Cody Rhodes, Bronson Reed, Real Winners and Losers of WWE Sunday Night's Main Event Match Card

WWE's Sunday Night's Main Event match card consisted of five matches and was ultimately a mixed bag of an evening.

Atlanta's own Cody Rhodes squared off against Randy Orton in the main event, and similar to their previous outing at WrestleMania 42, it was a well-wrestled affair with an overbooked finish. One of the two men came across exceptionally poor with the way they were portrayed.

The show also saw Bronson Reed finally make his long-awaited return by aiding Bron Breakker in his battle with Oba Femi. Reed appeared to be in the best shape WWE fans have ever seen him in and received a raucous reaction from the live crowd.

In other action, a new United States champion was crowned and Jade Cargill's crew reigned supreme in six-woman tag team action.

These are the real winners and losers of WWE Sunday Night's Main Event.

No one emerged from Sunday Night's Main Event looking more inept than Baron Corbin.

WWE brought back The Nomad in shocking fashion over the summer and immediately inserted him into the United States Championship picture. Although Corbin regained the gold for the first time in nearly a decade at SummerSlam, it always felt like it was more a matter of when than if Williams would get the belt back.

Sure enough, the two continued to feud going into Sunday Night's Main Event, with it being established that Williams would get a rematch with Corbin for the championship if Lil Yatchy could last five minutes with Corbin.

Predictably, Corbin could have put Yatchy away at any moment but opted not to out of arrogance, which cost him in the end. The subsequent bout between Corbin and Williams was solid and culminated in Corbin's reign ending after just one month.

Despite his surging popularity, Williams wasn't exactly lighting SmackDown's midcard on fire when he last held the star-spangled prize, whereas Corbin could have been booked dominantly as champ until finally being beaten.

Corbin can still be redeemed in the aftermath of the event, but his title run short being cut short certainly makes him a lot less of a threat to the rest of the roster.

Oba Femi vs. Bron Breakker in a battle for the future of WWE was easily the most anticipated outing going into Sunday Night's Main Event. The two had a quality contest that didn't quite meet the lofty expectations had set for it, which is acceptable if the idea is for them to run it back before long.

As underwhelming as the disqualification finish was, it wasn't totally unexpected, nor was the return of Bronson Reed. The Tsunami-splashing destroyer and Breakker took turns attacking Femi to ensure he was left laying.

The bout itself was enjoyable, but Reed by far gained the most from what we got. He reemerged looking leaner and meaning than ever before and almost overshadowed Breakker during that post-match assault on Femi.

All signs point to Femi transitioning into a feud with Reed and that keeping him busy for the foreseeable future, presumably with Femi going over decisively. Although that'd be a waste of Reed's current momentum, it's imperative WWE do what they can to build him up as much as possible before then so the inevitable loss doesn't do as much damage.

Live musical acts and WWE have never gelled well together outside of entrances, yet higher-ups clearly view them as being worthwhile as seen at Sunday Night's Main Event.

WWE had already announced that world-renowned rapper Quavo rapper would be performing an unreleased track to kick off the event. Although it was perfectly fine for what it was, it had no business being on a show with so few matches, as it didn't set the strongest tone for the rest of the night.

It didn't help that it was quickly followed by Lil Yatchy being in action, and although the artist has roots in Georgia, him taking on Baron Corbin wasn't the attraction WWE likely hoped it would be. If anything, the match only made it more apparent that his role has run its course.

There's nothing wrong with mainstream celebrities such as Quavo and Yatchy occasionally appearing for WWE based on their passion for the product, but prioritizing them over others who struggle to land television time sends the wrong message and makes modern-day WWE feel more like a variety show and less like a wrestling show.

The Charlotte Flair vs. Jade Cargill rivalry has been treading water since right before SummerSlam with nothing overly interesting stemming from their segments or matches together.

Tatum Paxley's arrival has added a fun wrinkle to the storyline, but there isn't much of a need for her to continue teaming with Flair and Alexa Bliss beyond their loss at Sunday Night's Main Event. The top takeaway of their otherwise forgettable six-woman tag team match was that Cargill pinned Flair for a much-needed momentum boost.

Prior to Sunday night, Cargill hadn't won a match that mattered since before WrestleMania 42. She failed in back-to-back WWE Women's Championship matches with Rhea Ripley, came up short in the Ladder match for the interim title at SummerSlam and lost her first-ever one-on-one encounter with Flair on the subsequent SmackDown.

Cargill desperately needed to return to her winning ways if a rematch with Flair is going to have any juice. Having her pin Flair herself made it even more meaningful.

Cargill and Flair have been feuding since the spring, so it shouldn't be much longer until they collide again and settle their score so both women can set their sights back on championship gold.

WWE has had a knack this year for putting Cody Rhodes in almost impossible positions where he loses even when he wins.

Of course, the latter wasn't the case at Sunday Night's Main Event as he lost his match to Randy Orton, but the booking surrounding the finish left a lot to be desired.

Much like at WrestleMania 42, Rhodes and Orton again had an above-average encounter. All they needed to do was deliver an ending that was clean and satisfying, but they once again made matters more complicated than they needed to be with ref bumps and a low blow.

Worse yet, Rhodes exhibited heel tendencies by systemically picking apart Orton and hitting him with multiple finishers, only to get tricked by Orton into letting his guard down and eating defeat.

Orton winning was the right call, but giving him the straightforward victory instead of attempting to protect Rhodes at all costs would have been more effective. Rhodes can't be compelling as a character if he isn't allowed to evolve, or at least not be made to look foolish by falling for the same tired tropes as every other babyface.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant , and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.