WWE PPV/Specials Coverage

Andrew’s WWE Hell in a Cell 2019 Ratings & Analysis

Does The Fiend come away with gold, or at least a compelling reason to keep caring about his character?

Published

5 years ago

October 6, 2019

Andrew Balaz

Does The Fiend come away with gold, or at least a compelling reason to keep caring about his character?

Since the day started with only four matches known, there’s only really two matches that we care about.

Does new blue Sasha Banks finally get a PPV win? Does The Fiend start a reign of terror or at least a protected enough finish to keep us interested?

With most of the IWC loving The Fiend, this seems like the perfect time to keep the momentum going. The Fiend doesn’t need to win, but I’m very interested to see what they do with him.

Ratings:

Natalya vs Lacey Evans: Natalya wins via Sharpshooter @9:25 – **
Hell in a Cell Raw Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs Sasha Banks: Becky retains via Disarm-Her @21:50 – **** 1/4
Tornado Tag Match: Roman Reigns & Daniel Bryan vs Eric Rowan & Luke Harper: Reigns & Bryan wins via Superman Busaiku Spear @16:45 – *** 1/2
Randy Orton vs Ali: Orton wins via RKO @12:10 – **
Women’s Tag Team Championship: BlissCross (c) vs Kabuki Warriors: Asuka wins via Green Mist + Roundhouse Kick @10:25 – *** – TITLE CHANGE!!
AJ Styles, Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows vs Viking Raiders & Braun Strowman: Raiders & Braun wins via DQ @8:15 – *
King Corbin vs Chad Gable: Gable wins via Roll-Up @12:40 – *** 1/4
SmackDown Women’s Championship: Charlotte Flair vs Bayley (c): Flair wins via Figure Eight @10:15 – ** – TITLE CHANGE!!
Hell in a Cell Universal Championship: Seth Rollins (c) vs Bray Wyatt: Referee Stoppage, No Contest, what? @17:30 – -** (yes that’s negative)

Analysis:

Natalya vs Lacey Evans – This is the definition of a pre-show match. A loose story rivalry, that I forgot was still going on, and I feel like most of the crowd did as well. I suppose they tried, the Sharpshooter was part of the story in this match since Lacey was using it to taunt Natalya leading up to this. The action in the match was mediocre at best, Lacey misses her Moonsault and Nattie slaps on the Sharpshooter, Lacey taps nearly immediately. Afterwards Nattie clocks Lacey with what I guess is her version on the Women’s Right, and hopefully we never see any more of this any time soon.

Hell in a Cell Raw Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs Sasha Banks – Sasha takes the offense to Becky as the cage is lowering, which is a little different. The cage finishes lowering and Sasha goes into Hell in Cell to gloat a bit. There’s a good bit of use of the cage and weapons. Sasha sets up a chair into the side of the cage for later, which comes into play during a reversed Irish Whip. The cool spot was using three Kendo sticks to stabilize a chair in the corner of the cell, Becky puts Sasha on the chair, and hits a running Dropkick from the apron right into the seated Sasha. Lots of nice call backs with the attempts Disarm-Her through the chair, and Sasha introducing the chair into the match via strikes to the back. Sasha throws in about dozen chairs, and that ends up being her undoing. Becky hits the Avalanche BecksPloder into the pile of chairs and then applies the Disarm-Her for the submission victory. Surprising that Becky retained, but it was a damn good match.

Tornado Tag Match: Roman Reigns & Daniel Bryan vs Eric Rowan & Luke Harper – We saw some early back and forth, but team with more tag team experience eventually started to take over the match. Luke was selling his knee early in the match, and that did play a part towards the end. There was some nice destruction in the match, Roman ran across two announce tables to spear Rowan into the other. Daniel Bryan was looking to hit a Avalanche Frankensteiner, but Luke blocked it and hits an Avalanche Liger Bomb. It looked like Harper was going to put away Daniel, but Roman manages to slide in for the save with a Superman Punch, Bryan hits the Busaiku Knee and Spear off the ropes equals pinfall victory for the babyface team! Solid match, some of the slower parts were just to set up for the next sequence, but it was still quite enjoyable.

Randy Orton vs Ali – So this was set up on the Pre-Show since Ali was looking to prove himself and Randy was more than happy to see what the kid’s got. This was set up much like a Proving Ground style match. We saw a lot of heart out of Ali, and Randy was never completely on the back foot. A fun visual was that at some point during the initial outside scuffle Ali had a huge bruise from his ribs down his midsection a bit. Ali misses the 450 Splash, but does a Handstand to counter the initial RKO. Nearly picking up the win with a Crucifix Pin, Ali tried to go for his Rolling Facebuster, but Randy catches him with the RKO. Randy showed some respect to Ali as he was leaving the ring, but it was a very slow match that most people probably got food during.

Women’s Tag Team Championship: BlissCross (c) vs Kabuki Warriors – Now I’ve been annoyed at the Kabuki Warriors name cause even if the girls came up with it themselves, it didn’t fit their personas before. But now we get heel work, Kairi takes early cheap shots and even messes with Alexa when Asuka had her in the Abdominal Stretch in the ropes. Watching the Japanese sweethearts dive deeper into heel tendencies during this match was fantastic. Asuka with her version of Kawada Kicks to mess with Nikki and Kairi being generally animated, was great. When Kairi ran interference on Alexa, Nikki got a little distracted, so when she turned back to Asuka, Asuka hit her with the Green Mist and then a well placed kick to the head. So finally the Kabuki name makes more sense. Great Kabuki was the first to use the mist and now we see the Kabuki Warriors start accepting heel personas. Character work and finish were tremendous, though the work in the match was average.

