Kat Reviews Saturday Night’s Main Event

For the 45th time, WWE presents Saturday Night’s Main Event. This time we’re on Peacock in the United States and YouTube elsewhere. We even have a countdown show match tonight, so let’s cover that too. But first…

Well, here we are. For months we’ve been told this will be John Cena’s goodbye.  Guess we might as well get into it. Now I shouldn’t have to say this, but this has been heavily promoted as Cena-centric for months, so if you’re watching and expecting to not hear much about Cena, I don’t know what to tell you.

Then, Now, Forever, TOGETHER.

The fans are lined up in Washington, D.C., and excited.  Lots of people are here. Shawn Michaels is talking to Johnny Gargano. Trish Stratus gives us the Cena salute. Kurt Angle gingerly walks into the arena. Mark Henry steps out of an elevator with all smiles. Celebrities are here! John Cena’s locker room door is here!

Triple H, of course, narrates a video package about John Cena. They should really find this man an audiobook to narrate since he likes narrating packages so much.  Cena hears us, feels us, and loves us, says Triple H, every last one of us. Even you.

Fireworks explode and we are live in Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C, in partnership with Events DC and presented by Minute Maid – bring the juice. Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and NXT Champion Oba Femi arrive. Sol Ruca and Bayley are here. World Tag Team Champions AJ Styles & Dragon Lee arrive as do their opponents Je’Von Evans and Leon Slater. Big Gunther arrives as well, smirking at a balloon display backstage for John Cena.

Joe Tessitore and Stephanie McMahon greet us from the hosting station deep in the sold-out crowd. Stephanie says a lot of words and then gives us the “are you ready.”

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes vs NXT Champion Oba Femi

Cody and “Kingdom” get quite the pop as always, the fans drowning out the song more than they usually do. Michael Cole and Wade Barrett greet us from ringside before Oba Femi struts out, the fans chanting along with his theme and the perfect camera angle making him look like a star from the first moment. From the first time he appears on screen, he appears to be as can’t miss as we’ve seen in a long time.

The fans solidly chant “Oba” as the bell rings, then the fans change to singing “Cody, Cody Rhodes” as this is going to be one of those crowds that likes to hear themselves. Cody duck Oba but is caught with a huge Irish Curse backbreaker. Oba pounds on Cody in the corner. Cody tries for a powerslam and Oba slams him again for a two count. Oba scoops up Cody, feigns taking a puff of a smoke and slams Cody again, getting another two count. This is all Femi thus far.

Cody finally flips out of a suplex and Oba charges, hitting the ring post. Cody dodges and powerslams Oba, finally trying to build momentum. Cody hits the Cody Cutter for a two. Cody tries for a second and is caught by Femi. Rhodes runs right into Oba’s right hand, ending the rally for a minute. Cody dodges and Oba falls out, Cody diving onto him with a suicide dive. Back in, Cody runs right into a hell of a spine buster but is able to kick out at two. Femi clotheslines Cody back to the outside and follows, launching himself and Cody over the announce table with an uppercut. Cody’s immediately bleeding from his ear having hit a sharp corner of the table. Oba tosses Cody back in and chokeslams Cody, the fans reacting to seeing Cody’s bloody ear dripping for the first time. Three matches away from John Cena’s last match, a graphic tells us.

Cody springs over Oba and hits an Avalanche Cody Cutter, Oba again kicking out. The fans get loud and we see Drew McIntyre diving into the ring, attacking Cody and ending the match. Oba pulls Drew up from the attack so Drew pokes his chest, Oba shoving him down. Cody hits a Cody Cutter on Drew and Oba follows it up with a chokeslam.  Cody raises Oba’s arm as Michael Cole notes that Cody is the present and Oba is the future.

The match is ruled a no-contest. I wasn’t expecting a clean result here and if we didn’t see Drew, I figured we’d see Ricky Starks. What we got was very, very good and I’m looking forward to another round down the line. Oba is going to be a big star very, very quickly if they let him.

