WWE’s first-ever premium live event on ESPN, Wrestlepalooza 2025, is officially in the history books, and the broadcast platform has now delivered its verdict on the experience. The show was streamed on ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer streaming platform, and it was loaded enough with marquee contests – Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena, and AJ Lee’s first match after a decade alongside the WWE Championship main event.
However, online fans and their own reviews from ESPN tend to agree that the overall stature of the WWE premium live event wasn’t up to par. ESPN’s combat sports writer Andreas Hale graded Wrestlepaloza 2025 an overall C, calling the show “average.” Only, the WWE Women’s World Championship match between IYO SKY and Stephanie Vaquer appears to be as exceptional as it was touted to be the highlight of the night.
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Hale described this match for the vacant Women’s World Title as “a phenomenal display inside the squared circle,” and it received the highest match grade of B+. The rest of the card was unable to impress Hale as he noted that the main event bout of Wrestlepalooza under-delivered due to its short length. Even the special attraction, Lesnar vs. Cena, received the lowest individual score of the night at C-.
“The excellent Vaquer vs. Sky match saved this show from being truly average. It was 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,” Hale noted, saying that Wrestlepalooza 2025 could barely live up to the monumental crossover between WWE and ESPN.
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Highlights from WWE Wrestlepalooza 2025 PLE on ESPN
Wrestlepalooza 2025 took place at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. On this occasion, a new intro aired at the beginning of this premium live event, a video package looking back at WWE and ESPN’s history. The highlights from the match card of the PLE go as follows,
– Brock Lesnar defeated John Cena
– The Vision (Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed) defeated The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso) with LA Knight as the Special Guest Referee
– Stephanie Vaquer defeated IYO SKY to win the vacant Women’s World Championship
– AJ Lee & CM Punk defeated Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch & World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins
– In the main event of Wrestlepalooza 2025, Cody Rhodes (c) defeated Drew McIntyre to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship