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

WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event

December 14^th, 2024 | Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York

Oh, it’s cool to have this back and the card is rather loaded. The intro was super cool and the entrance and such is setup like it was back in the day.

Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn

I love both guys but this is a match we’ve certainly seen a lot. Sami attacked at the bell, wanting revenge for recent attacks on Raw. That included a springboard moonsault to the outside but his momentum was stopped by Drew tossing him onto the announce table heading into a commercial break. Drew held serve through the break and stopped a Sami rally attempt with a spinebuster. They had a cool spot where Sami turned an avalanche White Noise into a Sunset Flip Bomb for two. Sami got a boot up to stop a Claymore but a minute or so later, he ran into one to lose in 10:05. That was a good opener though they didn’t do anything we hadn’t seen before from these two. [***¼]

Women’s World Championship: Liv Morgan [c] vs. IYO SKY

IYO is so goddamn good. You could see it right off the bat with some of the stuff she pulled off. A kick she hit while on the apron was sick though I wasn’t too big on her also doing a springboard moonsault on the outside after Sami did one. That took us to the break and upon returning, they were trading shots with IYO taking control after a series of dropkicks and palm strikes. I liked that Liv turned it around with a nice Backstabber/Lungblower combo. She’s booked as a cowardly heel but she has some impressive offense when given the chance. IYO is a monster though with a fantastic trio of Germans done in a unique way. They also did a very good job of covering a botch as IYO slipped on the ropes and Liv immediately caught her with a Lungblower. Liv got the boots up on the moonsault and retained cleanly with Oblivion in 9:06. Finally a clean win for Liv. Another good match with some rad exchanges though the commercial break killed some of the momentum. IYO was on fire. [***]

Post-match, Rhea Ripley came out and did her entire entrance pose and such to have a staredown with Liv because this feud HAS to continue.

World Heavyweight Championship: Gunther [c] vs. Damian Priest vs. Finn Bálor

No offense to Damian but I really wanted this to just be Finn/Gunther. Damian went right after Finn at the bell before doing a somersault over the top that he nearly hurt himself on. He came very close to hitting the apron or floor much worse than he’d want to. That sent us into commercial because we’re 3/3 in matches with that same spot. Something outside leads to break like a minute into the match. Returning, everyone got a chance to get some spots in with some looking good and some looking goofy (like Finn’s weird acting after eating a Gunther chop). Priest fired up against Gunther after surviving a sleeper only for Finn to attack and hit the John Woo dropkick. There was a cool spot where Gunther took a Razor’s Edge and Coup de Grace but the pin got broken up. He then broke up a Priest pin, powerbombed him on the steel steps, and beat Finn with a powerbomb inside after 11:09. Another good, yet unspectacular match on this card. [***¼]

WWE Women’s United States Title Tournament Finals: Chelsea Green vs. Michin

Green’s attire had a bunch of photos of her face on it. Some history between these ladies with Green’s first TV match coming against Michin, both being former Knockouts Champions, and they had a fun feud earlier this year. Michin busted out a variation of Tajiri’s Tarantula early on before Piper Niven took her out with a slam outside. Of course, that led to a commercial break. Returning, Michin had to start making the comeback, which she did with a slew of German suplexes. I feel like we’ve seen a few too many spots repeated tonight. Chelsea got two on a Rough Ryder (WWWYKI) and the crowd was mostly all behind her. Michin took out Piper twice, which was enough to give Chelsea the opening to flip over Michin from the top and right into the Unprettier to win the title in 8:04. A fun little match here and the crowd was into it because of Chelsea. Good for her, I enjoy her goofy character. [**½]

Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes [c] vs. Kevin Owens

Cody sported a winged eagle title for a special one night only use. KO taking a powder to start a match will always work for me. He doesn’t overdo it either like boring guys who don’t know how to work. He uses it just right. Cody pounced though but quickly had to go to the injured leg, showing he wasn’t 100%. We got our first PIP break as KO worked Cody over outside and inside of the ring. Returning, KO hit a Swanton and mocked Dusty’s signature punches and I respect Ventura on commentary for being like “GO AFTER THE LEG.” It’s what should be a focus of the match. That said, Cody hitting an RKO on the announce table popped me given Orton’s part in the feud. They traded some big near falls right before a ref bump. Classic wrestling. KO got a visual win over Cody with the Stunner as the referee remained down. A second one ran in and also took a bump. KO got a chair and pulled the trigger but missed and Cody hit him with Cross Rhodes onto it to retain in 12:01. The best match on the show though again, it was hurt by the commercial break. Hot finish too. [***½]

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

Look, you’re certainly going to find shows with better matches out there but I had a blast here either way. Nothing on the show was bad, it moved along very easily, and was a fun nostalgia trip without relying on the past too much.