ESPN Facing Major Backlash For WrestleMania 42 Coverage

ESPN has been going all-in on WrestleMania coverage this year.

The Worldwide Leader in Sports, who has seen talents like Jason Kelce, Pat McAfee and Stephen A. Smith make appearances at WrestleMania events over the years, is facing blowback for its coverage of this year's event.

Wrestling, of course, is "fake." The acts are real, of course. But the scripts and choreography are, too.

Still, ESPN has been treating this like a serious, major sporting event.

The Worldwide Leader in Sports, though, is facing backlash for its coverage of WrestleMania 42.

Some fans are annoyed by ESPN treating wrestling like a serious sport.

ESPN faces blowback for coverage of WrestleMania 42

Awful Announcing was among those to criticize.

"Per data compiled by Awful Announcing, ESPN's three flagship studio programs - Get Up, First Take, and The Pat McAfee Show - spent more time discussing WWE this week than MLB and the NHL combined. In total, these shows dedicated 14 segments to WWE this week, while dedicating only 7 to MLB and 5 to the NHL," they wrote.

"WWE was the third-most-discussed "sport" in ESPN's daily programming this week, behind the NBA (44 segments) and the NFL (25 segments)."

Others are critical, too.

NFL reporter Vic Lombardi shared: "I wish I understood the allure of this pro wrestling stuff. But ESPN? The sports leader? I know I'm gonna get blasted as soon as I hit send but I don't get it. What are we doing? Where are we going?"

Another critic added: "Funny you mention this. I actually just turned on Sportscenter for the first time in years. It was all pro wrestling 😂. No baseball, no NBA, no NHL, no spring games. It was all professional wrestling. I turned it off after two minutes. ESPN is dead to me."

What do you make of the coverage?

Copyright The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This story was originally published April 19, 2026 at 10:48 AM.