WWE Wrestlepalooza 2025

With 'Clash In Paris' firmly in the rear-view mirror, it was time for one of the worst named premium live events I'd seen in a long time; 'Wrestlepalooza'. One thing that wasn't the worst I'd seen in a long time, however, was the matchcard. It featured five huge matches, which I hoped would deliver, although its safe to say I had pretty negative feelings about the controversial Brock Lesnar being featured on WWE television again. This was the first event being run on ESPN's streaming service, but, thankfully, it was still streaming on Netflix for those outside the United States.

The night kicked off with the return of former NFL player Pat McAfee to the commentary team - always a fun feature of WWE programming. After this, it was time for the in-ring action to begin, with the aforementioned controversial presence that is Brock Lesnar taking on John Cena, for one of his final-ever wrestling appearances in WWE. Despite the issues with Lesnar's alleged backstage antics, his in-ring star power and ability has never been in doubt. This felt like a huge fight, as it should've, with these two great rivals going at it one final time. The match felt a little bit too much like a so-called 'spot-fest' to me, but that's kind of how it's always been for these two. It ended up being a lot more one-sided than I expected, and actually pretty disappointing. I wanted a competitive classic, or even just a fun but short match, but this felt like a typically Vince McMahon type of match, in the worst possible way - what a pointless waste of a Cena retirement tour spot.

Next up was the first of two feature tag team matches on the card, as The Usos took on The Vision, with LA Knight being a last minute addition as the special guest referee. This was a weirdly messy match, which quickly unravelled towards the end after a freak cut to Jey Uso lead to what felt like an early and rushed finish. There were some interesting moments in this one, but it really felt like there should have been more, considering how big the match was supposed to feel. The good news is that Jey seemed okay, but even so, this was really strange. At least LA Knight looked good in his referee role.

It was now time to crown a new Women's World Champion, after Naomi had vacated the title because of her pregnancy. The match saw former champion Iyo Sky take on 'Evolution' battle royal winner Stephanie Vaquer for the vacant title, in one of my most highly anticipated matches of the night. This match started off in a very smart, very technical manner that wad a pleasure to watch. These are two of the very best wrestlers in the world, and seeing them go one-on-one for a world title was a treat. It was honestly such a fun match to watch, with both women showing how good they are. They were smooth, they were intense, and they had the psychology of their match down to a tee - I loved how competitive it was. The winner was extremely deserved, and will no doubt be a force of nature in the years to come. This was yet another classic women's match for the WWE in 2025.

The second to last match of the card was the one I honestly expected to main event the card; the mixed tag team match between the husband and wife team of CM Punk and the returning AJ Lee and the husband and wife team of the World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins and the Women's Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch. This was such a surreal match to see happening, considering Punk's infamous exit all those years ago and Lee's retirement just a year later. I was so happy to see this match happening - it was truly a dream match. The booking was smart in this one, as the two eternal rivals Punk and Rollins played out the bulk of the match, saving AJ Lee's return for later in the night. The crowd was hot for her official return, and Lee showed everyone how hard she'd worked to get back to match fitness - she looked very solid, considering she'd been retired for a decade. The match was very silly, but extremely fun, and I enjoyed just about every second of it. The result surprised me a little bit, but I certainly wasn't mad about it either.

After a very sweet, but admittedly slightly odd moment in which The Undertaker announced that Stephanie McMahon would be inducted into the Hall Of Fame class of 2026, it was, at last, main event time. Cody Rhodes defended his Undisputed WWE Championship against Drew McIntyre, in what I expected to be a good match, despite a slightly under the radar feud, particularly considering the other matches on the card, albeit this was mainly because Rhodes had been absent because of his wife giving birth. This ended up being another slightly odd match, this time because of two separate and weird injury storylines. I enjoyed the actual wrestling side of the match, but those stories just didn't quite work for me. The one affecting Rhodes was particularly odd because of how much it slowed down the match. I found myself wishing this would have been a far more punchy main event.

Overall, this was a bit of an odd show, which underdelivered a lot, considering it's all-star line-up. The Women's World Championship match was the only true stand-out on the card, although I also enjoyed the mixed tag team match, but less-so for the in-ring work, and more for its entertainment value. Considering how stacked this show was, as far as talent and matches, I think this ended up being one of the most disappointing shows I've seen all year, unfortunately. Still, it had its moments, even if there weren't nearly as many of those as there should have been.