With just hours to go until the inaugural WWE Wrestlepalooza, a photo circulating on social media has provided the first look at the stage inside Indianapolis’s Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The image reveals a large-scale setup with a massive video screen flanking a narrow entrance ramp, confirming the company is treating tonight’s premium live event as a major show. Wrestlepalooza officially kicks off WWE’s new billion-dollar partnership with ESPN and will be the first event to air on the ESPN Unlimited platform.
The show is set to open with a blockbuster clash between John Cena and Brock Lesnar, their first in over a decade. However, that may not have been the original plan. A new report from Fightful Select indicates the match, which marks Lesnar’s return after more than two years away from the ring, was initially slated to main event before a late creative change.
Ahead of the bout, a dismissive Lesnar issued a blistering statement on his opponent’s legacy and promised to end his career.
“You want me to sit here and f—king put John Cena over for 25 years and talk about how great he is? I’m not your guy,” Lesnar stated. “If Brock Lesnar would have stayed in WWE, you would not know the name John Cena today… Is John Cena really the greatest of all time? Why should I believe that? Why would anybody believe that? In your yellow f—king calf s—t stained f—king t-shirts and whatever you wanna wear out there – I ain’t buying it.”
He concluded with a direct threat: “If John Cena wants his retirement with an exclamation point on it, I’m gonna retire John Cena. I’m gonna retire John Cena. However I wanna do it. And that’s exactly what’s gonna happen at Wrestlepalooza.”
The rest of the Wrestlepalooza card is equally stacked. The main event will see Cody Rhodes defend the Undisputed WWE Championship against Drew McIntyre. In a massive mixed tag team match, CM Punk will team with his wife, AJ Lee, in her first in-ring action in a decade, to face Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch.
Elsewhere, The Usos are set to battle Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed, while IYO SKY and Stephanie Vaquer will compete to crown a new Undisputed Women’s World Champion.