AJ Styles, Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows vs Viking Raiders & Braun Strowman – Braun was the surprise teammate, hooray, this had OC loss written all over it. I couldn’t care less if the Viking Raiders and Gallows & Anderson have had issues over the last few weeks, this was pointless. The match didn’t matter, picking and choosing when to enforce tag team 5 counts is always stupid, and got a chorus of boos from the crowd once the DQ came in. Then I guess we’re supposed to think Braun can knock out Tyson Fury cause he caught AJ during the Phenomenal Forearm and knocked him out. Sure AJ selling it like he didn’t know where he was, was entertaining, but this was a waste of time. Braun is Big Show, just with less wrestling talent. Great.

King Corbin vs Chad Gable – S0 even though the promo that Corbin cut before the match was dumb, the Shorty Gable tidbit was alright. Granted Corey beating it into the ground did definitely make it stupid, but I enjoyed Hamilton saying in the end. As for the match, this wasn’t a ton different than what we’ve seen in the previous two meetings, this was just allowed to come to a real finish. Corbin’s height jokes played into a lot of Gable “chopping him down” and keeping everything manageable. Gable’s sheer willpower and wrestling prowess carried the low points of the match and kept most of the action interesting. Corbin is still not very engaging in the ring, but this was one of his better matches. Funny aspect was of course, the fact that Gable won because he was shorter, so he could get the leverage on the Roll-Up.

SmackDown Women’s Championship: Charlotte Flair vs Bayley (c) – Bayley started off aggressive missing a few kicks and generally getting a good laugh out of Charlotte before connecting on some offense. Full disclosure, I did have to go to the bathroom during this and somehow in 30 seconds when I get back, apparently Bayley is working of Charlotte’s “bad” leg, but that doesn’t really play a big role into the match. Charlotte’s leg gets hung up on the rope and Bayley goes for a very slow and sloppy Roll-Up, but when she gets her feet on the ropes, the referee sees it. So as Bayley is pleading her angle, Charlotte takes advantage, gets Bayley to the ground and slaps on the Figure Eight. This match was just boring. Nothing more, nothing less, it happened, now Charlotte is a 10 time champion.

Hell in a Cell Universal Championship: Seth Rollins (c) vs Bray Wyatt – So immediately we get to deal with a red cell bathed in red light, so that just makes watching the match awkward. But at least we get some decent action. Bray goads Seth into hitting him with strikes and weapons, and shows his invulnerability. Seth hits two Stomps, and Bray pops up, Seth hits his crappy Flying Knees, but The Fiend doesn’t go down. So we got to see a lot of The Fiend taking more punishment than we’ve really seen anyone take. Fiend hits a Sister Abigail, Neck Snap and then brings Seth to the outside of the ring and goes to get his mallet. Even though it looks like a Gateway computers box on a stick, we could see something interesting here. But of course, after taking a signature, neck snap and getting the mallet rammed into his stomach, Seth still of course fights back like nothing happened. Now the match gets awful. Seth redoes the sequence against Braun where he hits about five Stomps and a Pedigree, but Bray kicks out at 1. So Seth then adds a chair to the equation, but Bray kicks out. This continues with Seth getting a ladder, throwing in kendo sticks, a toolbox and a sledgehammer. We get subjected to Bray laying in the middle of the ring for what felt like 5 minutes straight while Seth decided to have an existential crisis and just keep getting more weapons. When he gets to the Sledgehammer, the referee tells him not to do it, but he eventually does hit Bray, who’s face is covered with a chair sandwiched between a ladder, the referee calls for the bell. So it’s not said in the show, is it a referee stoppage or disqualification? Either way it was garbage.

Overall Score: 5/10

So let me be clear, I get the fact the story of the main event was The Fiend pushing Seth Rollins passed his personal comfort level or having the emotional distress of overcoming fear or a living nightmare. But the match told the story beyond poorly. And The Fiend shooting up when the EMTs came in to demolish Rollins after the fact, was even worse since that show ended with a bullshit finish. The Fiend did not need saving from the referee and if the angle is that the referee stopped it as a way to protect Seth from “going too far”, that’s nothing to care about either.

In the same show where we got an in-ring story of Kabuki Warriors going heel and solidifying BlissCross as faces (for now), we get an over dramatized pile of nonsense that was the main event Hell in a Cell. The same match where Mick Foley was nearly legit killed, the referee jumps in for a worked DQ or whatever finish.

This show was pretty good before the main event. I would’ve probably given the show about a 7.5, until a bullshit gimmicked finish that was unsatisfying. The worst part is that it’s not unsatisfying in the way to motivate you to watch, it’s more watching someone ruin your new favorite thing and not trusting their process anymore. Hell Bray could’ve lost, if it made sense and felt like a complete ending…not the botched abortion of a stoppage or disqualification in HELL IN A CELL!

