Veteran NFL writer and Pat McAfee Show correspondent Mark Kaboly gives his predictions for Saturday Night’s Main Event from Tampa, Fla., on May 24 live on NBC and streaming on Peacock at 8 ET/7 CT.
R-Truth vs. John Cena
Is there anybody more deserving than R-Truth to have at least a small part in John Cena’s Farewell Tour? OK, you can make an argument for The Miz, and let’s hope that’s on the docket by the end of the year as well, but I digress. Make no mistake about it, this should be a fun match, and that’s what it needs to be, and that’s fine. Without the Undisputed WWE Championship title on the line, anything is possible in this match, and that includes Truth stunning Cena and coming away with an improbable victory. Don’t count that out. Now, it might not knock the senses back into Truth’s “childhood hero,” who just happens to be five years older than the 48-year-old Cena. With the title not up for grabs, it suggests that R-Truth can pull off the unthinkable and defeat Cena (and what a feel-good story that would be), but I don’t expect that to happen. Instead, this is a perfect opportunity for Cena to advance his bad-guy persona and ruin wrestling like he wants to. Imagine this: Truth’s admiration of Cena eventually gets to the champ to the point where it appears that he realizes these wrongful ways, just to turn and pull out his new favorite move of the low blow to beat the lovable Truth. Truth gets his spotlight match, and Cena continues to march closer to ruining the business forever. Everybody is happy.
Prediction: John Cena def. R-Truth
Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre (Steel Cage Match)
I at least have one surefire prediction for this match – somebody is going to leave the Steel Cage on a stretcher. McIntyre wouldn’t have uttered those words while accepting Priest’s challenge inside the steel structure if it wasn’t going to end up turning out that way. The question is who will be carted out of the ring and who will be gloating for doing such? That’s why we watch, right? The Priest/McIntyre rivalry has been boiling over since WrestleMania 40, with a brief hiatus there after last year’s Money in the Bank Triple-Threat Match. With Priest and McIntyre being two of the more physical Superstars, there is a need for something just as physical for this to work. These are the two guys who can pull that off, hence, the Steel Cage Match. Both Priest and McIntyre had brief title runs recently, but neither was able to sustain their success. Whoever wins this one will change that trajectory. McIntyre’s last time in a steel structure (Hell in a Cell) turned out to be a virtuoso performance against CM Punk. That was brutal … and entertaining. And this one has all the necessary ingredients to be even more jaw-dropping, which if it plays out like I suspect, it will allow Priest to take some much-needed time off to heal some wounds afterwards.
Prediction: Drew McIntyre def. Damian Priest
CM Punk & Sami Zayn vs. Seth Rollins & Bron Breakker
If Sami Zayn snaps on CM Punk, would anybody be shocked? For me it’s not if, but when Zayn turns to the dark side after months upon months of teasing that possibility. Off the top of my head, I can name a half dozen times since before Survivor Series that it seemed like a prime opportunity for Zayn to turn bad. Yet, it hasn’t happened. Punk already has beef with Zayn, which doesn’t make the thought of Zayn turning his back on him seem unrealistic. On the flipside, Punk has always done some of his best work by himself. To me, this match is more about Punk and Zayn than the matchup with Rollins and Breakker. Zayn doesn’t feel like a Heyman Guy to me, so I wouldn’t anticipate that switch-over would happen there. This is a difficult one to get a read on because Rollins and Breakker are so new to each other that you tend not to bring them into the situation at all in Tampa. I am tempted to say that some shenanigans will go on that will force Punk to despise Zayn more than he does, but I can’t go down that road quite yet. Now, maybe an ‘accidental’ Helluva Kick to Punk that cost them the match, but that’s as far as I’m willing to go.
Prediction: Seth Rollins & Bron Breakker def. CM Punk & Sami Zayn
Jey Uso (c) vs. Logan Paul (World Heavyweight Championship Match)
The last time – and only time – Jey Uso held a singles title, the Intercontinetal Title lasted all of 28 days around Uce’s waist. Saturday will mark the 37th day since Uce won the World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania 41. That in itself should tell you who is likely going to come out on top in this match. There is no way that Uso can get the title and then let is slip from his hands twice within a span of a month or so without killing all the momentum he’s gathered during the Yeet Era. This match is ripe for zig and a zag in terms of maybe not who wins, but what happens afterwards. We all want to see something happen outside the match itself, but, for the most part, PLEs usually are more straightforward than the weekly programs, so a big surprise would be, well, a big surprise. Still, you cannot ignore Gunther’s role in all of this. I guess he could invoke his rematch clause against Uso after losing at WrestleMania 41, but he was quite clear that he thought of Logan Paul on Monday night (he thought he was a phony). I’m not expecting outside interference, but I do expect to see a Triple-Threat of Uso vs. Paul vs. Gunther coming out of this at Money in the Bank on June 7 at the Intuit Dome.
Prediction: Jey Uso defeats Logan Paul to retain the World Heavyweight Championship
Zelina Vega (C) vs. Chelsea Green (United States Women’s Championship Match)
In a late addition to the card, Green not only gets her first singles match since dropping the U.S. Women’s Title, but she also gets her rematch against Vega. Vega took the title away from Green – the inaugural U.S. title holder — a month ago at SmackDown and has yet to have a chance to get it back. It is the only women’s match on the card, but it does pit the entertaining Green against the up-and-comer Vega. With both having backup in the way of Michin and B-Fab, and Piper Nevin and Alba Frye, shenanigans might ensure in this matchup. If that happens, you have to go with the challenger.
Prediction: Chelsea Green defeats Zelina Vega
