WWE Unreal Finally Reveals Why Brock Lesnar Squashed John Cena
In August 2025, Brock Lesnar returned to WWE for the first time in 2 years.
On Night 2 of SummerSlam, John Cena defended his Undisputed Championship against Cody Rhodes in the main event. The Street Fight lasted nearly 40 minutes before Rhodes reclaimed the title for a second time in his career.
Cena, who had been nearing the final phase of his retirement tour, was saying his thank yous and goodbyes to the New Jersey audience when Lesnar’s guitar riff hit, causing a roar to be heard inside MetLife Stadium.
The Beast Incarnate sauntered to the ring as the former champion stared at him in disbelief. Just as Brock Lesnar entered the ring, Cena tried to attack him, only to get lifted and dropped with an F5.
The show ended, giving fans an insight into Cena’s next feud, which was against his toughest opponent and long-standing rival.
Across the next couple of weeks, both wrestlers exchanged words, with their one-on-one match scheduled at Wrestlepalooza, WWE’s first PLE on ESPN in the United States.
Reason Behind Brock Lesnar Squashing John Cena At WWE Wrestlepalooza Revealed
In the lead-up to Wrestlepalooza, WWE hyped the Brock Lesnar versus John Cena match, as it would be the last time they competed against each other.
While fans hoped the highly-anticipated match would close the show, it surprisingly opened Wrestlepalooza.
Lesnar kicked off with a flurry of offensive moves, giving no chance to his opponent for a comeback. Being the veteran that he is, Cena retaliated with three shoulder tackles before taking The Beast off his feet with a fourth.
Cena followed it up with three Attitude Adjustments, only for Brock Lesnar to kick out at two. Lesnar regained control of the match and hit four successive F5s, six throughout the match, before pinning Cena successfully.
The match barely lasted 9 minutes, with Lesnar squashing Cena in their last match. For WWE fans, it brought back memories of SummerSlam 2014, where Lesnar hit 16 German Suplexes on Cena before ending it with an F5.
Viewers criticized Wrestlepalooza’s booking of Lesnar versus Cena. Even ESPN’s Andrew Hale gave the event a C rating, which caused quite the storm in the wrestling industry.
On Episode 1 of WWE Unreal: Season 3, John Cena revealed the reason why the Wrestlepalooza match was booked that way. The 17-time World Champion said that the match was about presenting Brock Lesnar as the ‘big bad.’ He further claimed that he was not at a disadvantage because he was retiring anyway.
Producer: What was the why with Brock at ‘Palooza?
Cena: That’s easy. It’s not a once-in-a-generation. He’s once in a genre. That’s it. There’ll be one Brock in wrestling. End stop. The why is losing to Brock does not kill me at all ’cause I’m on my way out. And we’re bringing him back with the intent to give him as much energy so he can begin to give it away. What’s the best way to do that? So, yeah, he’s gonna come back and destroy me.
If Brock can do that to someone who was just a champion and he gets mowed over, oh my god, who’s next? That’s the why.
Cena even spoke about the disappointment on the faces of the audience, with many of them booing the result; some children were seen crying on the giant screens, too.