About Chairshot Radio Network

Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)

THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Up Next

Mitchell’s WWE Crown Jewel Results & Report! (10/31/19)

Don't Miss

Mitchell’s WWE Hell in a Cell Results & Report! (10/6/19)

AEW Coverage

Attitude Of Aggression #300- A Decade for the Ages

The 300th Episode of Attitude Of Aggression has arrived! Join us as we recap the biggest wrestling related events of the past decade!

Published

4 days ago

December 18, 2024

David Ungar

At long last, Episode 300 is here! And what an Episode it is. On this very special installment, Dave is joined by PC Tunney, DPP, DJ, and Rob Bonette and what ensues is one of the best, most thorough, insightful, and fun discussions of the past decade of pro wrestling that you will find anywhere. WrestleMania 31, Edge’s return, the birth of AEW, the rise of the Bloodline, the Women’s Revolution, the end of the Vince McMahon era….it is all discussed here as only the Attitude Of Aggression can. If you are a newer fan of pro wrestling, this Episode should be considered essential listening to bring you up to speed on all the good stuff you might have missed. If you have been with us for the past (almost) 10 years, I think you will enjoy this trip down memory lane to dig deep into some of the biggest events in wrestling history. And if you are just a pro wrestling fan in general…. you won’t want to miss this one!

About the Chairshot Radio Network

Created in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts, including POD is WAR, Women’s Wrestling Talk, Chairshot Radio daily editions, The #Miranda Show, Badlands’ Wrestling Mount Rushmores, The Outsider’s Edge, DWI Podcast, Bandwagon Nerds, the Greg DeMarco Show, 3 Man Weave, Five Rounds, Turnbuckle Talk, The Reaction, Attitude Of Aggression, and more! You can find these great shows each week at theChairshot.com and through our distribution partners, including podcasting’s most popular platforms.

The Chairshot Radio Network
Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts and radio shows!

All Shows On Demand

Listen on your favorite platform!

iTunes | iHeart Radio | Google Play | Spotify
Listen, like, subscribe, and share!

Chairshot Radio Graphic

About Chairshot Radio Network

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)

THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Coverage

Mitchell’s WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event Results & Report! (12/14/24)

No school like the old school!

Published

1 week ago

December 14, 2024

Steven Mitchell

WWE hops in the Wayback Machine!

What’s old is new again as WWE brings back Saturday Night’s Main Event! But will Cody Rhodes overcome an old friend turned new enemy in Kevin Owens?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

Sami Zayn VS Drew McIntyre; McIntyre wins.
WWE Women’s World Championship: Liv Morgan VS Iyo Sky; Liv wins and retains the title.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Triple Threat: GUNTHER VS Finn Balor VS Damian Priest; Gunther wins and retains the title.
WWE Women’s United States Championship Tournament Finals: Chelsea Green VS Mia Yim; Chelsea wins and is the inaugural WWE Women’s United States Champion.
Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes VS Kevin Owens; Cody wins and retains the title.

PLAY BY PLAY

It’s Saturday Night’s Main Event…

… and the pleasure is all yours! A hot ticket to be sure, but let’s brush off the dust a bit. Old school intro with the new age of WWE, and plenty of pyro to go with it! But what about the fireworks we’re about to see in the ring?

Welcome to commentary: Jesse Ventura!

The Body is back in the WWE, and he joins Joe Tessitore on stage. Jesse thanks Joe for welcoming him, and he says it has been 40 YEARS since he’s been back, and here he is! He’s got the feather boas, the snake skin jacket, and Tessitore says WWE is experiencing sky-high popularity not seen since those classic days of Ventura’s time when it was him and Gene Okerlund, hence Tessitore’s red tie. So what has Ventura the most excited of tonight? Ventura says it has to be the world title match of Cody Rhodes VS Kevin Owens, a former friend. Venture questioned if Cody is really Dusty’s son. Cody has washboard abs, Dusty had “most abs.”

And Ventura will say that Cody proved it with his ego. Cody got involved in a match he wasn’t signed for, gets hurt, and could end up a one legged man in an ass-kicking contest! Tessitore says let’s get to the action with Michael Cole and… “Let’s Go~!” PAT MCAFEE!? Another special treat for a BIG night, but of course Pat wasn’t gonna miss this! He says for those watching WWE for the first time in a long time, you’re in for a treat! Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night’s Main Event!

Sami Zayn VS Drew McIntyre!

The Bloodline Civil War inside WarGames has come and gone, but there will be no peace for the Honorary Uce bow that the Scottish Terminator is back! McIntyre attacked Jey Uso backstage, he hit Sami with a Claymore, and he most recently hit #BigJim with a Claymore! Will nothing stop McIntyre from taking out the entire OG Bloodline? Or will Sami have New York feeling Ucey?

The second Sami’s in the ring, Sami fires right off on McIntyre! The bell rings, McIntyre shoves Sami down, but Sami is right back for more! McIntyre puts Sami in the corner then CHOPS him down! The fans fire up for Sami but McIntyre stands him up in a corner. McIntyre CHOPS, then finishes taking off his entrance attire. McIntyre snarls, runs up, but Sami dodges! Sami CHOPs, CHPOS, and then climbs up to rain down fists! The fans count and Sami goes way past ten! Sami hops down to then LARIAT McIntyre up and out! Sami then goes to the apron, kicks McIntyre away, to then ARABIAN PRESS! Down goes McIntyre and the fans fire up!

