WrestlePalooza is the first PLE under the ESPN banner, and unfortunately, all the subscription issues have not been figured out yet. ESPN still hasn’t made a deal with Comcast, YouTube TV and other major cable companies to provide their customers, who already pay for ESPN, access to the new streaming service. That mess has led to a lot of understandable complaining on social media.
It’s also probably led to cable subscribers buying a lot of VPNs (which are heavily discounted right now) in order to watch the international Netflix feed or getting short-term subscriptions to ESPN’s new app (which is also running promo deals) in order to watch directly. What this will mean for WrestlePalooza’s viewership numbers is unclear, but regardless, those who do watch are going to be getting a really good card, at least on paper.
I say on paper because the build hasn’t necessarily been the best for all these matches. Brock Lesnar and John Cena’s feud hasn’t been the most well-developed of either of their careers, and Cody Rhodes hasn’t been as present as usual for his build with Drew McIntyre, given his current filming schedule. Fortunately, the crowd will still be hot for both of those matches, and they’ll certainly be hot for Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch vs CM Punk and AJ Styles, which has been given time for several promos and pre-match shenanigans.
Before I get into what I think is going to happen though, let’s review my historical performance. I’ve told ya’ll who I think is going to win in every PLE match since WrestleMania 38, and while I’m not exactly The Undertaker at WrestleMania or even Earthquake at WrestleMania, I’m still doing pretty well for myself. Here’s my overall record, as well as breakouts for the bigger PLEs this year.
CM Punk And AJ Lee Vs Seth Rollins And Becky Lynch
This is not going to be the main event at WrestlePalooza, but if you’ve watched WWE’s weekly shows recently, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think it would be. Lee’s long-awaited un-retirement to partner with her husband CM Punk got one of the loudest pops we’ll hear this year, and the crowd has been very invested in all the promos and skirmishes we’ve gotten. There’s some real buzz here, and there’s a good chance it’ll be the match of the night, given fan investment and the in-ring skills of everyone involved.
One story beat we’ve consistently been getting has been both AJ and Becky getting physical with the men under the assumption that they won’t hit back. It’s been so pronounced that it’s entirely possible we’re actually going to see one of the men snap and deliver their finisher to the opposing lady. WWE very rarely does inter-gender matches, but we do occasional see physicality. Seth Rollins stomping AJ Lee, as an example, would produce nuclear heat with the crowd and put even more juice into the feud.
I’m not 100% confident that’s going to happen, but I am very confident that Punk and AJ are going to win here. She’s been going for a decade, and I would have to imagine WWE would want to establish her as an immediate threat to Becky’s Intercontinental Championship. The best way to do that would be with a win, and since Becky got in a cheap Manhandle Slam on her the other night, it feels like she’s going to pay her back here.
Predicted Winner: AJ Lee And CM Punk
The Usos Vs Bron Breakker And Bronson Reed
This is a tough match to predict, and you could make really reasonable cases for both sides. Even as I’m writing this, I’m not entirely sure who I’m going to pick. So, let’s just present the reason why each should win and then we can decide which is more compelling.
The Usos should win because they’re one of the best and most acclaimed tag teams in the history of the business, and when they get back together to fight people, it should mean something. Assumedly, the two of them are going to make a real run to the tag titles at some point again in the future, and we should all be invested in protecting their aura for when that happens. If Jimmy and Jey eat pins on their own, that’s fine, but as a tag team, I want to see them win in key spots.
But do we really want The Vision losing everything at WrestlePalooza? Paul Heyman is in the hospital and written off TV. I think Becky and Seth are going to lose to CM Punk and AJ Lee. Does it really make sense for the Brons to take an L here? I don’t think so, especially after Bronson Reed took an L to Roman Reigns at the last PLE. If we’re going to build these two into dominant forces on their own, that can inspire fear outside of Seth Rollins, then they need to actually win matches.
