WWE's first major event of the year comes your way this Saturday, and it's not the RoyalRumble it's Saturday Night's Main Event! Live from the Bell Centre in Montreal,Quebec, Canada, the card currently features three announced matches, including one championship match (for the WWE women's tag titles) one No. 1 contender's match (between the four men who qualified on last week's "SmackDown") and one grudge match (featuring the first-ever meeting between Cody Rhodes and Jacob Fatu).
There might only be three matches announced so far, but that doesn't stop the WINC staff from feeling pretty hyped about some of them ... and somewhat less so for others. But which contest has us the most fired up to flip on SNME, and which one might make us want to flip to a different channel? Here's our biggest draw and our biggest dud for the 1/24/26 edition of WWE Saturday Night's Main Event!
If Drew McIntyre unexpectedly winning the Undisputed WWE Championship from Cody Rhodes to kick off 2026 wasn't exciting enough, the match to determine his first challenger is set to be something else. Randy Orton, Damian Priest, Trick Williams (newly called up from "WWE NXT") and Sami Zayn are set to do battle in a four-way match. The winner will go on to the Royal Rumble next week to challenge McIntyre for the gold.
There are so many reasons why this match is an exciting one. To start, any match with big stakes on Saturday Night's Main Event is already a good thing, as most of the time, these Peacock specials can use any help they can get to feel special. It's also exciting that after so many matches with Rhodes, who he's been battling since Wrestlepalooza, McIntyre is moving on to something new, rather than Rhodes just getting a rematch.
The main reason this match goes in the "draw" column, however, is due to the performers involved. "The Viper" has had his eyes on the Undisputed Championship, quite literally, for a while now. He also mentioned his 14 title reigns in a recent promo with The Miz, making his intentions for the year pretty clear. Williams defeating Matt Cardona to earn his way into the match was also exciting, as he's a super hot call-up who, even as a heel, is getting over big with fans. While he may not pull out a big SNME victory, he's likely destined for the Royal Rumble match and other great things.
Priest had been involved in what felt like a never-ending feud against Aleister Black, so him moving on to something different, and something much bigger, feels fresh. And then there's Sami Zayn, who looks like the favorite to win the match, and the competitor involved in the most interesting story thus far. Zayn has never held a top title on the main roster in WWE, despite holding the NXT Championship, along with main roster tag team gold, four runs with the Intercontinental Championship, and a US title run. He's really gunning for it, and as a fan favorite, he has plenty of support behind him.
There's a lot on the line at SNME, a show that could have been a pretty boring one just a week ahead of the Royal Rumble. Adding a match to determine the No. 1 contender for the Undisputed WWE Championship, rather than just run Rhodes vs. McIntyre back at one of the two events, is the best choice WWE has made since finally putting the gold on "The Scottish Warrior." While the winner may seem obvious, the match is looking to be a good one.
Written by Daisy Ruth
Cody Rhodes will be wrestling his first match since losing the WWE Championship to Drew McIntyre on Saturday, facing the man who indirectly cost him the title in Jacob Fatu. Honestly, the match itself on paper is quite exciting, pitting the current face of the company against legitimately one of the most ready for the main event talents on the roster. But thewhyfor this match leaves so much to be desired.
McIntyre made it clear after winning the title that Rhodes would not be getting a rematch for the title and has to go to the back of the line, and there will be a four-way on Saturday to determine the first challenger for his title when the Royal Rumble hits Riyadh.So that obviously left Rhodes to direct his anger at Fatu, who chose the third fall of the Three Stages of Hell match a Steel Cage bout to make his return and attack McIntyre. Rhodes, for what reason I really don't know, decided to stop Fatu from attacking McIntyre when he could have minded his own business and walked out with his title. Fatu then attacked Rhodes because ... again, I don't know ... and that allowed McIntyre to crawl out of the cage and win the title. McIntyre won the title; nice.HowMcIntyre won the title; not so nice.
It is very hard to ignore how stupid this entire situation is. Fatu has an issue with McIntyre. Rhodes has an issue with McIntyre. Neither were involved in the tournament to determine the new No. 1 contender, although they will be in action that same night against one another. And the reason for them to face one another is because one wants to get back at McIntyre and another wants to get back at McIntyre so they have to face one another with no guarantee that they will get a chance to get back at McIntyre.
Yeah, that makes no sense, even if it is a bit "current state of the world" coded. Rhodes has already declared for the Rumble, and one can surmise with their great detective skills that Fatu will be in the Rumble. So this is an uber meaningless match, and one that really screams non-finish at that. What a waste of a first-time dream match.
Written by Max Everett
