John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar to open WWE Wrestlepalooza

John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar won’t be the main event of WWE Wrestlepalooza after all.

Last week, WWE commentator Joe Tessitore stated on ESPN that Cena vs. Lesnar would be the Wrestlepalooza main event. It’s now been confirmed that the match will actually be opening the card on Saturday, with Cena vs. Lesnar serving as the official start of WWE’s new PLE era on ESPN.

The announcement of Cena vs. Lesnar opening Wrestlepalooza was made by Pat McAfee on Thursday’s edition of The Pat McAfee Show.

This will be one of the final matches of Cena’s career, with him only having five appearances left on his retirement tour after Wrestlepalooza. It’s Lesnar’s first time competing in the ring since 2023. Lesnar spent nearly two years away from the company after his name was mentioned in Janel Grant’s lawsuit against Vince McMahon and WWE.

WWE hasn’t announced which match will be going on last at Wrestlepalooza, but the main event would figure to be AJ Lee & CM Punk vs. Becky Lynch & Seth Rollins or the WWE Championship match between Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre.

Wrestlepalooza is taking place from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis and has a start time of 7 p.m. Eastern. It’s airing live on ESPN’s new streaming service in the United States and on Netflix elsewhere.

WWE Wrestlepalooza (Saturday, September 20) —

  • Mixed tag match: AJ Lee & CM Punk vs. Becky Lynch & Seth Rollins
  • WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defends against Drew McIntyre
  • Stephanie Vaquer vs. IYO SKY for the vacant Women’s World Championship
  • The Usos vs. Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed
  • John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar
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Joseph Currier
Joseph Currier

Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.

In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.