Our WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event Results for tonight include SmackDown’s Bayley battling NXT’s Sol Ruca, World Tag Team Champions AJ Styles and Dragon Lee taking on NXT’s Young OG Je’Von Evans and TNA X-Division Champion Leon Slater, Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes locking horns with the Ruler of NXT, NXT Champion Oba Femi, and in what will be his final match, the greatest of all time, the never-seen seventeen, gracing Washington, D.C. with his presence for the final time, the last real champion, John Cena, will go one-on-one with the former World Heavywieght Champion and Ring General, GUNTHER! Here’s our review and grades for tonight’s show, live from the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event Card:
- The Last Time is Now: John Cena vs. GUNTHER
- Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes vs. NXT Champion Oba Femi
- Bayley vs. Sol Ruca
- World Tag Team Champions AJ Styles and Dragon Lee vs. Je’Von Evans and Leon Slater
WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event Results:
Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes vs. NXT Champion Oba Femi
As the bell rings, the crowd chants “Oba!” Rhodes and Femi lock up, which leads to a stalemate. Rhodes drops down for an uppercut, but Femi grabs Rhodes by the throat. Femi deadlifts Rhodes off the mat and lands a thunderous uranage backbreaker. Rhodes kicks out. Femi sends Rhodes into the turnbuckle. Rhodes throws a few punches, only to get dropped by a knee. Femi launches Rhodes clear across the ring. Rhodes leapfrogs over Femi. Femi blocks Rhodes’ powerslam and lands one of his own. Rhodes kicks out again. One-armed backbreaker by Femi. Kick out by Rhodes.
Rhodes fires up and lands his powerslam. Cody cutter by Cody. Femi kicks at two. Rhodes ends Femi out of the ring. Femi destroys Rhodes with a forearm shot to the face during a dive. Rhodes sends Femi out again. Suicide dive by Rhodes. Rhodes hits the ropes and runs into a spinebuster from Femi! Rhodes kicks out! Dropdown uppercut by Rhodes. Femi clotheslines Rhodes over the top. Femi sends Rhodes flying over the commentary desk with a roaring European uppercut. Rhodes’ ear is busted open and bleeding badly. Spinebuster by Femi. Rhodes lands a super Cody Cutter by Rhodes. Both men are down. Drew McIntyre hops the barricade and attacks Rhodes, causing a disqualification.
No Contest
After the match, Femi pulls McIntyre off of Rhodes and asks him what the hell he’s doing. McIntyre and Femi argue. Femi pushes McIntyre on his butt. Rhodes drops McIntyre with a Cody Cutter. Femi chokeslams McIntyre. Rhodes hands Femi his NXT Championship, and both men celebrate.
Grade: B+
This match was fantastic until the end. Rhodes can eat a pin. Who are we protecting here? And if this was the way it had to go, Femi should have totally dominated Rhodes. The ending of this one is sure to be pretty divisive.
Bayley w/Lyra Valkyria vs. Sol Ruca w/Zaria
Ruca and Bayley trade pin attempts. Bayley tries to work Ruca’s arm, but Ruca cartwheels out of the hold. The crowd oohs. Bayley walks into a handstand ranna by Ruca. Ruca flips out of a hip toss from Bayley and lands an X-Factor. Bayley rolls out. Bayley stuns Ruca on the top. After a series of reversals, Bayley avoids the triangle moonsault from Ruca. Ruca rolls through and pops to her feet. Bayley destroys Ruca with a lariat. Ruca sends Bayley out of the ring. Handspring moonsault to the floor by Ruca! Bayley avoids a springboard splash and lands another nasty lariat. Ruca is down. Bayley sends Ruca into the turnbuckles with a sunset flip powerbomb into the corner. Bayley works over Ruca.
Read More: The Rock And Many More Pay Tribute To John Cena Ahead Of His Final Match
Ruca fires up and sends Bayley to the mat with a German suplex. Rainbow DDT by Ruca! Bayley somehow kicks out! Bayley catches Ruca mid-springboard and hits the Bayley-to-Belly! Ruca kicks out! Tree of Woe elbow drop by Bayley. Two count only! Ruca handstands to avoid the Rose Plant. Bayley blocks the Sol Snatcher and hits the Rose Plant! Ruca’s foot is on the bottom rope! Bayley dives off the top. Ruca gets her knees up! Bayley eats the Sol Snatcher! Bayley rolls halfway out of the ring. Ruca struggles to drag Bayley back into the ring. Ruca goes for a pin. Bayley counters with a roll up. Ruca reverses Bayley’s roll up and gets a three count!
