WWE WrestlePalooza Gets C Rating From ESPN After Fan Backlash and Streaming Issues

In a post-event review on ESPNs website, writer Andreas Hale didnt sugarcoat his thoughts. While calling the Womens World Championship match between IYO SKY and Stephanie Vaquer excellent, he admitted the rest of the card didnt deliver.

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 gradea C-and Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre was labeled as forgettable.

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.

Lasker clarified that only Spectrum, DirecTV, FuboTV, Hulu Live TV, and Verizon Fios subscribers had access to ESPN Unlimitedthe 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 ESPNs 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 executionand much of the in-ring productdidnt 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.