WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event Preview (December 14, 2024): Cody Rhodes Better Watch His Six

It’s been a while since I used this account, right? Anyway, for my return to the Cageside Seats, I’m going to steal Cain A. Knight’s gimmick and preview the first Saturday Night’s Main Event (SNME) special in 16 years — and the 37th overall, airing live tonight from Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Long Island, New York. Let’s not waste any more time and get right to work!

Cody Rhodes better watch his six

The main event of tonight’s 2 hour event is Cody Rhodes vs Kevin Owens for the WWE Undisputed Championship. When KO found out that Cody will be teaming up with perennial rival Roman Reigns at Bad Blood to take on Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu, he was mad to say the least. After that, PLE went off the air – and the unlikely Cody/Roman tandem picked up the Duke – Owens went straight to The American Nightmare to confront him about it right in front of Rhodes’ personal tour bus, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Since that moment (which could be a shoot or a piece of work, depending on who you ask), we’ve seen a darker and more deranged side of The Prizefighter, even by his standards. He has grown into a paranoid, delusional schizo who believes that Cody, by teaming up with his longtime rival and the man he dethroned to end history, even if only for one night, betrayed him and his mission of destruction The Bloodline. From interrupting a women’s match before it’s even started to injuring one-time friend Randy Orton with an pile driver, Owens has quickly built a reputation as a dangerous rule breaker who flips upside down on SmackDown, which of course has him in the crosshairs . by Nick Aldis, resulting in numerous suspensions and stay-at-home orders (or ‘being censored’ as Kevin would have you believe).

However, Cody has finally had enough, and tonight it all comes to a head in a deeply personal, white-hot rematch from Bash In Berlin. Rhodes managed to retain the title in Germany despite a knee that looks dodgy, but this time he’ll have to be ever on his guard if he wants to repeat that moment and continue to have the gold around him. Owens, on the other hand, is hell-bent on revenge and will do anything to finally become top dog again and in the process hurt Cody both physically and mentally. And we haven’t even considered a potential Orton return! Will he stand by Cody’s side and cost his former tag partner the match? Such a mystery!

So the million-dollar question is: Who will walk out of Long Island as the champion and set the course for the blue brand moving forward? Tune in to NBC at 8ET/5PT (or stream it live via the Peacock simulcast) to find out!

Another place on the map…

• The first ever WWE Women’s United States Champion will be decided tonight as Michin and Chelsea Green battle it out in the tournament final. Both women have an equal chance of making history in this writer’s opinion, and it will be fun to see the contrast between the tough Michin and bubbly Chelsea.
• Heavyweight World Champion Gunther got his rematch against Damian Priest at Survivor Series, surviving the challenge thanks to interference from Finn Balor. Balor was originally set to go one-on-one with The Ring General for the strap, but Raw head honcho Adam Pearce decided ‘nuh uh, Priest gets another shot at the title! IT’S NOW A TRIPLE THREAT, BOYS!” With this stipulation, Gunther now has less of a chance to continue his reign, so he needs to be on top of his game tonight.
• Another place on the red mark, Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan will defend her gold against Iyo Sky who won a #1 contender Battle Royale last month in (redacted). With both The Judgment Day and Damage CTRL waiting in the wings, this could quickly get messy.
• Drew McIntyre’s back and after Claymore beats the living daylights out of Sami Zayn, he gets a singles match against him. If his feud with CM Punk was any indication, The Scottish Psychopath will certainly continue to live up to his moniker.
• Triple H is going all out with the retro vibes tonight – not only is Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura back on commentary for the first time in literally decades, but the set is also expected to return to the Rock & Wrestling feel of yesteryear, which is totally sure is a nice change from giant LED screens plastered everywhere. Plus, Cody can bring The Winged Eagle out of mothballs tonight. Party like it’s 1985!

To summarize…

WWE is really making the most of SNME’s return with a WrestleMania card and nostalgic production quality that will appeal to old and new fans alike. It should be a fun night all around, and with their new media rights deal with NBCUniversal calling for four of these a year (20 total, judging by my rudimentary math), we should definitely expect more legendary moments to be added to it great Saturday Night’s Main Event pantheon for years to come.

Are you looking forward to seeing SNME’s grand return tonight? Tell me in the comments below, Cagesiders.