Two major returns and a brutal steel cage match at Saturday Night’s Main Event

28 May 2025 24 5

WWE went retro on Saturday night with the return of the quarterly event known as Saturday Night’s Main Event returned for the second time in 2025. The NBC special has left fans a little underwhelmed in recent editions with calls of a “Glorified House Show” with very little change happening on the shows. This edition looked to buck that trend.

There are 5 matches announced for the card including 2 title matches in Zelina Vega v Chelsea Green for the women’s US title and Jey Uso v Logan Paul for the World Heavyweight Championship. A non title match sees R-Truth facing his childhood hero and Undisputed Champion John Cena a Steel Cage match between Damien Priest and Drew Mcintyre also to kick off the night we saw a major tag team match between Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker taking on Sami Zayn and CM Punk.

Tag Team match: Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker (With Paul Heyman) v CM Punk and Sami Zayn

A match with so much history around it with all 5 men involved. A highly anticipated tag team match kicked the night off between 4 of the biggest stars in WWE. Rollins, Breakker and Heyman were out first with all 3 men coming out together using Seth’s theme. Unsurprisingly the loudest pop of the night came for the Second City Saint CM Punk who was serenaded with a Tampa Bay rendition of his theme “Cult of Personality”. It was a fast start with Punk climbing into the ring and immediately getting underway as all four men brawled to the outside. The babyface team of Punk and Zayn started off sharp as they targeted Breakker only for Seth to momentarily distract the referee allowing Bron to take down Sami and allow his team control of the match. A real highlight early on for me was a jumping lariat from the ring apron by Bron Breakker which put Sami Zayn through the announce table. A move that was described as “A Car crash at ringside.” CM Punk got the hot tag around half way into the match which left him in the ring 1v1 with Seth Rollins who he faces as part of the triple threat match in the main event of Wrestlemania night 1 last month and also the man who Punk’s former best friend Paul Heyman aligned himself with by turning on Punk at Mania. CM Punk managed to get Rollins into a GTS position before turning it into a Canadian Destroyer only for a 2 count. Punk got Rollins up in position again only for a recovered Breakker to climb back onto the apron and put his team back in control. Seth Rollins was able to hit a Pedigree on Punk which Sami Zayn broke up the pinning attempt which angered Bron Breakker but Zayn was able to connect with a moonsault using the top rope. Punk tried for a 3rd time to connect with a GTS but again Rollins was able to slip out and attempt his own finishing manoeuvre, The Stomp but Punk moved out of the way for both men to collide and left both of them flat in the middle of the ring. Both Rollins and CM Punk finally were able to get tags to their partners. Sami was looking to connect with his signature Helluva Kick only for Seth to grab hold of Zayn’s foot preventing it. Punk noticed and took Rollins out of the occasion. Zayn attempted the same move from the other side of the ring but this time it was Paul Heyman who got hold of Zayn’s foot preventing him. With the referee’s back turned out from the crowd saw the return of one of the breakout stars of 2024 make his long awaited return from Injury in Bronson Reed. He looks to have aligned himself with the new faction of Heyman, Breaker and Rollins making himself the 3rd man in that occasion. He pushed CM Punk through the ringside barricade allowing Bron Breakker to fly through the air and deliver a spear to Zayn to pick up the win.

Winner: Bron Breakker & Seth Rollins def CM Punk & Sami Zayn via Pinfall.

After the match was over Reed entered the ring before a staredown ensured between him and mainly Bron Breakker before Seth embraced Reed officially welcoming him as the 3rd man in this newly formed faction. I think this move has great potential with Reed being one of the best “Big Men” I’ve seen in WWE in a number of years. With all 4 men in the ring CM Punk climbed back in trying to attack the leg of Paul Heyman only for a brutal Tsunami from Reed laid him out. With this move there is still a lot more to explore with this storyline. Over the past few weeks we’ve seen Jey Uso get involved in this storyline. I definitely see this continuing with threats of a WWE takeover from the group. Goodluck to who ever will try and stop them!

