During an interview with Off the Ropes, ESPN writer Andreas Hale discussed various topics, including his reasons for giving WWE WrestlePalooza a rating of C.
This is what Andreas Hale said, “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? 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. 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. 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. 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.“
(H/T to EWrestlingNews for transcribing the above quotes)
