Another adequate edition of WWE Saturday Night's Main Event has come and gone, and the show continues to move away from its throwback roots. Once again, we were without Jesse Ventura on commentary, and though Michael Cole and Wade Barrett are generally good at their jobs, Ventura could be counted on to throw out at least half-a-dozen bizarre lines throughout a given night to keep everyone entertained.
Following the last underwhelming SNME in July, WWE promised some consequential action this time around, and (somewhat shockingly) they delivered. Tonight's show featured a the end of a lengthy title reign, as well as the crowning of a new World Heavyweight Champion in a main event that was pleasantly straightforward.
That being said, SNME wasn't exactly a crowd-pleaser in terms of in-ring action, with some matches proceeding at a sluggish pace. Plus, the conspicuous absence of one notable faction has us calling their plan into question. Overall, this was a divisive installment, and two matches produced both a love and a hate from our crew. Now, take a look at our results page if you simply want to find out what happened, or read on to learn all about the moments we loved and hated during Saturday Night's Main Event.
While it was an ill-fated run in itself, a pillar of John Cena's WWE mythology was his debut on "WWE SmackDown," answering an open challenge from Kurt Angle and uttering the now-vaunted words "Ruthless Aggression" in his first true opportunity at making his mark in wrestling. 17 WWE World titles and thousands of matches later, Cena is looking to wrap things up as his retirement tour comes to an end.
This run has seen him become the most decorated WWE World Champion in history, courtesy of a brief stint as a heel for the first time since his early years. Cena has wrapped up years-long running sagas with the likes of CM Punk, AJ Styles, and Randy Orton, but the terminus is approaching, and the next Saturday Night's Main Event will be the last.
This weekend's edition saw Cena appear, sort of, with vignettes dedicated to his impending retirement, and Cena announced that he would not be choosing his final opponent, as it has been pointed out numerously that he had done before. Instead, there will instead be a tournament to determine the one to stand opposite Cena in his final match. Honestly, as retirement tours go, that could be perceived as a bit of a weak swansong, with some preferring a more personal story for the end of Cena's career.
However, I happen to like wrestling, and tournaments mean more wrestling, and the potential to create a multitude of stories within one central format. Therefore, I like that. What Cena said also piqued my attention: that not only would main roster and "WWE NXT" names be competing for the opportunity, but maybe even those who don't work for the company.
Perhaps it's also the perfect way for him to go out. The man that debuted through an open challenge, innovated the United States Championship open challenge, is now riding off into the sunset with, effectively, an open challenge.
Written byMax Everett
I was already at this point before the opening match of Saturday Night's Main Event, but tonight just pushed me over the edge. It feels weird to be saying "poor Drew McIntyre" with everything the "Scottish Warrior" has accomplished over the last four or five years, but in recent memory, things have not been going so hot for him. He's been thrown at Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes a few times now, including back at Wrestlepalooza, and every time, he comes up short when it comes to the "WWE SmackDown" title, just like when he couldn't keep his hands on the World Heavyweight Championship.
There's no reason why McIntyre shouldn't be one of the faces of WWE at this point in his career. Instead, his character just looks silly. I'm assuming this is all happening to tease a heel turn for Rhodes, as he hit a DDT on the belt when the referee's back was turned, though whether that actually happens or not remains to be seen. Sure, McIntyre is a credible threat and great dance partner for him to tease all of that against, but it does come at McIntyre's expense. A veteran like Randy Orton would have made sense if that's what WWE is going for in terms of Rhodes' storyline.
Now, for McIntyre, it seems like it's just going to be back to a lot more whining, now that Rhodes used heelish tactics to get the win. That feels like the same old song and dance, even if McIntyre has all the reason in the world to be whiny about it.
It would be nice to see WWE switch up the rosters in the new year, so McIntyre cango back to challenging for, and eventually winning, the World Heavyweight Championship, especially with Seth Rollins out. However, with Punk winning the title, I don't think McIntyre necessarily fits in there anymore, either. It feels way too soon to reignite that rivarly, and McIntyre would probably be right back to where he is now. Rhodes also needs some new challengers for his title, so there should be some kind of brand shakeup, if not before the Royal Rumble, then absolutely after.
Written by Daisy Ruth
Jade Cargill won her first WWE Women's Championship with a statement victory over Tiffany Stratton, beating her in just over five minutes and ending her reign of 302 days. Cargill is now just the second individual to beat Stratton in singles action via pinfall this year, and the win cements her tonal shift after the past few weeks as a new monster heel.
Cargill had failed in her attempts at the title before, back when she toeing the line of the noble babyface. This time, not only was she devoid of those restrictions, but Cargill was also presented with an opportunity in the form of Stratton's bandaged knee. She worked to dismantle the already-injured limb in the early goings, completely neutralizing the champion and ensuring that, even when Stratton looked to get back into things, she couldn't do anything of note to the imposing challenger.
In many ways, this was some of the best work Cargill had done since coming to WWE. She seemed to be wrestling with a bit more of a bite than before, slowing down and working more meticulously, targeting her opponent's knee. The closing stretch was reminiscent of Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena at SummerSlam 2014, with Cargill throwing the champion with fallaway slams and consecutive powerbombs before the exclamation point Jaded followed by the clean pinfall in the middle of the ring.
