Saturday Night’s Main Event XXXVII took place on December 14, 2024, from Uniondale, New York, at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the same location as the inaugural event 39 years earlier. It was the first Saturday Night’s Main Event special since 2008. They went with the super retro feel to the show which was an AWESOME touch for this late 40’s wrestling fan and the return of the ‘winged eagle’ title belt gave more than just a nostalgic feel… it brought me right back to those days. Well done.
This was a weird show for me. Is it a PLE? Is it a souped up Monday Night RAW? Would anything of consequence actually happen? Let’s get into it.
(All photos courtesy WWE.com)
Saturday Night’s Main Event XXXVII – Results
Prior to the first match, we get the return of Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura for the first time in forever. I am a HUGE Jesse fan but I have to say his schtick was just that here… schtick. He’s doing the same old heel commentator that he’s always done (not that I expected anything else) but for some reason here it came off really old and tired. I’m guessing this is because he doesn’t have Gorilla Monsoon here to play off (RIP) but that’s NOT a knock on Joe Tessitore and Pat McAfee who joined Michael Cole on the broadcast. Jesse just sort of stuck out like a sore thumb to me which was a total bummer cause I always loved him.
As I mentioned earlier we’ve got a real retro vibe with this show and they trotted out some WWE Hall of Famers to be on hand. Was GREAT to see these guys but they’re a constant reminder of just how old I’m getting.
Drew McIntyre Defeated Sami Zayn
SUPER hot crowd to kick off the show. This is the first match for McIntyre since he got all sorts of bloody vs. Punk at Hell in a Cell. These grudge matches are always fun, especially when you have guys that are SO good in the ring like Drew and Sami. Great way to open the show.
Liv Morgan Defeated Iyo Sky To Retain the Women’s World Championship
I love Liv Morgan and not just because she’s hot (she is) but because of the amazing heel work she’s doing. I’ve never been a fan of the Damage Control faction and even though I recognize what a great performer Iyo Sky is I have a hard time connecting with her. Match was decent but I never even considered that Liv would lose here. A few botches didn’t help to raise the bar. We’re clearly headed toward a Liv vs. Rhea rematch… which Rhea will win and bum me out cause it’ll mean less Liv.
Gunther Defeated Finn Bálor and Damian Priest To Retain the World Heavyweight Championship
I’m not typically a fan of multi-man matches, but this was outstanding. Gunther retains after an action packed three way match with awesome transitions from spot to spot. At this point I’d like to see Priest and Balor move on to end their feud one one one and allow Gunther to move on to someone new. From a fantasy booking perspective I’d love to have Randy Orton take the title off Gunther to set up a Cena vs. Orton super brawl to break Flair’s record. Regardless, the right guy won here in the match of the night for me.
Chelsea Green Defeated Michin To Win the WWE Women’s United States Championship
History was made here as Michin (who I don’t know at all) and Chelsea Green battled to be the first women’s United States champion. I’m not sure we NEEDED another title (women’s or men’s) but here it is. Match was decent, if not a bit rushed. Crowd was once again super hot for the heel Green and popped huge when she won the match and the title. GREAT use of Green’s finisher here. I expected less than what we got here which was a nice treat.
Cody Rhodes Defeated Kevin Owens To Retain the Undisputed WWE Championship
The Cody Rhodes ‘experiment’ continues for me. I realize that’s a weird way to frame it after such an EPIC story that culminated with him finishing his story at last year’s Mania. For me he’s just FAR better chasing the title than he is a champion – and that’s not taking ANYTHING away from him in the ring – he’s outstanding.
This was great, not surprisingly, but left something to be desired and I can’t put my finger on it. I think the reality with this story is that Kevin Owens is doing what we ALL would do if we were in his position. Cody screwed him in his eyes and he’s ‘correct’. With Cody cheating to win that sort of solidifies that. As the event went off the air I was left with a very unsatisfying feeling when it came to this story… more on that in a moment.
Saturday Night’s Main Event XXXVII – Final Thoughts
According to all reports The return of Saturday Night’s Main Event did well in the ratings for NBC. As I said in the intro I personally wasn’t sure if this was a PLE quality card or a souped up RAW. In the end it was sort of in between for me. The next Saturday Night’s Main Event set to take place in January 2025 coming off the heels of the first RAW on Netflix and right before the Royal Rumble. BIG changes happening in the WWE world right now and they’re mostly all good.
A couple of closing thoughts…
- The commercials on Peacock are infuriating. I can’t wait for Netflix. Yes, I know I can pay for an upgraded Peacock experience but at this point I’m just waiting.
- I hate to say it, but Jesse needs to go back to the sidelines… permanently. His schtick doesn’t work any more.
- What happened AFTER the show should have been ON the show.
Kevin Owes comes back into the ring and hits Cody with a pile driver that left him laying and lead to a stretcher job for the champ.
I’m really not sure why they didn’t show this on the main broadcast as it would have been a GREAT lead in to the next few weeks of programming and would have given Owens MASSIVE heat. There was also a filmed but not on broadcast altercation between HHH and Owens after the pile driver. WWE is doing this now they’re forwarding angles ‘off camera’. I’m OK with the HHH Owens being off camera but would have liked to have seen the pile driver as it would have elevated the show over all. Nit picky for sure but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Did you watch the Saturday Night’s Main Event – December 14th, 2024? Let me know what you thought in the comments below!