WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event XL Review (w/ Match Rating)

There are four matches slated for the show, each with its allure. They should be entertaining contests and may even contain a surprise or two. But the important question remains whether WWE will match the hype surrounding WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event XL. Will they deliver on the promise of a great night of wrestling? Let’s take a look.

Randy Orton vs Drew McIntyre (3/5)

Well, judging from the entrance of both men, we are going to be getting a tag team match at SummerSlam. Frankly, SummerSlam is a great place for it, bringing a mainstream audience to the Biggest Party of the Summer.

From how SmackDown went, we knew that this was going to be a match full of Logan Paul and Jelly Roll. That wasn’t a bad thing, as McIntyre and Orton still put together a good amount of action while navigating through the A-Listers at ringside.

Randy Orton and Drew McIntyre put together a tight little match. They went to the hard-hitting stuff early, and it was very entertaining. Logan Paul and Jelly Roll played their parts incredibly well. It’s awesome to see how quickly Mr. Roll has adapted to WWE. This was a great start that will hopefully lead to fireworks at SummerSlam.

United States Championship Match: Solo Sikoa vs Jimmy Uso (2.5/5)

For being thrown onto the card only recently, Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso put on a fun match. There was never going to be a ton of time given to the two men, but they did the most with it. There was some fun brawling, and the spots they included on the apron were creative and added great depth to the match.

The finish was a fresh way to use the heels to gain the advantage. We knew that this match was going to go this way, but it shows that some thought was put into it. It was nice to see Talla Tong use his height in a way not seen before. It was a fun match that used Jimmy more as a prop than anything, which will hurt the rating.

Seth Rollins vs LA Knight (2/5)

LA Knight and Seth Rollins have put together a tight program headed into this match. They know how to work a crowd and have done so expertly. They carried that momentum into this match and started well. It was a great touch seeing them sell the spear from Bron Breakker on SmackDown. It shows a consistency in WWE’s storytelling that wasn’t there years ago.

The action leading up to the finish was great, but the potential injury to Seth Rollins marred it. WWE is good at pulling the wool over our eyes, but with the quick finish, one might think that this wasn’t a work. It was anti-climactic to the entire affair, but they may not have had a choice. Here’s hoping nothing is serious.

World Heavyweight Championship Match Gunther vs Goldberg (2.75/5)

The crowd was buzzing for Goldberg’s last match. There wasn’t a ton of expectation heading into this match, considering Goldberg’s last few contests. Surprisingly, this was a very captivating match that subverted the usual Goldberg match.

Gunther focusing on the wounded knee of Goldberg was a great piece of storytelling. What was even better was that this could be the best sell job of Goldberg’s career. He did a great job of selling his knee injury, and Gunther was smart to exploit it.

This was a slower match, but with both men, it had to be. They kept the audience’s interest, though, with the great character work. Gunther worked well with Goldberg, but the eventual comeback was a little flat. There wasn’t a soul who gave Goldberg much of a chance to walk away the champion. The sleeper finish was a great way to avoid Goldberg having to eat a pin. He deserved that much for a lengthy career.

It would have been nice to have Goldberg get a longer send-off, but that’s the devil that is network television. Still, it was a better-than-average end to the career of the man they call Goldberg.