Stratton having been such a dominant champion for much of this year adds to the victory and the aura of the new champion. Now, Cargill hasn't just put an end to "Tiffy Time," but she did it in a quick and dominating fashion. Stratton accomplished a lot in her reign and proved herself more than worthy of the spot, but the prospect of Cargill renewing her acquaintance with Bianca Belair further down the line with the title in-hand is just too good to pass up.
Written by Max Everett
Oh, for real? On God? We're ending Tiffany Stratton's reign just like that?
Stratton and Jade Cargill took to the ring during Saturday's broadcast, and to say that it was a weird match would be an understatement. Stratton was really playing up her knee injury so Cargill walked her like a dog, and when it was all said and done, Cargill left with the WWE Women's Championship, with nary a moment of appreciation or acknowledgement for Stratton's historic reign as a world titleholder to be found.
Now, I can acknowledge that, in principle, this is a good thing. Stratton's title reign was getting stale, with the routine of Cargill, Jax, and the odd Kiana James match quickly becoming repetitive in the twilight hours of Stratton's reign. Now that "Tiffy Time" is over, Cargill can (hopefully) breathe some fresh life into the stagnant "WWE SmackDown" women's division. While I agree with Saturday's decision in theory, I can't say I endorse it in practice.
Saturday's match was weird from the get-go, with Cargill literally tearing Stratton limb from limb. It makes sense for Cargill's new heel persona, until you consider that Stratton didn't get a lick of offense in compared to Cargill. Just a year or two ago, Stratton was picking up dominant wins left and right. I get that her knee hurts, but it's just so weird to see Stratton get manhandled to such a degree especially when she's been one of the strongest forces to be reckoned over the last 365 days. You're telling me that Tiffany Stratton, who walked out victorious after getting her teeth knocked into her gums by Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania, lost her title in five minutes because she got a booboo? Are we for real?
You could argue that this humiliating loss is the start of a comeback story, ala Bianca Belair at SummerSlam 2021. Stratton could take this time to reinvent herself, come back as a stronger babyface, and gloriously win back her title. Did Stratton need reinventing, though, or just need new challengers? Did we need a Belair-adjacent storyline for Stratton, or just need a serious contender other than Cargill, Jax, and James?
Considering the state of "SmackDown's" booking, I have little faith in the quality of Stratton's comeback story and, if I'm being honest, I don't believe that world titleholder Cargill will change the decrepit state of the "SmackDown" women's landscape either. The match ended without decorum or respect for a woman who is one of the most beloved faces in WWE, and it was all for what? For the wrestling community's newest fixation to continue the short life cycle of "SmackDown's" female performers.
Written by Angeline Phu
Love or hate the end result, it was nice to see WWE actually end a match with a clean finish, especially one as important as the bout to determine the new World Heavyweight Champion after Seth Rollins was forced to vacate the gold. Quite a few of us here at WINC predicted interference by Bron Breakker and Bronson Reedthat would lead to a no contest, but I'm sure even more of us are happy that it actually did not happen. While the men probably should have appeared somewhere on the show tonight, "WWE Raw" has a champion, and the vacant title storyline is not dragging on any longer than it needs to.
I'm admittedly no fan of CM Punk, but I think it was a really smart move to put the title on him here for quite a few reasons, if you weren't going to put the gold immediately on Breakker, which it's now more than obvious wasn't the plan WWE creative pivoted to. Punk technically has a claim to the title, as he won it extremely briefly at SummerSlam before Rollins pulled his "Ruse of the Century" and cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Punk after his victory over GUNTHER.
And, while I do like Jey Uso, it seems like I'm in the minority when you look outside of the live crowds at WWE events. One of the biggest stories over the last week was the dislike numbers on Uso's videos on WWE's YouTube channel. I don't know if the company took those into mind when figuring out which man should be champion, but, going with Punk was probably the smarter idea if you're looking at the strongly opinionated Internet Wrestling Community.
Punk's victory also leads to an interesting storyline with Uso, alongside Jimmy Uso and Roman Reigns, possibly even a heel turn by Jey. And, for the champion, he now has to face off against a likely enraged Uso, LA Knight, and Breakker waiting in the wings, in addition to everyone else on the roster who will be wanting a shot at the title. There's plenty of story to be told now on "Raw" that the show has its World Heavyweight Champion, and Iwas glad to see the match come to a clean end tonight.
Written by Daisy Ruth
I fully agree that the lack of a DQ finish was the right choice for tonight's show, but it definitely felt odd not to see Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, or Paul Heyman make any kind of appearance at SNME.
Just a few weeks ago, we saw the trio turn on Seth Rollins, forcing him to vacate the World Heavyweight Championship (in reality, due to a shoulder injury). Then, "WWE Raw" General Manager Adam Pearce disallowed Breakker or Reed from entering the battle royale to earn a spot in tonight's main event. The group followed this up by having Breakker wrestle LA Knight on Monday's "Raw," and it seems they've turned their attention away from the World Heavyweight Championship, for some reason.
With the way the CM Punk-Jey Uso match was set up, outside interference felt very likely. The fact that the company decided against that is admirable, but there should've been a better explanation of why The Vision didn't even attempt to get involved. It seems entirely possible to have some combination of Breakker, Reed, and/or Heyman show up tonight with the intent of interfering in the main event, only for someone else to get in their way. Instead, I guess we'll have to wait and see what the group's explanation is and hope that it gets addressed at all.
Written by Nick Miller