Sami huffs ‘n’ puffs and brings McIntyre back up to put in the ring. Sami hurries in but McIntyre kicks low! And CHOPS again! The fans fire up as McIntyre whips Sami to ropes, but then Sami grabs the ropes to stop himself. McIntyre runs up but Sami DUMPS him out! Sami then aims to PLANCHA! But McIntyre catches him! McIntyre aims, and he SWINGS Sami onto and over the desk! Sami flops to the floor and the fans boo McIntyre while Saturday Night’s Main Event goes to break.

SNME returns and McIntyre stalks Sami to a corner. McIntyre drags Sami up, CHOPS him, and then CHOPS again! Sami fires in return with forearms! The fans fire up but McIntyre RAMS Sami back into the corner, then OVERHEAD BELLY2BELLY SUPLEXES! Sami flounders, McIntyre covers, TWO! McIntyre rains down fists on Sami! The fans rally for Sami but McIntyre shakes the ropes in anger. McIntyre storms back over to Sami, brings him up and whips, but Sami KICKS back! Sami goes to a corner, McIntyre runs up, but Sami ELBOWS him! And BOOTS! Sami goes up to FLYING AX HANDLE!

The fans fire up and Sami goes to another corner! McIntyre rises up, runs up, but Sami moves! McIntyre POSTS himself! Sami then goes corner to corner but into a BOOT of McIntyre’s! McIntyre hits a SPINEBUSTER, a jackknife bridge, TWO! Sami stays in this but McIntyre deadlift POWERBOMBS him! Cover, TWO!! Sami survives and McIntyre is beside himself! The fans fire up but McIntyre looms over Sami again. McIntyre drags Sami up and fireman’s carries him to a corner. McIntyre goes right up the corner! The fans fire up while Sami flails and slips into a SUNSET FLIP POWERBOMB!! Cover, TWO!!

The fans fire up as McIntyre survives and Sami is beside himself! The fans cheer Sami on and he brings McIntyre up in a waistlock. McIntyre fights the lift but Sami CLUBS McIntyre! Sami still tries but McIntyre still fights the lift. Sami CLUBS away, then goes again, but McIntyre slips out! GLASGOW KISS HEADBUTT! Sami falls, McIntyre stumbles a bit, but McIntyre aims from the corner. Sami slowly rises up, “Three! Two! One!” BOOT from Sami! BLUE THUNDER BOMB! Cover, TWO!! McIntyre survives that sudden turnaround and the fans are thunderous! Sami and McIntyre slowly rise, and Sami goes to a corner.

“This is Awesome!” as Sami aims, fires up, and he runs in, but McIntyre bails out! The fans boo but Sami hurries after McIntyre. McIntyre slides back in, gets space, CLAYMORE!! Cover, McIntyre wins!

Winner: Drew McIntyre, by pinfall

A sudden end to the match and McIntyre is all smiles. McIntyre stands over Sami, but are the issues with Roman Reigns’ Bloodline buried? Or was this just one more name crossed off the list?

WWE Women’s World Championship: Liv Morgan VS Iyo Sky!

The Liv Morgan Revenge Tour has so far succeeded, but while Liv’s been the mastermind of her own bad romance story, she’s run into Damage CTRL’s Evil Genius! Will Iyo dethrone Liv and once again take control? Or will Liv give herself an early Christmas present with a big win on this historic night?

The introductions are made, the belt is raised, and we see who runs the world!

The bell rings and Liv dodges Iyo to throw her down! But Iyo kips up! Iyo dodges Liv, Liv dodges the handspring, and Liv DROPKICKS Iyo down! Iyo tumbles, Liv soaks up the cheers and jeers, then she runs up to back body block in the corner! But Iyo DROPKICKS in return! The fans fire up and Iyo hits Liv with a FLAPJACK! Cover, TWO! Liv is tougher than that but Iyo stays close. Iyo whips Liv to a corner, then runs up, but Liv slips out! Iyo slips out after her! Iyo ROCKS Liv, then waistlocks, but Liv grabs ropes to fight the suplex! Liv throws elbows, then flips to SUNSET FLIP, but Iyo holds onto the ropes! Iyo then PENALTY KICKS!

The fans fire up and Iyo takes aim, ASAI MOONSAULT! Down goes Liv and New York is all fired up while SNME goes to break.

SNME returns and Iyo hits STOMP 182! Liv sputters as she crawls to ropes but the fans rally for Iyo. Iyo runs up to SHOTEI! And SHOTEI again! And then DROPKICK! Liv tumbles out, Iyo handsprings up and the fans fire up! Iyo builds speed and DIVES! Direct hit at the ramp and Liv is in a daze! Iyo hurries to get Liv in the ring and the fans rally up. Iyo aims, springboards, and MISSILE DROPKICKS! Liv flops and Iyo hurries to cover, TWO! Liv survives but Iyo stays calm. Liv goes to a corner and Iyo goes to the other. All aboard, but Liv dodges! Iyo hits buckles and Liv hits a BACKSTABBER! Liv shouts in anger but the fans boo.

