On Saturday, December 14th, Saturday Night’s Main Event returned to where it all began, Nassau Memorial Veterans Coliseum on Long Island, NY. This marked the first-ever Saturday Night’s Main Event show in nearly 20 years. The show was headlined by Cody Rhodes, who put his Undisputed WWE Championship on the line against Kevin Owens.
We also saw GUNTHER put his World Heavyweight Championship on the line in a triple threat against Finn Balor and Damian Priest. Also, Liv Morgan put her Women’s World Championship on the line against Iyo Sky, Drew McIntyre, and Sami Zayn faced off in a grudge match, and the first-ever WWE Women’s United States Champion was crowned. So, what were the top three moments of the show?
3. Chelsea Green becomes the inaugural Women’s United States Champion
In one of the night’s biggest matches, we saw Chelsea Green and Michin go one-on-one in the Women’s United States Championship Tournament finals. Chelsea Green bested Bianca Belair, Blair Davenport, and Bayley to get to this match, while Michin got past Lash Legend, Piper Niven, and Tiffany Stratton to earn this opportunity.
The fans were very much behind Green in this match. Both Michin and Green crushed it in this match and the fans were very involved. At one point in the match, Green hit Matt Cardona (Zack Ryder’s) finishing move which drew a big pop from the crowd. Ultimately, Green defeated Michin with her finishing move for the three-count.
After the match, Niven came out to celebrate with Green, and Green got the pyro to go with it in her championship celebration. Green winning the Women’s United States Championship first was truly a remarkable moment. Green more than deserved this moment, and I look forward to many more matches between both Michin and Green for this championship. The future is bright for both women.
2. GUNTHER retains over Finn Balor & Damian Priest
A few months ago, if you were to tell me GUNTHER had both Damian Priest and Finn Balor in a triple threat match, I would have said that would have been tough for GUNTHER to win in. However, that’s exactly the match we got, except now Balor and Priest are bitter enemies.
Originally, it was supposed to be GUNTHER vs. Finn Balor one-on-one, but Priest was added to the match this past Monday on RAW. To the surprise of nobody, this match was arguably the match of the night. All three men in this match went at it, and it could have been one of the best triple threat matches in recent memory.
Ultimately, GUNTHER was victorious after a very hard fought victory. It didn’t come easy, as all three men were bruised, bloodied, and battered by the end of the match. However, the “Ring General” retained his prize, and continues to sit alone atop the Monday Night RAW mountaintop.
1. Cody Rhodes gets some payback over Kevin Owens
In the main event of the first Saturday Night’s Main Event in nearly 20 years, we saw Cody Rhodes put his Undisputed WWE Championship on the line against a former friend, now bitter enemy in Kevin Owens. This match arguably had the best build up on the card, with these two men delivering fantastic promo battles on Friday Night SmackDown.
This match went about as good just as you would have thought. Both Rhodes and Owens took each other to limit for the most coveted prize in the entire industry. However, only one man would win. In a cool moment in the match, Rhodes RKO’d Owens on the announce table, showing his friend Randy Orton some love.
Ultimately, Rhodes was victorious after a brutal, hard fought match. However, the bigger story came after the show went off the air as Kevin Owens took out Cody Rhodes with a package piledriver. This led to Rhodes getting stretchered out, as Owens left with the Undisputed WWE Championship. It seems like this rivalry may be far from over.
Overall, this was a fantastic return show for Saturday Night’s Main Event. Despite the little number of matches, all five of them delivered. Liv Morgan and Iyo Sky put on a great match, as did Drew McIntyre and Sami Zayn. Truthfully, there was no bad match on this card. It was just a great show overall.
