Tag: Saturday Night’s Main Event

WWE returns to the airwaves of NBC and Peacock for its second Saturday Night’s Main Event of 2025 featuring both the past, the present and the future of WWE.

In a featured match, undisputed WWE Champion John Cena will defend against R-Truth in an angle coming out of Backlash. While the two shared the ring in 2024, this will be their first singles match since 2011.

WWE World Heavyweight Champion Jey Uso will defend against Logan Paul in their first-ever meeting. Paul is looking for his first World title run while this is Uso’s second title defense.

In a high-profile tag team match, past opponents CM Punk & Sami Zayn will team up against Seth Rollins & Bron Breakker.

Damian Priest and Drew McIntyre will battle in a steel cage match in a WrestleMania rematch.

In a match made on SmackDown, Women’s U.S. Champion Zelina Vega will defend against inaugural champion Chelsea Green.

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– Following the WWE signature open, the voice of Joe Tessitore welcomed us over a shot of Tampa before we went to an outside shot of the Yuengling Center and fans pouring into the arena. As we saw shots of several wrestlers arriving to the arena, we then went to the cold open for our show.

– Tessitore was then seen on stage with Jesse Ventura, as they discussed the action to come for tonight’s show, including the McIntyre vs. Priest cage match and Jey Uso vs. Logan Paul. The two then tossed things over to our commentary team of Michael Cole and Pat McAfee.

CM Punk & Sami Zayn vs. Seth Rollins & Bron Breakker

Once all four men entered the ring, the brawl began before the bell could even ring. In the ensuing scuffle, Punk and Zayn cleared the ring as the match finally kicked off when Zayn and Rollins started things off for their teams. Breakker tagged himself in and with Zayn slumped against the commentary table at ringside, he hit a powerful clothesline that sent the Canadian over the table as we headed to a break in the action.

We returned with Rollins and Breakker working over Zayn in their corner. Breakker dropped Zayn with a suplex as he then did his pushups to taunt his foe. Rollins tagged in and tried to continue the momentum, but Zayn avoided calamity and got the tag to Punk. The Chicago native went to work on Rollins as he attempted the GTS, but got countered. Punk pulled out a Code Red out of nowhere on Rollins, which got a close two-count. He then took down Rollins with a bulldog while simultaneously clotheslining an interfering Breakker.

Diving elbow drop by Punk appeared to lead to a GTS, but Breakker pulled Rollins away and caused a distraction. This opened Punk up for a Pedigree from Rollins, but Zayn broke up the count at two. Breakker tried to intervene, but Zayn threw him out and then took off with a springboard moonsault ala Sabu as we got another break.

The action continued with Rollins and Punk mixing it up in the ring as the two men attempted to hit their respective finishers, but to no avail. A double clothesline from both men took each other out as they then tagged in to their respective corners. Zayn caught Breakker napping with a springboard DDT. He appeared to have Breakker in position for a Helluva Kick, but Rollins held on to Zayn’s foot. Punk took down Rollins with a dive to the outside. After an exploder suplex, Heyman pulled at Zayn’s leg, as we then saw a returning Bronson Reed appear at ringside to take Punk out of the equation with a charge to through the barricade.

In the ensuing chaos, Breakker hit Zayn with the spear and got the win for his team.

Post-match, Breakker sized up Reed, but Rollins stepped forward and embraced Reed, apparently having recruited the massive Australian to his burgeoning alliance. Punk tried to grab at Heyman’s leg, but he found himself a victim of a Tsunami at the hands of Reed.

Seth Rollins & Bron Breakker def. Sami Zayn & CM Punk via pinfall (Breakker pinned Zayn)

A fun enough opener to the evening, but the big story is Bronson Reed aligning with Seth Rollins’ faction which should make them a formidable heel faction on Raw. That said, the crowd continually cheering for Rollins and singing his song does make that a bit of an issue, and it’s something that’s probably going to have to be addressed down the line.

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WWE Women’s United States Championship Match: Zelina Vega (c) vs. Chelsea Green

Green started off hot by takine down Vega with a clothesline as she then pounced on her with punches, followed by an irish whip to the turnbuckle. Vega avoided a scoop slam from Green, and took momentum with an arm drag. She missed on a 619 attempt, as the action spilled to the outside. Green grabbed Vega from the floor and dropped her with a hard powerbomb right to the outside.