Celebrities tell John Cena goodbye via recorded messages, including The Today Show hosts, Tyrese Haliburton, Jordana Brewster, Eli Manning, Snoop Dogg (holding a joint and promising to blow one for Cena), Peyton Manning, and Jimmy Fallon.

Kurt Angle, AJ Styles, Bayley, Rey Mysterio, Charlotte Flair, Jey Uso, Stephanie McMahon, and CM Punk thank Cena. Punk is crying, saying he wouldn’t be back without Cena and, “as always, I’m following your lead.”

Cole runs us through some Cena stats: 17x World Champion, 5x US Champion, 1x Intercontinental Champion, 4x Tag Champion, 2x Rumble winner.

The stars are out! Tyrese Haliburton is ringside. Jon Bernthal is ringside. Chuck Zito is here. Celebrities love Double-U Double-U E!  And also Chuck Zito!

Bayley (with Lyra Valkyria) vs Sol Ruca (with Zaria)

Bayley stops to hug Trish Stratus and Eve Torres, both sitting at ringside. Bayley has a “never give up” armband tonight while Sol is very visibly full of nerves as she enters. It’s good to see Zaria with her but I’m not expecting them to do much advancement in their NXT storyline tonight.

Sol handstands over Bayley and takes her down with a rana, Bayley thrown off a bit. Bayley works the arm and Sol flips over again, hitting an X-Factor. Bayley rolls out and pulls Sol with her. Sol smacks Bayley with a kick and tries for a Sol Snatcher, Bayley dodging on the outside. The fans sing for Bayley as the women trade holds, Sol again flipping over Bayley with a kick and tossing her back outside. Sol flips out and hits most of it on Bayley, taking both women to the ringside mat.

Back in, Bayley ducks a splash and slows it down, working on Sol’s back. Sol escapes, cartwheels from the top and DDTs Bayley for a two. Sol tries for the Sol Snatcher but lands in the Bayley-to-Belly, Bayley only getting a two count. Sol flips out of the Rose Plant, catches a Shining Wizard and can only get the two. Bayley dodges another Sol Snatcher and hits the Rose Plant, Ruca getting her foot on the rope right before the ref counts three. Ruca hits the Sol Snatcher this time and Bayley rolls her into a pin attempt, Ruca rolling her back into a three.  All four women embrace after the match, all giving us the Cena salute.

Sol Ruca pins Bayley. This was decent. Their styles are a bit of a clash and Ruca is still a bit choregraphed, but she’s easily one of the biggest future stars of the women’s side of NXT. I’m a bit worried about her knees holding up, but that’s a style adjustment perhaps she can make in the future.

The Last Time is Now Superstore is open. Are you the one fan in the area who hasn’t bought a Cena shirt? Now you can.

More superstars have words about Cena including Sheamus, Rob Van Dam, Corey Graves, Becky Lynch, Michael Hayes, Tom “Stew” Stewart (“don’t fuck it up, John”), Michael Cole, and Cody Rhodes (“thanks for the house.”)

After break, another set of superstars share some thoughts. Undertaker tells Cena he is an OG now; The Rock will always be proud of what they accomplished together.

Michelle McCool, Mark Henry, Kurt Angle, Eve Torres, Trish Stratus, Rob Van Dam, and Sami Zayn are all sitting ringside and get pops from the crowd.

Cole takes a moment to shout out those who called Angle matches alongside him: Tazz, JBL, Corey Graves, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler. Classy.

Joe Tess and Stephanie are back at the hosting station and fill some time.

WWE World Tag Team Champions AJ Styles & Dragon Lee vs Je’Von Evans & TNA X-Division Champion Leon Slater

Non-title. I’m not sure I expected any timeline where we’d have Lilian Garcia introducing the TNA X-Division Champion on Saturday Night’s Main Event, but here we are. There’s a strong possibility we get AJ’s retirement match on a SNME next year. Cole reminds us that AJ was the first X-Division Champion and that is what inspired Slater to begin wrestling.

