There is nothing like a nostalgia pop in wrestling and tonight’s premiere of the revamped Saturday Night’s Main Event on NBC/Peacock. The event has been heavily promoted, and it was promised that the Saturday shows would feel meaningful and ‘big time.’ The card felt a bit thrown together, but that is understandable when considering the live programming schedule WWE was on coming out of the Summer.
Live from the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, the expectation is that of a smart crowd, but they were more appreciative than even WWE might have expected. They had former stars of the show — and current HOFs –seated ringside, such as Tito Santana, Rich Hering, Jimmy Hart, and Greg ‘The Hammer’ Valentine.
Jesse “The Body” Ventura paired with Bob Papa at the old school platform, which was set in the same position as the 70s/80s. It was a proper hit of nostalgia, but WWE went all in with the old-school logo on full display. They even brought back the old neon walkthrough with the classic logo burning bright.
Pat McAfee was given a proper intro before making his way to commentary for the night. Ventura put over Liv Morgan and then said, “That Dom can pick women can’t he. Wrestling is even bigger today, 40 years later; you all can be proud of that,” Ventura told Joe Tessitore. It was nice that he was at least familiar with the product.
Before the main event, they brought Ventura ringside to sit with commentary—a more than familiar role for the longtime WWE/F commentator. It was great to see him so comfortable after all this time after receiving a standing ovation from Cole and McAfee and some of the fans sitting behind commentary.
McAfee acknowledged Ventura as the ‘Boa King’ before acknowledging his admiration for Jesse’s ‘snakeskin jacket.’ It was a hilarious exchange that highlighted the difference in eras as McAfee tried to help Ventura from the ire of animal activists by claiming the snake used for the jacket “died in his sleep after living a long life.” Ventura joked that it was Jake “The Snake” Roberts’ old mascot, Damien.
Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Kevin Owens—(WWE World Title)
Kevin Owens was in troll mode from the moment he entered the building tonight as opening shots caught him walking into the arena wearing a Gold Dust shirt—a tribute to Cody’s brother Dustin Rhodes as well as a troll on Cody.
Cody Rhodes entered the ring with the ‘Winged Eagle Title,’ the belt recognized by the older generation and coveted amongst hardcore fans of the era. Cody always acknowledged it was his favorite belt and hinted at bringing it back if he ever won the title. When he finally defeated Roman at Mania, many were waiting for the debut of the belt while hoping it wouldn’t be bastardized by WWE ‘creative.’
Charles Robinson was taken out after Owens threw Cody into him, but it worked against KO after delivering the stunner to Rhodes. He held the pinfall position as the crowd counted past 3 (a little fast), but without a ref, it was a moot point. Another ref made his way out, but by then, Cody had regained his composure. Cody went for the ‘springboard Cody cutter,’ but Owens ducked out of the way, and Cody ran into the replacement ref.
KO introduced the chair into the match—a prop that has a history in this feud. When Cody and Owens were still buds, there were moments when KO had a chair in his hand, and you expected him to turn on Cody. He never did. It was even suggested by Cody that KO couldn’t ‘pull the trigger’ on a ‘good friend’ like him.
Owens introduced the chair, but it was Cody who ended up using it after hitting the ‘Cross Rhodes’ on top of the steel seat. Charles Robinson had fortunately regained enough of his senses to count to three, standing on the outside with the top half of his body slumped into the ring. Cody retained the title with no extra theatrics or schmoz in place, and he won cleanly as the credits came up on the face of WWE, heading into the biggest era in wrestling history.
Chelsea Green vs. Michin—(Inaugural Women’s United States Title)
Many doubted whether Chelsea Green was the right choice to represent the title’s first holder, but it cannot be denied that she has produced some great work this year—mostly from a comedy angle. Still, Chelsea deserved the opportunity at the very least.
It was said on commentary that Chelsea’s first-ever ‘TV match’ was against Michin, and it felt like commentary was setting the apple after acknowledging Green’s last title reign in TNA. Jesika Carr was the official for this title match—a proper choice to underscore the importance of this match to the women’s division as a whole. Chelsea went out and made this shot count by defeating Michin in a solid match. They produced better action than was probably predicted by pundits, and the quality action made for a post-match crowning that felt worthy of the moment.
Gunther (c) vs. Finn Balor vs. Damian Priest
There was a spot where Damian Priest did a flip from in the ring to the outside on Gunther and nearly missed his target—catching the champ in the head with the back of his heel. You should’ve expected the chops, and there were plenty, but Priest seem to have something to prove in front of this primetime audience. Then, Priest, enjoying the home court advantage of sorts, went to the top and walked the ropes reminiscent of the Undertaker—though Priest finished it with a cross-body opposed to the arm over the back.
Moments later, the action heated up, and the crowd showed their appreciation. Priest hit Finn Balor with the ‘Razor’s Edge’ for a near-fall broken up by a Priest Coup De Grais. There were a couple near falls in the sequence that made you believe—for a second—that Priest could walk away with the strap. However, Gunther was able to successfully separate the two men (paramount of the champ in triple threat rules) by ‘power bombing’ Priest onto the steel steps before hitting the powerbomb into the ‘stacked’ pinfall victory over Balor.
Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn
After all the pomp and circumstances of red, white, and blue ropes strung through turnbuckles dawning the pre-Attitude logo (the one synonymous with ‘classic’ Hulk-A-Mania), the show started off properly with a great match off a hot crowd.
The match was thrown together after just two weeks of build, so it was difficult to buy in to the feud as a major attraction, but it was the right move if your goal was to immediately show off your top talent to lapsed fans. Without being able to utilize top talent embedded in programs, WWE decided to let these guys ‘show out’ in front of the 14,186 in attendance. Drew McIntyre was able to get some vicious power moves off while Sami elevated the action by offering several change-of-pace sequences. McIntyre picked up the pinfall victory after hitting Zayn with the “Claymore Kick” to kick off the night’s action.
Liv Morgan (c) vs. Iyo Sky—(Women’s World Title—RAW)
Liv Morgan and Iyo Sky have been bumping heads for weeks despite both Liv and Sky running separate programs with others in the interim. The match was quality, but the restraints on time and the program’s shelf time left more to be desired from these two superstars. Sadly, we won’t likely see them again together as Rhea Ripley came out after Liv’s victory over Sky to remind everyone (in case they forgot?) that the two of them have unfinished business.
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