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Monday night's episode of WWE RAW was filmed in Anaheim, Calif., which is less than an hour from Los Angeles, where Michelle Beadle and the other ESPN SportsNation hosts live. Beadle, a devoted wrestling fan for many years, famously "turned in her fan card" in May of last year, following Triple H and WWE's endorsement of Floyd Mayweather.
On Monday, however, she was in attendance backstage at RAW, where she reconnected with Triple H, Stephanie McMahon and others.
Awesome to reconnect with old friends and bury the hatchet… Good things to come. @MichelleDBeadle @StephMcMahon pic.twitter.com/TJAn8eT0iO
— Triple H (@TripleH) February 16, 2016
Good friends. Great overdue conversation. Thanks @StephMcMahon & @TripleH pic.twitter.com/4uTJLDwHnk
— Michelle Beadle (@MichelleDBeadle) February 16, 2016
The move to mend the relationship is not surprising, given WWE's close working relationship with ESPN since SummerSlam in August.
Beadle admonished WWE after the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight last year. When many news outlets were shining a light on Mayweather's long history of domestic abuse, Triple H publicly voiced his support for Mayweather. Beadle's response to that endorsement included the following:
Triple H has over two million followers. He's one of the faces of a company that depends on a healthy public image. I realize he doesn't speak for everyone, but does he realize that when he shows support to a convicted batterer, friend or not, it can effectively damage so much goodwill that the company is admittedly doing? It's hard to sell a message of anti-bullying while slapping the ultimate bully on the back. I was a fan. A big fan. But it's time to use my voice.
It's clear that both sides are moving forward following what Beadle termed "overdue conversation."