WWE Hall of Famer JBL has come to the defense of this past weekend’s inaugural WWE Wrestlepalooza event, pushing back against negative reviews. Speaking on the Something to Wrestle With podcast, the former WWE Champion addressed the lukewarm reception the show received from some outlets, arguing that initial reviews don’t always determine long-term success.
He drew a historical parallel to make his point, comparing the criticism of the premium live event to the initial reviews of one of the most famous novels ever written. The conversation about the show’s quality was largely sparked by an official review from WWE’s new broadcast partner, ESPN, which gave the event a “C” grade and stated that it “fell a little short of expectations.”
This review became a topic of discussion on social media. JBL believes that negativity is often the default stance for critics. “I saw some negative stuff out there. I think people love to be negative,” he said. “Dracula is the most sold booked behind the Bible, and reviews when it came out were horrible. So I think reviewers have always been negative. You sound smart when you’re negative, you don’t sound smart when you’re positive. I think it’s a terrific start for WWE, I think it’s gonna be huge”.
The Wrestlepalooza event was the first premium live event under WWE’s new five-year partnership with ESPN. The show opened with Brock Lesnar decisively defeating John Cena in Lesnar’s first match in over two years. The main event saw Cody Rhodes successfully defend his Undisputed WWE Championship against Drew McIntyre. The card also featured the in-ring return of AJ Lee, who teamed with her husband CM Punk to defeat Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch, as well as the crowning of a new Women’s World Champion in Stephanie Vaquer.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Something to Wrestle With with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
