WWE WRESTLEPALOOZA

Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis

BROCK LESNAR vs. JOHN CENA (8:48): The WWE added this show late to the calendar because they wanted to go head-to-head with AEW's All Out PPV. AEW moved their PPV to the afternoon in response, although both shows ended up going head-to-head from 7 PM to 8 PM Eastern. This was also the first WWE PPV on the new ESPN streaming app. The deal with Peacock ended early, which was a shame because if you were a Comcast cable customer or had Youtube TV, you didn't get to see this show for free (the ESPN app costs $30 a month but a lot of cable companies offer it for free since you're already paying for regular ESPN). Confused yet? I pay for Comcast. I have ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN News, ESPN U, and whatever the hell else there is. I didn't get free access to this PPV, though, which was odd because Xfinity (which is Comcast) was a sponsor of this PPV. Comcast supposedly will offer free access to the ESPN streaming service eventually, probably by the end of the year. To make matters worse, a lot of people really, really hated this show. I think the big problem was that the first and last matches weren't very good, so you started watching it with a bad taste in your mouth and then ended watching the show feeling disappointed. The three matches in the middle were typical WWE fare: entertaining but nothing special. The WWE product is greatly helped these days by the sold out crowds, which make it seem like you're missing something. Why is the WWE so mediocre but still is selling out everywhere? As for this match, a person pretty close to the ring held up a sign that read: "He shouldn't be here and we all know why." Lesnar wasn't booed because he's involved in the Vince sex trafficking lawsuit, though. The only boos he got were because he's a heel and the fans want Cena to win. And, really, he wasn't even really booed that much. The giant problem, and one of the reasons a lot of people hated this show and match, was because Cena got destroyed and lost. Boy are they really fucking up this Cena retirement, aren't they? This isn't rocket science. You play the hits, you win, the crowd cheers, and you go out in glory. There was one shot of a child in a Cena t-shirt and hat in the crowd crying after Cena lost. What the hell kind of retirement is this? They're trying to humiliate him on his way out the door? I was also curious how a child is a John Cena fan. Yes, Cena has been around this year, but he was a heel most of the year. Before this year, Cena showed up maybe one or two times a year if that since leaving the WWE. How is this child a Cena fan? Did he just become one in August? I'm baffled. The entrance also had Cena come out with a whole gang of kids wearing his outfit. That was cool. Cena got beat down early. He did have a comeback where he gave Lesnar a few AA's. Then it was Suplex City. Then Lesnar gave Cena like four or five F5's and pinned him. Huh? The only thing I can think of is that they're planning on having him beat Lesnar in his retirement match. I guess? Or they just want to bring back Lesnar and have him face Cody for a title and thus Lesnar couldn't lose here. I don't know. This made little sense. Match was entertaining but felt tone deaf. **

THE VISION (BRON BREAKER & BRONSON REED) vs. THE USO'S (17:26): Since this was the first PPV on the ESPN app, they tried to do big things to make it a big show. Brock Lesnar and AJ Lee returned. The Uso's reunited as a tag team. There was a title change (Stephanie Vaquer won). The show felt kind of flat, though. Nothing was excellent. This match was entertaining but was kind of just a RAW main event. LA Knight was the special ref. He let them use chairs and tables for some reason. I think this show might've been better if the AEW show before this wasn't so awesome. It's tough going from a classic like Fletcher vs. 'Hangman' to anything on this WWE show. It's not even in the same league. **

STEPHANIE VAQUER vs. IYO SKY (19:41): Everyone online that seemed to hate or dislike this show did mention that they liked this match. Stephanie won the women's title here. Honestly? The match was fine but nothing special. Vaquer did a bunch of top rope jumps. You'd think winning the women's title would be a big deal but there's another women's title that Tiffany Stratton has. The WWE feels kind of dull these days. **

AJ LEE & CM PUNK vs. SETH ROLLINS & BECKY LYNCH (29:15): AJ Lee is fantastic. Every segment she's been in these last two weeks have been great. She's so great and obviously loving being out there that I wondered why she ever retired in the first place. Supposedly she had neck problems plus her husband, CM Punk, left the WWE and she didn't want retaliation for that. She's 38 now but looked fantastic in the ring. It also helped that she looks like she's having a blast out there. The problem with this match was that it went way too long. They stalled for like five minutes before anything even happened. The big spot had all four wrestlers on both announce tables. CM Punk had Seth on his shoulders. Becky threw AJ across one announce table to the other at Punk and the three of them crashed down on the announce table. This was entertaining and fun and probably the match I enjoyed the most on the show. **1/2

CODY RHODES vs. DREW McINTYRE (16:53): When they put Lesnar/Cena on first, I figured they'd probably have the CM Punk/AJ/Seth/Lynch match on last. Nope! I get it: this is for the WWE title. But this match had very little build. Nobody thought Drew would win. It was also kind of boring. Drew went for a kick outside the ring but missed and ended up kicking through the side of the announce table. He then hobbled around as if he broke his leg. The next PPV, which is in Perth, Australia, has Cody vs. Seth. It's not for either title, though, it's for the Crown Jewel title. That means nobody cares who wins. Great. *1/2