Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s regular review of "WWE Saturday Night's Main Event," the show that appears to have drastically shaken up the top of the WWE roster, though not in the way some thought it might. Goldberg's last match was just that, it turns out, as GUNTHER successfully defended his recently regained World Heavyweight Championship and brought the veteran's career to a definitive close as a result. Potentially more impactful, however, would be the loss of Seth Rollins, who appeared to injure his knee during his match with LA Knight and ate the pin like a man who knew he wasn't going to be around for a while. The WINC staff don't have anything to say about that beyond the fact that we hope Rollins' injury isn't serious and that he recovers soon.
We do have opinions about Goldberg vs. GUNTHER, however, as well as Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton,Solo Sikoa vs. Jimmy Uso, and the return of Bianca Belair! Be sure to check out our "SNME" results page if you missed anything from the show; if you want to know what WINC thought about it, here are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 7/12/25 episode of "WWE Saturday Night's Main Event."
While many WWE fans online seems to be up in arms about Jelly Roll jumping into WWE to do a storyline going in to SummerSlam and working at match at "The Biggest Party of the Summer," the thing I'm hating most about all of this is the fact that Drew McIntyre is aligning himself with Logan Paul, of all people. Tonight, Randy Orton and Jelly Roll put out the challenge to McIntyre and Paul after the YouTuber got involved in the country star and Orton's business last night on "SmackDown" and during Orton's match with McIntyre tonight, where Jelly Roll was at ringside.
Celebrities and wrestling go hand-in-hand as far back as the Rock 'n Wrestling era, so it's not Jelly Roll who bothers me at all in this situation. I really like him as an artist and singer and it seems like this is something he really wants to do. It's also likely to bring a lot of fresh eyes to the WWE product at SummerSlam. My issue is with McIntyre, who just came back from a little break away from TV, who has to team with Paul in this storyline, and that sucks. While McIntyre is a heel, he's a cool heel. One that fans still like to cheer for, whichit seem like WWE doesn't really mind, since he moves merchandise and sells tickets. It's really unclear to me why they would even tempt fate with pairing him up with Paul.
And it doesn't seem like a partnership of necessity, either. Paul and McIntyre were spotted heading in to the arena together tonight, in videos that were splashed all over WWE's social media. You could convince me somehow that McIntyre begrudgingly needs to be alongside Paul to get this match to get back at Orton, but when he's seen hanging out with the controversial YouTube star, that's obviously not the case.
Paul has consistent go-away heat that I wouldn't want McIntyre anywhere near in a buddy-buddy kind of partnership. Especially one that involves a celebrity as big as Jelly Roll that's going to garner a lot of mainstream media attention. Obviously, McIntyre seems fine with it, personally, but it's just not something I'm excited about.
Written byDaisyRuth
When you're a wrestling booker planning a surprise return, the chances of your plans getting spoiled are very real. There is always a set of ears backstage working for the dirt sheets (I acknowledge that we are part of the problem), or a fan with a camera who is a bit too ready to post your talent's incoming flight onto social media. Spoiled returns are such a real concern in the business, that a return kept a secret is a rarity. Combine that rarity with the task of making a return good impactful to the promotion's ongoing narrative climate, just spectacular enough to be worth the audience's while without being gratuitous, overbooked nonsense, emotional enough to resonate with said audience and you have a return that is rarely both well-done and kept a secret.
Luckily, Bianca Belair has always been a cut above the rest.
Aside from the occasional Tennessee appearance, Belair has been largely absent from WWE programming since her first-ever WrestleMania loss against IYO SKY. Belair made her return to broadcast, however, in valiant fashion at Saturday Night's Main Event, where she was announced to be the special guest referee for Naomi and Jade Cargill's upcoming No Holds Barred match at Evolution II. Atlanta came alive for Belair, who looked stunning as ever, and Naomi and Cargill both looked troubled as the third member of their past Big 3 stable came to confront them in the ring.
