Posted on 1/25/126 by Bob Magee
The night is Saturday. The event is Main. The time is now!
WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event from Montreal, Quebec,
Canada (mere literal steps from my own door) kicked off with
Stephanie McMahon on the host’s desk solo because Joe
Tessitore was apparently stuck in an airport due to weather.
Speaking of weather, she mentioned that it was dang cold
(-7f) but hot in the building! She then asked if Montreal
was ready in French. I think that’s a legal thing.
After the opening video package, the traditional footage of
wrestlers arriving to work was shown, but with a twist. In
this footage, most were shown in the building having coffee
or looking at Montreal Canadien’s Stanley Cup trophies.
Cody Rhodes vs Jacob Fatu
The first match of the evening looked to set a brutal tone
early with a shirtless Fatu yelling at Rhodes through the
camera before stomping down to the ring. Rhodes arrived to a
huge ovation wearing the skull mask/helmet he borrowed from
HHH. All of my heart wishes he’d start wearing it all the
time and revert back to “Dashing” Cody, but we can’t all get
what we want.
Fatu jumped Rhodes as he climbed into the ring (See? Should
have kept the helmet on, Cody!) and the two started
brawling. The ref was knocked over right away and the bell
hadn’t even rung yet. Officials flooded the ring and tried
to calm it down for some reason. Then security arrived to
pull apart the guys who were about to fight anyway,
confirming, as always, that there is no one as inept as a
WWE security guard.
Fatu went into a zone formerly held by Ken Shamrock and
leapt off the ringpost, taking out Rhodes, the officials and
security. Rhodes got to his feet and the two brawled up the
ramp. Rhodes threw Fatu back into the ring to clothesline
him right back out again. Rhodes landed a suicide dive and
then posed on the announce desk.
He cleared the desk, but Fatu tried to get out through the
crowd. Rhodes followed and they brawled in the crowd. Fatu
backdropped Rhodes on the concrete, but Rhodes got up and
tossed him into some road cases. Fatu dumped Rhodes into the
lower bowl seats and the fought up the steps towards the
dreaded concessions area.
Rhodes threw a garbage can or three at Fatu while Jaime
Noble begged them to stop. Fatu started choking Cody and a
poor security guard who got in the way ate a slam through a
table from Fatu. Rhodes fought back and the fight moved back
into the stands. They brawled back down the steps with Fatu
bending Rhodes around the railing.
They made it back to the floor with “twenty security guards”
in tow. They climbed up on some boxes and another guard who
got in the way got tossed to the floor. Suddenly, Drew
McIntyre appeared and did what twenty guards could not and
took out Fatu. He then powerbombed Rhodes off the boxes and
through a table.
McIntyre then wandered over to the ring and climbed inside,
taking in the fruits of his labor.
Match Result: Cody Rhodes vs Jacob Fatu never got started,
so no contest? I guess?
Fun brawl, but I was kinda looking forward to the match.
Also, I have to ask, why didn’t someone just ring the bell?
Is there some rule I don’t know about where everyone has to
be calm and cool before a match can officially start? Any
way, a great, raucous start to the nights festivities.
-Back from break, we got a promo for WWE2K6 that will have a
“Monday Night War” edition as well as an “Attitude Era”
edition. I’ll just come out and say it: AREN’T THEY THE SAME
THING?!?!
They recapped the brawl we all just saw (for all) and Drew
McIntyre stomped through the back to talk with Cathy Kelly.
McIntyre said that anyone coming for his title can expect
the same treatment he just gave Fatu and Rhodes.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Match: Rhea Ripley & IYO
SKY [c] vs Liv Morgan & Roxanne Perez
RHIYO got a big pop as expected, but surprisingly, given her
heelish nature, so did Liv Morgan. LIllian Garcia did her
thing as only she can do and All seemed right with the world
for a moment or two.
Sky and Morgan kicked things off literally as Morgan ate a
dropkick. She bounced back though, throwing a back elbow out
of the corner. Perez tagged in and they went for a double
suplex, but Sky fought them off and took out Perez with a
chop block.
Perez tried to crawl out of the ring, but Sky caught her.
The ref took a moment to fix the ring apron for some reason
and Morgan snuck in a quick choke of Sky on the ropes.