Women’s United States Championship Match: Zelina Vega (c) v Chelsea Green

A Championship rematch was on the cards and the first ever former US Champ Chelsea Green looked to take her title back against one of the most underrated Women on the WWE roster in my opinion in Zelina Vega. Chelsea was quick out the blocks charging after Vega as soon as the bell went. Vega attempted a 619 which Green was able to duck out of the way allowing her to pick up Vega and deliver a powerbomb to the outside. This allowed Chelsea to take major control of the contest. Whenever Zelina looked to make a comeback Green would quickly thwart that and take back control. An attempted splash by Green was met by no one as Vega rolled out of the way, finally allowing the comeback to happen. Chelsea was looking to finish the match by setting up her finishing manoeuvre “The Unprettyher” but as met by a backstabber from the US Champion who at the second attempt was able to connect (well half connect) with the 619 before looking for a frog splash from the top rope allowing the the secret hervice to interfere. Fyre distracted the referee whilst Niven took Vega’s legs from underneath her. The Champ recovered and connected with a Code Red from the top rope allowing for a successful 3 count.

Winner: Zelina Vega (c) def Chelsea Green via pinfall

I get that SNME is only 2 hours but this felt rushed and very short on time. We’ve seen on Smackdown when given sufficient time these two work well together and can put on a great match. Green is really over with the crowd and I’d like to see her move towards the world title scene especially with a babyface Tiffany Stratton champion on Smackdown. As for Vega I don’t really see who the next challenger is going to be in my eyes. Charlotte Flair has just lost a MITB qualifier. Anyone interested in that?

Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena v R-Truth

A match that most were hoping that we’d see on John Cena’s retirement tour for the Undisputed Champ against someone who has described him as his “Childhood Hero” in R-Truth. As we’ve come to expect with the heel version of John Cena he came out to a chorus of loud boos and a mix of “Let’s go Cena” and “Cena Sucks” with only his name in white text with a black background. His music played again but this time R-Truth came out and mimicked Cena’s Iconic entrance almost move for move. Cena looked disrespected by this and was quick to blindside Truth as he was throwing a hat into the crows. Cena started off the match in dominating fashion with Cena going through the 5 moves of doom within the first 2 minutes eventually leading to the 5 Knuckle Shuffle. R-Truth then again mimicked that move for move and landing his own 5 Knuckle Shuffle on Cena. Following that he was able to successfully get John Cena up and connect with an Attitude Adjustment (AA) on John Cena but John kicked out at 2. Truth then copied Cena more by locking in a STF only for Cena to get a rope break and take control again of the match. With that distraction Cena was able to go and get his world title belt for what we’ve become accustomed to with the heel Cena, Using the belt as a weapon to win a match. Before Cena could do anything with the belt Truth got back to his feet. The seed felt like they were being planted for Cena to return to his babyface good guy ways as he handed the belt back to the referee but that was part of a wider plan as when the official’s back was turned Cena connected with a low blow followed by an AA allowing for a successful 3 count.

Winner: John Cena (c) def R-Truth via Pinfall

After the match Cena finally made good on the tease of hitting R-Truth with the title belt before immediately exiting the ring and going to the back. It was a fun short match which I felt like it did what it needed to do. I’m fully on board with R-truth eventually being the person to turn John Cena babyface again but for now it was a fun match on a TV special. Interestingly once the match was done it was done. Many people (Myself included) saw Cody Rhodes making his triumphant return to WWE for the first time since losing his world title to John Cena at Wrestlemania 41. Cena will need an opponent for the next PLE Money In The Bank which is around a month away. I feel with no appearance from the American Nightmare we will see him return in LA. As for who Cena will face at the event there is talk of a tag team match evolving the World Champ teaming with Travis Scott. He said he was going to ruin Wrestling.

Backstage John Cena ran into Jey Uso with Uso reminding Cena that the last time they met each other was at the Royal Rumble where Uso eliminated the Undisputed Champ to win the match which set up Uso’s match at Wrestlemania v Gunther. Cena mocked the fact that Uso could lose his world heavyweight title to “A Youtuber” and that if Paul was to be Champion when Cena retires and in his eyes walks away still Champion Himself. “It would almost ruin wrestling” stated the 17 time World Champion.