First things first this was a beautifully kept secret by WWE. Hot take, but surprises are the most impactful when we, you guessed it, are surprised by them! I did not anticipate Belair coming back at all this weekend. There have been no reports about her return timeline, no whisperings about her in backstage creative meetings or call sheets, no leaked airport appearances, nothing. Belair's return was tightly under wraps, and it made her return to WWE programming all the more worthwhile. It might be tempting to dismiss this efficient secret-keeping as a result of the circumstances around Belair's return: there's a difference between, say, Cody Rhodes' return to WWE at WrestleMania 40 versus Belair's return to referee a match at Evolution. However, when you consider the starpower Belair has she is literally the female face of the company at this point and the essential role she has in Naomi and Cargill's storyline, it's easy to see how big of a deal it is that this secret was kept so well.
That's the second part to this: I love how Belair was so easily integrated into the Evolution card. I'm assuming she's cleared to take bumps and compete after Evolution II, but even if she isn't, this is a great way to put her on Sunday's upcoming card. As previously mentioned, Belair is the female face of the company: what is an all-women's WWE premium live event without "The -EST?"
It's hard to keep returns a secret, and it's hard to do returns well. Luckily, Belair is the b-EST at both.
Written by Angeline Phu
I'm well aware that Jesse "The Body" Ventura never seems to be fully caught up on the WWE product whenever he hosts Saturday Night's Main Event alongside Joe Tessitore, but darn it, he certainly seems like he at least tries a little bit. And even if he didn't, he's such an integral part of the show that he just has to be there. Tonight, he was in the opening portion of the show, welcoming fans to the event alongside Tessitore for what felt like such a short moment after all of the other wrestling that went on today, but after that, he was gone from the rest of the show. Or, at least from our television screens for the evening. "The Body" never sat down on commentary alongside Michael Cole and Wade Barrett.
Perhaps it can be argued that was a good thing, as maybe he'd be a little brash and make things awkward when Mr. Money in the Bank Seth Rollins went down with an injury and LA Knight had to wrap up their match with a super-quick BFT, but I would think they'd have him on the call for the main event match, as they usually do. Maybe there are issues between Ventura and Goldberg, but none that I can recall off the top of my head, and I personally would have found it extremely amusing to hear what he had to say about his fellow WWE Hall of Famer. Maybe that was also WWE's thought, that Ventura's commentary would be distracting over a serious World Heavyweight Championship match that actually was Goldberg's retirement bout.
Even so, putting Ventura on another match, like say Solo Sikoa's United States Championship defense against Jimmy Uso would have got him on the show and all of us at home would have heard his voice for a good, nostalgic moment we almost always expect from these simple, two-hour NBC specials. There wasn't much wrong with Saturday Night's Main Event as a whole, but I really did find myself missing Ventura's quips on the desk, and I'm hoping WWE takes that into consideration before the next event. Hopefully everything is okay with Ventura and he's able to be back on commentary soon.
Written by Daisy Ruth
While his twin brother has spread his wings into the "Main Event" Jey Uso, beating Gunther for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania, it has undoubtedly been a far different and arduous road for Jimmy Uso in the land of "WWE SmackDown." The last of the OG Bloodline fighting the battle against the new tribe of the same name, he has been fighting a losing battle against his younger brother and the mercenaries he continues to amass, watching his enforcer Jacob Fatu arise to claim the United States Championship and then, just as Fatu had become an unlikely ally for him, forced to watch Sikoa take that title and remove Fatu from the equation.
That left Uso a man on his own at Saturday Night's Main Event, challenging for the title in a bid to stamp his own mark in singles competition as the only member of The OG Bloodline not to have held a singles title. And that in itself worked for the story of the bout, with Uso fighting on while literally being surrounded by adversaries, denied every chance at victory by disruption after disruption until the finish came, a roll-up with the help of Talla Tonga. Was it a great match? Not really. But was it ever going to be the sort of bout to do that? Again, not really.
It was a perfectly solid first defense for Sikoa, and one that made sense within his own personal story, the story of Uso, and the story of the Bloodline. WWE's Polynesian soap opera continued with the timely return of Fatu after the bout, preventing the Bloodline from making a further example of Uso, and positioning him directly opposite Sikoa as SummerSlam season kicks into action. But at the same time, he notably appeared after the bout had concluded, and not during the bout where Uso was having several liberties taken with him. That's a small thread with potential to explore, especially given Sikoa has already made it clear he wants his brother back in the fold.
