Reviews

The John Report: WWE Wrestlepalooza 2025 Review

By John Canton • Published Sep 20, 2025 22:45 EDT
WWE Wrestlepalooza Review TJRWrestling

This is WWE Wrestlepalooza, featuring Brock Lesnar facing John Cena, Cody Rhodes against Drew McIntyre, a Seth Rollins/Becky Lynch against CM Punk/AJ Lee tag, and more.

It’s a busy wrestling day with the first-ever WWE Wrestlepalooza PLE taking place on the same day as AEW All Out. Since AEW moved their show to earlier in the day, the shows weren’t going head-to-head.

The card has five matches, even though I think WWE PLEs should have at least six matches, or even sometimes. The roster is so good, and they could fit more than five matches on a 3.5-hour show. It feels like a bigger-than-usual show because it’s the beginning of WWE PLEs airing on ESPN for fans in the US. For those of us outside of the US, we use Netflix depending on what deal your country has.

There was a two-hour Wrestlepalooza Countdown Show on WWE’s YouTube channel, but I don’t review those shows. I am watching on Netflix in Canada. Let’s get to the main show.

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WWE Wrestlepalooza
From Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana
Saturday, September 20, 2025

There was some backstage walking shown of the superstars in action on this show.

A video package aired showing some WWE history, along with ESPN history, to signify the start of the new WWE-ESPN partnership for those of you in the US. It showed past WWE-ESPN interactions. Triple H spoke into the camera: “Sports is entertainment. Always has been, always has been.” That wrapped it up.

Triple H was in the ring for a promo saying what you are about to witness is the final form of sports and entertainment. Triple H welcomed the first timers to WWE, to ESPN and to Wrestlepalooza. A pyro display went off by the entrance after that.

Analysis: WWE really loves this ESPN deal, huh? I get it. Money makes people happy and maybe the ESPN exposure will grow WWE as well. It just feels like a lot of ass kissing.

Michael Cole and Wade Barrett were at ringside on commentary to welcome us to the show. Welcome back to Wade after a few weeks off.

Pat McAfee was shown arriving in a truck along with Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers. They hugged. Triple H hugged Pat backstage, and Pat made his entrance to a huge ovation since he makes his home in Indiana. I noticed WWE President Nick Khan at ringside. Pat joined the commentary team for the show. Cole was so excited to see Pat back. The fans were cheering.

Analysis: Welcome back to Pat McAfee after being away from WWE for about three months. I’m not the biggest McAfee fan, but he is a guy who’s full of energy, and he is liked by a lot of people.

Brock Lesnar made his entrance looking massive for his first match in over two years. The announcers referenced Lesnar destroying Corey Graves with two F5’s on SmackDown last night.

John Cena made his entrance to a huge ovation and he had about 30 kids with him on stage. I don’t know how many there were exactly, but they were all in Cena gear and doing his “You Can’t See Me” hand gesture into the camera. Cena thanked the kids and ran down to the ring to start the match. A stat said that Cena is 2-4 in singles matches against Lesnar and Cena has 99 wins in PLE matches. Alicia Taylor did the introductions for the match. There were, “Let’s Go Cena-Cena Sucks” chants from the crowd. Taylor introduced Cena as the greatest of all time, the never seen 17, celebrating with you in Indianapolis one final time, the last real champion…John Cena.

Paul Heyman cut off Alicia Taylor and went down to ringside. Lesnar high-fived Heyman, who introduced Lesnar from the ring apron. Lesnar loved it. Heyman introduced Brock as the last real ass kicker and the fans reacted to it in a big way.

Analysis: Cool entrances for both guys.

Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena

It was 21 minutes into the show when the bell rang for the first match. It’s not a complaint. Just saying. Lesnar worked over Cena with shoulder tackles and a clothesline. Lesnar clotheslined Cena. Lesnar sent Cena hard into the turnbuckle, and Lesnar did it again. Lesnar hit a running powerslam to remain in control. Lesnar gave Cena a German Suplex across the ring. Lesnar grabbed Cena in a bearhug from behind, Cena got out of that and Lesnar hit a lariat. Lesnar hit a release German Suplex. Cena shoved Lesnar into the turnbuckle, Cena hit three shoulder tackles in a row and a fourth one knocked Lesnar down. Cena hit an Attitude Adjustment, Lesnar was back up and Cena hit another Attitude Adjustment. Cena hit a third Attitude Adjustment for just a two count. Cena went for the Five Knuckle Shuffle, but Lesnar caught him and hit two F5s in a row, but there was no cover. Lesnar hit a third F5 with no cover attempt. Lesnar picked up Cena and hit a fourth F5. Lesnar hit a fifth F5, and still didn’t attempt a cover. Lesnar gave Cena a sixth F5 and cover for the pinfall win at 8:50.

Winner by pinfall: Brock Lesnar

Analysis: **1/4 A dominant win by Brock Lesnar, similar to when he beat John Cena easily at SummerSlam 2014 for the WWE Title. My pick for this match was Lesnar because we know Cena is done this year, and Lesnar is going to keep wrestling, so it makes sense to put over Lesnar strongly so that you can have him face others next year. Anyway, this was a slow-paced ass kicking with Lesnar dominating 85% of the match, and Cena got a bit of offense, but this was all about making Lesnar look like a beast as usual.

After the match, Lesnar picked up referee Dan Engler and hit him with an F5. Lesnar hit Cena with another F5. They showed a kid crying in the crowd. Lesnar took his gloves off and left the ring. They showed Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers looking sad. Another kid was shown nearly crying. They showed replays.

Analysis: More heat on Lesnar for being a jerk. It could be a way to write him out of storylines until he is brought back again. The attack on Graves and a referee could lead to a “suspension” story.

Following the replays, John Cena slowly left the ring. Cena resisted help from a referee and said he was walking to the back. Cena slowly walked up the ramp to the back. The fans chanted, “Thank You Cena” for John as he paused by the entrance.

A video aired about The Usos against Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker.

They went to a “We’ll be right back” video like we get during SmackDown and NXT on Netflix. That’s usually not the case for PLE shows. It lasted for about two minutes.

There was a commercial for WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas. Poor New Orleans getting it taken away.

The commentary team shilled Hulk Hogan’s Real American Beer and had some limited edition beer available.

During the Countdown Show, LA Knight was assigned the guest referee role for the upcoming tag team match.

The Usos entered from the crowd as usual and Jimmy Uso did a promo telling the fans to light up the arena with their cell phones while saying they wanted to show ESPN how it’s done. Jey set up the “Yeet” and they did the Yeeting routine on their way to the ring. The fans loved it. The entrance took a long time.

The Vision’s Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker were up next with Paul Heyman. This entrance was a lot faster.

The Usos – Jimmy & Jey Uso vs. The Vision – Bronson Reed & Bron Breakker (w/Paul Heyman)

LA Knight is the special referee wearing a referee’s shirt along with green pants.

Reed started with Jey using his power, but Jey came back with a jumping kick to the ear. Jimmy tagged in for a double kick to the ribs of Reed. The Usos hit a double uppercut on Reed. Jey hit a forearm smash on Reed, but Reed hit a back elbow to knock Jimmy down. Bron was fighting with Jey on the floor and Jimmy hit some punches on Reed. Bron pulled the top rope down, so Jimmy went flying over the top to the floor. Bron ran around the ring and hit a shoulder tackle on Jimmy on the floor. The team of Reed and Bron worked over Jey for a few minutes. Bron hit a suplex on Jimmy and Knight was slow to count, so Bron did some push ups. Reed tagged in with a senton splash on Jimmy. Reed put Jimmy’s head on a steel chair, but Jimmy countered that to kick Reed, who went into a chair. The referee, Knight, was not enforcing the rules strictly. Bron tagged in and knocked Jimmy off the apron to prevent a tag. Bron hit a back body drop on Jimmy. Reed had Jimmy on his shoulders and Bron jumped off the top with a bulldog for two. Reed went for a senton splash, but Jimmy avoided it. Jimmy finally broke free to tag in his brother.

