WWE Wrestlepalooza 2025: Card, date, matches, rumors, start time, location as John Cena headlines debut event

WWE kicks off its new ESPN deal ahead of schedule with Wrestlepalooza this weekend in Indianapolis. Wrestlepalooza was the name of a show run by ECW in the late 1990s to early 2000s and WWE chose to revive the name for the start of their new deal when the show lands at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

To kick off the new partnership, WWE has brought in two of its legends. John Cena and Brock Lesnar are set to kick off the show with what should be a brutal match. The two have a longstanding rivalry that dates back to their debut with the company in 2002. Now, two decades later, they meet one final time before Cena officially retires from pro wrestling at the end of the year with just a handful of appearances left on his schedule.

Another return is set for the show as AJ Lee is back to team with her husband CM Punk. Lee has been out of WWE since her retirement in 2015 but now comes back to help Punk and world heavyweight champion Seth Rollins and women’s intercontinental champion Becky Lynch.

Plus, two more title matches help bolster this card. Undisputed WWE champion Cody Rhodes made his return to television recently and challenged Drew McIntyre to a match. And a new women’s world champion will be crowned after Naomi vacated the belt when she announced her pregnancy. Former champion Iyo Sky and hotshot prospect Stephanie Vaquer will battle it out for the new queen of the women’s ranks.

Let’s take a look at the matches we know are happening, along with a few we think may be on the way before things get underway in Indianapolis.

2025 WWE Wrestlepalooza matches

John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar: Cena’s retirement tour continues with another match against one of his greatest rivals. Lesnar made a controversial return to WWE to attack Cena after Cena dropped the undisputed WWE championship to Cody Rhodes. Lesnar attacked Cena again during Cena’s United States championship match with Sami Zayn on SmackDown. This all led to a match between the two as Cena’s time as a professional wrestler winds down.

CM Punk & AJ Lee vs. Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch: Punk and Rollins have had issues since Punk’s return to WWE at Survivor Series in 2023. After Becky Lynch interfered in the Clash in Paris four-way match for Rollins’ world heavyweight championship, she continued to antagonize Punk, knowing he could not put his hands on a woman. This led to the predictable return of Lee to WWE to set up this battle of married couples. Lee has not wrestled since 2015 and seemed as though she would never return to action, but the situation presented itself too perfectly for her to stay away.

Undisputed WWE Championship — Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Drew McIntyre: Rhodes personifies a fighting champion. Rhodes returned to SmackDown on Sep. 12, rescuing Randy Orton from McIntyre’s assault. Rhodes, who was absent for weeks after McIntyre attacked him, challenged McIntyre to a title match at Wrestlepalooza.

Women’s World Championship — Iyo Sky vs. Stephanie Vaquer: The title was vacated by Naomi after she announced her pregnancy in August. This left the two women who had earned title shots as the obvious pairing to crown a new champion. While Sky has already been to the mountaintop, this is the biggest match of Vaquer’s WWE career.

The Usos (Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso) vs. The Vision (Bronson Reed & Bron Breakker): The Vision have terrorized Raw since coming together under Rollins’ guidance. Jey has had plenty of issues with The Vision and that led to him reuniting with Jimmy. There are other layers to the match, however, with Jey’s recent issues with LA Knight leading to him blindside spearing Knight on Raw.