AEW’s Ricochet is taking a public victory lap after ESPN combat sports reporter Andreas Hale gave WWE Wrestlepalooza a middling C grade. The review covered the first premium live event to air under WWE’s new deal with ESPN Unlimited.
Hale praised the Women’s World Championship match, awarding Stephanie Vaquer’s win over IYO SKY a B+. He described the rest of the card as “either underwhelming or a setup for a future match,” citing the short WWE Championship match between Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre (C) and Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena (C-).
The critique prompted Ricochet to fire back on X/Twitter, drawing a direct comparison to AEW’s All Out, which ran the same day after shifting its start time to the afternoon.
“I know our show was way better than a C. 😂 👑 #Ahaa”
He followed up by questioning WWE’s placement on a dedicated sports network:
“Also what’s funny to me is how a show where they have said over over that they aren’t a ‘real sport’ and its more of a TV show about the wrestling company. But they are on ESPN a SPORTS TV channel? 😂 Make it make sense. Lol.”
This online rivalry comes as Wrestlepalooza launched WWE’s five-year broadcast partnership with ESPN. The network previously said its writers would have full independence, promising a “separation of church and state” in coverage. Following the deal’s announcement, ESPN’s website briefly removed its AEW page before later restoring it.