Steel cage Match: Damien Priest v Drew Mclntyre

As we’ve seen in previous editions of SNME, WWE legend Jesse “The Body” Ventura joined Michael Cole and Pat Mcaffee ringside on the call for this match. He claims that when he was wrestling and taking part in Saturday Night’s Main Event you wouldn’t have a steel cage match featured on Network TV like NBC. That’s how much times have changed over the past 25/30 years. As soon as Damien Priest tried to climb through the ring ropes Drew quickly ran over and attacked him forcing Priest to fall to the outside. Mclyntyre continuously rammed Priest into the ringside barricade. With both men not in the cage the match hadn’t officially began but Mclyntyre would make the most of this by grabbing not one but two steel chairs from under the ring. After the opening blindside by Mclyntyre he started off the official match on a quick tempo taking control and pushing his opponent into multiple sides of the cage. Both men were up on the top rope holding onto the steel cage itself. Up there Priest attempted to honor Razor Ramon and hit Mcintyre with the Razor’s edge only for Mclntyre to counter. With both men back inside the ring itself a dropkick from Priest allowed him to connect with a South Of Heaven Chokeslam which was only good enough for a 2 count. With Mcintyre down Priest looked to climb up and out of the cage only for Mcintyre to race up there and deliver a superplex from the top of the cage. What followed was a signature Kip up by Mcintyre setting him up to attempt and successfully connect with the claymore kick which was only good enough for a 2 count. It was at this moment in the match the guest colour commentator Jesse Ventura accused the referee of a counting slow for the latest pinning attempt. Both men quickly got back to their feet but looked exhausted. Drew Mcintyre turned into a copycat as he got Damien Priest up into position for a South of Heaven chokeslam of his own but was only good for a two count. Ventura again accused the referee of having a slow count. The elephant in the room or in this case the ring was the two steel chairs that Drew brought into the ring right at the start of the match that both men hadn’t used up until this point. He clearly had a plan in mind at the start of the match and he quickly executed it with chair shots straight to the spine of Damien Priest. We saw shades of Wrestlemania as a chair was set up between the second and top turnbuckles with Drew Mcintyre running back to line up a Claymore but unlike at Wrestlemania Damien Priest was able to move out of the way and Mcintyre claymore’d the chair. It was Priest’s turn with a steal chair this time attacking the throat of Drew before landing another South of Heaven chokeslam. Mcintyre fell conveniently right on top of one of the two steel chairs which then gave Priest the idea to attempt a conchairto. A move made famous by his former mentor and Judgement Day founder Edge. With Mcintyre left lifeless in the middle of the ring Priest looked back as he asked for the cage door to be opened and he walked out of it and won the match.

Winner: Damien Priest def Drew Mclntyre by escaping the cage.

The finish, described as “The Ultimate Insult” by commentator Michael Cole didn’t go down well at all with commentator Jesse Ventura called Priest “A Coward” for walking out in the manner that he did. Drew Mclntyre promised that someone was going to leave the match on a stretcher but unfortunately for him it was Mclntyre himself. This felt like a writing off TV for Mclntyre who arguably has been one of the top stars of WWE over the past 12-18 months with his feud with CM Punk taking the Scotsman to new heights in the eyes of WWE and more importantly the fans. There was a little bit of backlash online when reports emerged that this was going to be the direction for Mclntyre at Wrestlemania but I personally felt like each match they were in delivered beyond my expectations. There were some good week to week segments including the spot in London where Priest put Mclntyre through a car windshield. I’m glad Mclntyre now has some time off where he can rest and heal up ready to come back and hopefully have a feud for the world title against John Cena.

