The WWE on ESPN Era officially kicked off this weekend.
On Saturday evening, September 20, 2025, the inaugural WWE WrestlePalooza on ESPN special event took place live from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Coming out of the show on 9/20, the consensus within the pro wrestling community is that the match for the vacant WWE Women’s World Championship between Stephanie Vaquer and IYO SKY stole the show.
Following the performance in arguably the best match of the historic WrestlePalooza event, “La Primera” Stephanie Vaquer received high-praise from some top WWE figures, including Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque, Stephanie McMahon and Shawn Michaels.
As noted, the WWE Chief Content Officer was very complimentary of the new WWE Women’s World Champion during the WWE WrestlePalooza post-show, where he revealed that she missed WWE Raw during the build-up to the 9/20 special event due to an illness.
“In the last few weeks, Stephanie has been very sick,” Levesque noted. “I don’t know the details of what the flu-type thing going on but she was very sick. It was why she missed the TV, it’s why there were some odd build to it.
“She was able to feel well enough and get cleared medically to compete tonight. For her to be able to do that against IYO, who I consider one of the greatest women of all time in this industry. For her to have a win like that tonight to become the women’s world championship is incredible. She has been here for a very short time. As we move forward now, she becomes a dominant force. The landscape of WWE in the women’s division just changed with Stephanie Vaquer becoming women’s champion.”
Levesque wasn’t the only one singing the praises of Vaquer after Saturday’s show, however, as his wife, Stephanie McMahon, chimed in via social media with some kind words for the rising women’s wrestling star.
“I believe in you Stephanie Vaquer,” Stephanie wrote in response to a post on X made by Vaquer, where she spoke about her dreams coming true. “All anyone has to do is watch last night’s match with IYO SKY and they will believe too. La Primera es la campeona! Felicitaciones!”
The last sentence Stephanie wrote translates to “La Primera is the champion! Congratulations!” For those who missed it, the Vaquer statement referenced above translates to read: “They call us dreamers, but we’re the ones who don’t sleep. I dreamed of this my whole life. Today I become the WWE World Champion, the first Latin American woman to achieve it. Thank you to everyone who has believed in me.”
Finally, WWE NXT executive and WWE Hall of Fame legend Shawn Michaels also surfaced via social media to reply to the above statement posted by the former WWE NXT double champion after WWE WrestlePalooza: Indianapolis.
“On behalf of myself and everyone at WWE NXT… congratulations to Stephanie Vaquer on becoming Women’s World Champion,” Michaels wrote. “Couldn’t be prouder of you. Keep on dreaming, La Primera.”
I believe in you @Steph_Vaquer! All anyone has to do is watch last night’s match with @Iyo_SkyWWE and they will believe too. La Primera es la campeona! Felicitaciones! https://t.co/6eLqKnSRE7
— Stephanie McMahon (@StephMcMahon) September 21, 2025
On behalf of myself & everyone at #WWENXT… congratulations to @Steph_Vaquer on becoming Women’s World Champion.
Couldn’t be prouder of you. Keep on dreaming, La Primera. #Wrestlepalooza https://t.co/mLu2OaONmN
— Shawn Michaels (@ShawnMichaels) September 21, 2025
“They call us dreamers, but we’re the ones who don’t sleep”
Soñé con esto toda mi vida. Hoy me convierto en la Campeona Mundial de WWE, la primera 👆🏻 mujer latinoamericana en lograrlo.
Gracias a todos los que han creído en mí ❤️#Wrestlepalooza #Cuecapalooza pic.twitter.com/TIGL9v7pUN
— Stephanie Vaquer (@Steph_Vaquer) September 21, 2025
— Stephanie Vaquer (@Steph_Vaquer) September 21, 2025