We start fast with Je’Von leaping onto AJ outside and Slater kicking Lee and then leaping onto him. They roll Lee in and hit flying crossbodies on Lee, Je’Von getting a two after a frog splash. AJ gets the hot tag and slams Slater before leaping right into a punch by Evans. Evans misses a moonsault and Styles spears him into the barricade. Lee ranas Slater right into a Styles Clash attempt, Evans saves him with a kick. They’re going a million miles an hour. Lee lands the OG Cutter and tags in Slater who hits a gorgeous Swanton 450, the pin broken up by Lee as the fans chant “this is awesome.”

Lee runs into kicks and smashes Je’Von with an elbow. Lee suicide dives onto Evans on the outside. Leon falls into a Styles Clash attempt, fights out and drops AJ over the top rope, AJ hitting a forearm and them slipping when trying for the Phenomenal Forearm. Slater goes up and AJ catches him, this time hitting the Styles Clash for the three.  The four men embrace after the match, offering salutes to Cena.

AJ Styles pins Leon Slater, Styles and Dragon Lee win. A HELL of a match and a hell of a showing for all four men. If you’re a kid who wandered through the room while your parents were watching the match before John Cena’s last match, you’d see Je’Von and Leon and be HOOKED for life. Go watch this one.

Thanks to Quavo for “New Trip,” the official theme song of Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Sports teams spent the weekend thanking Cena and showing pics of him wearing their uniforms on Twitter. Here’s some of them!

More thanks for Cena. Kane, R-Truth, The Miz, Big E, Kofi Kingston, Alexa Bliss, Logan Paul, Drew McIntyre, Sami Zayn and Xavier Woods all share kind words.

Celebrities have more thanks for Cena! This time, we get videos from Tom Brady, Jimmy Kimmel, Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, Jalen Brunson, Lil Yachty, Vanessa Hudgens, and Jelly Roll.

Metro Boomin is ringside as is Medal of Honor Recipient Edward Byers, our Military Hero of the Night.

Joe and Stephanie share some memories again from the hosting area. Stephanie tries to say that the upcoming match is going to be awesome…

… and The Miz yells “AWESOME” from in the ring. Miz is mad because the tour tried to pretend he didn’t exist as a main character in the history of John Cena. He’s wearing his gear from when he beat Cena at WrestleMania and demands respect. Instead, we get R-Truth in his Ron Cena gear.

Truth tells Miz he saw when he did something inappropriate with Nick Aldis’ balls, finding the ball of the person that Miz took out. Miz reads a piece of paper. “Joe Hendry?”

His name being said, Joe Hendry appears and the crowd is hyped. Miz tells them to turn the stupid music off and stop dancing. Miz swings and Hendry hits a fallaway slam. Truth joins Hendry in doing the smiling turn and they both give Miz the “you can’t see me” shuffle before Hendry chokeslams Miz. Truth counts the unofficial pinfall and we celebrate with Truth and Hendry, the crowd singing along. Yeah, Hendry is going to be just fine.

We’re sold out tonight with 19,232.

Here’s another check-in with Joe and Stephanie. They thank Cena as we head into the very good video package set to The Temper Trap’s “Sweet Disposition” with various talents saluting Cena. I’ve watched this video many times since it dropped and perhaps shed a tear or fifty. It’s so well done and its clear how loved Cena was by his coworkers.

John Cena vs Gunther

And here we are. Gunther gets nothing but boos. Cena gets the gigantic ovation you’d expect, giving cameraman Stew a hug, showing off the towel, and promising to go down swinging. “Let’s go to work,” says Cena as he and Stew run to the ring. Chad Patton is our referee for this final contest. Cena ducks out to greet a sea of former superstars at ringside, most of which we’ve seen earlier but also including Haku, Elijah (the former Elias), Booker T, and a crying Kevin Owens. Lilian Garcia does the introductions, giving Cena the extended entrance that Alicia Taylor has generally given him in this final run and nailing it.