Winner- Sol Ruca
Grade: B
This match was a lot of fun. Bayley let Ruca shine and went to great lengths to put Ruca over, until the weird finish. Would it have hurt Bayley to get pinned after the Sol Snatcher? The finish here was a hat-on-a-hat and put a damper on an otherwise fantastic match.
World Tag Team Champions AJ Styles and Dragon Lee vs. Je’Von Evans and Leon Slater
As soon as the bell rings, Slater and Evans superkick Lee and Styles. Styles rolls out. Evans lands a dive. Slater dives over the ring post onto Lee. Crossbody off the top by Slater. Evans follows that with a frog splash. Lee kicks out. Slater and Evans work over Lee. Lee counters a clothesline into a sit-out powerbomb. Styles drags himself back the apron and manages to get the tag. Styles unloads on Evans, who gets the tag on the other side of the ring. Ushigorshi by Styles to Evans. Styles wheelbarrow facebusters Slater. Lee sends Slater flying off the apron with a rana. Styles catches Slater and sets up a Styles Clash.
Evans superkicks Styles to save Slater. Evans obliterates Styles with the OG Cutter! Slater follows that with the Swanton 450! Lee dropkicks Evans into the pin to break it up. Evans and Lee trade shots. Lee blasts Evans with the hidden blade. Lee lands a dive. Slater sets up a Styles Clash on Styles. Styles counters and sets up the Phoenominal Forearm. Styles slips on the ropes, and Slater goes for the pin. Kick out by Styles. Slater goes up top. Styles catches Slater and hits a powerbomb. Styles transitions the powerbomb into the Styles Clash for the win!
Winners- AJ Styles and Dragon Lee
Grade: B-
This was a wild, high-flying affair that moved way too fast, but was still highly enjoyable. It’s best not to overthink a match like this one on a card like this. Evans and Slater, like Ruca and Femi, looked like top stars in this one.
The Miz rushes the ring and goes on a rant about being ignored during Cena’s retirment run. Miz demands respect. R-Truth runs down to the ring and tells Miz that Miz did something inappropriate with Nick Aldis‘ balls. Truth tells Miz he’s in trouble and hands Miz the ball with the name of the person whose spot Miz took in the “Last Time is Now” tournament on it. Miz read it. It says Joe Hendry. Hendry appears on the apron. Miz is having none of it. A brawl breaks out. Hendry drops Miz and does his pose with Truth. Truth and Hendry hit Miz with a 10 knuckle shuffle. Hendry crushes Miz with the Standing Ovation. Hendry pins Miz, and Truth makes a three-count.
Grade: B-
Fun segment. Nice to see Truth, Miz, and Hendry included here.
The Last Time is Now: John Cena vs. GUNTHER
Cena and GUNTHER lock up. Neither man can get an advantage. GUNTHER steps out to the apron to shut the crowd up. An a$$hole chant breaks out. GUNTHER boots Cena in the gut and lays in a few strikes. The crowd chants “f-u GUNTHER” as GUNTHER beats down Cena. GUNTHER destroys Cena with a chop. Cena blocks a chop and goes all five moves of doom on GUNTHER. After the five knuckle shuffle, Cena sets up the AA. GUNTHER slips out and sets up a sleeper. Cena counters and traps GUNTHER in the STF. GUNTHER breaks the hold and lands a big dropkick.
Powerbomb by GUNTHER. GUNTHER tells the crowd Cena’s done. GUNTHER walks around the ring and watches Cena struggle to his feet. Lariat by GUNTHER. GUNTHER tells the referee to count Cena out. Cena stirs and gets to his feet. GUNTHER lands another vicious lariat. GUNTHER slaps Cena in the back of the head while trash-talking. Cena gets to his feet again. Yet another lariat by GUNTHER. GUNTHER demands the ref count Cena out. Cena gets up again. Cena ducks the lariat and lands the five moves of doom, followed by an AA! GUNTHER kicks out! The crowd roars as Cena says one more time. Cena sets up another AA.
GUNTHER reverses it into a sleeper. Cena powers out and locks GUNTHER in a sleeper of his own. GUNTHER manages to get to the bottom rope. The fight spills outside the ring. GUNTHER sends Cena into the ring steps. GUNTHER sets up the ring steps next to the commentary desk for a powerbomb. Cena reverses it into an AA through the commentary desk! GUNTHER kicks out! Cena goes up top. After giving the crowd a shrug, Cena hits his old diving leg drop off the top! Kick out by GUNTHER! Cena puts up his hand to signal for a five-knuckle shuffle. Cena tells the crowd this is the last one, so he has to hear them.
