s success with the show, but he’s concerned about a larger issue—journalistic honesty being under fire.

“So the show’s over, people have watched it, and my rating means nothing now. They got their views—it changes nothing. The bigger issue is that if we can’t be honest about how a show really is, then my journalistic credibility is at risk.”

Hale also reminded fans that he’s not just reviewing wrestling events—he regularly grades boxing and UFC cards, and if everything got an A, his reviews wouldn’t matter.

“My grades mean something. I also grade UFC fights and boxing. If I gave everything an A, what would it mean? People have to stop thinking a C is horrible. It’s not. I’ll never watch WrestlePalooza again, I don’t care to—but it wasn’t the worst thing ever. For something that promised ‘epic’ moments, it just fell short.”

Despite pushback from people like Booker T, Hale isn’t walking back his opinion. He believes calling it like he sees it is part of the job—and if that means saying a hyped event felt flat, so be it.

Andreas Hale made it clear—he’s not here to sugarcoat shows just because they air on ESPN. If a wrestling event fails to live up to its own hype, he’s going to say it. Whether fans agree or not, Hale’s response sends a message: journalism in wrestling isn’t just about cheerleading.

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