“Let’s go Cena” chants down everything as the men first lock up. The fans chant “fuck you Gunther,” causing muting of the audio. Gunther chops Cena in the corner and again mid-ring, Cena collapsing to the mat as the fans change to “you tapped out.” Gunther whips Cena to the corner and Cena catches a chop, fighting out and knocking Gunther down with shoulder tackles. Cena drops Gunther and “you can’t see me,” landing the five-knuckle shuffle. He tries for the Attitude Adjustment but Gunther suplexes out of it as the fans boo, then clotheslining Cena to the mat. Gunther tries for a sleeper, Cena gets a drop-toe hold and hooks on the STFU. Gunther is able to kick out of it and dropkicks Cena. Gunther power bombs Cena and tells Patton to ask Cena if he gives up. Cena does not. The fans curse towards Gunther again.

Gunther gets a heavy advantage with a series of clotheslines, the fans booing more each time before resorting to a “Super Cena” chant. Cena rallies with shoulder tackles and a second Five-Knuckle Shuffle. That’s ten knuckles shuffled thus far. This time he hits the Attitude Adjustment and Gunther kicks out at 2.5. Cena signals for “one more,” attempting the AA and Gunther chopping Cena in the back before locking on the sleeper and taking Cena to the mat mid-ring.

Cena fights back to two feet and hooks his own sleeper on Gunther, Cole reminding us that this is how Jey Uso beat Gunther at WrestleMania. Gunther reaches the ropes with his feet to break the hold, rolling outside. Gunther drops Cena on the apron and whips him into the steel stairs, rolling in to break the count before exiting on the other side of the ring. Gunther sets up the opposing set of steel stairs against the corner of the announce table, marching up them to taunt the crowd and mock “you can’t see me.” The fans chant “asshole” in return which is not at the censorship muting level. Gunther walks Cena up the stairs before clearing off the table. Gunther sets the power bomb, Cena scoops him up and AAs him through the announce table.

Cena rolls Gunther back in for a two count. Cena climbs to the top and gets the leg drop, Gunther kicking out at two. The fans chant “you still got it.” Cena calls for “one more” again, telling the fans this is the last one and he needs to hear them. “You can’t see me” and Gunther boots him, suplexing Cena and power bombing him for a 2.5 count. Gunther goes up top himself, Cena springing up and uppercutting him, pulling him onto his shoulders and hitting an Avalanche AA, again with Gunther kicking out. “Everything but the kitchen sink,” notes Barrett. “This is awesome.”

Cena and Wade trade punches and kicks. Cena ducks under for another AA but Gunther turns it into a power bomb, again heading to the top rope. This time he lands a frog splash, Cena kicking out yet again. “Now Gunther is ticked off,” says Cole. Gunther hooks the sleeper again and Cena fades to one knee. He fights back up and Gunther looks it in deeper, Cena dropping to his side. Cena almost gets out and Gunther hooks the sleeper on again. Cena powers up and tries for another AA, Gunther turning it right back into the sleeper. Cena fades to the mat again and works back to his feet again before Gunther leaps onto his back, putting his entire weight into the sleeper. Cena backs Gunther into the corner, Gunther clutches it right back on. Cena fades again to the mat and powers back up, backing Gunther into the corner again.

Cena hits one last AA and Gunther kicks out right before the three count and latches the sleeper right back on. “Don’t give up,” chant the crowd. The referee lifts Cena’s hand to check for conciousness. It falls once. It falls the second time. The third time, it stays up. Cena fights up one last time and Gunther pummels him with elbows to the jaw, hooking the sleeping again.