Jey Uso tagged in against Bron and hit some clotheslines, along with punches. Jey hit a running hip attack on Bron where you could tell he didn’t even touch Bron and just hit his butt on the turnbuckle. Jey went up top and hit a cross body block for two. The fans were chanting for a table, so Jimmy brought a Slim Jim-sponsored table into the ring. The Usos set up a table against the turnbuckles. The Usos hit double superkicks and a 1D on Bron for two because Reed broke up the pin attempt. Jey battled with Reed by the ropes, but then Bron was there and hit a Frankensteiner off the top. Reed went for a moonsault, but Jey moved. Reed rolled into position for Jimmy to hit a Swanton Bomb. Bron hit a Spear on Jimmy. Jey hit a Spear on Bron. Jey went up top and hit an Uso Splash on Bron for a two count. Jey complained about Knight’s count, but it looked like Knight did a fair count. Jey superkicked Reed off the apron. Knight got in Reed’s face on the floor and Jey hit a suicide dive on Reed on the floor. Knight asked Jey if that was for him. Knight told Jey to get in the ring. Heyman tossed a chair into Bron in the ring. Bron held the chair, but Jey was ready with a superkick. Jey nearly hit Knight with a chair when Bron moved, but Jey stopped himself. Jey hit Bron in the back with a chair and threw a chair at Reed. Bron was able to recover from the chair shot and hit a Spear. Bron was bleeding on the back, but it was Jey’s face that was bloody. Bron hit a Spear on both Usos through the table that was against the turnbuckle. Reed went up top and hit a Tsunami on Jey for the pinfall win. It went 17:12.

Winners by pinfall: The Vision – Bronson Reed & Bron Breakker

Analysis: ***1/2 It was a very entertaining tag team match. LA Knight as the referee meant it was basically a Tornado Tag kind of match where weapons were legal because Knight didn’t care to enforce the rules. The problem with a match like this, where Knight was not enforcing the rules, is that the wrestlers don’t need to make tags because there are no rules, yet they spent the first half of the match building up the hot tag spot. They should have just made it a Tornado Tag Team Match and not have any tags, because then it would have made more sense. I picked The Vision boys in my preview. I think we’ll see the feud continue and The Usos will get a win down the road, but for this match, I think it was important to have The Vision look strong.

A video package aired about the Women’s World Title match between Iyo Sky and Stephanie Vaquer. There was a 3:30 clock counting down during this, so I assume there were ads for some people. That was followed by about 1:50 of the “We’ll be right back” moving images of the WWE talent.

The music group The War and Treaty were at ringside. Burke Magnus, who is ESPN’s President of Content, was at ringside. Former NBA player Jeff Teague and the Club 520 Podcast was at ringside. Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers was also at ringside. The poor guy tore his Achilles in the NBA Finals, so good luck to him in his recovery.

Drew McIntyre was shown warming up for the main event later in the show.

The WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton was at ringside watching the match. She has a triple threat on SmackDown against Jade Cargill and Nia Jax. That was going to be on this show, but WWE changed its mind.

Stephanie Vaquer made her entrance first and was cheered by the fans. Iyo Sky, the former Women’s World Champion, was also cheered. Alicia Taylor did the in-ring championship introductions.

