WWE Wrestlepalooza preview — Cena-Lesnar to kick off ESPN’s first PLE

Greg WyshynskiSep 18, 2025, 06:26 PM ET

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Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL author.

As a service to followers who’ve a common curiosity in WWE however may not have watched a match in months, we’re joyful to supply this FAQ as a information to Wrestlepalooza, which is Saturday at 7 p.m. ET from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. ESPN’s first Premium Stay Occasion with WWE, Wrestlepalooza, is streaming completely within the U.S. for followers with a subscription to the ESPN Limitless plan — both instantly or via a conventional pay TV bundle — on the ESPN App.

What’s a Wrestlepalooza?

Again in 1995, the late, nice Excessive Championship Wrestling had an concept: What if there was an occasion that took its identify from Lollapalooza, however as an alternative of a music pageant that includes the Purple Sizzling Chili Peppers, it was a wrestling present that featured The Public Enemy and The Gangstas, in a tag staff stretcher match?

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WWE, which acquired ECW and its logos in 2003, wished to kick off its new ESPN rights cope with a particular Premium Stay Occasion (PLE) that wanted a memorable identify. So WWE dipped into its deep bag of wrestling mental properties and selected Wrestlepalooza. (Apologies to those that have been hoping for “Barbed Wire, Hoodies & Chokeslams,” one other ECW pay-per-view basic.)

Regardless of its roots, there aren’t a variety of excessive wrestling matches on this weekend’s Wrestlepalooza. Simply extraordinarily fascinating ones, similar to John Cena persevering with his retirement tour towards the formidable Brock Lesnar.

Wrestlepalooza will happen Saturday evening and out there within the ESPN App completely to subscribers with an ESPN Limitless plan. Illustration by ESPN

What has the John Cena retirement tour been like?

Right here’s a abstract of why “the last time is now” for Cena: Cena introduced at Cash within the Financial institution in July 2024 that he’ll retire as an in-ring performer on the finish of 2025. His aim was gold: Cena was tied with Ric Aptitude for essentially the most WWE world championships (16), and now the clock was ticking on breaking that document.

He was eradicated by Jey Uso within the 2025 Royal Rumble in February, costing him a title shot, however gained the following Elimination Chamber match in March to earn a match towards undisputed WWE champion Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41.

Right here’s the place issues get a bit bizarre. The Rock had lastly come again to WWE to ask Rhodes at hand over his “soul.” He appeared on the finish of Elimination Chamber along with his henchman, rapper Travis Scott (instructed you it received bizarre), to gather mentioned soul from Rhodes, who was within the ring with Cena. Rhodes, being somewhat keen on his soul, declined The Rock’s provide. However in his desperation to interrupt the document, Cena turned heel once more after twenty years as a babyface and joined an assault on Rhodes with The Rock and Scott. Because of interference from Scott, Cena beat Rhodes for the title at WrestleMania. Scott and The Rock wouldn’t play a task throughout Cena’s title reign.

The angle gave us one of the vital stunning heel turns in wrestling historical past … and a slew of moments the place Cena tried on an ill-fitting heel persona, slicing promos about his disdain for the followers that he had persistently praised throughout the remainder of his retirement tour.

Fortunately, Cena and WWE pumped the brakes on this persona in August on the SmackDown earlier than SummerSlam, telling followers he realized that his popularity had been “flushed down the toilet” in pursuit of “shocking TV.”

“The people that were supposed to be on my team? They left. And they left me alone, trying to pretend that I’m something I’m not,” Cena mentioned.

Cena entered SummerSlam at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to cheers, however Rhodes left with the championship. And that’s the place Brock Lesnar reentered the image. Followers have been shocked when his music hit throughout Cena’s farewell to SummerSlam. However Cena in all probability wasn’t all that shocked when Lesnar delivered an F-5 to him, given their historical past.

Why does Brock Lesnar need to struggle John Cena once more?

There are a couple of methods to reply that query.

