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WWE Wrestlepalooza takeaways: Brock Lesnar makes children cry on an uneven night for WWE's ESPN debut

WWE returned to Indianapolis for Wrestlepalooza from Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday evening. The show featured AJ Lee's first in-ring action in a decade, Brock Lesnar demolishing John Cena, and Stephanie Vaquer claiming the vacant Women’s World Championship. In the inaugural main event of WWE's ESPN era, Cody Rhodes was successful in his title defense against Drew McIntyre, and The Vision also earned a win over Jimmy and Jey Uso.

Here are our five biggest takeaways as momentum picks up toward Crown Jewel Perth.

1. John Cena’s redemption tour hits another bump

John Cena’s entrance was everything this final run was meant to be. Good Guy John maintaining the "Never Give Up" mantra, embodying the childhood hero he’s established himself to be. What happened next, though, felt like we’d been transported back to a time when Lesnar and Cena were tussling over the world championship — one day Cena is overcoming Lesnar, the next Lesnar is putting him in the ground, taking Cena to suplex city and ending his night with slew of F-5s.

The latter is exactly what played out on the screen Saturday night, with Cena wholly unable to overcome Lesnar, who fits the bill as a real-life supervillain. If the finish wasn’t enough, Lesnar continued to put his stamp on the night with another F-5 on Cena for good measure. What’s unclear is where WWE goes from here. Was this the first of many Cena vs. Lesnar matches down Cena's final stretch before retirement, or was this just a pit stop meant to give Lesnar an edge before he goes after someone like Cody Rhodes and WWE gold?

The crossroads we've reached after this one is significant, with Cena now in single-digit dates before calling it a career.

2. Stephanie Vaquer is the chosen one

Almost from the moment she made her WWE debut, Stephanie Vaquer had the look and the aura of someone who would be world champion. The fact that it's happened in just over a year is shocking considering the level of talent across the WWE women’s roster. What isn’t shocking is that Vaquer put on an absolute barnburner Saturday night in Indy.

Iyo Sky may be WWE’s MVP this year, consistently putting on exceptional matches regardless of who’s across the ring from her and raising the bar by the week. Sky fed Vaquer well, pulled the crowd along, and felt like a legit threat to claim the vacant women’s world title. As the champion now, though, Vaquer has no shortage of challengers — and she could be well on her way to a lengthy title run.

3. Couples retreat lives up to the hype

CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch and AJ Lee all carry the star power to have been the primary focus of Wrestlepalooza. But after a lengthy time away from the ring, the only question was whether Lee could keep pace with the trio of WWE’s top acts. She did that and more on Saturday, serving as the focal point of a great story between WWE’s two power couples.

Punk and Rollins felt like they took a backseat to their partners, who stole the spotlight with drama and action that kept fans off their seats. This one felt almost as perfectly executed as it could have been. The only question I have is why Lynch was terrified every time Lee was tagged into the ring. For someone who’s consistently referenced as arguably the greatest women’s wrestler of all-time, there feels like a better way for Lynch to put over Lee’s in-ring stature.

Now let’s see which of The Vision’s two titles are put on the line first, as this rivalry has no end in sight.

4. What’s a champion without a true challenger?

Coming out of his win over Cena, it was always going to be interesting to see how Cody Rhodes navigated his next title challenger. The problem with the existing roster is WWE lacks a big-time challenger who feels like a legitimate threat to take that title. Drew McIntyre fulfilled his position, kicking in Rhodes’ head and earning a win over Randy Orton, but it always felt like the cart would stop there.

I already alluded to Lesnar potentially moving on to Rhodes after his win over Cena, because at this point there’s not much else that feels like a real challenge to the champ. That would have to come after Crown Jewel Perth, though, as WWE announced post-event that Rhodes is slated to take on Rollins for the Men’s Crown Jewel Championship on the Oct. 11 PLE.

5. One step forward for the Vision, one step backward for the Usos and LA Knight

Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed continue to make the most of their opportunities as they find their footing alongside Paul Heyman and Seth Rollins. Their combined stock has arguably never been higher as both men continue to be positioned as the future of WWE. That being said, it feels like their rises have come at the expense of guys like Jey Uso and LA Knight, who have taken considerable steps backward from where it feels like they should be.

It’s not clear the purpose Knight is playing in this rivalry as he fluctuates between offering a helping hand to Jey Uso and laying him out. If the direction was an odd-couple tag team, that would be one thing. But bringing Jey and Jimmy back together seems to have either ruled that out or dragged out when it happens. This one doesn’t feel like it’s working.

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