For The Vacant Women’s World Championship: Iyo Sky vs. Stephanie Vaquer

It’s the Japanese star Sky against the Chilean Vaquer in a matchup of two international stars. They battled over some basic holds on the mat for a couple of minutes. Vaquer got a sunset flip and then Sky reversed it and they each got a couple of pin attempts. Vaquer het a belly to back suplex. Sky and Vaquer took turns tripping eachother. Sky hit an arm drag and a cartwheel, leading to a trip. Sky hit a running dropkick. Sky hit a body slam, followed by knees to the ribs for two. Vaquer kicked Sky and Vaquer applied an armbar on the right arm against the ropes. Vaquer hit a running leg drop on Sky for a two count. Vaquer hit a suplex, and another suplex. Vaquer put her knees into Sky’s back and pulled back on the arms. Sky came back with a double underhook backbreaker. Sky followed back with a flatliner. Sky went to the apron, she punched Vaquer and Sky hit a springboard missile dropkick that knocked Vaquer out of the ring. Sky hit a suicide dive cross body block onto Vaquer on the floor. Sky went for a Powerbomb off the apron, but Vaquer held onto the ropes. Vaquer hit a knee drop onto Sky. Vaquer hit a springboard cross body block onto Sky on the floor. Back in the ring, Vaquer hit a springboard cross body block into the ring. Vaquer hit a snap suplex. Vaquer charged, Sky moved and Vaquer hit the knees into the turnbuckle. Sky hit a German Suplex. Vaquer caught Sky and hit a German Suplex of her own. The women were down selling the physicality of the match.

They were back up exchanges strikes as Sky hit an uppercut and Vaquer hit a knee. Sky hit a jumping punch, but Vaquer hit a belly to back suplex. Sky avoided Devil’s Kiss and Sky stomped on Vaquer’s ribs. Sky applied a crossface, Vaquer rolled out of it and Sky hit a knee to the face. Vaquer wrenched on Sky’s right leg with a dragon screw leg whip. Vaquer hit a kick, along with a headbutt. Sky hit a running hurricanrana for two. Sky did a roundhouse kick to the head. Sky went up top and went for the moonsault, but Vaquer got the knees up to block. Vaquer kicked Sky and did another dragon screw leg whip on the right leg again. Vaquer hit the Devil’s Kiss knee smashing with the fans cheering for it and Sky smacked the mat repeatedly. Vaquer hit the backbreaker onto the knee. That’s what Vaquer was using as her finisher, but she changed it recently. Vaquer went up top, but Sky stopped her with an uppercut to the jaw. Sky slapped Vaquer in the face to stun her on the top turnbuckle. They stood on the top as Sky hit a Spanish Fly, but Sky’s right leg was hurting and she did a slow cover for two because of it. Sky hit the running double knee attack. Sky took down her knee pads and hit the Bullet Train double knee attack again. Sky hit a running knee to the head. Sky went up top, Sky went for Over The Moonsault, but Vaquer rolled out of the way, so Sky hit the mat hard. Vaquer went up top and hit a Spiral Tap splash for the pinfall win at 20:11!

Winner by pinfall AND NEW Women’s World Champion: Stephanie Vaquer

Analysis: **** I thought it was a great match that was a four-star (out of five) level match. Vaquer hit that finisher off the top perfectly and that’s not an easy move to do, but it looked perfect when she did it. The pacing of the match was a bit too slow at times, but they went 20 minutes, so I understand why they had to slow down a bit. I know they’ve had some other matches that were faster paced, but this one was longer. It was really easy to get into the match, and both women worked hard. I enjoyed it. My pick was Vaquer as a first-time champion, and I’m glad she won it.

After the match, Vaquer and Sky bowed down to eachother and hugged. The fans cheered as Sky put the Women’s World Title on Vaquer. Stephanie celebrated with the title on the turnbuckle and pyro went off behind her. Vaquer hugged her dad at ringside. Stephanie’s dad Hector held up the title and she hugged him again.

Analysis: Cool moment. Vaquer and Sky are among my favorites in the women’s division. They are so easy to like.

There was another “We’ll Be Right Back” for three plus minutes again.

The WWE Champion Cody Rhodes was seated on his bus with Tyrese Haliburton talking to him.

Michael Cole and Wade Barrett were alone on commentary because Pat McAfee was done for the night.

