Leighty’s WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event Review 12.14.24

-I had my work Christmas Party this evening so I had to wait to check this show out. Usually, I don’t review these shows as I tackle Retro Reviews, Main Event, Level Up, and the documentary shows on Peacock, but this event is being sold partly on nostalgia and being retro. Let’s get to it!

-Social Media Plugs: X: @RobertLeightyJr Bluesky: @robertsleightyjr.bsky.social

-Announce Team: Michael Cole and Pat McAfee
-Live: Nassau County Coliseum, Long Island, NY

-OBSESSION! Fantastic opening mixing the old with the new and we end with a still of Cody Rhodes with the WWE Title like we used to get with Hogan.

-We see Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens arriving earlier.

-More arrivals: Liv Morgan, Iyo Sky, Finn Balor, JD McDonagh, GUNTHER

-Jesse “The Body” Ventura is here and he is rocking the jake skin and feathers. Jesse joins Joe Tessitore at a podium away from ringside. Tessitore rocking the classic tuxedo with red bowtie.

-Hey, here’s Pat McAfee as he is done with ESPN’s College Football coverage for the time being. These two will be our RAW announce team in the NetFlix era.

Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn

-First, the minimalist set is back so they can cram more people into the building. It’s a sweet look as the default setting is an old school entrance, but can change to reflect whoever is making their entrance. The ring has the classic red, white, and blue ropes with classic an old school logo on the buckles. The ref is dressed in the old school blue shirt with bow-tie. Awesome! Sami attacks before the bell and a Sami Uso chant rings throughout the building. Chops from Zayn in the corner and he goes crazy with mounted punches in the corner. Clothesline sends Drew to the floor. Zayn with a moonsault to the floor. Back in the ring Drew charges and gets low bridged back to the floor. Sling shot plancha, but Drew catches him and tosses him across the announce table as we take a break at 2:07.

-So I checked the Peacock replay as I waited for the commercials and it seems they went to break at the same time.

-Back at 4:57 with Drew laying in some chops in the corner. Sami fights back with right hands, but Drew tosses him across the ring with an overhead belly to belly suplex. I really love those classic ring ropes! Sami gets an elbow to stop a charge and comes off the top with a double axe. Macho tribute? Helluva Kick is blocked with a boot to the face. Spinebuster into a pin gets two for Drew. Sit-out powerbomb gets two! Sami Uso chant starts again! Drew carries Sami on his shoulders to the top, but Sami slides out and hits a sunset flip powerbomb for two! Cool! This crowd is red hot for all of this! Sami tries to power Drew into a Blue Thunder Bomb, but no dice. Glasgow Kiss! Claymore is prepped, but Sami blocks with a boot and then the BTB for two. Both men are out as we get a This is Awesome chant. Sami up first, but Drew rolls to the floor. He forces Sami to chase him back in the ring and hits The Claymore for the pin at 10:06.

Winner: Drew McIntyre via pin at 10:06
-Fun match with kind of an abrupt ending. Crowd was on fire for all of it and they just kind of played the hits. Drew winning wasn’t a shock as he is just back after losing the feud with Punk and could use some wins. Sami has never defeated Drew and that can hang over him and become a bigger story down the line. ***1/4

-We see Iyo Sky and then Liv Morgan walking backstage as it seems their Title Match is next!

-Commercials!

-Tito Santana, Rich Hering, and Jimmy Hart are shown in the crowd.

Women’s World Championship: Liv Morgan (c) vs. Iyo Sky

-I love the look of that entrance way with the old school guard rail and fans right on top. They have security following each wrestler just to be safe. Charles Robinson is our ref and is wearing Ref-Cam. Charles looks perfect in that old school ref shirt. This match is sponsored by C4! Iyo flips around the ring so Liv just hits her with a dropkick. Iyo back with one of her own and then hits a flapjack for two. They fight on the apron and Iyo looks for a suplex, but Liv blocks. Iyo delivers a kick and hits the Asai Moonsault! We take a break at 1:28.

-Commercials!

-Back at 5:00 with both women on the mat. Iyo with a clothesline and then a dropkick. Liv rolls to the floor so Iyo follows with a suicide dive. Missile Dropkick back in the ring gets two. Bullet Train Attack misses and Liv hits a Backstabber. Code-Breaker gets two! Iyo back with a German Suplex and she rolls through to deliver two more and into the bridge for two. “Lets Go Iyo” chant from the crowd! Iyo up top, but Liv knocks her off to the apron. Iyo slips trying to spring back in and Liv gets another Code-Breaker. That was unfortunate. Small package from Iyo for two. She goes to a cross-face, but Liv escapes. Iyo delivers a knee that really caught Liv and then the Bullet Train Attack in the corner. Over The Moonsault, but Liv gets her boots up to block. Oblivion finishes at 9:06.

