ESPN reporter who covered Janel Grant says WWE denied WrestleMania credentials

An ESPN reporter says WWE has blocked his access for WrestleMania 42.

Andreas Hale, who has covered the Janel Grant lawsuit against WWE and Vince McMahon for ESPN, as well as published letter-grade reviews of WWE PLEs, revealed the news on Saturday.

He posted to social media that he will not be covering WrestleMania for ESPN, saying WWE denied his credentials and blocked his access. Hale said neither he nor ESPN has been told why.

Hale wrote:

“I will not be covering #WrestleMania for ESPN.

WWE denied my credentials and blocked my access.

Neither I nor ESPN has been told why.

You can speculate on the reasons, but if you want answers, ask WWE.

Let me know what they tell you.”

On April 2, Hale published an ESPN story on the Janel Grant lawsuit against WWE and Vince McMahon, noting he had reached out to WWE for comment but did not hear back. Hale also covered the story when it was first filed in January 2024.

Hale has also written WWE PLE review pieces for ESPN using letter grades. He gave the September 2025 Wrestlepalooza event a C.

Hale’s post is below:

JNPO: MMA/hip-hop journalist Andreas Hale on Nate, Aljamain, WWE brand split

On the 39th Josh Nason’s Punch-Out, longtime MMA and hip-hop journalist Andreas Hale (Yahoo, The Source, Sherdog, many more) drops by to talk NJPW Best of the Super Juniors, WWE brand split, UFC’s fun Memorial Day weekend show, Nate Diaz, the state of boxing, and tons more.

> Listen to the show below by clicking the link or saving to your computer.

In this hour-long edition, the guys jumped into the following:

– How pro wrestling was Andreas’ gateway drug into other combat sports

– What he’s watching and why he’s watching it

– Talk on the WWE brand split and why both guys are skeptical of the outcome

– Last weekend’s disaster of a Bellator middleweight title fight and why their belts don’t seem to matter

– How UFC and Bellator fail on their community outreach programs

– Whether Kimbo Slice resonates with the black community

– Thoughts on Nate Diaz and his Wednesday interview with Ariel Helwani

– Andreas’ thoughts on the boxing scene and the plethora of PBC shows

– What both guys are excited about with this weekend’s UFC Fox Sports One show on Memorial Day

Beers. Food. You. Us. Let’s go.

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