The primary reply is that Lesnar, who hadn’t been seen in WWE since 2023, simply likes to beat individuals up. He attacked Cena and Sami Zayn throughout their U.S. title match on SmackDown not too long ago. He attacked R-Fact (aka “Ron Cena”) when he touted up Cena. He’s the Beast Incarnate. It’s his nature.

Based on WWE chief content material officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque on the SummerSlam postgame present, Lesnar was on Cena’s “wish list” of opponents who would assist him write “the last chapter of his book.”

Lesnar and Cena have wrestled solely six occasions in one-on-one matches, with Lesnar holding a 4-2 benefit. The final match was at Evening of Champions in 2014, which Cena gained through disqualification towards then-world-champion Lesnar. Saturday’s match will kick off Wrestlepalooza, as introduced Thursday on “The Pat McAfee Show.”

Their legacies are intertwined: They received their begins within the developmental Ohio Valley Wrestling scene, rising as much as WWE famous person and champion standing. Lesnar isn’t as important to the Cena story as, say, Randy Orton was, however he’s a big plot thread to tie up earlier than Cena says goodbye.

However the final issue is likely to be the Cena face flip. Our wrestling heroes want the percentages stacked towards them. They want seemingly insurmountable opponents to stare down within the ring.

Cena admitted on Uncooked this week that he’s “afraid” of Lesnar. However he mentioned that “The Last Real Champion” will “take the fight to the Beast” in a “final showdown between two generational titans.”

Man, that man can hype a match, can’t he?

Drew McIntyre will problem Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship. Wealthy Wade/WWE through Getty Pictures

What about WWE champion Cody Rhodes?

Cody is dealing with Drew McIntyre for the undisputed WWE championship. These two had a feud simply over a 12 months in the past that culminated in a avenue struggle on SmackDown.

After Rhodes captured the title at SummerSlam, McIntyre attacked him on SmackDown with a Claymore Kick via the aspect of the announcers’ desk, which was ingenious. McIntyre would later argue that Rhodes attacked him first that evening — a declare with a modicum of validity — though McIntyre’s escalation of violence may hardly be known as self-defense.

McIntyre fancied that kick via the desk a lot that he was going to ship one to Orton a couple of weeks afterward SmackDown when Rhodes returned from damage for the save and to problem McIntyre to a title match at Wrestlepalooza.

The announcers may need to sit within the skybox for this one, as there’s zero likelihood their ringside desk isn’t going to be obliterated into sawdust.

As Rhodes has famous, McIntyre is one in all solely 4 wrestlers — together with Cena, Lesnar and Roman Reigns — to have defeated him in a singles match since he returned to WWE in 2022.

Because you talked about Roman Reigns, does Wrestlepalooza have any Bloodline motion?

Why, sure! For the primary time on a PLE since 2023, Jey and Jimmy Uso are wrestling as a tag staff because the Usos compete towards Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker, who’re members of world heavyweight champion Seth Rollins’ faction, The Imaginative and prescient.

Reigns had been feuding with this Paul Heyman-backed group, struggling an assault that led to a singles match towards Reed earlier this month at Conflict in Paris. After Reigns was victorious, Reed and Breakker left him so crushed up that he’ll be out a number of weeks whereas starring as Akuma within the new “Street Fighter” reboot … I imply, rehabbing that damage.

On the subsequent Uncooked, Reed and Breakker have been beating on LA Knight when Jimmy Uso made an ill-advised save. Jey Uso rushed the ring to save lots of his brother, furthering the feud that has led to this tag match towards The Imaginative and prescient.

Necessary sidebar right here: Knight and Jey Uso have a constructing beef that began with some miscommunication throughout a brawl with The Imaginative and prescient that left Jey getting flattened by Reed. Jey responded by delivering a spear to Knight, leaving Jimmy dumbfounded. After the 2 shook arms and seemingly made up per week later, Knight gave him the ol’ Stone Chilly “kick-boom-stunner” combo and claimed the rating was now even.

