WWE Sunday Night's Main Event Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights

WWE returned to Peacock for the first-ever Sunday Night's Main Event special, headlined by a WrestleMania 42 rematch between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton.

That match headlined a jam-packed card that could have doubled as a live event special, at least on paper.

Did the card deliver, and how did each match grade out?

Find out the answers to those questions and more in this recap of the primetime special.

Announced in advance of Sunday's show were:

Charlotte Flair, Tatum Paxley, and Alexa Bliss vs. Jade Cargill, B-Fab, and Michin

Last Time in Action: Baron Corbin defeated Carmelo Hayes (SmackDown, August 14); Lil Yachty has never wrestled a WWE match

Played to the ring by his fellow rap superstar, Quavo, Lil Yachty took to the squared circle Sunday night with one goal in mind: last five minutes in the ring with United States Champion Baron Corbin to earn Trick Williams a United States Championship Match.

Corbin predictably steamrolled Yachty, outside of a few teases of offense for the underdog, and had him beaten more than once. His hubris got the best of him, though, and Yachty crotched him on the top rope as time expired, passing the test.

The Nomad responded by chokeslamming him through a table in time for Williams to hit the ring for his title opportunity.

Lil Yachty survived the five-minute time limit

This was exactly what it needed to be. Yachty showed enough to keep the fans invested and Corbin's arrogance cost him. The match was a lot of fun and the crowd was red-hot for all of it.

Corbin is, and has been, criminally underrated by fans for so long that performances like this, where he worked his ass off to sell the story against an untrained rapper, fly under the radar. He was great here in what served as further evidence of why management trusts him to walk back in the door and win a title right away.

United States Championship Match: Trick Williams vs. Baron Corbin

Last Time in Action: Trick Williams lost to Baron Corbin (SmackDown, August 7); Corbin lost to Lil Yachty (Sunday Night's Main Event, September 6)

Still smarting from the humiliation of failing to defeat Lil Yachty in five minutes, Corbin faced the unenviable task of immediately defending his United States Championship against Williams.

He weathered the storm early, worked over Williams to the midway point, and survived a late-match cyclone boot by kicking out at the last possible second.

Williams regained the United States Championship in a molten-hot match that saw him survive a shot to the face with the title belt, then rock Corbin with a Trick Shot to secure the win and his second reign with the gold.

Williams defeated Corbin to win the title

Williams and Corbin have deceptively strong in-ring chemistry. The match at SummerSlam may have underwhelmed but the rematch on SmackDown last month and this were exponentially better. This was a fantastic match that played on spots from their previous encounters and the crowd erupted for Williams regaining the gold.

Does Corbin quietly move out of the championship picture or hang around? One would think they have accomplished all they could with the Williams-Corbin story for now, so perhaps it would be best for him to graduate to the WWE title picture, after the company wraps up the five-way feud currently ongoing.

Last Time In Action: Oba Femi defeated Brock Lesnar (SummerSlam, August 2); Bron Breakker defeated Joe Hendry (Raw, August 3)

Paul Heyman introduced the battle for WWE's future between Oba Femi and Bron Breakker, and both men shined in a hard-hitting, physical battle.

The Ruler dominated early, overwhelming The Badass often and leaving him reeling. The second-generation star fought his way back into the match, taking Femi over the announce table and mounting a comeback that saw him showcase his own strength and fury.

Late in the match, Femi survived a spear, sent Austin Theory sailing through the commentary table, and withstood an attempted brass knuckle shot following interference from Logan Paul and Maxxine Dupri.

As he prepared for the victory, though, Femi caught a nasty chair shot to the back from the returning Bronson Reed. The Auszilla delivered three Tsunamis to Femi, split only by a pair of spears from Breakker.

One last Tsunami from Reed put a bow on the heels' beatdown of The Ruler while also serving as a message to the rest of the Raw locker room that The Vision is still very much a threat.

Femi defeated Breakker via disqualification

Femi blasted Breakker with a chop to the chest on the ring apron that sounded like a rifle shot. It was an extraordinary visual and audio moment.

