Report: ESPN Ditched Letter Grades For WWE PPVs Following WWE Complaints

ESPN stopped using letter grades for their reviews of WWE pay-per-views after WWE expressed their objections, a report from POST Wrestling has revealed.

The POST Wrestling report comes after Dave Meltzer noted in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that ESPN stopped using letter grades after "WWE had gotten it killed." A source of POST Wrestling with knowledge of ESPN's approach claimed, however, that it was solely an ESPN decision to ditch the letter grades and WWE did not ask for the outlet to make the change.

ESPN and WWE signed a five-year deal worth $1.6 billion for WWE's pay-per-view rights in the United States which took effect in September 2025, with WWE's major events airing on ESPN Unlimited.

The first WWE pay-per-view under the ESPN Unlimited deal was Wrestlepalooza, which received a C grade from ESPN's Andreas Hale in the outlet's review of the pay-per-view. Hale then awarded a B grade to WWE Crown Jewel, but ESPN has not used letter grades for WWE pay-per-views since then.

The approach to ditch letter grades for WWE pay-per-views differs from ESPN's coverage of another TKO company in UFC. Hale's reviews of UFC events have consistently used letter grades, even when ESPN broadcast UFC events. This practice has continued since UFC moved to Paramount+ in the United States.