Morgan tagged in and hit a codebreaker, but Sky kicked out
at two in the ensuing cover.
Morgan threw Sky around with some Three Amigo’s suplexes,
but again, Sky kicked out while Ripley salivated on the
apron. Perez came back in and laid some elbows into the back
of Sky’s head. Sky reached for a tag, but Perez held her
back, stomping her ankle.
Sky counted with a rollthrough double stomp, and two hot
tags were made. A smiling Ripley stepped into the ring with
Morgan and immediately threw her at the ground a lot. She
hit a fallaway slam and let out a scream before dropkicking
Morgan clear across the ring.
Ripley went for a Riptide, but Morgan countered into a
codebreaker. Ripley caught her though and picked her up for
a Razor’s Edge. Morgan wiggled free and tagged in Perez, but
Ripley did not care. She headbutted Morgan and then dropped
a big boot into Perez’s face.
Ripley dragged Perez up the turnbuckle, but Perez fought
back and Morgan grabbed a blind tag. She ran across the ring
to knock Sky off the apron and Perez countered Ripley into a
headscissor from the top rope. Morgan then hit a
codebreaker, but Ripley kicked out at two.
Morgan and Ripley stayed legal with ripley getting Morgan up
and landing a Razor’s Edge. Sky punctuated it with a missile
dropkick, but Perez snuck by Ripley and broke up the pin.
Perez went for an around the world head scissor that put
Ripley on the mat head first.
Sky tagged in with a prone Morgan in the corner and charged
for a Bullet Train, but Morgan dodged it and hit a spinning
crucifix for a two count. With Ripley on the outside, Perez
and Morgan double teamed Sky until she fought back and took
out Morgan. Perez went for a sunset bomb, but Sky countered
with a kick to the face.
Sky went up top for Over the Moonsault, but Perez got her
feet up and hit a Pop Rocks. Perez went for the cover, but
Sky kicked out at 2.75.
Ripley came back in and picked up Perez. She head butted her
and then hit a Rip Tied. She tagged Sky who naked her over
the moonsault and went for the pin. Before the ref could
count to three though, Raquel Rodriguez arrived and dumped
Ripley on him.
She dragged Sky to the outside for a powerbomb and then
suddenly Stephanie Vaquer hit the ring and got the best of
Rodriguez with a kick over the barricade and then a splash
in the crowd.
Back in the ring, Perez tried to steal one by pinning Sky,
but Sky kicked out. Perez tagged in Morgan who it an
Oblivion. Ripley tagged in blind and nailed her with a
Riptide before stacking her up and getting the 1-2-3 to
retain the titles.
Match Result: Rhea Ripley & IYO SKY defeated Liv Morgan &
Roxanne Perez
That was a killer match! Everyone got a chance to shine and
the interference was minimal and made sense. The crowd has
hotter than fresh poutine and it was a joy to watch. 17
Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwiches out of 10.
-Back from a commercial, they went right into the next match
which by process of elimination was:
AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura
It’s likely you’d be hard pressed to find anyone in the
wrestling world not looking forward to this match. AJ
arrived with his special Japan mask and Nakamura made his
entrance like it was Black & Gold NXT, both popping the
crowd huge.
The bell rang and they took it in, taking their time to lock
up. Nakamura grabbed a headlock, but Styles shot him off the
ropes and they locked up again. This time, Nakamura went for
a side headlock takedown. They wrestled through a few
technical exchanges before Styles went for a leapfrog off
the ropes, but Nakamura hit him with a dropkick.
They reset and locked up again, with Nakamura pushing Styles
to the ropes. He backed off at the ref’s request and the two
eyed each other. Nakamura told Styles to “come
aaaaaaaahnnnnn!” and he did, landing a dropkick and a
backbreaker.
Styles pushed Nakamura to the corner and Nakamura punched
him in the gut. Styles responded with an elbow, sending
Nakamura to the outside. Styles then leapt over the ropes
onto him, squishing him into the floor. Styles tossed
Nakamura back into ring and caught a kick to the back of the
head.
Nakamura laid Styles over the ropes and hit him with a
running knee. Nakamura then dropped a knee onto Styles face,
keeping control of the pace of the match. Nakamura grabbed a
headlock and shoved Styles into the corner and stood on his
neck. Nakamura went for a stomp, but Styles rolled though
and popped up with a clothesline.