Theory continued to be the rag doll for The Vision, taking the big bumps that the others in the group either will not or cannot at this point. His flat-back bump through the commentary table made for a fun moment late.

This match was exactly what it needed to be: physical warfare featuring two young stars vying to be the guy moving forward, with a surprise return to propel the story forward. Reed looked great, here, so much so that he may have actually overshadowed Breakker in the closing minutes of the segment.

Last Time in Action: Charlotte Flair and Tatum Paxley defeated Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid (SmackDown, September 4); Alexa Bliss lost to Jade Cargill (SmackDown, July 10); Jade Cargill lost to Flair (SmackDown, August 7); B-Fab and Michin defeated Tiffany Stratton and Chelsea Green (SmackDown, July 31)

The ongoing rivalry between Jade Cargil and Charlotte Flair, and their many associates, wrote its latest chapter Sunday night in Atlanta in a Six-Woman Tag Team Match pitting The Queen, Bliss, and Paxley against The Storm, Michin, and B-Fab.

The action was wild and chaotic down the stretch, with Flair and Cargill starring late. As Paxley attempted to join Flair in a stereo Figure Four, B-Fab kicked her off, sending her headfirst into The Queen.

Cargill capitalized, drove Flair to the mat with Jaded, and scored the win in front of her fans and friends.

Cargill, B-Fab, and Michin defeated Flair, Paxley, and Bliss

There was a lot of action in this one but it broke down late in the contest before the finish. It was perfectly acceptable wrestling, but it very much feels like this feud is on a treadmill, with Paxley providing the only real update in recent months.

Speaking of Paxley, she has seamlessly transitioned to the main roster and if the reaction for her entrance was any indication, she figures to be a big fixture in the women's division.

Last Time in Action: Cody Rhodes lost to CM Punk (SummerSlam, August 2); Randy Orton lost to Rhodes (WrestleMania, April 18)

The Viper attempted to slither his way into the ring and attack The American Nightmare from behind before the bell Sunday night, but failed as Rhodes was ready for him.

The fight spilled into the stands as Rhodes punished Orton, showing the intensity and aggression he teased Friday on SmackDown. It did not change as the match returned to the squared circle and finally got underway.

Orton turned the tide in his favor and systematically picked apart Rhodes, grounding him and working over his former protege. At ringside, she slammed the former WWE champion into the commentary table, further punishing him. A momentary lapse, though, led to him confronting Brandi Rhodes at ringside and absorbing a drink to the face as a result.

Still, he recovered, cut off Cody's flurry of offense, and downed him with a big powerslam. The American Nightmare delivered the Cross Rhodes for two.

Orton finally caught Rhodes with an RKO, but only after referee Charles Robinson took a big bump.

Rhodes recovered and blasted Orton with the ring steps, busting him open. Back in the ring, the unhinged babyface delivered a super cutter, then added three Cross Rhodes. He set up for a punt that would have put Orton down, but the future Hall of Famer begged off and Rhodes gave him the mercy he asked for.

A cheap low blow to both Rhodes and replacement referee Eddie Orengo, followed by an RKO by Orton, earned the Legend Killer the victory.

This was the Rhodes we have needed to see for months. He was excellent here, aggressive and punishing. He was relentless, until he was not, and lost because of his momentary hesitation.

Orton resorting to groveling like a proper heel showed a new side of him, too, as he resorted to the most pathetic display. Yes, it benefited him, but it suggested we may be seeing a new side of the third-generation star, too.

Corbin was tasked with carrying the first 30 minutes of this year's show, and he succeeded spectacularly.

Not only was he fantastic in the five-minute sprint against a non-wrestler in Lil Yachty, but he also had a really fun title defense against Trick Williams. He did not leave Atlanta with the gold, but he was fantastic and made his case for a bigger role on SmackDown.

The first hour of Sunday's show was great, with the US title drama and the Oba Femi-Bron Breakker match. The back half was so-so, with an OK women's tag match and a Cody Rhodes-Randy Orton match that was really strong for two-thirds of it before falling off the rails with some unneeded overbooking.