Liv goes up, up and FLYING CODE BREAKERS! Cover, TWO! Liv grows frustrated but Iyo’s a former world tier champion herself. Iyo goes to ropes, Liv runs up, but Iyo BOOTS her! Iyo waistlocks and lifts, GERMAN SUPELX! Bridging cover, but Iyo rolls through, another GERMAN SUPLEX! Iyo isn’t done as she rolls through again! A THIRD GERMAN SUPLEX!! Cover, TWO!! Liv survives the hattrick and Iyo is shocked! The fans rally for Iyo as she drags Liv to a drop zone. Iyo climbs up top, but Liv hurries to trip Iyo up! Iyo goes to the apron, and she HOTSHOTS Liv in return!

Iyo steadies herself, goes up, but the springboard doesn’t work out! Liv CODE BREAKERS Iyo again! Cover, TWO!! Iyo survives and Liv slaps herself in frustration. Liv hurries to get Iyo up, but Iyo cradles! TWO! Liv hurries to ENZIGIRI! Iyo goes to ropes, Liv runs in, but Iyo wrangles her into a CROSSFACE! The fans fire up, Liv rolls through, into a KAMI-GOYE! Liv sputters and goes to a corner, all aboard the SHINKANSEN! Liv is in the drop zone and Iyo steps on her to go up! OVER THE MOONSAULT into boots! Liv runs up, into OBLIVION!! Cover, LIV WINS!!

Winner: Liv Morgan, by pinfall (still WWE Women’s World Champion)

Liv has a bloody nose, but she’s all smiles as she keeps the title! Will nothing stop the Liv Morgan Revenge Tour from- RHEA RIPLEY IS HERE! Mami makes sure the celebration is cut short as she stares Liv down on the stage. Rhea waited patiently for this match to happen, will she make sure Liv does not stay a champion much longer?

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Triple Threat: GUNTHER VS Finn Balor VS Damian Priest!

Der Ring General retained this title at SummerSlam against The Punisher, and retained it again at Survivor Series also against The Punisher, all thanks to The Prince! At least, that’s what Finn would have us all believe. Gunther wants to prove he doesn’t need anyone’s help, and Priest deserves a real shot at this title, so Finn’s put himself between a rock and a hard place with this one. Will Gunther retain this title against The Punisher and The Prince? Or will someone end the reign one way or another?

The introductions are made, the belt is raised, and we see who defies the odds!

The bell rings and Priest goes after Finn to put him in a corner! Finn dodges the haymaker, then he dodges Gunther’s chop! Finn tries to get out, Priest drags him back in, but Gunther goes after Priest. Priest ROCKS Gunther, swings again, but Gunther dodges to RAM Priest low! Gunther reels Priest in, Finn rolls Gunther up! TWO, and Priest ROCKS Finn! Gunther UPPERCUTS Finn! Priest ROCKS Finn again, Finn’s like a pinball! Gunther BOOTS Priest, but Priest stays up! Gunther runs, but Priest ELBOWS him to the apron! Priest fires more shots, then ROLLING ROUNDHOUSES! Gunther falls and the fans fire up!

Priest builds speed, and Priest FLIES! He almost doesn’t clear the ropes, but he still clips Gunther with his legs! Gunther falls, Priest rises and roars, and the fans cheer while SNME goes to break.

SNME returns and Finn has Priest in a corner. Finn whips but Priest blocks! Finn still tries, but Priest breaks the grip and ROCKS Finn! And ROCKS him again, and again! Priest whips Finn to the corner, then runs corner to corner, but Gunther BOOTS Priest! And he BOOTS Finn! Gunther storms around and the fans are torn, but Gunther brings Priest up. Priest KICKS, KICKS, and KICKS! Gunther blocks to CHOP! And then he turns Priest over, BOSTON CRAB! Priest endures as Gunther sits deep! Finn CHOPS, but Gunther just gets pissed! Gunther lets Priest go to get in Finn’s face, so Finn kicks low.

Finn runs, but Gunther CHOPS! Finn sputters, but he ducks another chop to PELE! Gunther staggers, Priest runs past them both, and he DOUBLE LARIATS! The fans fire up for Priest as he rises, but Gunther CHOPS! Priest just gets mad, and he CHOPS, CHOPS, CHOPS! Priest winds up to DECK Gunther! Finn stands, but into KICK after KICK! And a ROLLING ELBOW, then a HAYMAKER! Finn falls, Priest roars, and New York is with their King of the Streets! Priest ELBOWS Finn in a corner, ELBOWS Gunther in another! SUPERKICK for Finn! But Gunther puts Priest on the apron! Priest blocks the chop, Gunther apologizes.

Priest twists the wrist! Priest climbs up the ropes, tightrope walks it, now that’s Old School! CROSSBODY! The fans fire up as Priest then catches Finn for a FLATLINER! Cover, TWO! Finn survives but Priest keeps his cool. Priest drags Finn back up, reels him in, and he lifts Finn to the Canadian Rack., But Gunther kicks low! Finn gets free for that, and Gunther hauls Priest up! But Priest slips free to kick! Finn gets moving, SLINGBLADE on Priest! But Gunther kicks Finn! Gunther whips but Finn ducks ‘n’ dodges, to SLINGBLADE! The fans are torn as Finn takes aim! SHOT- NO, Gunther catches Finn to a SLEEPER!