Written by Max Everett
I can't believe I have to write this 24 hours after singing Solo Sikoa's praises. It's rough being a Sikoa fan out here.
New United States Champion Solo Sikoa took to WWE's July edition of "Saturday Night's Main Event" to defend his title against his older brother, Jimmy Uso, in singles action. At least, it was meant to be singles action, but with Sikoa's M.F.T.s present at ringside, you can guess what happened. After a decent match, Sikoa's M.F.T.s stormed the ring to run interference, with JC Mateo, Tonga Loa, and Talla Tonga all taking measures to ensure that their stable leader secured the victory down to Tonga assisting Sikoa in a roll-up pin cover for the victory.
I've turned to enjoy Sikoa's character, but this is exactly why I think people are hesitant to take him seriously. You can't build up a credible villain if he refuses to do anything with outside help. I know you're screaming "they're heels!" and "that's what they do!" at your screens right now, but be real with yourself. Why was Roman Reigns such a threat in the early days of his Universal Championship reign? Reigns defeated Jey Uso on his own at Clash of Champions 2020 he didn't need any outside help. Drew McIntyre didn't need help when he made Punk bleed during his lengthy feud with the Chicago native in 2024. You don't build guys into threats by giving them an entourage of people to win their matches for them, face or heel. You build guys by having them win their matches themselves. If Sikoa only wins by having Tonga help him during a roll-up pin cover, who do you think looks strong? Is it Sikoa, or is it his M.F.T.s, with the power fragmented and divided amongst its members so that, individually, they are weak?
The latter interpretation could actually be pretty cool at least, it could be if Sikoa was not a singles champion. He's just holding a midcard championship right now, but it is still gold around his waist. The gold symbolizes power of the individual, not power in a team or a faction (those are tag titles, ideally). If you want the story of Sikoa's M.F.T.s to be strength in numbers, have them run through the tag division. You can't just slap gold on Sikoa's waist and call it a day you especially can't just slap gold on Sikoa's waist and book him so that he's incapable of retaining it without any inside help. Like, is that not a grown man who is the supposed and advertised leader of his faction? Why does he need someone's hip securing a roll-up pin?
Jacob Fatu's return was cool and all a well-kept secret, similar to Belair's return to WWE programming but the more I think about the preceding match, the more irate I become. I want to like Sikoa, I really do, but he needs to be legitimate. Please, show me that he can retain this title on his own.
Written byAngeline Phu
The horror scenario going into "Saturday Night's Main Event" was one that had happened the last few times Goldberg had got the wrestling bug, the idea of one more match stretching into one more title run and halting the momentum of the full-time champion in the process. It was one that drew an audible groan from some corners of the fandom, given that Goldberg is 58 years of age and over five years older than he was forthatmatch with The Undertaker, and was never one to be known for his wrestling range in the first place.
What transpired went much in the other direction, leaning into the fact that Goldberg is not the performer he was while always possessing that ability to pull off a flash finish. He was just too slow, not powerful enough, and outdone in almost every way by his much younger opponent. They started with a striking exchange, and in the early goings Goldberg gained the advantage and looked to set the pace.
The action was taken to the outside, where the striking exchange continued, leading to Goldberg's first mistake as he went for a Spear but put himself through the barricade; Gunther had the wherewithal to avoid the move at the last moment. Goldberg was too slow again for another spear attempt back in the ring, with Gunther again avoiding the move, only rather than a barricade taking the impact it was referee Charles Robinson. That bump saw Gunther slightly contort the rules, ripping the knee brace from Goldberg and targeting the stem cell-repaired limb. He then paraded the brace in front of Goldberg's son, Gage, who was stood at ringside, prompting him to go after his father's tormentor only to be stopped by security.
That gave Goldberg a credible window of opportunity, hitting a spear followed by the Jackhammer to Gunther for the pinfall only he had knocked the referee over, effectively costing himself the title. Gunther eventually kicked out when another referee entered the fold, and Goldberg had given everything he had left, falling prey to the sleeper hold that strangled the life out of his career. It was probably the perfect sendoff for Goldberg at this stage, cementing Gunther as the monster of this generation by felling the titan of a bygone era, and in such a way that sells the idea of time being the ultimate adversary.
Written by MaxEverett
