Brock Lesnar may be involved in a massive WWE first. The UFC Legend is finally back home in the WWE storylines, just in time for John Cena’s permanent exit. The longtime rivals are set to do battle at an upcoming event, and now the WWE Universe is buzzing in a major way after new details were revealed from behind-the-scenes.
The Beast Incarnate and Big Match John first locked up on October 29, 2001 at the WWE Jakked tapings in Louisville, Kentucky, the home of Ohio Valley Wrestling. In a dark match battle of WWE developmental talents, Lesnar and Shelton Benjamin, billed as The Minnesota Stretching Crew, dethroned Bolin Services’ Rico Constantino and Cena, as The Prototype, of the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship for their third and final reign. Just 75 days prior, Cena and Rico began their only reign by winning tournament finals to capture the vacant titles. The titles were up for grabs after an injury to Benjamin forced The Minnesota Stretching Crew to relinquish the straps. Cena and Lesnar are members of The OVW 4, along with Randy Orton and Batista.
Lesnar and Cena will now face off for the final time at an upcoming WWE PLE. The showdown is perfect for Cena’s farewell tour as the legendary grapplers have shared the ring on 40 occasions since becoming full-time WWE Superstars, with Lesnar leading their series of 18 one-on-one encounters 16-2.
Sources have not revealed where or when the final John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar match will take place, but 17-time World Champion will be wrestling Logan Paul at WWE Clash In Paris on August 31. It was revealed earlier today that WWE has plans for a major head-to-head battle with AEW soon, and word is that officials may try to draw more PLE viewers that night with a match between two of the biggest pro wrestlers in history.
WWE Bad Blood Could Feature Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena
The so-called war between WWE and AEW has included many battles centered around scheduling and head-to-head showdowns. Triple H and his team have countered several AEW PPVs with NXT PLEs, but the Chief Content Officer may be planning the main roster’s first outing against an All Elite pay-per-view.
Sources reported today that WWE’s internal schedule has a yet-to-be announced Premium Live Event scheduled for Saturday, September 20 in Indianapolis, Indiana. This is the same day as AEW’s seventh annual All Out pay-per-view, scheduled for 8pm ET from the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. All Out is one of AEW’s “Big Five” events, and is rumored to feature the in-ring reunion of Adam Copeland aka Edge and Christian Cage this year, likely against FTR or World Tag Team Champions The Hurt Syndicate.
Sports reporter Andrew Baydala noted on X that WWE Bad Blood V could be announced as the PLE for September, later noting that the planned venue is the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in the city known as The Crossroads of America. It remains to be seen if Hell In a Cell will return this year, but word is that there will be two major matches at the September PLE, and one of those is expected to be the final John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar bout.
John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar would be the central selling point of the September PLE as WWE will need a loaded lineup to combat All Out in Toronto, especially with hometown heroes Cope and Christian. It was noted that “two to three” major matches are rumored for the return to Indianapolis, but it wasn’t clear what the lineup will be past Cena vs. Lesnar.
Regarding speculation on this being another NXT Premium Live Event, Baydala wrote that a main roster show appears planned for September, and that announcement is imminent. A start time of 7pm ET is listed internally, which means a direct battle with AEW. Sources in WWE added that the company has wanted to host a PLE in September of this year, and they were surprised when nothing was announced.