But Priest ROUNDHOUSES Gunther, Gunther falls back, and Finn uses that to roll back and cover! TWO!! Priest almost gave Finn that one! Priest TOSSES Finn, but Gunther has the SLEEPER on Priest! Gunther drops back to the body scissors! Priest endures but Gunther rains down HAMMER ‘N’ ANVIL ELBOWS! Then the REAR NAKED CHOKE!! Priest is caught and Gunther shouts for him to give up! Priest is fading, but he gets a second wind! Priest fights up and the fans fire up! Priest snapmares free, then clamps onto the neck! Gunther CHOPS free! Priest just roars and goes again! SOUTH OF HEAVEN!!

But Finn dragon sleepers! FINAL CUT! The fans are torn as Finn reloads, SHOTGUN! Priest hits buckles and falls into the drop zone! Finn goes up, aims, but Gunther hits ropes! The Prince lands on his crown, and Gunther climbs up! But Priest CLUBS Gunther! Priest gets under Gunther with the crucifix! RAZOR’S EDGE! But Finn adds COUP DE GRACE!! Cover, PRIEST BREAKS IT! Priest then deadlifts Finn, RAZOR’S- SUNSET FLIP!! TWO! SOUTH OF HEAVEN!! Cover, Gunther drags Priest off the cover, and into a SLEEPER! They’re outside the ring, Gunther fires more HAMMER ‘N’ ANVIL ELBOWS!

“This is Awesome!” and Gunther aims at steel steps! Priest is a tall man, but Gunther still hoists him up, POWERBOMB on the steps! Gunther SHOTGUNS Finn!! And then POWERBOMB! High stack, Gunther wins!

Winner: Gunther, by pinfall (still WWE World Heavyweight Champion)

Der Ring General may have just unlocked a new gear with this one! He defeats Priest and Finn at the same time, will anyone ever take this title from him now?

We check in with Tessitore & Ventura.

Three matches in, what has gotten The Body’s attention so far? Ventura says what he liked seeing was Liv Morgan. She took a shot to the head that would’ve stopped any normal person and still won. That Dominik Mysterio sure can pick the ladies, can’t he? Yes, Liv retained her title, but moments ago it was Gunther’s victory. The fans declared, “This is Awesome!” and those three men earned it. How does this energy compare to the original in 1985? Ventura says wrestling is even bigger today, 40 years later, and the fans can be proud of that! Way to go! We still have Cody Rhodes VS Kevin Owens, but up next, the Women’s US Championship Tournament Finals!

WWE Women’s United States Championship Tournament Finals: Chelsea Green w/ Piper Niven VS Mia Yim!

The WWE Women’s Division is continuing to build and build at the best in the world, and that means needing more championships to show it! And after fighting through Triple Threats and top tier competition, we have our two finalists! Will the Hot Mess or the Head Baddie in Charge bring this belt home as the historic first-ever?

The bell rings and Chelsea runs up! Mia dodges, but then Chelsea dodges a roundhouse! They argue, Mia waistlocks but Chelsea switches. Mia snapmares free, has a chinlock, but Chelsea fights up to switch. Mia switches and arm-drags Chelsea away. Chelsea staggers up, into an overhead arm-drag! Chelsea staggers but avoids a third arm-drag, and she SLAPS Mia! Chelsea TOSSES Mia out, but the ref warns Piper. Piper stays back, Chelsea runs up, but Mia SLAPS Chelsea back! Mia brings Chelsea to the apron, and then into the ropes, TARANTULA 2.0! The ref counts, Mia lets go, and Chelsea distracts the ref so Piper can SCRAPBUSTER Mia!

The fans boo but Chelsea slides out to say, “See that? You see that?!” Michael Cole can’t believe Chelsea’s proud of that, but SNME goes to break.

SNME returns and Piper cheers Chelsea on as she aims from a corner. Mia rises, Chelsea runs up, ROUGH- POWERBOMB! No Rough Ryder here, and Mia runs up to waistlock and GERMAN SUPLEX! Mia then GERMAN SUPLEXES again! Chelsea flounders, Mia reels her in, and Mia uses the ropes for a TORNADO DDT! Cover, TWO! Chelsea survives and Mia grows frustrated. Mia drags Chelsea up, wrenches, but Chelsea says no to Da Feet! Chelsea hooks arms, Mia powers out but the ROUGH RYDER returns! Cover, TWO! Chelsea is beside herself and Piper is also frustrated. Chelsea sees Mia go to the apron and she gets moving.

Chelsea DIVES but onto Piper! Mia avoided disaster, but in a way so does Chelsea as Piper is mostly able to catch her. They stand up, and Mia DOUBLE CANNONBALLS! The fans fire up and Mia tells the belt she’ll see it soon enough. Mia puts Chelsea in the ring, and hits Piper with EAT DA FEET! Mia fires up, the fans are torn, but Mia gets in, only for Chelsea to KICK her in the face! UNPRETTY- ROLL UP! TWO, and Mia wrenches, EAT DA FEET! Chelsea flounders and flops away, Mia covers, ROPEBREAK!! Chelsea survives by a literal foot and Mia can’t believe it! The fans fire up for Chelsea as Mia drags her up.