A video package aired to set up the mixed tag team match between CM Punk & AJ Lee against Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch. Good story here.

The power couple of World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins and his wife, the Women’s Intercontinental Champion, Becky Lynch, made their entrance on a stage. Seth’s music started and then Lynch’s music took over. They had matching purple robes and shades.

CM Punk made his entrance first to his theme song and Punk walked out first, followed by his wife AJ Lee, who had her “Light It Up” music. Punk had an “AJ’s Husband” jacket on. AJ Lee was wrestling in her classic gear, including jean shorts and the Chuck Taylor-style shoes.

Analysis: The people who complain about there being too much time between matches are going to bitch a lot about this show. It doesn’t really bother me. I am writing a live review, so the time between matches gives me more time to edit this review, go to the bathroom, get a drink, and so on.

Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch vs. CM Punk & AJ Lee

It’s men against men and women against women. Lee wanted to start with Lynch, but Lynch kept running away. Rollins and Lynch kissed on the floor, so Punk hit a suicide dive onto Rollins. Punk sent Rollins into the crowd and Punk hit a double axhandle on the floor. They got back to ringside where Rollins hit Punk with shoulder tackles. Lynch did a cheap attack on Punk, so Lee did the same thing to Rollins. Punk hit an atomic drop to Rollins and a chop. Punk jumped off the top with an axhandle on Rollins. Punk jumped off the top with another double axhandle to knock Seth down. Punk jumped off the top again, Rollins wanted a Pedigree, Punk got out of it and Lynch kicked Punk in the back. Rollins stomped on Punk by the apron. Lynch shoved Punk into the steel steps. Rollins stood in front of Lee to stop her. Rollins sent Punk onto the commentary table, and Rollins punched Punk a few times. Rollins remained in control when they got back into the ring. Rollins chopped Punk and kicked him in the face. Lynch and Rollins did a gentle kiss, so the fans booed that. Rollins set up Punk on the ropes, so Lynch slapped Punk in the face. Rollins splashed Punk against the ropes. Rollins sent Punk hard into the turnbuckle to prevent a tag. Rollins and Punk battled over a suplex, which led to Punk hitting the suplex. Rollins grabbed a headlock, then Punk tagged Lee and the referee didn’t see it because he was looking at Lynch. Rollins picked up Lynch and tried to toss her onto Punk, but Punk rolled out of the way, so Lynch hit the mat. Rollins went for a splash, Punk avoided him and Punk tried to tag Lee, but Lynch pulled Lee off the apron to stop that. This is the classic heel tag team formula to build up a hot tag. Rollins hit a Falcon Arrow pin attempt for two. Rollins mocked AJ’s skipping routine. Punk popped back up and hit a GTS on Rollins to send him crashing into the ropes. Lynch tried to stop the tag, but Punk got back in, blew a kiss to Lynch and tagged in Lee after 13 minutes.

Lee hit a Thesz Press on Lynch and Lee punched Lynch repeatedly. The fans were going crazy as Lee did a hair pull takedown. Lee stomped on Lynch against the turnbuckle. Lee splashed Lynch against the turnbuckle. Lee threw some punches that did not look great, but that’s okay, I guess. Lee hit a hurricanrana and a spin kick. Lee tripped up Lynch by the apron and Lee jumped off the top wit ha cross body block for two. The fans chanted, “You still got it” to Lee, who is only 38 and younger than a lot of people on the WWE roster. Lee slapped Lynch repeatedly. Rollins got back in there to try to stop Lee, so Lee slapped Rollins several times. Lee avoided a Manhandle Slam and Lee stepped onto Seth to hit a DDT on Lynch. Punk flipped Lee over, and Lee hit a Sliced Bread neckbreaker, leading to a splash on Lynch. That looks like a spot they practiced earlier and it looked good. Punk and Lee each hit running knees and each hit bulldogs. Punk and Lee each hit the Shining Wizard knee smash on their opponents. Lee did her skipping routine. Lynch avoided a move and Lee got a pin attempt. Lynch countered Lee into a pin attempt. Lee applied the Black Widow submission, holding on to the arm of Lynch. Punk applied a Sharpshooter to Rollins. Lee gouged Punk’s eye and Rollins superkicked Punk. Rollins picked up Lee in his arms and Lee applied a Black Widow on Rollins. Lynch was back in with a Bexploder on Lee. Rollins and Lynch each hit a Pedigree on their opponents for two counts. The fans chanted, “This is awesome” for them as the match was around the 20-minute mark.