World Heavyweight Championship: Jey Uso (c) v Logan Paul

It’s main event time! This match marked the second title defence of Jey Uso who dethroned the ever dominant Gunther at last month’s Wrestlemania to win his first ever variation of a World title. As we’ve come to expect with Jey he made his entrance via the crowd with the Tampa crowd yeeting alongside the Champion to a great ovation. Jey has to be the biggest success story of the Triple H era with him being turned from a great wrestler only known for his tag team work into one of the best singles wrestlers in the world. On the contrary his opponent Logan Paul was greeted by a chorus of loud boos as he made his way to the Squared Circle. Paul made the better start with what looked to be a neckbreaker from the second rope connecting within the first minute of the match. Then they cut to a second advertisement break in about 5 minutes. THis seemed to be a constant throughout the event. I get that in the USA they have way more advertisement breaks than we do here in Wales but this felt too much. I feel for a few of these matches this included for us watching from home it prevented the match building up some steam and momentum. However when we did come back from adverts Jey Uso was quick off the mark to land a hip attack on Paul which was good enough for a 2 count. Uso went up to the top rope looking to deliver his signature frog splash but Paul managed to get his knees up and converted it into a roll up but like Uso’s pin attempt a few moments ago this was again only good enough for a two count. Logan Paul found a bit of momentum and attempted a moonsault from the second rope but Uso managed to get his knees up which left both men momentarily down. Jey was the quickest to recover and was able to connect with a pop up samoan drop. Logan Paul held on to the middle turnbuckle as Jey tried to pull him away. When he eventually managed to do so Paul brought the turnbuckle itself with him. Jey Uso attempted a suicide dive through the middle rope but he was met by the right hand of Logan Paul. With Uso down Paul attempted the Buckshot Lariat but before he could land it he was met by a superkick from the World Heavyweight Champion which Paul kicked out of. Uso was sent shoulder first into the exposed turnbuckle by Paul and then was met by a massive right hand punch but despite that Uso still kicked out at 2. Uso landed a superkick on Logan Paul and then went to look for a frog splash which he managed to successfully connect with. Then he looked to get the pin on Logan Paul only for the other World Champion in WWE in which John Cena pulled the referee out of the ring at 2. The Undisputed Champion led a beatdown on Jey Uso who he promised to make a youtuber a World Champion when John retires with the other belt but someone else had other ideas. For the first time since he lost to John Cena at Wrestlemania 41, Cody Rhodes returned to WWE! He got some payback for his loss at mania on Cena evening the odds in the World Heavyweight title matchup. While Rhodes had his attention on Cena this gave Logan Paul a split second to grab his signature Brass Knuckles from ringside. He tried to punch Cody with them but Cody moved out of the way, lining him up perfectly for a spear from Jey Uso who then went up to the top rope and landed his frog splash and a successful pin.

Winner: Jey Uso (c) def Logan Paul

Immediately as the bell rang to signify the ending of the match Cody Rhodes cut a promo declaring that at the upcoming PLE Money In The Bank we will see a tag team match with Logan Paul and John Cena going against Jey Uso and the returning Cody Rhodes. Ultimately I feel that it’ll be Cody himself who eventually dethrones Cena, retires him and saves wrestling. There was a report going around in the build up to this match that we will see a 6 man tag at MITB with Jimmy Uso and rap megastar Travis Scott also set to be involved. If true it’ll be interesting to see how Scott transfers to wrestling but if there are 3 men who you’d want to be on the other side of things it would have to be Rhodes and The Usos. In a backstage segment earlier in the night Cena mentioned about a “Youtuber” taking the World Heavyweight title and carrying it when Cena retires. I don’t think this is the last time we see Cena involved in that title scene even though he already holds a world title. As for the match I feel like it wasn’t a 5 star classic but for a 10 minute match it was pretty solid which did what it needed to do. Logan Paul continues to show why he is one of the best examples of celebrity crossover into WWE.

For me this has to be the best installment of Saturday Night’s Main Event that we have seen to date. As I mentioned at the beginning of this review previous editions have felt pretty meaningless with Champions going into the event retaining and not much happening that instantly changed right from the minute go with the return of Bronson Reed who aligned himself with Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker and Paul Heyman. I feel we are building to a 6 man tag team match with Seth, Bron and Reed facing Punk, Zayn and potentially a returning Roman Reigns. The only women’s match on the card went for no longer than 5 minutes and that was very underwhelming in my honest opinion. They both deserved longer in the ring and have proved time and time again as to why. John Cena and R-Truth was a pretty fun match and set the seeds for the eventual Cena babyface turn. Priest and Mcintyre delivered on what they promised in terms of violence and brutality including a nasty looking conchairto. Mcintyre heads for some well deserved time off meanwhile Priest will probably look for another US title opportunity. The main event will be remembered more for what came after it rather than everything in the match itself. It was solid without being great with Jey Uso ever looking to improve his skill set in the ring. The return of Cody here I feel was right and if it came any later the build would’ve been too short if it isn’t short already.

Written by: Luke Lewis

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