Mia brings Chelsea up to put her on the top rope. Mia fires forearms, then SLAPS Chelsea! Mia climbs, SLAPS Chelsea again, but Piper gets on the apron! That distraction lets Chelsea HEADBUTT Mia down! Mia runs at Piper to SHOTGUN her down! But then Chelsea SLAPS Mia! Chelsea hooks the arms, flips forward, and hits the UNPRETTY-HER!! Cover, CHELSEA WINS!!

Winner: Chelsea Green, by pinfall (INAUGURAL WWE Women’s United States Champion)

History made, and Chelsea makes everyone else green with envy as she gets the gold! Nick Aldis brings the belt over to put around Chelsea’s waist, but will we ever hear the end of this?

Tonight won’t be the ONLY Saturday Night’s Main Event!

The tradition’s comeback tour continues in the New Year with a trip down to San Antonio, Texas! Saturday Night’s Main Event will return on January 25th, but tickets are on sale now!

Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes VS Kevin Owens!

While we all saw these two work together to #FinishTheStory at WrestleMania 40, that story just spun off into this story. Cody helping Roman Reigns was seen as a betrayal to Kevin, so Kevin is just exacting what accounts for justice in his mind. Though, that doesn’t really excuse the insults Kevin has been throwing at Cody about his father, his brother, or his past. But will the American Nightmare keep The Prizefighter from having his prize? Or is this where Cody’s story comes to an end?

As Kevin makes his entrance, that red elbow pad and that new shirt, “The Canadian Dream,” are some clear shots taken at Cody and Cody’s father. Cody makes his entrance and the fans sing along with his song, “WHOA~ OH~!” But surprise! He’s not wearing the WWE logo with gold backing, that’s the WINGED EAGLE! Triple H gifted him that belt for “one night only,” will he make sure not to lose it?

The introductions are made, the belt is raised, and we see who lives the dream of winning Saturday Night’s Main Event!

The bell rings and the two rush in, only for Kevin to bail out! The fans boo and Cody tells Kevin to get in here, but Kevin just ignores it all. Kevin glances at the Winged Eagle, steps back inside, but then bails right back out! So Cody goes out after him! The fans fire up as Cody throws hands! Cody SMACKS Kevin off the apron, SMACKS him off the desk, then puts him in the ring. Kevin bails out the side but Cody DIVES! Direct hit and they both hit barriers hard! Kevin clutches an ear but Cody clutches his bad ankle! Cody manages to stand up and he hobbles over to put Kevin in the ring. Cody storms in and kicks Kevin, then drops down to RHODES UPPERCUT!

Cody reels Kevin in, but Kevin fires body shots! Cody still suplexes enough to GOURD BUSTER! Kevin flops out of the ring but Cody goes out after him again. Kevin POSTS Cody! And SMACKS him off the desk! And then a DESK BACK SUPLEX! Kevin references Randy Orton, and then says hi to Randy through the camera. Kevin CLUBS Cody down, Ventura loves this, and SNME goes picture in picture.

Kevin throws Cody into the steel steps! And KICKS Cody low! Cody sputters but Kevin pushes him into the ring. Kevin stomps Cody, storms up on him in a corner, and Kevin puts a leg in the ropes. Kevin KICKS the ropes to jam that leg up! Kevin soaks up the heat while Cody hobbles, then Kevin KICKS the leg out! Kevin stands on Cody’s ankle! The ref counts as Cody has the ropes, but Kevin steps away at 4. Kevin then brings Cody out of the corner, and around by his leg, to trip him up! Kevin puts the leg on ropes to HIP DROP the ankle! The ref reprimands but Kevin stalks Cody. Kevin grabs a leg and has a standing toehold!

Cody endures, kicks free, but Kevin stomps away on Cody! SENTON! Cover, TWO! Cody crawls away but Kevin snarls and stalks him again. Kevin stands Cody up to whip and ELBOW down! Kevin mocks the deep breath of Goldust, then says “SUCK IT!” to Cody and everyone in New York! Kevin drags Cody up, just to DDT him back down! Cover, TWO! Cody survives and Kevin grows frustrated. Kevin talks more trash, drags Cody up, and Kevin hits a back suplex. Cody lands out and kicks Kevin, to then drop and RHODES UP KICK! Kevin staggers, Cody fires forearms, and he fires off in the corner! Cody puts Kevin up top then ROCKS him!

Cody cartwheels, does the Stardust, and then runs back up on Kevin to SMACK him! Clearly the mind games have no effect since Cody owns his past. Cody climbs up, but Kevin fights the superplex! Kevin CLUBS Cody, SNME returns to single picture, and Cody fights the fisherman! Cody fires hands while up top, but Kevin SHOVES Cody! Cody lands on the top rope, right on his crossroads! Cody falls down, Kevin jumps up, SWANTON BOMB! Cover, TWO! Cody survives and Kevin grows frustrated but Ventura likes the tactics Kevin’s been using so far. Maybe just stay on that bad leg. Kevin waits on Cody, then JABS! JABS! JABS!

