For the first time in 16 years, WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event is back. The special two-hour event, loaded with a five-match lineup, will simulcast on NBC and Peacock later tonight while emanating from the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. As an added bonus, WWE Hall of Famer Jesse “The Body” Ventura will be on call for WWE SNME, which he says will be a “throwback” to the old days.
Four of the five in-ring contests will see championships put on the line, while the other pits Sami Zayn against Drew McIntyre in singles competition. “The Scottish Warrior” made an explosive return to WWE television by attacking Zayn and Jey Uso on the December 2 episode “WWE Raw.” The following week, Zayn called out McIntyre, who claimed that he and Uso “sold out for absolutely nothing” when they teamed with Roman Reigns in this year’s Men’s WarGames at WWE Survivor Series. The war of words later escalated to physicality, as McIntyre again attacked Zayn from behind, leading to a subsequent brawl backstage.
Elsewhere, Cody Rhodes will defend the Undisputed WWE Championship against the increasingly-rageful Kevin Owens. Rhodes and Owens spent most of the year as allies, especially as the latter repeatedly helped the former fend off the new and original Bloodline. At WWE Bad Blood, however, Rhodes threw his past grievances with the OG Bloodline out the window when he sided with Roman Reigns in a tag bout against Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu. Feeling betrayed by Rhodes’ move, Owens went into a spiral, which eventually led him to assaulting both Rhodes and Randy Orton.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship GUNTHER will also be in action as he raises his title up against Damian Priest and The Judgment Day’s Finn Balor in a triple-threat. For Balor, this will mark his first televised world title shot since WWE SummerSlam 2023. For Priest, this marks his second attempt at regaining the WWE World Heavyweight Championship after losing it to GUNTHER at this year’s SummerSlam premium live event. WWE SNME will be GUNTHER’s fourth televised title defense, having previously retained it with wins over Sami Zayn, Randy Orton, and Priest.
Meanwhile, IYO SKY cashes in her long-awaited title shot when she challenges Liv Morgan for the WWE Women’s World Championship. SKY earned this title opportunity on the November 4 episode of “WWE Raw” by outlasting her competitors in a battle royal. Morgan, who’s now held the championship for over 200 days, has been largely preoccupied with her long-standing rival Rhea Ripley in recent weeks, but at WWE SNME, all her focus will finally be on “The Genius of the Sky.”
Rounding out the card is a history-making match in which WWE will crown its first-ever Women’s United States Champion. The title was first introduced as a “SmackDown” exclusive last month, with its counterpart, the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship, later being added to the “WWE Raw” brand. The WWE Women’s United States Championship tournament began on November 15 and has now come down to two, with Chelsea Green and Michin advancing to the finals by picking up wins over Bayley and Tiffany Stratton, respectively, on “WWE SmackDown.”
