WWE’s Saturday Night’s Main Event has triumphantly returned. After 14 years, WWE has decided to bring the network show back into our homes. It is a night that will tug at the nostalgic heartstrings and hopefully provide some new memories.
The lineup for the card is one of the best WWE has put together this year. Three world championship matches are bound to create chaos, an undercard that will see new champions crowned, and a grudge match for the ages. It will be a great night, but how great will it be? Will WWE end out 2024 on a high note? Let’s review the show.
Before the first bell rings, WWE does a great job of hyping up the viewer. The intro, the set, and the presentation harkened back to Saturday Nights of old. It was perfectly done, and Jesse Ventura’s lead-in was a great way to lead us into the first match of the night.
Drew McIntyre vs Sami Zayn – 3.75/5
Drew McIntyre’s vengeance against the OG Bloodline reached its first stop in the form of Sami Zayn.
Zayn and McIntyre got off to a heck of a hot start. Sami took the fight to Drew, and it set the tone for the rest of the contest. Drew got control early, after a toss into the table, and it settled both men into their heel and babyface roles, respectively.
There is no one better at playing the face in peril than Sami Zayn, so the match was as great as one would expect.
The false finish, with Zayn’s top rope powerbomb, was a great spot. This, combined with his various comebacks, made the crowd believe that Sami could have pulled out the victory.
Alas, this was not to be, and McIntyre hit a Claymore to get the fairly decisive win. It was an entertaining match to start off the night.
Women’s World Heavyweight Championship Match: Liv Morgan vs Iyo Sky – 3.25/5
This was the first one-on-one meeting between Iyo Sky and Liv Morgan. Although their build wasn’t the strongest, that didn’t stop both women from putting on a very entertaining affair.
Sky went to what brought her to the dance and pulled off some great high-flying moves. Two suicide dives through the ropes are particular highlights. Sky’s maintaining control for most of the match was a great subversive booking.
It also went a long way towards making Morgan look like a beast for coming back from that beating.
Morgan going over clean was the right call here. She hasn’t gotten many wins on her own, and this has helped to establish her reign. Future victories will now mean more because she proved she can do it by herself.
World Heavyweight Championship Match: Gunther vs Finn Balor vs Damian Priest – 3.75/5
The fates of these three men have been intertwined since the summer. Their chemistry has been built over months, and their familiarity with one another has helped to create a bubble of drama surrounding the preceding.
A lot of great back and forth here. The joy of a triple threat is that the pace can be kept up without any of the men running out of steam. Priest had a great spot with the Old School, while Gunther and Balor got all their hits in as well. It was a hard-hitting match that had some great false finishes.
The flurry at the end was furious. It was a sprint that had Gunther get the best of both Finn Balor and Damian Priest. It was definitive and will lead to a new challenge for Gunther down the line.
United States Women’s Championship Tournament Final: Chelsea Green vs Michin – 3/5
This is the most unlikely of finals to crown the first-ever Women’s United States Champion. Chelsea Green and Michin are under-the-radar talents who provided a tight match to start the U.S. Championship off on the right foot.
The crowd was very much in the corner of Green. It was interesting to see her resort to heel tactics with the crowd on her side. There were some great spots, and the finish was the best of the night. Great balance by Green to reverse a top rope move into the Unpretty-her. Green deserves this win, and it will hopefully lead to more from her.
WWE Heavyweight Championship Match: Cody Rhodes vs Kevin Owens – 4/5
Leading up to this match, we saw some of Cody Rhode’s best character work. Kevin Owens has been the perfect heel, and Rhodes was clearly rattled by Owens’s actions. This led to a match dripping with animosity.
Rhodes bringing back the winged eagle championship was freaking awesome. A great way to get the crowd hot for a match that was going to set off some fireworks.
Heel Owens is so much better than Babyface Owens. His working over Rhode’s ankle is a 180 from Bash in Berlin and shows how far WWE’s storytelling has come. It’s a logical breaking point and one that adds so much to the match.
Rhodes and Owens were always going to put on a good contest, but the shading in of their hatred made this the clear best match of the night.
The double ref bump finish into Rhodes using the chair was interesting. Things are not over between these two, with possibly a gimmick match at the Royal Rumble.
