5 Ups & 1 Down From WWE Saturday Night's Main Event (24 January - Results & Review)

2. If You’re Not Going To Do A Finish…

Clearly, WWE had no intention for either Cody Rhodes or Jacob Fatu to take a loss on Saturday, so rather than have them work a 10-minute match that ended in a double-disqualification, they did something much better.

Fatu jumped Cody during his entrance pose on the ropes, touching off a chaotic brawl that moved around the ringside area, into the crowd, up the steps, onto the concourse, and back into the arena. The two men battered each other – and every security guard that came within arm’s length of them.

Rhodes and Fatu had managed to keep their powder dry on SmackDown the night before, but things boiled over before the bell ever rang. The only thing that united them was dispatching a security guard who stepped between them, so they tossed him off a ledge onto a pile of security goons below.

The night didn’t end well for either of them, thanks to WWE Champion Drew McIntyre, further reinforcing the decision to not even bother with the pretense of having an actual match.

What really is notable is that Saturday’s brawl was a complete 180 from Friday’s restrained heat when Jacob interrupted Cody’s sit-down interview. By holding off on any physicality and just building tension, Saturday came off as their anger boiling over – only for the world champion to exert dominance over both.

A triple threat between these superstars didn’t sound appealing on paper heading into SNME, but now it actually is intriguing. That’s not a ringing endorsement, but it’s certainly an upgrade. Fatu’s electric performance on back-to-back shows is the X-factor here – his involvement could be what makes bringing Cody and Drew back together a WrestleMania-worthy program. Time will tell.