The Finish
The crowd joins in as Cena tells GUNTHER that he can’t see him! GUNTHER gets to his feet before Cena can hit the move and lands a big boot. German suplex by GUNTHER. Powerbomb by GUNTHER. Cena kicks out! GUNTHER goes up top. Cena cuts GUNTHER off and hits an avalanche AA! Kick out by GUNTHER. Cena and GUNTHER trade strikes. Cena sets up another AA. GUNTHER turns it into a powerbomb. Big splash by GUNTHER. Cena kicks out at 1.5! GUNTHER is pissed. The crowd chants “Super Cena” as GUNTHER locks Cena in a sleeper.
Cena starts to fade but manages to get to his feet. GUNTHER drops Cena to the mat. Cena gets back to his feet and lifts GUNTHER for the AA. GUNTHER counters that into the choke. Cena stands up again. GUNTHER hops on Cena’s back. Cena drives GUNTHER into the ring post the break the hold. GUNTHER explodes off the ropes and locks the sleeper in yet again. Cena breaks it and hits the AA! GUNTHER kicks out and immediately locks Cena in another sleeper. The crowd chants for Cena not to give up. Cena looks to be out.
The referee checks Cena. Cena’s hand drops once. Twice. But not the third time! Cena holds his hand high in the air and powers out! Gunther obliterates Cena with nasty elbow strikes to the head. Gunther locks in the sleeper yet again. Cena struggles, but his expression changes. In the moment, you can see all the fight leave Cena’s eyes. With a slight smirk on his face, Cena taps out…
The crowd is in a stunned silence. GUNTHER celebrates as if he won the Super Bowl.
Winner- Gunther
After the match, the crowd chants BS. Cena kisses the mat as the crowd cheers. As Cena gets to his feet. The ring is surrounded by WWE Superstars and legends. Cody Rhodes and CM Punk get in the ring and put the Undisputed WWE and World Heavyweight Championships on Cena’s shoulders. An emotional Cena holds up the championships as the crowd chants, “Thank you, Cena!” Triple H hugs Cena and points to one of the video screens. An emotional video package about Cena plays. Cena takes off his sneakers and wristbands and leaves them in the middle of the ring. Cena walks up the ramp one last time.
Grade: B
Hard-hitting match with a “shocking” conclusion. Shocking, not in the sense that Cena not only went out on his shield, but did so by tapping out for the first time in 20 years. The crowd hated that, but in the end, it was the right thing to do. This match strikes the right notes of how you close a career. Cena left the WWE better than it was when he started. That was always his goal. Mission accomplished. Thank you, John Cena.
Saturday Night’s Main Event Review:
After much buildup, we have finally arrived at the last time, which happens to be right now. Cena stated that having tonight just be about him wouldn’t serve anyone, so he wanted the focus to be on the next generation of WWE Superstars. The NXT standouts were given a huge spotlight tonight, and every one of them delivered. Oba Femi dominated the Undisputed WWE Champion, only for the match to be ruined by WWE’s resident cockroach, Drew McIntyre. Regardless of the non-finish, Femi has arrived and put the entire WWE Universe on notice.
Sol Ruca was the sole (heh) NXT wrestler to get a win tonight. Bayley gave Ruca a lot, but this match also featured an odd finish, with a roll up reversal happening after a Sol Snatcher. Weird choice, but a win is a win. Evans and Slater took it to the World tag team champions in a losing effort that was still a win.
Read More: John Cena Confirms All Of The Pivots During His Retirement Tour
In the main event, Cena turned back the clock and put on his super Cena cape. It was all for naught; Cena not only went out on his shield, but he also did so via tapout. This moment will be remembered up there with when the Steak ended or the Montreal Screwjob. The crowd reaction and utter disbelief are proof positive that this ending was the right call. Cena is going away. GUNTHER is not. GUNTHER is already a heat magnet. After this, GUNTHER will have the heat of 1000 exploding suns. This is precisely what Cena wanted. Cena’s entire manifesto during this retirment run was paying it forward. So in the end, and as always, Cena wins. LOL
Rating: B
WrestleZone features weekly audio and video content on Facebook, YouTube, and your favorite podcast apps like Apple, Spotify, and SoundCloud. Subscribe now for hours of exciting wrestling content, including exclusive interviews, previews, reviews, and more!
