WWE recently announced the return of the very popular "Saturday Night's Main Event" after a 13 year hiatus. This two-hour special show will air at least twice this year on NBC. The first will be on March 18 at 8 p.m. EST.

I expect this show to be a good one. With WWE getting a chance to not just be in prime time on a Saturday night, but to be on a network such as NBC, they are sure to put on a show to draw in new viewers who will hopefully follow up by tuning into Raw and Smackdown on Monday and Friday nights respectively.

Let's take a look at what the upcoming Saturday Night Main Event is offering us thus far:



WWE CHAMPION JOHN CENA & TRIPLE H vs. REY MYSTERIO, RANDY ORTON & WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION KURT ANGLE (Handicap Match)

This match takes us closer toward Wrestlemania 22 which airs on April 2. The two opponents for the belt on Raw, John Cena and Triple H, will have to team for a night against the three opponents for the belt on Smackdown, Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, and Kurt Angle. Obviously, this one should be interesting since there is bad blood on each team yet both sides want to take a home a win to their prospective shows. There may be a third participant added to the Raw side to even things out but it doesn't seem as though that is going to happen at this point - but things change fast with WWE as we know. I wouldn't mind seeing Edge on the Raw team considering his bad blood with Cena, short title reign, and strong heel persona (which will help Cena to get the cheers he needs as the baby face - or good guy).

No belts are on the line so this should be an all out brawl both between teams and within teams. That's a lot of talent in one ring and a group we haven't seen wrestle together since they are on different shows. I am looking forward to how WWE progresses each storyline and how the fans react to the teams and individual participants. Will the fans boo John Cena as seems to be the case these days? Or will Triple H get the boos? What about on the Smackdown side? Randy Orton is the mega heel on that side and should be booed. I doubt Rey will be heckled as he is a very popular babyface. Angle seems to have a diverse fan base and people love to hate him. He still gets the "you suck" chants but most fans recognize his talent and respect it.

Who do I think will win? Well, if I were a betting woman, I would bet it would be someone from the Raw side. Considering the odds are heavily in favor of Triple H winning his Wrestlemania bout against John Cena, it would be nice to see Cena get the win.

Conversely, I hate to see Smackdown represented as a "B" show and wouldn't mind seeing any one of the three take home the win.

Expect cheating, infighting, and brawling as well as good wrestling.



"HBK" SHAWN MICHAELS vs. SHANE MCMAHON (Street Fight)

Continuing the storyline from last week's Raw where Stephanie (Yes, she really is pregnant) McMahon drugged HBK causing him to lose a match against Shane and then, an impromptu match against Vince, I can see this match going either way. I expect that Shawn will beat Vince at Wrestlemania 22 but that's not a lock. Vince is known for his "screw job finishes" as we all know.

With Shawn being humiliated by Shane and Vince, even having to pucker up and kiss Vince's backside (in quite a gross scene), I sure hope he gets the win. However, expect Vince to saunter down to the ring at some point and have some involvement to keep their WM feud fresh in people's minds.

I have no idea what physical shape Shane is in at this time but he more than held his own in the past against good grapplers so I am not too worried that this will be a throw away match. It should further the McMahons vs. HBK storyline and make us really want to see Shawn Michaels kick Vince McMahon's butt at Wrestlemania. Look for all sorts of screw jobs and cheating, crazy bumps, and interference with very little actual technical or chain wrestling. This one will be for the spectacle and storyline.

Since this is a street fight, weapons and interference are legal so expect plenty of both. Often street fights have no clear winner unless one opponent takes a major bump off of a ramp or has an equally shocking "injury" for the definitive win. I wouldn't put it past Michaels and McMahon to have a big spot like that prepared or this show.

Obviously more matches will be announced this week leading up to the show.

Rumor has it that Jim Ross will make his return to WWE TV on this show as well. I cannot independently confirm that but it would be a great vehicle in which to bring Ross back to TV and I know the fans would love it. There has been some talk of bringing JR back for Wrestlemania as well but, in what capacity, I don't know just yet.

I will keep you informed of the remainder of the SNME card as well as any new info I get on the show.

Mark your calendars or set your DVRs or VCRs for March 18 from 8 -10 p.m. EST for the resurrection of one of the most beloved and popular wrestling shows of the past. If this show goes well and draws a big rating, maybe we will get to see more than an occasional WWE interpromotional show on Saturday nights!

News will be up soon. I will have a separate column for that and will alert you when the column is up.

My son had his appendix out today and I am toggling between the hospital and home but hope to have the news column up very soon!

See you on the forum!

Patty

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