Styles hit a sliding forearm and then hit a neckbreaker, but
Nakamura kicked out of the cover at two. Styles went for the
Styles Clash, but Nakamura was having none of it and
countered with a running knee. He started kicking Styles in
the chest until he dropped to the mat.
Nakamura hit a sliding German suplex off the second rope and
then nailed Styles with a flying knee. Styles kicked out of
the cover though. Nakamura set up for Kinshasa, but Styles
got out of the way and pulled him down for a calf crusher.
Nakamura screamed in pain and crawled to the ropes to break
the hold.
Styles wrapped Nakamura’s knee around the ropes and wrenched
it before dragging him to the middle for another calf
crusher. Styles held it on for what seemed like 10 minutes,
but Nakamura wouldn’t tap. Nakamura almost made it to the
ropes, but Styles pulled him back and tried to reset the
calf crusher. Nakamura used that to turn the tables slap on
a triangle choke.
Styles lifted Nakamura up for a Styles Clash, but Nakamura
got out of hit. Styles then hit a massive knee into the chin
of Nakamura, knocking him senseless. Styles got to his feet
first and limped over to Nakamura on the mat.
Styles picked him up and the two started trading forearms.
Styles hit a Pele kick, but that opened him up to a Kinshasa
to the back of the neck. Nakamura went to the corner and
went for another Kinshasa, but his knee gave out. Styles hit
one of his own, but Nakamura grabbed the ropes to stop the
count.
Styles hoisted Nakamura up on his shoulders and hit a
spinning slam for a two count. Styles went for a a suplex,
but Nakamura countered and tried another sliding German, but
again his knee gave out on him. Styles hit him with a
running knee to send him to the outside. Styles pulled him
back in and went for the Phenomenal Forearm, but Nakamura
caught him and hit a driver for a 2.5 count on Styles.
Styles threw a back elbow, but Nakamura took him down with a
sling blade. Styles hit another Pele kick, sending Nakamura
back to the mat. Both men were down, with Nakamura clutching
his leg.
Styles got to his feet and so did Nakamura. The two traded
chops and forearms and kicks to the hamstrings. Nakamura
threw a headbutt and when Styles lunged he caught him in an
armbar. Styles rolled it through into a pinning combination,
but Nakamura kicked out, then kicked Styles.
Nakamura went for a Kinshasa, but Styles blocked it and set
him up for the Styles Clash. Nakamura got out of it and went
for another Kinshasa, but Styles dodged and Nakamura hit the
ringpost. Styles leapt up and landed a Phenomenal Forearm
followed by a Styles Clash to finally put an end to it, 1-2-
3.
Match Result: AJ Styles defeated Shinsuke Nakamura
Holy crap in a hat that was amazing! What a match! I’m so
glad these two had a chance to have this match after some of
their lesser ones. It was back and forth the whole way and
told an incredible story the way that only these two could
tell. If some of the newer talent in the back wasn’t taking
notes on that match, I bet HBK has them doing it on Monday.
57 Montreal Road Work Pylons out of 10.
-The scene shifted back to the Host desk and Stephanie
McMahon. She caught everyone up on what’s happend so far in
the show. She then set up the Fatal Four Way Main Event and
threw to footage of Sami Zayn arriving to work to a huge
ovation. She then threw to the match that started right–
— after a promo for Wrestlemania in Las Vegas and then some
commercials.
Undisputed WWE Title No. 1 Contender’s Fatal 4-Way Match:
Randy Orton vs. Trick Williams vs. Damian Priest vs. Sami
Zayn
Orton made his way to the ring first, ensuring us that the
people in his noggin were still talking to him. Priest took
one look at Orton’s entrance and said “you call that
sauntering?” and walked with purpose to the ring. Williams
was next, but really he was just the cooldown entrance for
Sami By God Zayn.
I’m not selling this short when I say that when the “let’s
go” in Zayn’s music hit, the Bell Centre and most of
downtown Montreal shook like the stands at a Metallica show
at Olympic Stadium (google it). Zayn made his way to the
ring, soaking in every bit of hometown energy he could.
