ESPN gives Wrestlepalooza a C grade, surprising WWE

ESPN gave WWE's debut premium live event on its platform a C grade after Wrestlepalooza on Saturday night, a review that surprised several people inside WWE and set off debate among fans and rival performers. The network's written assessment said the show "fell a little short of expectations" while singling out the Women's World Championship match between Stephanie Vaquer and IYO SKY as the night's standout, and graded the overall card a C.

The review, authored on ESPN's site by reporter Andreas Hale, called the Vaquer versus Sky match "a phenomenal display inside the squared circle" and criticized other portions of the card as underwhelming or as setups for future encounters. Hale also described the Brock Lesnar versus John Cena bout as feeling like a setup for another match rather than a conclusive chapter. That critique was posted after the event, which featured headline matches such as Cody Rhodes defending the Undisputed WWE Championship against Drew McIntyre and the in-ring returns of AJ Lee and Brock Lesnar.

People working within WWE expressed surprise that the network airing the company's events would publish a negative review of the first premium live event on its...