Cena’s expression changes. His eyes soften and he smiles, giving a look of acceptance that this very moment is the end to a magnificent career. Cena softly taps Gunther’s arm six times. As he rolls over, you can see Cena exhaling heavily with relief.

Gunther defeats John Cena by submission.

Gunther asks the referee is Cena tapped as we see dejected fans of all ages in distress. Patton raises Gunther’s arm to jeers over the body of Cena, continuing to look at shocked and crying fans. “First Goldberg, now Cena. Gunther has become a certified career killer,” says Cole.

The fans chant “bullshit” as Cena sits in the ring, though I imagine that is exactly the finish Cena wanted. Cena salutes the broadcast team and kisses the mat as we hear an audible whimper from Cole. “Thank you Cena” chants. Cena bows in the direction of each side of the ring before Triple H leads the roster to the ring to resounding boos, Cena smiling. The fans are not happy with the result of the match – though it has been a very likely result of the match – and chant “you fucked up” towards Triple H.

World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes join Cena in the ring, telling him they love him and putting their belts over his shoulders. Superstars and talent have surrounded the ring and are clapping for Cena and then boo again when Triple H gets on the apron. Cena salutes each side of the ring with the two belts. He gives the champions their titles back and shakes HHH’s hand, the crowd again booing as Cena points Cena’s attention towards a video package set to OneRepublic’s “I Lived.”

The video looks through Cena’s career and features mostly archival footage from his parents, Undertaker, McIntyre, Levesque (crowd boos), Lynch, Charlotte, Miz, Zayn, Punk, Rhodes and Vince McMahon from many years ago (slight boos). The video is shown on the broadcast with Cena’s reactions in the corner, and you can see him smile towards his parents, Big E, Vince, and his visits to the military.

Cena again bows to each side of the ring to a standing, tearful reaction. He slips off his sneakers, takes off his wristbands and armband and leaves them in the center of the ring. Cena walks the aisle and claps hands before stopping at the entrance. He looks up at the crowd, turns around, and turns to the camera, winking and bowing once more. To those watching at home, he salutes and says, “It’s been a pleasure serving you all these years. Thank you.” He leaves, brushing his hand across the back video screen as he takes the final turn into the backstage area. End show. End career.

First, I think it’s worth giving this match a second viewing if you watched it live. Watching it a second time brought out so much more emotion for me but also made me pay attention to the smaller details. Cena’s expressions. Crowd reactions. Expressions of those at ringside. Cena’s touch of the video wall. I enjoyed the match during the live airing, but I enjoyed it more almost 24-hours later.

I don’t do star ratings, but I don’t think this is one I’d give a rating to even if I did. This wasn’t necessarily meant to be a five-star classic and it probably wasn’t, but it was one that pulled all the strings while telling the story of Cena fighting, Gunther’s growing frustration, Cena’s last gasps at a comeback and accepting that he has done all he can do and this is the exact moment to peacefully let it go.

I’m not sure I liked (or Cena liked) the fans chanting “bullshit” after the result that he very likely decided on, but they also paid a lot of money to chant what they wanted to chant. In the end, I think it is a final match that Cena (and Gunther) should be proud of. Gunther will likely continue to be the one to end a few careers while Cena moves into his next phase.

Personally, I don’t think Cena wrestles again. I know, I know, “but what about the Saudi money.” He doesn’t need it and I don’t see him doing any Flairesque moves where he is suddenly desperate, but he’s also perfectly capable of accepting large checks to appear as a host of WrestleMania or a Raw special guest without having to wrestle again. He had a hell of a run his last year, especially once we moved past the attempt at a heel turn and went out with especially hot matches against AJ Styles, Cody Rhodes and Dominik Mysterio.

I recommend this show both because it was very good – Cena/Gunther was good and every NXT star looked fantastic – and because hey, it’s historical. Set aside your internet smark side for thirty minutes and watch Cena’s final match as a fan. Your feelings might surprise you.