Back in the ring, Green relished in having Vega down and out as she slammed her face-first on the mat for a two-count. Green continued to assert her command on the match by targeting Vega’s back, followed by a patented all-Canadian chinlock. Vega fought out of it, but got rocked by a boot to the face from Green.

Green missed on a splash as Vega dodged at the last second, which gave the Women’s U.S. Champion an opening and a second wind. Vega showing some almighty offense with a back suplex, but Green snuffed that out. An Un-Pretty-Her attempt was blocked by Vega, who then hit the 619 on Green, which appeared to have busted her nose upon impact. A distraction from Alba Fyre allowed Piper Niven to try her hand in distracting Vega, but to no avail.

In the end, Vega retained her Women’s U.S. Title with an avalanche Code Red for the three to maintain her perfect record against Chelsea Green.

Zelina Vega def. Chelsea Green via pinfall to retain the Women’s United States Championship

A fine match for sure, and the anime nerd in me really appreciated Vega’s choice of attire, which was a shoutout to the character All Might from My Hero Academia. Still, it was nice to see Vega in action on this edition of SNME.

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– Jimmy Hart and Bushwhacker Luke were shown in the crowd. The commentators discussed the CMLL/NXT Worlds Collide show, particularly a match just made for the event in two weeks: El Hijo del Vikingo versus Chad Gable.

Non-Title Match: John Cena vs. R-Truth

Cena, of course, entered to cheers despite being a heel. Truth entered to the match to Cena’s own music, as well as sporting attire that was directly a spoof of Cena’s own attire.

Cena started the match by hitting Truth from behind and went on the offensive before he ripped off Truth’s shirt. The Undisputed WWE Champion attacked Truth in the corner as he threw aside his earrings in disgust. Cena didn’t waste any time hitting his usual shoulder tackles, followed by the back drop. The Five Knuckle Shuffle made no mistake as Cena looked for an Attitude Adjustment. Truth escaped and proceeded to give Cena a taste of his own medicine. Five Knuckle Shuffle from Truth was then followed by an AA on Cena. One, two… no! Truth applied the STF on Cena, but the Champ escaped to the outside. A throw to the ringpost at ringside by Cena gave him the opportunity to retrieve his WWE Championship belt.

Cena looked to hit Truth with his WWE Title belt, but seemed to have a moment of hesitation, but that was just a distraction for a low blow, followed by the AA for the victory.

Post-match, Cena grabbed his title belt and smashed Truth with it before he walked off.

John Cena def. R-Truth

A lot like most of Cena’s heel run, this was just kinda there. Nothing overly bad, but nothing really remarkable, either. Truth doing Cena’s mannerisms and moves was cute and all, but it wasn’t really much to write home about. Even the obvious route of perhaps having Cody Rhodes return to save Truth and confront Cena wasn’t taken, but I suppose the return of the American Nightmare will be saved for a bigger occasion.

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– Backstage, Jey Uso was confronted by John Cena, who said that it’d be quite something if Logan Paul were to defeat Uso for the World Title, causing a scenario where the World Title would be in the hands of a YouTuber, while he held the WWE Title as his clock struck zero. Cena told Uso that he’d be watching his defense against Paul later tonight closely.

Steel Cage Match: Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre

Jesse Ventura joined Cole and McAfee at the commentary table for this next match.

McIntyre attacked Priest before he could enter the cage as he grabbed a pair of chairs from under the ring before entering the ring to get this match started. Priest responded with a couple of elbows, but McIntyre countered with a chop. Priest fought back with a Flatliner, followed by a kick to the face. A South of Heaven attempt by Priest was blocked by McIntyre. The Scotsman avoided a running splash, and took advantage by sending Priest face first into the cage twice as we went to a break in the action.

Saturday Night’s Main Event returned with McIntyre and Priest duking it out as both men were climbing the side of the cage wall. Priest blasted McIntyre with a kick, followed by the South of Heaven for an incredibly close two-count. Priest tried to climb up to the top of the cage, but McIntyre met him at the pass. McIntyre caught Priest and delivered a superplex from the side of the cage. McIntyre set Priest up for the countdown and the Claymore. One, two… Priest kicked out!

As both men got up to their feet, Priest and McIntyre exchanged strikes as it devolved into a hockey fight of sorts. Priest got the upper hand and left him stunned with his martial arts strikes. Priest avoided a Claymore and dropped his Scottish foe with a big boot. McIntyre responded by delivering a South of Heaven of his own to Priest. One, two… another Priest kickout! McIntyre eyed the chair that he brought in and proceeded to put it to great use by striking Priest with it repeatedly.

McIntyre attempted to hit the Claymore against a chair propped up in the corner, but Priest dodged at the last second. Priest placed McIntyre’s neck across the top of a chair and dropped it. Priest then delivered a South of Heaven to stun McIntyre. With the Scotsman out cold, Priest laid his head across the chair on the mat as he then grabbed the other chair. Priest then hit McIntyre with a con-chair-to, which left him unconscious long enough for Priest to just walk out of the cage to secure the victory. Jesse Ventura was apopletic on commentary on how Priest won by just walking out of the cage door, as Cole tried to cover for it.

Damian Priest def. Drew McIntyre via Cage Escape

That match was entertaining and it picked up considerably after the commercial break. Seeing Priest deliver a con-chair-to to finish this match was a good way to put an end to this match, and I chuckled at Jesse Ventura’s indignation on commentary at Priest’s exit through the door to win this match.

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– As the U.S. Express were shown in the crowd, we returned to Ventura and Tessitore discussing the events that has transpired on this evening before we got a video package for the main event of Saturday Night’s Main Event: Jey Uso vs. Logan Paul for the World Heavyweight Championship.

World Heavyweight Championship Match: Jey Uso (c) vs. Logan Paul

The match started off with a lockup in the middle of the ring until Uso dropped Paul with a shoulder block. Paul caught Uso with an elbow strike, followed by a Blockbuster on the World Champion. As Uso powdered to the outside, Paul flew to the outside with a vaulting dive press as we got a break with about ten minutes left on the night.

We returned to Uso hitting a running hip splash on a prone Paul in the corner. That was not enough to get the victory, however. Uso headed up top and looked for a splash, but Paul caught him and went for the pin. Uso was able to kick out at two. Paul hoisted Uso on his shoulder and dropped him with a forward roll. The springboard Lionsault by Paul was met by knees from Uso. A pop-up Samoan Drop by Uso only got a two as Paul kicked out once more.

Paul held on to dear life to the second turnbuckle as Uso grabbed on to him, ripping the padding away. As Uso tried for the dive, he got met by a punch from Paul. The so-called YouTube “star” tried for his imitation Buckshot Lariat, but Uso intercepted with a superkick to the face.

Uso attempted the spear, but he got sent to the exposed second turnbuckle, which allowed Paul to hit him with the hard right punch. One, two… Uso kicked out at the last second! Uso recovered and delivered a superkick, followed by the dive from the top rope. Just as Uso had the pin, John Cena pulled the referee out as he then attacked Uso.

Just then, Cody Rhodes’ theme music hit, which signalled the arrival of the American Nightmare. Rhodes, appearing for the first time since his WrestleMania loss, caught Cena with Cross Rhodes to send him to the outside. Paul tried to sneak up on Rhodes with the brass knucks, but Uso intercepted with the Spear. One Uso Splash later from Uso on Paul and that’s it, over. Jey Uso retains the World Title in the main event of Saturday Night’s Main Event.

After the match, Rhodes took the microphone and challenged Cena and Paul to a tag match at Money in the Bank in two weeks time just as the producer credits popped up to end the night.

Jey Uso def. Logan Paul via pinfall to retain the World Heavyweight Championship

The match itself wasn’t really anything to write home about, largely due to it being constrained by oddly placed commercial breaks, but the finish certainly spiced things up. Cody Rhodes’ return and subsequently setting up a potentially huge tag match for Money in the Bank did its job in making things exciting.

All in all, another fine edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event that might’ve not had any true standout matches, but we had some interesting storyline advancements with Bronson Reed joining Seth Rollins’ faction and Cody’s return.