WWE & AEW Rumours - Sep. 13, 2025: Donald Trump At John Cena's Retirement, World Champion Taking Time Off In AEW

The rumour mill in the professional wrestling world continued to turn as we head into September 13, 2025. When it comes to WWE, there is an update on Donald Trump’s availability for John Cena’s retirement match and the potential real reason why WWE brought back the Wrestlepalooza PLE. Over on the AEW side of things, a notable women’s division star may be out of action for a little while.

Difficult But Not Impossible For Donald Trump To Attend John Cena's Final WWE Match

There has been plenty of talk surrounding who will be in attendance at John Cena’s retirement match on December 13, especially after the announcement that it would be taking place in Washington DC rather than in Cena's home of Boston. With this being the home of the White House, many have considered the possibility of WWE Hall Of Famer Donald Trump being in attendance. 

In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer discussed the possibility of Trump being in attendance, noting that it would be difficult, but not impossible. This is due to Trump being scheduled to attend the Army vs. Navy football game earlier that same day in Baltimore. Depending on when that finishes, Trump may be able to make it in time to be present for Cena’s farewell.

Athena Taking Time Off From AEW/ROH

ROH Women’s Champion Athena may not be on either AEW or ROH programming for a little while, as it has been revealed by Fightful Select that the longest-reigning ROH Women’s World Champion in history is set to take some time off. 

It is noted that Athena may not be dealing with a specific injury, but it is said that she is currently “banged up”. It doesn’t seem as though Athena will be dropping the title, with her reign now surpassing 1,000 days, but she will be out of the ring for around 5-6 weeks. Athena most recently wrestled at ROH Death Before Dishonor, defeating Mina Shirakawa to retain her title.

Why WWE Introduced The Wrestlepalooza PLE

Fans were quite surprised when WWE announced their September 20 premium live event to be the revived ECW show, Wrestlepalooza. This will be the first edition of Wrestlepalooza for over two decades, and the first time WWE has run a former ECW event for a long time. 

This show has received a lot of coverage with it being WWE’s first PLE on new home ESPN, and is set to feature a very stacked card including Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena (Lesnar’s first match since 2023), the returning AJ Lee teaming CM Punk to take on Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch, Iyo Sky vs. Stephanie Vaquer for the vacant Women’s World Title, and Cody Rhodes defending the WWE Championship against Drew McIntyre, all of which are WrestleMania worthy matchups. Well, according to a report, Wrestlepalooza may be in place to mimic that of a WrestleMania event. 

Following on from WWE’s WrestleMania 43 announcement for Saudi Arabia, Fightful Select explored some details into this decision from WWE, mentioning a previous report that suggested WWE were previously going to hold a “WrestleMania branded” event in both Saudi Arabia and North America in the same year, however this changed due to those in Saudi pushing hard for the real WrestleMania. 

It is reported that WWE sources stated that this is why WWE brought in Wrestlepalooza and have spotlighted it as such a massive show immediately out of the gate, with plans to continue doing so moving forwards. In doing this, WWE could have their “WrestleMania branded” show (with the name being of a similar vibe) to appease either North American fans who won’t have a WrestleMania, or Saudi Arabia going forwards by giving them this show.

Rumour Killer On TNA Talents Being Banned From Maple Leaf Pro

There were some rumours circulating over the last couple of days regarding TNA talent appearing at Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling, Scott D’Amore’s promotion. It was suggested in an interview from Moose that due to TNA’s partnership with WWE, there was a block in place to stop TNA wrestlers competing at MLP due to AEW wrestlers also competing on these cards. However, there has now been a rumour killer on this. 

Fightful Select have reported that those in MLP and TNA alike have denied these rumours. TNA President Carlos Silva shut the rumours down, saying that TNA wrestlers have appeared in the past and can still do so. Scott D’Amore agreed with this sentiment, and even revealed a story of him helping out TNA when they last visited Canada, connecting them to a production house and renting them supplies such as a ring and guardrails.