WWE Wrestlepalooza at the Gainsbridge Arena in Indianapolis on Saturday kicked off with an awesome intro video tying the worlds of real-life sports to professional wrestling together for the first premium live event on ESPN.
As cool as that was and as awesome as the partnership could be, the thing most wrestling fans were talking about when the show started was the physique of Brock Lesnar.
The former WWE champion had his first match since he left the promotion in 2023. To say Lesnar was jacked is an understatement. Lesnar destroyed John Cena to start the PLE, ala their SummerSlam matchup in 2013.
Aside from that, let’s talk more about how Lesnar looked the part of an unbeatable behemoth.
I’m going to make this plain. Lesnar looks even more awesome than ever. Look at the screen captured by Jed I. Goodman.
The golden locks are perfectly complimenting the hulking physique. There’s some old-school-Brock meets Psycho Sid vibes happening, and it’s a look that just works.
Lesnar marched to the ring driving the oohs and aahs that we generally hear and see when an imposing villain shows up. Here’s an example of some the reactions from social media.
“Even looks like Brock Lesnar got bigger how is that even possible.”
“Lights out. Beast in.”
“Lesnar’s aura hits different on ESPN. #Wrestlepalooza”
“Bro is jacked. Alpha male of our species.”
“Pray for Cena.”
Even longtime commentator Michael Cole, a man who has seen more pro wrestling than anyone in the history of the sport, was in disbelief. “He looks better now than he did 15 years ago,” Cole said on commentary.
Meanwhile, in a stark contrast that played up the ultimate face vs. heel concept, a noticeably leaner John Cena came to the ring accompanied by a fleet of small children. Literally, none of them looked over the age of 9.
What made the moment even better was the surprise that came with it. For what seemed like the first time in forever, the one and only Paul Heyman was out to introduce Lesnar.
Heyman’s introduction of the “Beast” gave you a throwback to when the two were an inseparable force of nature, and it just added another layer of nostalgia and excitement to the night. It felt like the stakes were higher, like this wasn’t just another match; this was something more significant.
WWE was right to have Lesnar go over in this match. It sets up another matchup between Cena and Lesnar before the former retires later this year. There’s time for the two to have their last meeting at Crown Jewel or Survivor Series. The beating Cena took could push him off WWE programming for a few weeks to recover.
Meanwhile, it’ll be interesting to see if Lesnar terrorizes anyone else until Cena comes back for revenge. Lastly, fans will be wondering aloud if Lesnar’s reunion with Heyman will mean some sort of alliance between the Beast and the Vision.
In any case, it was a noteworthy to begin the ESPN era and the PLE.
