A refreshingly honest answer from an ESPN Voice about the WWE deal

There’s been a fair amount of speculation about how ESPN and WWE’s multi-year media rights deal for domestic premium live events is being viewed internally at both companies. Most of the rumors and reports tell us there’s frustration on both sides, and that frustration has seemed evident in both WWE’s product and ESPN’s presentation at times since the partnership kicked off with Wrestlepalooza last September. As I find is the case with most things — especially on the wrestle web — the truth is probably not as bad as the worst rumors but not as good as the official company (or companies, in this case) line, or closest to the option 32% of you chose last week. Here, that would mean that ESPN and WWE are still trying to figure out how to make the marriage of a pro wrestling/sports entertainment company that’s increasingly embracing its pre-determined and scripted nature, and a brand built on non-scripted competition with unknown outcomes, aka “real sports”. Joe Fortenbaugh is not a decis