Rollins told Lynch they are the main event and they are the champs. Rollins and Lynch teased doing the GTS, but Punk got out of it and clotheslined Rollins out of the ring. Lee caught Lynch and Lee hit a Bexploder Suplex of her own. Rollins grabbed Lee’s foot and pulled her down. Punk was back in and hit The Stomp on Rollins! Punk punched Rollins. Lynch slapped and chopped Punk, but then Punk blocked Lynch’s strikes. Rollins got back up, so Punk punched Rollins out of the ring. Lynch applied a Sharpshooter on Punk, who sold it like it was deadly even though he’s a lot stronger than her. Punk powered out of it and Punk put a Sharpshooter on Lynch, so Rollins was back in and Rollins hit Punk with another Pedigree. Rollins hit The Stomp on Punk and Rollins covered, but Lee hit The Stomp on Rollins for two to stop a count. Lynch hit a Manhandle Slam on Lee for a two count. The referee countered both pins, so who is legal? It should only be either the men or the women, but not both. Rollins and Punk got into a slugfest in the middle of the ring until their wives stopped that. Punk and Lee sent their opponents out of the ring. Lee took the cover of the Spanish commentary table. The referee wasn’t counting them out. Punk cleared off the English commentary table. Rollins and Lynch stopped the moves attempted on them on the tables. Punk had Rollins on his shoulders, and Lynch threw Lee into Punk, so then the three of them went down, and the table collapsed. Lynch put Lee back into the ring. Lynch tried a move, but Lee applied a Black Widow submission on Lynch, who tapped out. It went about 29:18.

Winners by pinfall: CM Punk & AJ Lee

Analysis: ***3/4 This was a lot of fun to watch, and the crowd loved it even though it was a very long match. If you had told me this would go nearly 30 minutes, I would say no way, but they had an entertaining match. There were some flaws to the match, like when all four wrestlers were in the ring fighting, and the rules weren’t enforced very well. There were not countouts when they were out of the ring and it was confusing in terms of who were legal in the match. With that said, I liked so many of the spots throughout the match. The guys barely touched the girls, but when they did, those moments felt like big moments. The girls touching the guys were done in a smart way. Lynch was tremendous as a heel and somebody who sold so well in the match. Rollins was very good, too, but Lynch stood out to me. I thought Lee & Punk would win because it makes sense to put Lee over in her first match in 10 years.

After the match, CM Punk and AJ Lee celebrated the win. The fans popped big for them and they kissed. Wade made the point, wondering who would have pictured this scene two years ago? Well said. Punk and Lee celebrated.

Analysis: I assume we’ll see Lee against Lynch for the Women’s IC Title, and I think Lee will win the title too.

There was another, “We’ll be right back” break with music for 3.5 minutes for those of us on Netflix.

The next WWE PLE is Crown Jewel in Perth, Australia, on Saturday, October 11th, with an 8 a.m. ET start time. I like that as a morning person.

The Undertaker made his entrance riding a motorcycle while his “American Badass” song from Kid Rock played. The fans popped huge for the WWE Hall of Famer while Stephanie McMahon was at ringside, and here was Nick Khan too. The Undertaker sat beside Stephanie McMahon at ringside. Taker said that last week he was in Vegas for the fight and there she was. Taker said now he’s here and Steph is there again. Taker asked if she was following, and Steph said that she had been following him for a long time. Taker said they’ve been following eachother for a long time. Taker asked Steph if she was ready, as if he were Triple H doing it. The fans cheered. The Undertaker told Stephanie that WWE is going to induct her as the first member of the 2026 WWE Hall of Fame. Stephanie was legit shocked. Taker: “We got you.” Taker hugged Stephanie.

