TNA Wrestling X-Division Champion Leon Slater has detailed his experience competing at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13, 2025, as well as a backstage talk with Triple H after his match.
After a year-long WWE farewell tour, John Cena wrapped up his 23-year career at Saturday Night’s Main Event in Washington D.C. on December 13, with the 17-time world champion bowing out with a loss to GUNTHER.
The magnitude of Cena stepping away from WWE made the show one of the company’s biggest non-WrestleMania events in recent memory, and with the rest of the card designed to put a spotlight on younger stars from NXT, WWE’s future was as well represented as it’s past.
While the opportunity was a major one for all NXT talent involved, the most surreal ingredient came in the form of TNA Wrestling X-Division Champion Leon Slater – with WWE giving both he and his home promotion a major spotlight by having him take part.
Slater teamed with fellow 21-year-old Je’Von Evans to take on then reigning WWE World Tag Team Champions AJ Styles and Dragon Lee, with their match being an electric one packed with highlights from start to finish.
Discussing his participation in the event with The Sun, Slater admitted that the whole thing “almost feels like a fever dream”:
“I’ll see clips from that night of like John being stood in the ring and putting his armbands and his and his and his sneakers and I was like, bro, I was stood right there! It almost feels like a fever dream, but it was real.
“That whole day was just magical. For the match, I couldn’t have asked to be around better people. AJ, who’s one of my absolute idols. And then Dragon, another super hungry, young guy that’s been smashing it and I used to watch his work when he used to wrestle all over the world. And then obviously, having Je’Von, one of my best friends as my partner was another dream come true.”
While the match itself was “magical,” Slater was greeted by an equally surreal experience once he came back through the curtain, as he saw a “who’s who” of legends lined up in Gorilla:
“I remember very distinctly as we walked back from that match, it was a good feeling. I remember trying to take it all in. And then I come in Gorilla, and it was like a who’s who of legends was stood there and I was like what is going on, like I can’t believe my life right now.
“Triple H was in the chair there, Bruce Prichard was sat next to him, Michael Hayes is there. The Undertaker stood at the back of the room, Shawn Michaels is there. I walk out of Gorilla and Kurt Angle‘s there, RVD’s there; like everyone that I’ve ever watched growing up just seemed to be there, and it truly was a magical day, man. It was wicked.”
Leon Slater Recalls “Really Cool Chat” With Triple H Backstage
As mentioned by Slater, WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H was among the legends backstage at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event, and “The Game” took time to chat to the TNA star after his match.
Recalling the chat, Slater said it was “really cool” for Triple H to make time for him considering how busy a night it was for everyone:
“After the Saturday night’s main event match, I had a really cool little chat with Triple H where he pulled me to a side for a couple of seconds, and spoke to me in Gorilla, and especially on a night like that where there’s so much going on and I am far from the priority, I thought it was very cool of him to do that when he doesn’t need to.
“And I’ve had a bunch of experiences like that, man, like I can’t sing enough praises for how I got treated during my couple of months with WWE at the tail end of last year.”
To make sure you stay up to date with all the biggest wrestling and WrestleTalk news, follow us on Threads by clicking this link!
Comments.
Loading comments…