WWE Figures “Stunned” By ESPN Review Of Wrestlepalooza

ESPN’s review of WWE Wrestlepalooza didn’t go down well.

On August 6, it was announced that WWE’s Premium Live Events would be moving to ESPN from Peacock in early 2026. The monster deal is worth a staggering $1.6 billion across five years and will only impact fans in the United States.

However, that timeline was quickly moved up, and the deal kicked off with Wrestlepalooza on September 20.

The event saw the in-ring return of Brock Lesnar of John Cena, who quickly beat John Cena, and the return of AJ Lee, who teamed with CM Punk to get the better of Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch. The match was Lee’s first in a decade.

During the broadcast, it was also announced that Stephanie McMahon will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

WWE Wrestlepalooza Fell Short

While many fans felt that the show had overpromised and underdelivered, it quickly became apparent that they weren’t alone. To the surprise of many, ESPN’s own review of Wrestlepalooza said that only Vaquer vs. Sky had saved the event from being “truly average.” The summary added that everything else was “underwhelming” or used to set up another match in the future.

Although the review represented something of a victory for editorial integrity, the reaction was still unexpected.

Interestingly, that surprise was also felt in WWE.

According to a new report via Wrestle Votes Radio, there were people within WWE who were “stunned” that ESPN would give the event a C rating. Those people questioned why the company would want such an “online stigma” around a perceived negative review for a “fairly standard” show.

It didn’t go unnoticed by fans that in the days before the show,Triple H told fans to expect a spectacle and surprises.