The fans boo as Kevin flips, flops, and “SUCK IT!” But Cody kicks, JABS, JABS, and JABS! Flip, flop, swivel, BIONIC ELBOW! Cody runs, and he CLOBBERS Kevin! And then goes up and over in a corner. Bad ankle be damned, SNAP POWERSLAM! The fans fire up and Cody is feeling it! Cody springboards, BEAUTIFUL DISASTER KICK! Cover, TWO! Kevin stays in this and Ventura says Kevin sure is tough. Cody pounds the mat and the fans rally, is Cody hearing voices in his head? Cody goes up and up but Kevin bails out! Cody hops down, storms out after Kevin, but Kevin SUPERKICKS! Kevin clears off the desk!

The fans fire up as Cole does his best to get his things before Kevin brings Cody over. They both stand on the desk, but Cody hits an RKO!! Talk about a shoutout to Randy! Kevin flops around, Cody drags Kevin into the ring, and now Cody takes aim. Cody goes up, up and away, SUPER CODY CUTTER!! Cover, TWO?!? Kevin survives and Ventura does not know how! Cody is frustrated but the fans are thunderous. Cody snarls as Kevin goes to the corner, and Cody storms over. Cody puts Kevin up top, and he ROCKS Kevin with a haymaker! Cody climbs and brings Kevin up. Cody fires body shots, then a HEADBUTT!

The fans rally up as Cody goes to the very top, but Kevin fires hands! Cody fights back, these two brawl up top, and Kevin gets the edge! Kevin hooks a leg, SUPER FISHERMAN BUSTER!! Cover, TWO!! Cody survives and Kevin grows frustrated. “This is Awesome!” as Kevin rises up. Kevin seethes as he looks at Cody. Kevin storms up on Cody, waits on him to stand, kick and- NO, Cody stops the stunner! But Kevin slips out of the Cross Rhodes to shove Cody into the ref! The ref goes down hard and the fans boo! Kevin dodges Cody to STUNNER!! Cover, but the ref is nowhere to be seen! The fans count, Kevin would’ve had this twice over!

Kevin is furious, a second ref shows up and Kevin covers, TWO!! Kevin is upset with this ref but what can Kevin expect when he wiped out the other guy? Kevin gets in this ref’s face, but then drags Cody back up. Kevin whips Cody, pop-up, but Cody slips free! SUPERKICK! Kevin wobbles, Cody springboards, but Kevin ducks! Cody collides with this ref, too!! Kevin hurries to POST Cody! Kevin sees he is without refs, so he can do whatever he wants! Kevin grabs himself a chair! Kevin brings that chair in, but Cody dodges the shot! Springboard, CODY CUTTER!! The fans are thunderous as Cody roars to his feet!

Cody dragon sleepers, for a FULL METAL CROSS RHODES!!! Cover, but where’s a ref?! The first ref is back, he counts it, CODY WINS!

Winner: Cody Rhodes, by pinfall (still Undisputed WWE Champion)

If not for his rage, Kevin might have had this! Two refs and a chair were needed to figure this one out, but will the American Nightmare continue to live his dream?

My Thoughts:

A great return for Saturday Night’s Main Event, though the booking kinda followed a cookie cutter formula given the broadcast format. And even without that, we kept the status quo with titles, which on some level seemed a bit disappointing to me. Liv VS Iyo was great but Liv winning clean was shocking. Obviously they want Liv VS Rhea to still be a thing, but the sentiment out there from fans is that we’ve had enough Liv VS Rhea, we needed someone to shake this up. If not Iyo, then it should’ve been Tiffany attempting a cash-in. Tiff’s the one that can change brands the easiest with the MITB briefcase, and we’ve already seen them test the waters by giving her interactions with Rhea and Iyo, so why not pull the trigger?

That Triple Threat was awesome, but I should’ve figured Gunther would win. It wasn’t going to be Priest, as good as he is, because then we’d just be running back all this stuff with Gunther, Finn and Priest from the Summer. And it wasn’t gonna be Finn given Judgment Day stayed out of it, and also because Finn being double champion going into Monday was probably too much. Like, it wouldn’t help if the world champ was gonna lose his tag title on Monday, so he just wasn’t gonna be world champion. Judgment Day is going to fall apart because Finn’s gonna be selfish, maybe blame JD McDonagh for the loss, and get mad at the other members just because.

Great match from Chelsea VS Mia, and the backstory of this being 7 years to the day from when they battled for the TNA Knockouts Championship and Chelsea won her first singles title period really added to this. Great win for Chelsea to be the first-ever, and as I said last night, she and Mia could still feud over this title and give some great matches to build this title. The one non-title match of the night, which didn’t necessarily need to be here, Sami VS McIntyre was still really good. But I figured McIntyre was going to win because he just came back and he’s on this mission to go after all OG Bloodline members. I do feel he should end up on SmackDown to go for the US Championship, maybe even feud with Solo’s Bloodline because he still owes Solo some payback, too.

And of course, the Undisputed Championship was the main event, and the Winged Eagle looked so good live on TV. The two ref bumps made me think for just a moment that Kevin was going to win, because he could’ve gotten away with the chair shots and what not, but no, Cody still wins. But then stuff that happened off the air, but can be seen on social media, is that Kevin attacked as a sore loser, and he stole the belt! Kevin stole Winged Eagle, got into it with Triple H, and the only detail missing to me is that Kevin could’ve actually won the belt. But whatever, this can still spur a third Cody VS Kevin, maybe put it on the Raw Netflix debut, and we’ll see what happens going into the January SNME and even the Royal Rumble.