Tonight, live from Detroit, it’s….wait, that’s the other American Saturday night tradition that hasn’t been on British television for years. This is the return of WWE’s Saturday Night’s Main Event after a thirteen year absence. Has it really been that long?
We begin with the various stars introducing themselves to the mainstream audience, before we move on to our first match, tag-team action as Raw’s John Cena and Triple H take on Smackdown’s Kurt Angle, Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio. Some of you may have found it surprising that such a big match was on so early, but I didn’t, given past occurrences on this show. With tons of tension between both heel/face combinations, this was a good way of opening the show, although you have to wonder when the creative team are finally going to address the John Cena situation. This supposed baby face got the biggest heel pop of the night, and the crowd went wild when Triple H turned on him, almost costing the Raw team the victory. It wasn’t enough though as Cena countered an Orton RKO attempt with a roll-up for the win.
The hype for Wrestlemania 22 then continued before we went backstage to see Booker T getting checked out by a doctor. Mr. T tells Smackdown GM Teddy Long that he can’t face the Boogeyman because of the injury, before he leaves with Mrs. T with a big smile on his face.
Talk show time with The Cutting Edge, as Lita and her main man welcome Mick Foley. There’s tons of hardcore weapons in the ring as Edge proceeds to insult the former Cactus Jack before he even enters the arena. Foley soon appears, Edge sets light to a table, and Foley brings the thumbtacks. A brawl ensues, Foley gets a head-full of thumbtacks before he takes Edge out with his own con-chair-to. Not a bad segment to build up the Wrestlemania match here.
A package looking at the Michaels/McMahon feud follows, before we go to the T’s dressing room, talking about how they fooled Teddy with the phoney injury. Needless to say the Boogeyman appears, hanging upside down from the ceiling, and the unhappy couple go running down the corridor.
Then it’s on to the beer drinking contest between the two Texas rednecks, although one of them prefers New York as his home these days. I think you can guess what happens with this one. JBL fakes his drinking prowess, obviously forgetting his APA days, before Chris Benoit makes an appearance and Steve Austin stunners the cowboy. Is it me or is Stone Cole just a one trick pony these days?
More backstage stuff, as Candice Michelle admires her copy of Playboy.
Finally, we get back to wrestling action, as Trish Stratus and Mickie James take on Victoria and Candice. Pretty much of a dud here, lasting less than three minutes, with Trish once again pinning Victoria. Ms. James didn’t even get into the match. We then get the long-awaited Mickie heel turn, and it’s kind of sad that the segment after the bout was better than the actual match.
Backstage, Mickie tells us how Trish broker her heart, before we’re told that Mr. T will now face the Boogeyman at Wrestlemania 22. Well, I guess they’ve got to fill a couple of minutes somewhere on that show.
Mark Henry and his manager Daivari then come to the ring, and call out the Undertaker. The dead man then makes his usual impressive entrance before taking out the bad guys. Let’s hope Taker can get a good match out of the strongman at the big one. We can but hope.
Then it’s time for our main event, as Shawn Michaels takes on Shane O’Mac in a street fight. Tons of sick stuff here, especially when Michaels suplexes Shane off a ladder onto a pair of tables at ringside, which draws genuine concern from Vince. Despite the interference of the boss, Shawn connects with the super kick, only for Vince to break up the pin. We then see a familiar scene as Shane locks in a sharpshooter and Vince calls for the bell.
In conclusion - while it’s good to see Saturday night’s Main Event back on the schedule, this resurrection was somewhat lacking. It didn’t have that “special” feel to it, and felt more like an edition of Raw or Smackdown. Two good bouts, but tons of talking, made this a mixed bag, although it was good to see Jim Ross back where he belonged. Perhaps this is a sign for the future, with JR commentating on the mixed-brand shows. And maybe next time, we’ll see more actual wrestling on the Saturday Night’s Main Event.
We begin with the various stars introducing themselves to the mainstream audience, before we move on to our first match, tag-team action as Raw’s John Cena and Triple H take on Smackdown’s Kurt Angle, Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio. Some of you may have found it surprising that such a big match was on so early, but I didn’t, given past occurrences on this show. With tons of tension between both heel/face combinations, this was a good way of opening the show, although you have to wonder when the creative team are finally going to address the John Cena situation. This supposed baby face got the biggest heel pop of the night, and the crowd went wild when Triple H turned on him, almost costing the Raw team the victory. It wasn’t enough though as Cena countered an Orton RKO attempt with a roll-up for the win.
The hype for Wrestlemania 22 then continued before we went backstage to see Booker T getting checked out by a doctor. Mr. T tells Smackdown GM Teddy Long that he can’t face the Boogeyman because of the injury, before he leaves with Mrs. T with a big smile on his face.
Talk show time with The Cutting Edge, as Lita and her main man welcome Mick Foley. There’s tons of hardcore weapons in the ring as Edge proceeds to insult the former Cactus Jack before he even enters the arena. Foley soon appears, Edge sets light to a table, and Foley brings the thumbtacks. A brawl ensues, Foley gets a head-full of thumbtacks before he takes Edge out with his own con-chair-to. Not a bad segment to build up the Wrestlemania match here.
A package looking at the Michaels/McMahon feud follows, before we go to the T’s dressing room, talking about how they fooled Teddy with the phoney injury. Needless to say the Boogeyman appears, hanging upside down from the ceiling, and the unhappy couple go running down the corridor.
Then it’s on to the beer drinking contest between the two Texas rednecks, although one of them prefers New York as his home these days. I think you can guess what happens with this one. JBL fakes his drinking prowess, obviously forgetting his APA days, before Chris Benoit makes an appearance and Steve Austin stunners the cowboy. Is it me or is Stone Cole just a one trick pony these days?
More backstage stuff, as Candice Michelle admires her copy of Playboy.
Finally, we get back to wrestling action, as Trish Stratus and Mickie James take on Victoria and Candice. Pretty much of a dud here, lasting less than three minutes, with Trish once again pinning Victoria. Ms. James didn’t even get into the match. We then get the long-awaited Mickie heel turn, and it’s kind of sad that the segment after the bout was better than the actual match.
Backstage, Mickie tells us how Trish broker her heart, before we’re told that Mr. T will now face the Boogeyman at Wrestlemania 22. Well, I guess they’ve got to fill a couple of minutes somewhere on that show.
Mark Henry and his manager Daivari then come to the ring, and call out the Undertaker. The dead man then makes his usual impressive entrance before taking out the bad guys. Let’s hope Taker can get a good match out of the strongman at the big one. We can but hope.
Then it’s time for our main event, as Shawn Michaels takes on Shane O’Mac in a street fight. Tons of sick stuff here, especially when Michaels suplexes Shane off a ladder onto a pair of tables at ringside, which draws genuine concern from Vince. Despite the interference of the boss, Shawn connects with the super kick, only for Vince to break up the pin. We then see a familiar scene as Shane locks in a sharpshooter and Vince calls for the bell.
In conclusion - while it’s good to see Saturday night’s Main Event back on the schedule, this resurrection was somewhat lacking. It didn’t have that “special” feel to it, and felt more like an edition of Raw or Smackdown. Two good bouts, but tons of talking, made this a mixed bag, although it was good to see Jim Ross back where he belonged. Perhaps this is a sign for the future, with JR commentating on the mixed-brand shows. And maybe next time, we’ll see more actual wrestling on the Saturday Night’s Main Event.
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