Jason Burgos
A new WWE rumor claims that Wrestlepalooza was originally supposed to be opened up with a John Cena victory over Brock Lesnar.
On Saturday night, WWE kicked off its first-ever premium live event with a titanic clash between two company icons. In the first match at Wrestlepalooza, Cena and Lesnar renewed their years-long rivalry. However, despite his best efforts, Cena was steamrolled by the former UFC heavyweight king.
The result wasn’t a complete shock to diehard fans, and Lesnar was also the choice to win in Sportsnaut’s Wrestlepalooza predictions last week. But it seems a victory for “The Beast Incarnate” was not the original plan.
Related: 8 biggest winners and losers from WWE Wrestlepalooza
According to BodySlam.net, on Saturday morning, John Cena was written in as the planned winner. However, the WWE creative team decided to pivot and have Lesnar win. And not only did he get the victory at Wrestlepalooza, he dominated the 17-time world champion.
It is anyone’s guess why the creative made such a major shift hours before the event. The best guess is that Cena only has four dates left on his retirement tour. While Lesnar reportedly signed a new short-term deal with the promotion. So after December, one of them will still be on the roster.
It certainly disappointed Cena fans, and a few young ones were caught on camera crying after his loss. But if Lesnar is going to stick around a bit longer to help make some new faces, like he did for Cody Rhodes a couple of years ago, it makes sense for him to get a win and look strong ahead of those potential matchups in the future.