A graphic was shown saying Stephanie McMahon will be inducted into the 2026 WWE Hall of Fame. The Undertaker left while Stephanie was genuinely shocked. Nick Khan hugged Stephanie as well.

Analysis: That was a cool moment where it seemed like Stephanie had no idea it was coming. The Hall of Fame during WrestleMania weekend is a long time away, so I doubt Stephanie was thinking about it much, which is probably why they thought it was a good time to do it. She will have a long time to think about a speech because it’s over seven months away. Anyway, congrats to Steph for it.

The video package aired to set up the Cody Rhodes-Drew McIntyre main event. Drew did cheap attacks, Cody took some time off to film Street Fighter and now Cody is back.

The “Scottish Warrior” Drew McIntyre made his entrance as the challenger looking confident as usual.

Cody Rhodes made his entrance as the WWE Champion for his first televised title defense since winning the title from John Cena at SummerSlam in early August. The fans loved Cody as usual and sang along with “Kingdom” most of the way. Ring announcer Alicia Taylor did the in-ring championship introductions.

Analysis: I wrote in my preview of the match that I think they are the two best performers in WWE. They are the two guys who won the Male Wrestler of the Year award in my WWE Johnny Awards the last two years, and now we get to see them in a WWE Title match that is the main event.

WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre

Drew knocked down Cody with an elbow smash, along with a chop to the chest. Drew got a side headlock takedown. Cody worked over Drew with punches, the bionic elbow and a rising punch. Cody went to the ropes, but then he stumbled as if he was selling a concussion and he hit the mat. Cody bounced off the ropes with a Cody Cutter. After Drew went to the apron, Cody hit a Disaster Kick off the ropes. Drew was on the floor, so Cody hit a suicide dive. Cody tried another dive, but Drew caught him and rammed Cody back first into the ring post. Drew tossed Cody over the Spanish commentary table. Back in the ring, Drew hit an overhead belly-to-belly suplex across the ring. Drew hit another belly-to-belly throw across the ring. Drew worked over Cody with chops, but then Cody avoided a charging Drew, who went crashing into the ring post. Drew blocked a kick and sent Cody into the ring apron. Drew gave Cody a reverse Alabama Slam into the steel steps. Great looking move and it got a two count in the ring. Back in the ring, Drew went up top, took too long and Cody hit a superplex. Cody was grabbing his head after selling the head injury, and Wade kept on making the point that Cody may have a head injury after Drew hit a Claymore Kick on him on SmackDown. Cody and Drew exchanged punches, Cody hit a running punch, Cody grabbed his head again and Cody hit a powerslam. Cody jumped off the ropes with a Disaster Kick while holding his head again. Cody jumped off the ropes and hit a Cody Cutter while Drew tried to counter it. Drew hit a knee to the head, Cody hit a kick to the face and Drew hit the Glasgow Kiss headbutt. Drew set up Cody on the top turnbuckle and even bit Cody’s head. Drew jumped off the middle turnbuckle with a White Noise slam like his buddy Sheamus for a two count.