Winner and Still Women’s World Champion: Liv Morgan via pin at 9:06
-The replay shows that knee hit flush and may have broken Liv’s nose. The break kind of hurt this one but it was solid. The slip off the top with unfortunate, but they seemed to recover well. Liv never seemed in any danger of losing unless that knee somehow knocked her out. **1/2

-Rhea Ripley’s music hits and she is here as Liv, Raquel, and Dom are backing up the aisle. Rhea and Liv stare each other down and Liv holds the title up as she is not backing down.

-Tale of The Tape Graphic for GUNTHER vs. Balor vs. Priest!

World Heavyweight Championship: GUNTHER (c) vs. Finn Balor vs. Damian Priest

-Cole gets in a shot at Priest being a Yankees fan as his Mets paid more money to get Soto. I am over here as a Pirates fan where the owner doesn’t want to win and only wants to make money. GUNTHER is at 132 days as Champion. Cole notes GUNTHER has been a Champion for 80% of his time in WWE which is crazy. The story has been that GUNTHER’s confidence is shaky after the loss to Cody in Saudi Arabia. Cole is all about the history as he notes there has only been two title changes in the history of SNME: Demolition over Brain Busters for Tag Gold and HBK over Bulldog for IC Title. They all start fast and Priest pulls out a no hands dive over the top to Gunther. We take a quick break at 1:02. Just like old times on SNME!

-Commercials!

-Back at 4:34 with Balor trying to send Priest across the ring, but he blocks. GUNTHER back in out of nowhere and he boots down Priest and Balor. CHOP to Priest and then into a Boston Crab. Balor fires off a chop which just pisses off GUNTHER. Why would you want to make him angry? Priest back with a double clothesline. CHOP from Gunther! Chops from Priest! Forearm to Balor and then a splash in the corner. Splash to GUNTHER! Priest gets sent to the apron and he catches GUNTHER’S hand. Priest goes Old School, but hits a cross-body. Flatliner to Balor gets two! Razor Edge, but GUNTHER stops that. GUNTHER tries a powerbomb, but stops that and hits a Sling-blade on Priest and then on GUNTHER. Balor counters a sleeper with a pin attempt for two. GUNTHER sends Balor to the floor and then takes Priest to the mat with a sleeper and then a body scissors. Priest fights to his feet and breaks. South of Heaven! Balor back with another Sling-Blade and then the shotgun dropkick in the corner. Balor heads up, but GUNTHER knocks him off balance. He preps for a superplex, but Priest stops that. Razor’s Edge to GUNTHER. Balor follows with Cope De Gras for two as Priest desperately saves. Balor with a pin on Priest for two. South of Heaven to Balor for two as GUNTHER pulls Priest to the floor. “This is Awesome” chant. GUNTHER WITH A POWERBOMB TO PRIEST ON THE STEPS. OUCH! GUNTHER quickly back in the ring and Balor eats a shotgun dropkick and then a Powerbomb gets the pin on Balor at 11:10.

Winner and Still World Heavyweight Champion: GUNTHER via pin at 11:10
-Another fun match and I think taking the break so early worked better here as they got to show-out the last minutes. This was kind of a standard Triple Threat, but everyone get their stuff in and GUNTHER got to look dominant in the final moments with that sick powerbomb and then Balor was toast. We probably get a GUNTHER/Balor Match sooner than later. You would think Balor is out of the Title picture for a bit. ***1/4
Bo
-Kevin Owens and Nick Aldis are shown backstage.

-Commercials!

-Back to Joe and Jesse at podium. Jesse is a big fan of Liv Morgan and puts her over her toughness after eating that knee.

WWE Women’s United States Championship Tournament Final: Chelsea Green vs. Michin

-These two had a rivalry that led to the first Women’s Dumpster Match, which Michin won. I am pulling for Chelsea in this one. Cole continues with the history as he brings up Chelsea winning her first Title seven years ago in TNA. Still wild to hear another promotion mentioned on WWE TV. Both women try to land kicks, but miss. Green with a hammerlock, but Michin escapes. Green lands a strap and dumps Michin to the floor. She tries to dive, but Michin punches her in the face. Michin hooks a submission in the ropes. The ref gets distracted by Chelsea which lets Piper hit a side slam on the floor. We take a break at 1:20.

-Commercials!

