TJRWrestling WWE Wrestlepalooza 2025 Preview
It’s WWE Wrestlepalooza with John Cena facing Brock Lesnar, CM Punk & AJ Lee teaming up to face Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch, and more.
The first-ever WWE Wrestlepalooza PLE will take place this Saturday, September 20th in Indianapolis. It’s a huge show for WWE because it’s their debut on ESPN’s streaming service for fans in the US. For me in Canada and many of us living in non-US countries, Netflix remains the WWE PLE home. Due to the ESPN association, it seems like this PLE has been promoted more than ever just because of how big a reach ESPN has.
We already know Brock Lesnar will face John Cena in the first match on the show. That’s the match that many of us thought might be the main event of Wrestlepalooza, but instead it’s leading off. The joke that most people will make is that Lesnar wants to go on first so he can leave early, and I think there’s probably some truth to that. The opening match is the most important other than the main event, so I understand why they put Lesnar-Cena on first.
I waited until after SmackDown to post this preview just to see if more matches got added. Let’s get to it.
===
John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar
It’s an interesting match due to their 25 year history going back to OVW, which then led to their showdowns on the main roster starting in 2003 and in the many years since then. What’s interesting is that if Lesnar didn’t leave WWE for eight years, then these two have had way more matches together.
I wrote a column about why I think Brock Lesnar should win, and the main reason is that he’s likely going to be around in the future, while John Cena only has a few matches left, so why does he need to win? If you have Lesnar win, then you give him positive momentum after not wrestling for two years. That way, you build up for the future so that Lesnar looks unbeatable again until somebody like a Bron Breakker or maybe Oba Femi from NXT shows up and beats. If you do that after Lesnar loses to Cena then it’s less impressive because Lesnar looks beatable, instead of like the monster that he is.
I’m going with Lesnar to win, although I think Cena winning is possible since he’s gotten his ass kicked by Lesnar multiple times, so if you have Cena win, then it’s revenge for those attacks. I expect Lesnar to hit many German Suplexes, and it probably won’t go longer than 15 minutes since it is Brock’s first match in two years. The smart thing to do is make it about spamming the big moves and popping the crowd that way.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
===
The Vision – Bronson Reed & Bron Breakker vs. The Usos – Jimmy & Jey Uso
We already saw The Bronsons against Jey Uso and Roman Reigns at SummerSlam, which Jey and Reigns now, so now we’ll see it again over a month later. The Vision boys have gotten a lot of heat with cheap attacks on everybody that gets in their way, so having them lose at a PLE like Wrestlepalooza makes sense. It’s also the first time that The Usos are back together in a PLE setting, so I think the crowd will be firmly behind them in a match like this.
Jey Uso has had problems with LA Knight in recent weeks, so they could opt for a finish where LA Knight shows up to try to piss of Jey, and that leads to Reed & Breakker getting the win. I think the smarter move would be to have The Usos win, but if you do that then it makes Reed & Breakker look bad if they lose yet another PLE match. I’m going with Reed & Breakker winning what should be a solid match, and I can see there being a rematch down the road with The Usos getting the win.
Winners: The Vision – Bronson Reed & Bron Breakker
===
For the Vacant Women’s World Championship: Iyo Sky vs. Stephanie Vaquer
This might be the best match of the night, depending on what you feel about women’s wrestling. Some people don’t like it and have a tough time accepting that these women are awesome. I’m a big fan, and I have optimism that it will be an excellent match. Even though there’s not much of a story going in, the fans should be into it because they respond well to both women.
I think Iyo and Steph will get plenty of time to have a back-and-forth match full of incredible moves in a match between two of the best women in WWE. Sky might be the best female in-ring performer in WWE, while Vaquer is certainly close to that.
As for a winner, I’m going to go with Vaquer winning the Women’s World Title for the first time. Sky had the title earlier this year, so there’s no reason to put it on her again. Let’s see what Vaquer can do as the champion. I’m looking forward to it.
Winner AND NEW Women’s World Champion: Stephanie Vaquer
===
CM Punk & AJ Lee vs. Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch
This is one of the most anticipated matches on the show since it is Lee’s first WWE match in ten years. I think Lee will be sharp and prepared because I’m sure she’s been in the ring sharpening her skills. I have enjoyed the promos by all four wrestlers, with Lynch turning up her heel bitchiness, Rollins is always annoying, Punk is so happy his wife is back, and Lee is showing off her personality well.
I think the finish of the match should be Lee beating Lynch because it’s important to show that Lee is still an elite talent. If you have Lee lose, then it makes her look like she has lost a step, and I don’t think WWE wants to do that.
Winners: CM Punk & AJ Lee
===
Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Drew McIntyre
I think Cody and Drew are arguably the two best overall performers in WWE right now. Drew won the coveted WWE Johnny Award in 2024 for best male wrestler and in 2023, Cody Rhodes my choice for that award. We saw these two as a tag team in their early 20s when they had a lot of potential, and now they are 40-year-olds in the prime of their careers who consistently perform at a high level. I think Drew is the best heel in WWE while Cody is the best face, so I’m glad that we are seeing this as a WWE Title match.
Regarding a possible title change, I don’t believe that Drew is going to win, but if he did win, I’d be very happy because I want to see him get a meaningful title reign in front of the fans. We already saw Cody hold the WWE Title for over a year, so do we really need to see another long reign from him? I don’t think so. And that’s not a knock on Cody as a performer. It’s just me saying that as a Drew fan. I’m more entertained by heel champions and having babyfaces chase the champion.
This should be an excellent match that could certainly main event the show. While I did mention Drew possibly being WWE Champion, I think it’s more likely that Cody is going to retain. They’ll probably go 20+ minutes and have one of the best matches on the show. I’m looking forward to it.
Winner: Cody Rhodes
===
BONUS TOPICS FOR WWE WRESTLEPALOOZA!
The Match I’m Looking Forward To The Most
John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar
The Match I Care About The Least
The Usos vs. The Vision
Longest Match
Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre for about 25 minutes.
Shortest Match
John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar. It’s a Lesnar match. Sometimes they are shorter, but I can see this going around 12 minutes.
Excitement Level on a Scale of 1-10 (1 being low, 10 being high)
I’m at 7.5 out of 10 for this show. That’s usually around where I’m at for most WWE PLEs. I think the card would have benefited from adding another match or two. It’s still a good card, but having only five matches is short, and I say that every time Triple H books a five-match show. With that said, I like the card being presented, and I expect it to be a very good card overall.
I’ll be back with a review of Wrestlepalooza on TJRWrestling.net on Saturday night. You can also tweet me on X/Twitter at @johnreport as well.
If you want to send an email, send it to me at [email protected]. Thanks for reading.