WWE is set to arrive in Salt Lake City, Utah, this weekend to present the November edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event. This will be the fourth rendition of the event this year and the fifth since the company brought back the show concept from the 1980s. The show will kick off at 7 p.m. EST.
The last Saturday Night’s Main Event took place in July and was where legend Goldberg had his final match, when he went one-on-one against the “Ring General,” Gunther, for the World Heavyweight Championship. This event is a lead-up to Survivor Series: WarGames and will feature four title matches, including three of them being for world titles.
Fans have criticized the importance of Saturday Night’s Main Event in the past and whether it is worth keeping up with the product during the buildup to the event. WWE, however, forced the audience to pay attention with how many world titles are on the line. Let’s take a look at what will be presented this Saturday with the first exclusive Saturday Night’s Main Event on Peacock.
Intercontinental Championship: Dominik Mysterio (c) vs. Rusev vs. Penta
This match has been brewing since the end of September, when Rusev took on Dominik for the Intercontinental Championship. Before the match, Penta had his sights set on the Intercontinental title and made sure both competitors knew that. Both Rusev and Penta got a one-on-one match for the title in the last few weeks, but in Mysterio fashion, he cheated to win both matches.
At this point, Penta and Rusev are both reasonably frustrated after getting cheated out of their respective matches for the title. This set up a No. 1 contender’s match between the two. However, the match ended in a double disqualification as Los Americanos ran in and attacked both superstars. General Manager Adam Pearce knew that Mysterio was the mastermind behind the attack, so he announced a triple threat between Mysterio, Rusev, and Penta for the Intercontinental title at Saturday Night’s Main Event.
This match has the chance to steal the show, with all three superstars being great workers and having shown good chemistry with each other. A title change is not out of the realm of possibility, as Mysterio has held the title since WrestleMania 41. It is nice to see a midcard championship featured on a show like Saturday Night’s Main Event, especially following a solid feud between the three competitors.
WWE Women’s Championship: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Jade Cargill
This feud has always had a weird dynamic between the two. Fans claim both superstars work better as heels, but neither one was a heel — both were babyfaces. Tiffany Stratton and Jade Cargill have been going at it for literal months now, dating back to when Cargill won the Queen of the Ring in June. These two battled for the WWE Women’s Championship at SummerSlam in a short but entertaining affair. Stratton picked up the win, but the feud did not stop there.
The women’s main event scene has only featured three superstars for the last few months: Stratton, Cargill and Nia Jax. Naturally, a triple threat was set up between all three for the women’s title back in September. Stratton retained after a hectic match, but unfortunately, that was not the main talking point. That belonged to Cargill, whose eyebrow was completely split open after Jax smashed her face on the steel steps. Cargill was out from Sept. 26 until the Oct. 24 episode of SmackDown.
Cargill returned and made the long-awaited heel turn when she attacked Stratton after saving her from Kiana James and Giulia. This set up another one-on-one match for Saturday Night’s Main Event. Once again, a title change could very well be in the cards. Stratton is the longest-reigning champion in WWE with a 300-day reign.
Vacant World Heavyweight Championship: CM Punk vs. Jey Uso
For the most controversial match on the card, CM Punk will face Jey Uso for the vacated World Heavyweight Championship. Former world champion Seth Rollins injured his shoulder at Crown Jewel against Cody Rhodes. This led to Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed shockingly turning on their leader and attacking Rollins on the Raw after Crown Jewel.
During the opening moments of the Oct. 20 edition of Raw, Pearce revealed that Rollins was undergoing major surgery and then stripped him of the world title. As Punk was already set to face Rollins for the title at Saturday Night’s Main Event, he was still granted a title shot. As for his opponent, Pearce announced a battle royal to determine the new No. 1 contender to face Punk at the event. Uso won the battle royal after eliminating his brother Jimmy and Intercontinental champion Mysterio.
The online community was not happy about the decision of Uso winning, but he does have a compelling story behind him. He has been on a lone wolf path over the last month or so, not helping his brother or others at times. Roman Reigns has been in the ear of Uso, and maybe that will lead to an Uso heel turn that many fans have been clamoring for. Breakker and Reed could play a factor in the outcome of this match, as Pearce banned both of them from the battle royal.
WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Drew McIntyre
Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre will technically go head-to-head for the WWE Championship for the third time since Wrestlepalooza. This has been a start-and-stop feud with the absence of Rhodes due to him filming Street Fighter. The buildup to Wrestlepalooza was basically nonexistent.
The feud picked back up after Rhodes returned this past month, and McIntyre was not going away easily. McIntyre was set to go one-on-one with Jacob Fatu in a No. 1 contender’s match, but the injury bug struck again, and Fatu was attacked backstage and ruled out of the match. Rhodes came out and gave the fans what they wanted: a world title match. The match ended with the two brawling outside, leading to a disqualification. This led to SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis making a world title match at Saturday Night’s Main Event. After the classic complaining from McIntyre, he finally got his way.
Fans have begged for a McIntyre world title run, but whether WWE will pull through is the big question. Rhodes has only held the title since defeating John Cena in an unbelievable match at SummerSlam. WWE has done multiple shocking things recently, including The Vision dismantling and giving a returning Ilja Dragunov the United States Championship. So McIntyre defeating Rhodes and becoming champion is not completely out of the question.
Another match could be announced on the SmackDown before Saturday Night’s Main Event, but as of now, this is the confirmed match card.