Triple H promised surprises were in store at WWE WrestlePalooza, but many fans are still wondering what those were.
Wrestlepalooza marked WWE’s debut on ESPN. The event was heavily promoted by both parties, including by Triple H, who promised spectacle, surprises and fun were in store at the event.
“Nobody does big events like WWE, with possibly the exception of ESPN. What you guys do, the hype you put around it, shows like this, coming up here and having me on or being here with you,” Triple H explained during an appearance on ESPN’s The Get Up on Friday. “ESPN builds those events to be bigger than anything, and we deliver on them. So, expect spectacle, expect surprises, expect to have a lot of fun, and ESPN is going to deliver.”
Wrestlepalooza is in the books, and it did feature several highlights, including Brock Lesnar’s dominant win over John Cena and an impressive women’s title match between Stephanie Vaquer and IYO SKY. However, many fans are wondering where the promised surprises went.
“And no real surprises as promised by Triple H,” @polo23kwtfan wrote on Twitter/X.
“I am genuinely curious to know what was the point of this PPV? It was the most mediocre show I’ve seen in a while. I enjoyed AEW‘s ALL OUT event more than I did this. Triple H said that there were a alot of surprises….I’ve yet to see any. What a waste of time just for ESPN!??,” @TheAngelMan_ added.
“Yeah ngl I think I got scammed cause triple h sod we were in for some surprises then the show was awful and meaningless,” said ToniStarkTheOf1.
Unfortunately it was one of the shows were the bad heavily outweighed the good and Triple H didn’t do himself any favors promising surprises.
— Ryder Watsons (@991_RyderChillz) September 21, 2025
Stephanie/Iyo followed by Mixed Tag felt like the show was fully recovering from the Brock/Cena disaster but Main Event dragged it down.
Wrestlepalooza had some good surprises, but they weren’t the ones fans anticipated
To be fair, WWE Wrestlepalooza did have two major surprises that actually did deliver. The Undertaker made his way out to the ring ahead of the main event on his motorcycle and took a seat at ringside next to Stephanie McMahon. Undertaker’s promo was lighthearted and funny, a side many fans aren’t used to seeing from him.
Taker’s monologue was a nice surprise in itself, but his reason for being there was the other big eye-opener of the evening. Undertaker revealed that Stephanie McMahon is the first inductee in the 2026 WWE Hall of Fame. The news caught everyone off guard, including Stephanie, who appeared to be taken aback by the announcement. Despite all of her accomplishments in WWE, Stephanie is still a surprising name as a headline inductee. Plus, WWE typically doesn’t even start announcing inductees until January, so this was also a shift in the announcement format.
So, whether you liked or disliked WWE Wrestlepalooza, there were surprises on Saturday night. Pat McAfee’s return to commentary was another. Paul Heyman introducing Brock Lesnar was teased on Friday night, but still, a surprise reunion. They might not have been the ones fans speculated on, but the show did still have a few genuinely intriguing moments.
Read More: ESPN Says One Match Saved WWE Wrestlepalooza From Being ‘Truly Average’
Can anyone explain what Triple H meant about surprises at Wrestlepalooza? Because after watching it, I didn’t see anything worth the hype. pic.twitter.com/7ljWbGDda5
— Clarence クラレンス (@clrncecom) September 22, 2025