One thing tells me this animosity may simply carry over to Wrestlepalooza. Who will win the immortal wrestle of “YEET!” vs. “YEAH!”?

Is there a girls’s title match on the cardboard?

Sure, and it’s for a championship that’s at present vacant for a somewhat joyous cause: Reigning world champion Naomi introduced that she and husband Jimmy Uso predict a toddler.

She relinquished the title on Aug. 18 and instructed the ladies’s division that they had 9 months earlier than she returns to reclaim it. No phrase if her new child shall be labored into subsequent angles, with Naomi choking out opponents whereas sporting a child service.

The brand new holder of that title shall be decided at Wrestlepalooza between Iyo Sky and Stephanie Vaquer, who each have a declare to the championship. Sky was scheduled to problem for the championship earlier than Naomi introduced her being pregnant. Vaquer gained a 20-woman Battle Royal at WWE Evolution in July to earn a title shot.

Take into account, Sky dropped the title to Naomi in a triple-threat match at Evolution that additionally featured Rhea Ripley. These three ran it again at SummerSlam, the place Sky once more couldn’t win again her title. Vaquer, in the meantime, is chasing her first WWE championship after reigning as NXT girls’s champion earlier this 12 months.

Thrilling occasions within the girls’s division. And that’s not even mentioning the previous champion who dressed like a ninja and attacked CM Punk. Or AJ Lee, who’s wrestling at Wrestlepalooza in her first match since 2015.

CM Punk and AJ Lee will problem Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch at Wrestlepalooza. Georgiana Dallas/WWE through Getty Pictures

AJ Lee is again in WWE?!

Within the phrases of Kurt Angle: Oh, it’s true. It’s rattling true.

For about 5 years, the sight of AJ Lee skipping out from the again with a mischievous grin meant one thing eventful was about to go down. She was a necessary a part of the “Divas Revolution” simply over a decade in the past, not solely as one of many longest-reigning titleholders however because the opposing pressure to the “Total Divas” actuality tv period. Please recall Lee calling out the Bella Twins and others as “ungrateful, stiff, plastic mannequins” throughout a “pipe bomb” promo that little question endeared her to her husband and pipe-bomb originator CM Punk, whom she married in 2014.

Ever since Punk returned to WWE in November 2023, there’s been hypothesis that Lee may additionally make her long-awaited wrestling comeback. Becky Lynch lastly gave her a cause.

At Conflict in Paris, Punk confronted Seth Rollins, who cashed in his Cash within the Financial institution contract to win Punk’s title at SummerSlam. Punk had Rollins hoisted up for a remaining GTS when a mysterious assailant emerged and determined it was clobberin’ time with Punk’s decrease extremities. Off got here the black masks to disclose Lynch, marking the primary time she aligned herself within the ring with Rollins since he gave her a marriage ring in 2021.

Lynch defined in a face-off with Punk that she and Rollins run WWE and that Punk doesn’t match “the vision,” punctuating it with a slap to Punk’s head. Throughout that promo, followers began an “AJ Lee!” chant, to which Lynch venomously snapped again, “She doesn’t work here!”

Lower to SmackDown in Chicago a couple of days later. The followers are nonetheless chanting “AJ Lee!” Lynch is telling them to “shut up.” Punk informs her that he’d by no means put his arms on a girl, however “thankfully, I’ve got someone who will.”

After which out skipped AJ Lee.

The blended tag staff match between these 4 stars may very well be the showstopper and essential occasion at Wrestlepalooza. Punk and Rollins hate one another. Lynch and Lee are icons from totally different generations of the ladies’s division — and now AJ has a receipt from Becky slapping her husband.

It’s received nastiness and drama and, let’s not neglect, a former girls’s champion competing in her first match since March 2015. One prediction we’re comfy making about Wrestlepalooza: There shall be a “You still got it!” chant throughout this match.