Drew did a kip up and got back to his feet. Drew set up for a Claymore Kick, but Cody countered it with a Powerbomb-like pin for two. Drew with a headbutt, Cody avoided a Claymore Kick and Cody applied the Figure Four Leglock, but Drew got out of it with a shot to the jaw. Drew took the top turnbuckle pad off, the referee saw it and Drew tossed it out of the ring. Drew sent Cody into the corner, the referee rolled out of the ring and Drew got a rollup for two because the referee was slow to count. Drew charged, Cody moved and Drew hit the exposed steel. Cody hit Cross Rhodes for two. Drew blocked a Cody Cutter attempt, Cody rolled out of the ring and Drew ran the ropes, leading to a somersault dive over the top onto Cody on the floor. Back in the ring, Drew hit a Claymore Kick on Cody for two. Cody sold it great. After Cody rolled out of the ring, Drew went after him with punches. Cody was down on his knees by the bottom of the Spanish commentary table, but referee Ryan Tran tried to stop Cody from kicking Cody into the LED board under the table. Drew hesitated, then he charged, Cody moved and Drew’s right foot went into the LED board under the table. Wade complained about the referee stopping Drew from doing the move. Back in the ring, Drew hit a headbutt. Drew went for a Claymore Kick, but he sold the foot injury and collapsed. Cody jumped off the top with a super Cody Cutter. Cody hit Cross Rhodes on Drew for the pinfall win. It went 16:52.

Winner by pinfall: Cody Rhodes

Analysis: **** I thought it was an excellent match that was certainly worthy of the main event spot. They had some creative spots throughout the match. Cody was selling the head injury throughout the match to suggest that he had a possible concussion, but he was able to win because he avoided Drew’s kick against the commentary table. Drew will likely complain about the referee preventing him from doing the Claymore Kick against the commentary table and it wouldn’t shock me if Drew attacked Cody again to set up another match.

Cody Rhodes celebrated with the WWE Title. Drew McIntyre had his boot off and his right foot was getting checked on by the ringside doctor. Cody Rhodes continued to celebrate and that was the end of the show.

WWE Wrestlepalooza had a runtime of 3 hours, and 15 minutes.

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Five Stars of the Show

  1. Stephanie Vaquer
  2. CM Punk & AJ Lee
  3. Cody Rhodes
  4. Drew McIntyre
  5. Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, and Iyo Sky

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Final Thoughts on WWE Wrestlepalooza

I’m going 7.5 out of 10 for this show.

I thought Wrestlepalooza was a pretty good show, but it never felt great or that exciting. I expected more from WWE’s much hyped ESPN debut. They didn’t really do anything major. It was a predictable card in terms of results, but plenty of entertaining matches along the way. I liked the Stephanie Vaquer-Iyo Sky match the most, along with the Cody Rhodes-Drew McIntyre main event. Vaquer winning was the right call while Cody retaining was expected.

The CM Punk & AJ Lee match with Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch was a lot of fun. AJ Lee didn’t look that rusty, other than some punches looking weak at times. Lynch was tremendous throughout the match. I’m surprised it went 30 minutes. That’s the kind of thing where I believe they could have a match that is just as good, or even better, if it were 10 minutes shorter, and I’d rather see another match on the show. These five match cards are fine, but I think the WWE roster is loaded, and I’d love to see more wrestlers on these PLEs. I want six or seven matches on a PLE, not just five.

I went 5-0 in my predictions because it felt like a predictable show going into it. Brock Lesnar dominating John Cena to win easily was the right call because it builds Lesnar up for somebody to beat in the future. Triple H said going into it that there would be surprises, and there really weren’t any in terms of people showing up as a surprise or some kind of result being a big surprise. A wrestler booker lied to build up excitement? Shocking, I know. Anyway, I’ll slot Wrestlepalooza in the middle of the pack for WWE PLE’s this year.

Here are my rankings of WWE PLE’s in 2025:

Elimination Chamber (March 1) – 9 (out of 10)

Evolution (July 13) – 8.5

Royal Rumble (February 1) – 8.5

SummerSlam (August 2 & 3) – 8

Clash In Paris (August 31) – 7.75

Wrestlepalooza (September 20) – 7.5

WrestleMania 41 (April 19 & 20) – 7.5

Money in the Bank (June 7) – 7.5

Night of Champions (June 28) – 7.25

Backlash (May 10) – 7.25

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As a reminder, I have a listing of every WWE PPV that I reviewed in order by year. Thank you for supporting us at TJRWrestling. We appreciate you.

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