-Back at 4:45 with Green going for the Ruff-Ryder, but Michin blocks. I should note Chelsea is wearing gear that has her face plastered all over it. Michin starts rolling, but Chelsea catches her with The Ruff-Ryder for two. Cole with a subtle Ryder reference since they are in Long Island. Chelsea tries a suicide dive, but misses. Piper is there to catch her. Michin dives onto both with a cannonball and then hits Eat Defeat on Piper. Back in the ring UnPrettyHer is countered with a roll-up for two. Eat Defeat to Chelsea, but it only gets two as Chelsea gets her foot on the rope. This crowd really wants Chelsea to win this one. The fight in the corner and Piper is on the apron. Michin with a basement dropkick to knock Piper down. She goes back to Chelsea but she flips off the ropes and into the UnPrettyHer for the pin at Title at 8:07 to a big pop. AWESOME!

Winner and First Ever Women’s United States Champion: Chelsea Green via pin at 8:07
-The break ate up a lot of this match, but not matter as they nailed the result. The crowd wanted it, and Chelsea deserved a moment like this. Cardona is now ½ of The Women’s US Champion. **

-Commercials!

-More Legends: Koko B. Ware, Greg “The Hammer” Valentine!

-Jesse joins Cole and McAfee at the announce table for the last match. McAfee has to be having the time of his life and is probably pinching himself wondering how he ended up in this spot.

WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Kevin Owens

-We take a break after KO’s entrance which should help us get more of the match. THE WINGED EAGLE! We all knew it was coming and it is still GLORIOUS! Cole goes over the history of the WINGED EAGLE and mentions Reggie Park and the belt making it’s debut at The Main Even in front of 33 million people when Hogan took on Andre. That belt looks fantastic around Cody’s waist. I can’t help but smile seeing it again. MY CHILDHOOD! The belt gets a pop as Charles holds it up before the opening bell. Fantastic! Cody charges at the bell, but KO calmly slides to the floor. Awesome! KO back in and he bails again as Cody charges. Cody follows this time and he sends KO into the announce table. KO rolls to the floor again, so Cody follows with a suicide dive. Cody grabs the ankle that was damaged by Gable last week on SmackDown. Release suplex by Cody back in the ring and KO bails to the floor again. This time he catches Cody and runs him into the post. He hits the release suplex on the announce table like Randy Orton and even says, “Hi Randy” to the camera. Cool! We picture in picture which is better than taking a break. KO goes after the ankle and hooks a submission. I was wondering if they would pay tribute to Hart/Savage from SNME and we may get that here. KO throws out crotch chops to the crowd before going for a cover and getting two. Belly to back is escaped by Cody and he lands his uppercut from his back. He gives us some Stardust with a cartwheel and sells the ankle. He fights with KO up top and KO ends up dropping Cody balls first on the top rope. Senton from KO gets two! KO goes Flip, Flop, and Fly because of course he would, but Cody cuts him off. Powerslam from Cody as Jesse notes he never faced Dusty. That would have been interesting. Disaster Kick gets two! Super Cody Cutter, but KO bails to the floor. Cody out to follow and eats a superkick. KO clears the announce table, but Cody drops him with the RKO. Back in the ring and not it’s The Super Cody Cutter for two! They battle up top again as Cody looks for a superplex, but KO turns it around with a Fisherman’s Buster for two. Jesse complains about the ref’s count and that is a sign of the world healing! Stunner is blocked and then so is The Cross-Rhodes. The ref gets bumped and there’s The Stunner. KO GETS SCREWED AGAIN! A new ref is out, but Cody is out at two. Cody hops out of a pop-up powerbomb and tries another Cody Cutter, but wipes out the ref. KO sends Cody shoulder first into the post and then grabs a chair. Cody ducks and hits The Cody Cutter! Cross-Rhodes onto the chair and Robinson gets up from the floor and makes the count from outside for the pin at 12:02.

Winner and Still WWE Champion: Cody Rhodes via pin at 12:02
-Wonderful match though I will admit I was hoping they pulled the trigger on KO getting the Title. I was hoping we got more of KO going after the ankle, but no dice. KO got the visual pin to give him something to complain about and I could see them running this again at The Royal Rumble because they love giving KO Title Matches there. ***3/4

-Cody celebrates as we close. Thanks for reading!

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

-This show was a joy to watch as it was full of nostalgia while not going too far and losing focus of the current stars. It was just match after match and they were all entertaining in some manner. The Chelsea win gives this show some history and while the rest were the status quo, it was still a fun night of wrestling with a hot crowd.