The era of WWE Premium Live Events (PLEs) on ESPN Unlimited kicked off with Wrestlepalooza from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Saturday.
The seventh singles meeting between John Cena and Brock Lesnar started off the night, and it would be "The Beast Incarnate" who would dominate and pin his rival, Cena, in stunning fashion. A new Women's World Champion was crowned, as Stephanie Vaquer defeated Iyo Sky in an excellent showdown.
The card also featured the return of former WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee after a decade away from the ring. She joined her husband, CM Punk, in a mixed tag team match against World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins and his wife, Women's Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch. Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes headlined the event by putting his title on the line in a surprisingly short outing against Drew McIntyre.
After each PLE, we assess the quality of each wrestling match based on effective storytelling, in-ring performance and overall entertainment. We also grade the event as a whole.
Did Wrestlepalooza deliver on its promise of epic moments?
Women's World Championship: Iyo Sky vs. Stephanie Vaquer
Result: Vaquer def. Sky by pinfall
Grade: B+
This was exceptional work from two of the best women's wrestlers in WWE. The first half found Vaquer and Sky engaged in a chess match in which counters reigned supreme. However, the later stages of the match saw Vaquer focus on working over Sky's knee, giving her an edge when she needed it most. Vaquer couldn't keep Sky down after countering an Over The Moonsault and hitting the SVB. Sky swung the pendulum in her favor with a bevy of knee strikes and a beautiful avalanche Spanish Fly. But her knee slowed her down on her second attempt at an Over The Moonsault, which Vaquer rolled out of the way of and headed to the top rope to hit a Spinal Tap for the finish. This was a match you should go out of your way to see.
Tag team match: The Usos vs. The Vision
Result: The Vision def. The Usos by pinfall
Grade: C
The first half of the match was sluggish in terms of action, as the focus primarily was on what liberties LA Knight, the special guest referee, would extend to both teams. Surprisingly, he allowed both teams to introduce chairs and tables into the match. The action picked up after a near fall following a 1-D from The Usos. Both teams landed a series of spears before Jey Uso hit the Uso Splash for a near fall on Bron Breakker. Somehow, Jey was busted open after hitting both Bronson Reed and Breakker with chair shots, which led to an awkward delay before Breakker speared Jey. Breakker then speared both Usos through a table and Reed followed with a Tsunami to seal the victory for The Vision. The slow early pace appeared to be heading toward a strong finish before Jey was busted open, which led to a disjointed finishing stretch. This wasn't a bad match, but The Usos have certainly had better outings.
Mixed tag team match: CM Punk and AJ Lee vs. Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch
Result: Punk and Lee def. Rollins and Lynch by submission
Grade: C
Let's be clear: Mixed tag matches are incredibly difficult to pull off from a pure wrestling standpoint and are more about entertainment than anything else. This one was no different. The first half was all about Rollins and Lynch making sure Lee wasn't tagged into the match. That all changed when Rollins skipped his way into a GTS from Punk, who finally tagged his wife in. Lee shook off a decade of ring rust and went to work. There was a lot of chaos and ridiculousness that followed. We had everything from stereo finisher attempts to Lynch and Punk exchanging Sharpshooters. The end came after a dangerous spot in which Lynch threw Lee off of one announcers' table into Punk and Rollins on the other table, which awkwardly crumbled beneath them. Lee made her way back to the ring and trapped Lynch in her Black Widow finisher to get the submission. The match's nearly 30-minute run time was a bit too long, but it was great to see Lee back in action. Punk and Rollins did what they had to do to keep things chugging along. The next step has to be Lee challenging Lynch for the Women's Intercontinental Championship.
Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre
Result: Rhodes def. McIntyre by pinfall
Grade: C
This was a surprisingly short main event at just over 15 minutes, and it never truly had time to get out of first gear. The story of the match was Rhodes dealing with a head injury caused by a McIntyre Claymore kick on "SmackDown" the evening before. Rhodes stumbled out of the blocks and was seemingly compromised. However, the ill effects didn't have a bearing on the conclusion of the match. It actually would be McIntyre injuring his leg on the announcers' table after a missed Claymore kick that would end up taking the match to its finish. McIntyre's injured leg gave out on him when he went for a Claymore kick, opening the door for Rhodes to hit the Cross Rhodes finisher for the win. This felt more like a main event of "SmackDown" than the headliner of a PLE.
Singles match: John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar
Result: Lesnar def. Cena by pinfall
Grade: C-
Cena and Lesnar's seventh WWE singles encounter felt more like a prelude to their next encounter than an actual match. It was brief and a dominant win for Lesnar, which served to extend this rivalry for at least one more PLE. The match itself wasn't much of a match. Lesnar dominated early, reintroducing Cena to Suplex City. Cena regained the momentum and swiftly hit Lesnar with a trio of Attitude Adjustments. Unfortunately, he couldn't keep Lesnar down and went for a Five-Knuckle Shuffle, which "The Beast" intercepted. He leveled Cena with six F-5s to pick up the dominant win. There were about six moves in the 9-minute match. It's pretty much what you would expect out of Lesnar.
WWE WrestlePalooza Final Grade: C
The excellent Vaquer vs. Sky match saved this show from being truly average. They put on a phenomenal display inside the squared circle. Everything else was either underwhelming (the short Rhodes-McIntyre match) or a setup for a future match (Lesnar dominating Cena). For a card that promised to have epic moments, it fell a little short of expectations.