WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event results, highlights: Cody Rhodes fends off Kevin Owens, Gunther stays on top
WWE kicked it old school with Saturday Night’s Main Event to take fans through the time machine.
The show wasted no time getting off to a hot start with a breezy two-hour showcase on NBC. Match No. 1 was the only clash that didn’t feature gold when Drew McIntyre went against Sami Zayn.
This match was high-paced and in-your-face as it was expected to be. Zayn entered without a win over McIntyre in singles competition. Unfortunately for Zayn, that remains true as McIntyre pinned him off a sneaky Claymore Kick run-around out and into the ring.
The beauty of McIntyre in his current version is how much of a brute with a brain he truly is — unless overwhelmed by emotions as CM Punk played into. He’s cunningly evil and not your typical coward heel manipulating their way to the top. Defeating Zayn was the beginning of his OG Bloodline hitlist. Let’s see how many names he can check off.
Our Women’s World Championship match between champion Liv Morgan and challenger Iyo Sky followed. The self-proclaimed greatest women’s champion of all time somewhat surprisingly retained her title with a clean win. Don’t get it twisted though, Sky was the star of this match and continued to show why she should have been the one to get her hand raised. That’s no slight on Morgan. She’s continually been amazing as always, but the time is now for Sky, who seemingly can’t underperform.
The problem with all this was the obviously impending extension of Morgan’s Rhea Ripley rivalry as she confronted Morgan afterward. So, the Ripley vs. Sky tease on Monday night was apparently all for nothing unless we get some kind of loop around down the road. This rivalry has just been dragged on for too long.
Although the involvement of Gunther with Judgment Day has also arguably been dragged out, it doesn’t matter as “The Ring General” put that to rest in a fantastic triple-threat title defense. This match was all the chaos I hoped it would be and saw Gunther return to form in the storyline, as Michael Cole alluded to how much of a confidence-regaining win it was. Gunther is becoming a triple-threat match GOAT because he’s always in a must-see car crash when put against two other dudes. Even though Damian Priest had two worrisome botches, it doesn’t affect the quality because we expect the madness in these. As long as he has no real injuries, it’s all a big win.
Chelsea Green made history by becoming the first Women’s United States Champion with a win over her old pal Michin. I was never too high on Green after her Laurel Van Ness days. Whether or not you liked that iteration of the “Hot Mess,” it was just the goofiest, best kind of wrestling entertainment. At this stage though, she’s truly come into her own as an in-ring performer. I mean, Green hit a ridiculously unique rollover top-rope Unpretti-her to get the win. This was easily the best spot and moment of the night. Christian was surely somewhere applauding slowly in his turtle neck ready to insult someone’s father.
Green always had the character work down and mic skills, but we’re about to see a fun reign for the new champion.
The big Undisputed WWE Championship showcase saw Cody Rhodes successfully defend against an old friend-turned-bitter rival, Kevin Owens. The expected high emotions in an already tense rivalry came out in full force with plenty of fun moments and awesome spots. Owens’ track record in these moments and matches appears to be running on repeat. He’s his own worst enemy. Right when he has the match won, a referee gets taken out or a weapon he brought into the fold gets used against him. I had some flashbacks to his Roman Reigns feud in that respect.
It’s not necessarily a bad thing because the match was not bad. We just know what we get out of Owens at this point, and a world title reign is not it.
Overall, Saturday Night’s Main Event was a swell time and a thrilling two-hour show. If you missed any highlights, we have you covered with our Uncrowned coverage and awards below.
MVP: Gunther
Uncrowned gem of the night: Chelsea Green
Match of the night: Gunther vs. Finn Balor vs. Damian Priest
Best spot of the night: Chelsea Green’s rollover top-rope Unpretti-her
I give Saturday Night’s Main Event a crown score of: 👑9/10 👑
WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event full card results and highlights:
Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes def. Kevin Owens
Women’s United States Championship: Chelsea Green def. Michin
World Heavyweight Championship: Gunther def. Damian Priest and Finn Balor
Women’s World Championship: Liv Morgan def. Iyo Sky
Drew McIntyre def. Sami Zayn
Recap of WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event with Uncrowned’s live blog below:
LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER31 updates
