WWE’s first show on ESPN, Wrestlepalooza, didn’t go as planned for John Cena’s retirement tour. His match against Brock Lesnar was a brutal defeat – Lesnar hit Cena with seven F5s, and the beating was so intense that some young fans in the audience actually started crying. To salvage Cena’s farewell year, WWE needs to address this loss, or it risks becoming the most disappointing moment of his career.
To resolve this situation, they need to have Lesnar and Cena wrestle again soon, considering Cena’s nearing retirement. If they do, Cena needs to win decisively against Lesnar – the manner of the victory is crucial for it to be meaningful and have the desired effect.
A One-Sided Rivalry
Looking at their history, Cena hasn’t had much success against this opponent, winning only two out of their six matches – and one of those wins wasn’t a clean victory. With his recent loss, Cena now has a losing record, and this defeat feels particularly significant to fans.
This match felt strikingly similar to their lopsided encounter at SummerSlam 2014, widely considered the most one-sided in the event’s history. Back then, even with John Cena at the peak of his popularity, Brock Lesnar completely dominated him, famously introducing the world to ‘Suplex City’ with a decisive victory. Now, Lesnar has added another powerful win to his record, while Cena suffers another crushing defeat – and fans are understandably disappointed.
How to Fix It (And Fast)
There are two key challenges in crafting a satisfying conclusion to John Cena’s final year, one befitting a wrestling legend. First, his schedule is limited; he’s currently filming movies and TV shows and won’t return to WWE television until October 11th at the Crown Jewel event in Perth to continue any storyline.
Following these dates, John Cena only has four remaining appearances scheduled: November 11th and 17th on Raw, the Survivor Series WarGames on November 29th, and a final match in December on Saturday Night’s Main Event. Because of this limited schedule, building towards a rematch in Perth will likely involve very little of Cena, as he won’t be available to help promote it. While a rematch is still possible, the promotion would heavily feature the other competitor.
John Cena lost at Wrestlepalooza and left the arena to a supportive crowd. You can still watch Wrestlepalooza live on the ESPN app.
— ESPN (@espn) September 20, 2025
The rematch is most likely to happen at Survivor Series WarGames, which would give us two episodes of Raw to build anticipation. If that’s the plan, John Cena needs to win decisively, meaning the dominant wrestler will have to lose.
While it might seem unlikely that Lesnar could lose, he has been defeated before, most notably by Goldberg. For that to happen now, Cena needs to survive Lesnar’s initial attacks, avoid those devastating F5s, and ultimately pin him. If Cena can pull it off, he’ll finally defeat Lesnar for good and give his fans – especially those who are disappointed right now – a truly exciting moment.
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2025-09-21 03:40