Despite being promoted as one of the biggest events of the year ahead of time with a strong card advertised on paper, WWE Wrestlepalooza left many with mixed thoughts on a night where the company needed to knock it out of the park.
The latest Premium Live Event was an important one for WWE as it was the first to be broadcast on the new ESPN streaming platform that launched back in August, and will also be the home for major shows in the United States moving forward. On top of promoting the likes of AJ Lee and Brock Lesnar making their return to the ring at the event and top stars making appearances on the main ESPN shows in the days leading up to the show, Triple H promised that there would be some big surprises in an attempt to get more people to tune in. Unfortunately, this was the beginning of the overpromising that barely paid off throughout the night.
Kicking off with a new “Then, now, forever, together” video, Wrestlepalooza then showcased the history of wrestling being featured in the sporting world, before cutting to Triple H in the middle of the ring. Stating that the final form of sports and entertainment had arrived, the Chief Content Officer welcomed fans new and old to WWE.
Following an appearance by Pat McAfee, who provided guest commentary for the first 3 matches, and the entrances of Brock Lesnar and John Cena, the wrestling finally began after 21 minutes. While Cena made his entrance accompanied by a group of children in what was a wholesome moment, things got dark quick when the bell rang. Lesnar dominated Cena from the outset and took pretty much all of the offence in what was a condensed version of their SummerSlam 2014 encounter. After hitting multiple F5s, Lesnar pinned Cena to bring the opener to a very disappointing end. With the cameras focusing on upset kids after the bell and with a dejected Cena saying goodbye to the Indianapolis fans for the final time, this felt like a waste of a Cena match on the retirement tour and yet another reason against bringing Lesnar back. Regardless of your thoughts on the controversy surrounding Lesnar’s return, this was a boring match with a subpar build.
Thankfully, the pace picked up with the next match as The Usos faced Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker. Shortly before the match, it was announced that LA Knight would be the special referee. With Knight allowing weapons without calling for the DQ, this made the match much more entertaining compared to what would have been a standard Raw main event. The Usos reminded the fans why they are one of the greatest tag teams in the modern era and Breakker and Reed once again showcased their power. There was a scary moment towards the end of the match where Jey Uso was busted open by a deflected chair, which saw Jey pinned shortly afterwards.
Then came what was easily the match of the night and what should have been the main event in hindsight as Stephanie Vaquer defeated IYO SKY to win the vacant Women’s World Championship. Vaquer stepped up her game further with multiple nasty-looking dragon screws and a perfect spiral tap to win the match. Vaquer also had the advantage of being in the ring with SKY, who at this point has pretty much won women’s wrestler of the year with her series of great matches in 2025. Both women showed respect to one another after the match and Vaquer embraced her father, who traveled from Chile to see her daughter compete. With a reminder that women’s wrestling is being taken much more seriously in 2025, this is the match to see if you only have time to watch one from the show.
Arguably, the most anticipated match of the evening took place next as a returning AJ Lee teamed with CM Punk to take on Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch. Credit to Lee, who has been out of the ring for just over a decade, for not missing a step during her time away and executing her spots perfectly. While the match was entertaining and did have some comedic moments, such as Seth Rollins overselling Punk’s offence multiple times, this didn’t feel like the blood feud continuation it was meant to be. With Punk and Rollins having a hatred for one another in storyline that has been going on for years, there were times where this felt more like an impromptu match than one filled with years of animosity. Also, Becky Lynch, please never apply the sharpshooter again!
Despite the fact that big surprises were promised, the return of Pat McAfee and Paul Heyman introducing Brock Lesnar were pretty low on the shock factor with just one match to go. However, following a surprise appearance from The Undertaker, it was announced that Stephanie McMahon would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the 2026 class, much to her surprise. There is no doubt that McMahon does deserve the induction for her contributions, but the announcement being 7 months out felt like WWE rushed to have something newsworthy take place on the show after realising they promised big things ahead of time.
Then it was time for the main event as Cody Rhodes put the WWE Championship on the line against Drew McIntyre, who was finally looking for a fair fight against the champion. McIntyre did get his wish as no one interfered in the bout, but the loss was due to his own actions. Removing the turnbuckle to distract the referee and hurting himself on the announce table after attempting to kick Rhodes’ head through it once more, it was Rhodes who picked up the victory to close out the show. The only issue now is where does McIntyre go from here? Having lost title matches multiple times over the past few years and now effectively losing clean at Wrestlepalooza, will fans still see him as a viable contender or has it been one loss too many for The Scottish Warrior? Even though Rhodes winning is the logical choice given that he will be facing the heel Seth Rollins at Crown Jewel next month, McIntyre having the title for a few months would have made for more interesting viewing.
WWE Wrestlepalooza Review: Final Thoughts
Ironically, the show was a rather predictable one given the fact that surprises were promised ahead of time. The Stephanie McMahon Hall of Fame news was ot expected, but most of the rsults were predictable and there wasn’t that closing angle to make viewers have to tune into the next episode of Raw. Additionally, the Premium Live Event format of more than half the wrestling show not containing wrestling has become an issue with fans, especially when trying to watch the show live and the feed has been flooded with sponsors.
That being said, there were some positives. Stephanie Vaquer and IYO SKY put on a great match and the fans were very much into everything that took place on the show, a positive sign for live shows moving forward, and they got to see John Cena one final time, albeit in not the best circumstances.
It should also be noted that although not every fan watches both WWE and AEW, having the disappointing Lesnar vs. Cena match take place as All Out had just finished highlighted the contrast between both brands, especially as All Out was a very well-received show.
It’s no secret that WWE has not been seen in the best light over the past few weeks with the ESPN deal meaning that some fans will need to pay more each month to watch PLEs, and the SaudiMania deal has left many with a sour taste. The company keeps breaking records, but with high ticket prices for average shows how long can they keep this up? Triple H said this was the final form of sports entertainment, which might be a step too far for some fans. Obviously, the company is in no danger of suffering a huge financial loss right now, but this was not the show of the year contender they hoped it would be. There will come a point where the bubble will burst, and this may be the first sign.
Featured image: WWE
