TJR: WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event May 23rd Preview
It’s WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event, featuring The Vision facing The Street Profits for tag team gold, Penta battling Ethan Page, Becky Lynch against Sol Ruca, and more.
I normally don’t write previews of WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event specials, but I have some time this morning, so I figured I’d do a quick preview with some thoughts on the card.
There are five matches set for this show that usually run 2 hours exactly, but sometimes it can go longer than that. Three of the five matches are women’s matches, which is great to see. There are also three title matches, but none of the four major WWE/World Titles are on the line. I’m not that surprised by it because the Clash in Italy PLE takes place on Sunday, May 31st, and there will be bigger matches on that show. I’m not sure what the main event of this show will be, so I’ll just list the Intercontinental Title match last.
This was written before SmackDown on May 22nd. You can watch Saturday Night’s Main Event STREAMING LIVE May 23 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Peacock in the United States and YouTube internationally.
===
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: Brie Bella & Paige (c) vs. Irresistible Forces – Nia Jax & Lash Legend
It was a nice story at WrestleMania when Brie Bella and Paige won the Women’s Tag Team titles because it was Paige’s return to WWE after many years away. But does that mean they should be long-term tag team champions? I don’t think so. Jax and Legend winning the titles again makes a lot of sense.
I think if Nikki Bella were healthy, then she would have won the titles with Brie, and maybe they would have gotten a title reign that lasted a few months. This Brie/Paige title reign seems like a temporary run that’s been a nice story, but I don’t think of them as long-term tag team champions. I also think Nikki will be back by June, and then she can win the titles with her sister sometime this summer or later in the year. I’m going with a title change here.
Winners AND NEW Women’s Tag Team Champions: Nia Jax & Lash Legend
===
Becky Lynch vs. Sol Ruca
This is non-title, even though there were some mistakes in WWE graphics claiming it was a title match. It makes sense that it isn’t a title match, since Ruca has to earn it. I think since it’s non-title, it makes sense for Ruca to win to earn a shot at the title. It reminds me of the Becky Lynch-Maxxine Dupri feud, where Dupri eventually won the title, and she lost it back to Lynch. I think Ruca has more potential than Dupri and will be a bigger star long term, but I’m just saying, in terms of the story, it feels similar, where Lynch is dismissing a younger wrestler, thinking they don’t have a shot at winning, and then it will happen.
I think the story of the match should be Lynch trying to cheat to win throughout the match, she fails to get the win, and Ruca hits a Sol Snatcher for the victory. If Ruca wins relatively clean, then it gives her credibility going into the title match when it happens, whether it’s at Clash in Italy or down the road. This should be very good.
Winner: Sol Ruca
===
WWE World Tag Team Championships: The Vision – Logan Paul & Austin Theory (c) vs. The Street Profits – Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins
It’s nice to see a Tag Team Title match on a card that is almost a PLE, but not quite. While I would love to see The Street Profits as the World Tag Team Champions, I don’t think it needs to happen here. Paul and Theory have held the titles for a short time, so I think that title reign should continue for at least another month or two.
There’s not a lot of depth in the WWE tag team division right now, so you might as well build it up even more and have the Profits get the title at a later date when there’s more of a story going into the match. It wouldn’t shock me if Bron Breakker helps Paul & Theory retain. Seth Rollins could also show up, try to stop Breakker, and accidentally cost the Profits the match to continue that story of Rollins having no allies. Paul and Theory do a good job as heels, and the fans love the Profits duo of Ford & Dawkins, so it should be an entertaining match.
Winners: The Vision – Logan Paul & Austin Theory
===
Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss vs. Jade Cargill, Michin & B-Fab
It’s not official as of this writing, but Jade Cargill has made it seem like she’ll get a rematch for Rhea Ripley’s WWE Women’s Title at Clash in Italy next Sunday. With that in mind, it makes sense to give Jade a win in this match by having her pin Ripley, but perhaps it will be Flair or Bliss since Ripley is booked strongly all the time. The other obvious finish is to have Michin or B-Fab take the pin since they are obviously the weaker part of their trio, and if you want Ripley to look strong as usual, then beating B-Fab is an easy way to end it.
The babyface team of Ripley, Flair, and Bliss has had issues with Flair not sure if she can trust Ripley, while Bliss is trying to get them on the same page. That could lead to the finish with Ripley accidentally hitting Flair, and Cargill capitalizing to win. My lean is for Cargill to get the win, so that’s my pick.
Winners: Jade Cargill, Michin & B-Fab
===
Intercontinental Championship: Penta (c) vs. Ethan Page
Penta has done a fine job as a fighting champion, while Page got the pinfall in a tag team match to earn this title match, so at least there’s a story going into it.
I don’t know if this will be the main event, but Penta is on the main WWE graphic for this show, so it might be the last match on the show. Penta has been champion for a few months, while Page has been on the main roster for about a month, so if Page were to win the title, then it would be a quick win for him. While I like Penta a lot, Page is absolutely one of my favorites as a fellow southern Ontario, Canada guy, and I think having him win the title one month after joining Raw is a great way to establish him as a credible wrestler while he’s still “new” on Raw. I’m going with a new IC Champ.
Winner AND NEW Intercontinental Champion: Ethan Page
===
BONUS TOPICS FOR WWE SATURDAY NIGHT’S MAIN EVENT!
The Match I’m Looking Forward To The Most
Penta vs. Ethan Page
The Match I Think Will Be The Best
Becky Lynch vs. Sol Ruca
Longest Match
I don’t think anything on this card will go longer than 20 minutes. I’ll go with The Vision vs. The Street Profits around 15 minutes.
Shortest Match
The Irresistible Forces vs. Brie Bella & Paige
Excitement Level on a Scale of 1-10 (1 being low, 10 being high)
I’m at 7.25 out of 10 for this show. It’s a solid card that should fly by quickly over two hours on Saturday, but it’s not really a must-see lineup or anything like that. I expect a bunch of good matches, although I don’t believe there will be any great matches that stand out that much.
I’ll be back with a review of Saturday Night’s Main Event on TJRWrestling.net on Saturday. You can also tweet me on X/Twitter at @johnreport as well.
If you want to send an email, send it to me at [email protected]. Thanks for reading.