We’ve been getting a lot of teases from The Usos lately that they might not be on the same page. They got into an argument backstage this week on Raw, and Jimmy seems to be moving in a more face direction, while Jey seems to be moving more in a heel direction. Given there are compelling cases for why both teams should win, I’m going to use these teases to say The Usos are probably going to lose because of miscommunication or dissension within their partnership.
Predicted Winner: The Brons
Iyo Sky Vs Stephanie Vaquer For The Vacant Women’s World Championship
Triple H, Bruce Prichard and the other writers are clearly very high on Stephanie Vaquer. This is a huge position to put her in, given she’s only been on the main roster for a few months. Typically, that’s way too soon to even talk about fighting for world championships, let alone winning world championships, but you can’t argue with the crowd reactions she’s getting, nor can you argue with her in-ring skill. Her English is also getting better at a rapid rate, and I think it’s within the realm of possibilities that she wins here.
Obviously, Iyo is more than capable of being a world champion. She’s been there before and is arguably the third or fourth most popular woman on the roster behind Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair (and maybe Liv Morgan). It would make a lot of sense for WWE to put the belt back on her, and that’s probably the most likely outcome. It’s hard for me to imagine the two world champions on the women’s side being Vaquer and Tiffany Stratton, given their collective lack of main roster experience.
This story WWE is telling with Asuka, however, is giving me pause. We’re getting weekly signs of friction between Iyo Sky, Asuka and Kairi Sane, and it seems like we’re walking toward some kind of feud involving the longtime friends. I suspect we’ll probably even get a tag team match between Iyo and Rhea and Asuka and Kairi at some point in the near future. Does that storyline need the belt? I’m not so sure.
I’m picking Iyo because she’s Iyo freakin’ Sky and Stephanie Vaquer hasn’t even won a middle card title before, but I don’t feel super confident.
Predicted Winner: Iyo Sky
John Cena Vs Brock Lesnar
I’m done picking against John Cena. Sure, Brock Lesnar has been gone for an extended period of time, and you’d like to remind people of why he’s so terrifying with a dominant win, but I think there’s a real chance Cena doesn’t lose again for his entire retirement tour. In fact, I’m predicting it here. After his run as a heel, which had some great moments but ultimately didn’t work out, I think fans really just want to celebrate with him. He did a lot of winning throughout his career, and I think his supporters would like to see him go out the same way.
We also don’t know if there are long-term plans for Lesnar. Did he return simply to put in a few appearances and do some work with Cena, who he shares a lot of history with? Maybe. Did he return because he’s going to be a WWE superstar for the next several years and will be trying to win championships? Maybe. It’s really unclear what’s actually going on. I could easily believe either of those possibilities.
Cena and Lesnar are the same age. I can’t imagine Brock has that many runs left in him, but since this is Cena’s announced last year, I think he’s going to get a big win here. Expect this match to be a car crash with a ton of finishers and surprise kickouts in a short timeframe or for us to get some kind of outside interference to give these two some breathing room to beyond fifteen minutes.
Predicted Winner: John Cena
Cody Rhodes (Champion) Vs Drew McIntyre For The WWE Championship
Drew McIntyre is arguably my favorite superstar on WWE’s entire roster. I think he’s been spectacular over the past few years, and to me, his feud with CM Punk is the best storyline WWE has given us since the OG Bloodline disbanded. He’s had some big moments and won some big championships semi-recently, but a signature win over Cody Rhodes during the first PLE of ESPN’s contract would go a long way toward showing the audience he should be seen as one of the biggest stars in the company.
I would love to see it, but it’s really hard to bet against Cody Rhodes. Apart from high profile losses to the likes of Roman Reigns and John Cena, he’s basically done nothing but win. Do we think WWE is really going to want him to lose during the first event on ESPN? I don’t think so, nor do I think whenever he does lose it’ll come on the back of a feud with this little of a build. Yes, we’ve gotten some back and forths and a vicious attack from McIntyre on Rhodes, but we haven’t gotten some epic promo battle every week.
I want to see McIntyre win The WWE Championship again. I want him to be seen on that Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, CM Punk and Seth Rollins level, but I don’t think this is the moment he gets there. We’ll need to wait a little longer.