At home, Kevin Owens silently watched, a single tear forming
in the corner of his eye as he fondly reminisced about all
the times he powerbombed Zayn onto the ring apron (the
francophonest part of the ring!)
The bell rang and Williames bailed from the ring. Orton went
for an early RKO, but missed, sending Priest out. That left
Orton and Zayn to kick things off while the crowd screamed.
Williams grabbed Zayne by the ankle and dragged him out of
the ring. Orton followed and took out Williams. Priest
launched himself off the steps and took out Orton and
Williams.
In the ring, Priest and Zayn fought, with Priest tossing
Zayne from corner to corner. He went for a suplex, but Orton
got involved with a headbutt, sending him back out. Orton
and Zayn locked up with Orton throwing him into the corner.
Zayne reversed it, feeding Orton some punches of his own.
Williams chose then to make his presence known, stomping on
Orton and shoving him out of the ring. He then turned his
attention and fists to Zayn, punching him and soaking up the
boos. Williams threw Zayn into Orton then hit a neckbreaker
on Zayn for a two count. He threw Zayn into the corner,
bouncing him off the turnbuckle.
Zayne then fired up and threw some chops, but Williams hit
him with a spinning kick. That allowed Priest to slam
Williams for a two count. Priest then set up Zayn for a
piledriver, but Zayn countered with a tornado DDT. The ole’s
started in earnest as Zayn caught a returning Orton in a
blue Thunder Bomb attempt. Orton blocked it though and
landed a powerslam before clotheslining Williams out of the
ring.
Orton grabbed Priest and dropped him with a dripping DDT.
Williams came back in just in time to get kicked in the gut,
which allowed Zayn to hit the Blue Thunder Bomb on Orton for
the legally required two count. Orton crawled to the corner
and Zayn charged for a Helluva kick, but Williams
interrupted him.
Priest threw feet at Williams who slid out of the ring.
Priest followed and charged, but Williams hit a Book End on
the barricade, which gave Zayn a chance to land a dive on
both of them through the ropes.
Orton picked up Zayn on the outside and Zayne countered it,
slamming him on the announce table. Zayne scrambled back
into the ring and hit a Helluva Kick on Priest, but Williams
pulled the ref out of the ring before the three count could
fall.
Orton then grabbed Williams and slammed him onto the
announce table. Then he grabbed Zayne and did the same. Then
he grabbed Priest and they shared a nice soda pop. NO! He
slammed him on the table as well. Then for good measure, he
did it again to Williams.
Orton tossed Williams back into the ring, but Williams
rolled away. That left Orton open for a rollup from Zayn,
but only a two count. Orton then hit the ring post off of a
charge as Zayn got out of the way. Zayn went up top, but
Orton moved. Orton went for an RKO, but Zayn dodged it. Zayn
fired up and went for a kick, but Orton landed an RKO.
Williams ran in and grabbed Orton, tossing him out to try
and pin Zayn, but Priest broke it up before the ref could
count to three.
Priest and Williams traded shots on the ring apron, with
both knocking each other silly so Orton could hit a double
draping DDT off the ropes. Orton got pumped up for an RKO,
but Williams blocked it and threw Orton at Priest who hit a
chokeslam. Williams tried to steal one again, shoving Priest
out of the way for a two count.
Priest rolled out in time for Zayn to hit Williams with an
exploder in the corner. Zayn ran for the helluva kick, but
Williams moved and Zayn tweaked his knee on the ropes.
Williams went up top, but Zayn ran up and grabbed him.
Priest then hit Zayn and got him with a Razor’s Edge. Priest
then turned his attention to Williams, which left Priest
open for the Helluva kick and Zayn made the pin to get the
victory and head to the Royal Rumble against Drew McIntrye
for the WWE Undisputed Championship!
Match Result: Sami Zayn defeated Randy Orton, Trick Williams
and Damian Priest
After the match, Drew McIntyre tried to get the drop on
Zayn, but Zayn saw it coming (probably becuase he’s seen
wrestling before) and tossed him out of the ring. Zayn then
stood tall with fireworks and a massive crowd ovation as the
show went off the air.
That was one of the best Saturday Night Main Events they’ve
done so far. Four great fights, three great matches two
awesome outcomes and the one and only Sami Zayn. 107
Canadiens Stanley Cups out of 24!