WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event Results As Cody Rhodes Cheats, Defeats Drew McIntyre

At WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event, Drew McIntyre got his shot at redemption, another opportunity to take the WWE Championship from Cody Rhodes.

SmackDown’s top two stars have been at each other’s throats over the past couple of months, with Rhodes defeating McIntyre controversially at WrestlePalooza last month. Last week on SmackDown, the Scottish superstar got a modicum of revenge when he faced Rhodes in an impromptu match and won via disqualification.

But that wasn’t enough for McIntyre. SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis booked McIntyre vs. Rhodes in a highly anticipated rubber match for Saturday Night’s Main Event in Salt Lake City, where the former three-time world champion looked to reclaim WWE’s biggest prize. Of note: Rhodes agreed to a stipulation on SmackDown that if he was counted out or disqualified, McIntyre would win the WWE Championship.

ForbesWWE Saturday Night’s Main Event 41 Match Card, Start Time And OddsBy Blake Oestriecher

WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event Results for Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre

For the second time in as many months, WWE Champion Cody Rhodes eked by Drew McIntyre and left Saturday Night’s Main Event still holding SmackDown’s most prestigious championship.

In the third match between the two stars, McIntyre and Rhodes battled back and forth in an evenly matched contest that looked like it was shaping up for McIntyre to pull of the upset. Instead, Rhodes managed to defeat McIntyre after a DDT onto the WWE Championship and a Cross Rhodes to keep that covered belt around the waist of “The American Nightmare.”

Among the biggest highlights of Rhodes’ victory at Saturday Night’s Main Event were:

• Early on, Rhodes nearly failed to stop stomping on McIntyre to break the five-count and then inadvertently made contact with the referee. Rhodes then remembered that he could lose the title via disqualification or countout.
• After a few minutes of domination by McIntyre, Rhodes hit McIntyre with a massive superplex. Eventually, Rhodes nailed a Disaster Kick and went for a Cody Cutter, but McIntyre reversed into a spinning Blue Thunder Bomb-esque slam for a close two-count.
• McIntyre hit a huge spinebuster for two and a powerbomb for another nearfall. McIntyre brought the WWE title into the ring to tempt Rhodes into disqualification, Rhodes took the belt and tossed it to the ref, allowing McIntyre to hit a quick Claymore Kick for the closest nearfall of the match thus far.
• McIntyre hit a running shoulder back to knock Rhodes off the apron, sending him crashing through the announce table. Rhodes barely beat the countout at 9.
• Rhodes ducked to avoid a second Claymore Kick and avoided a Future Shock DDT. As Rhodes ran to the turnbuckle, the referee got in the way and messed up Rhodes’ attempted Super Cody Cutter. A minute later, Rhodes was able to connect with the Cody Cutter anyway for his closest two-count yet.
• McIntyre avoided a Cross Rhodes and then pushed Rhodes into the referee, laying him out. Then, McIntyre smashed Rhodes with a Glasgow Kiss as the referee remained down on the canvas.
• McIntyre nearly destroyed Rhodes with the WWE Championship but missed, and both stars ran into each other as they each attempted a running crossbody block. With the WWE title on the ground, Rhodes hit a DDT onto McIntyre on top of the title, then tossed the title to the outside. Rhodes picked up McIntyre and blasted him with a Cross Rhodes to get the pin for the 1-2-3.

Rhodes is in the midst of his second WWE Championship after defeating John Cena for the title at SummerSlam in August.

WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event Results: What’s Next for Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre?

Although Cody Rhodes defeated Drew McIntyre at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event, it’s unlikely that McIntyre is firmly in his rearview mirror.

SmackDown, of course, has been decimated by injuries to stars like Jacob Fatu and an imbalanced roster that has overloaded Raw with top stars. While two marquee victories over McIntyre would normally be enough for Rhodes to move on, WWE’s PLE schedule suggests there is more to come for this red hot rivalry.

Survivor Series 2025 is just four weeks away, and WWE doesn’t have enough time to create another compelling WWE title rivalry for Rhodes in that time frame. There has, however, been little to suggest that Rhodes and McIntyre will be on opposing sides of a WarGames match, which means their best bet is one last singles bout, especially after Rhodes’ controversial victory on Saturday.

There should be concern within WWE’s creative room about what these losses are doing to McIntyre, who is arguably WWE’s best all-around performer and deserves some better booking. But quite frankly, WWE hasn’t really given itself many options in terms of formidable does for McIntyre, so this is about all it can do right now.

WWE, even with Rhodes winning at Saturday Night’s Main Event, essentially has no other choice but to extend his feud with McIntyre through Survivor Series. With McIntyre having another legitimate gripe after losing in tainted fashion in Salt Like City, expect McIntyre to work his way into one last title match very soon.