Wrestling Ratings-WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event- January 24, 2026

 

Location- Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Venue- Bell Centre

Host- Stephanie McMahon

Commentary- Wade Barrett & Michael Cole

Jacob Fatu VS Cody Rhodes

Winner- No match after Jacob attacked Cody during his entrance

Rhea Ripley & Iyo Sky (Champions) VS Roxanne Perez & Liv Morgan- WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships

Winners- Rhea Ripley & Iyo Sky

Rating- 8/10

AJ Styles VS Shinsuke Nakamura

Winner- AJ Styles

Rating- 8/10

Trick Williams VS Randy Orton VS Damian Preist VS Sami Zayn- Number One Contender’s Match For WWE Undisputed Championship

Winner- Sami Zayn

Rating- 6/10

Overall Thoughts- A definitive winner for Fatu VS Rhodes would’ve killed the loser’s momentum. Cody would’ve recovered soon enough, but I’m not so sure about Jacob, and we’re too close to Wrestlemania now. The brawling angle works as an emergency exit escape route, and Drew stands tall at the end.

Rhea and Iyo have excellent chemistry as a tag team. Roxanne always does a good job of playing the bratty and obnoxious heel. She forms a perfect pairing with Liv, and there’s no real reason to take the titles off Rhyio now. A really good match, with some nice near falls, and Rhyio continues their dominance as the champs. 

AJ Styles and Nakamura had a hard hitting, physical, and grueling match. The simple story of two respected veterans beating the piss out of each other surpassed my expectations for this one. Nakamura proved he can still rise to the challenge. AJ? Yes, we’re in the middle of his farewell run, but there’s no denying he can still bring it a high level.

Sami Zayn was the right choice to win the Fatal Four-Way, but I still believe WWE should’ve put the title on Sami at Elimination Chamber 2023. It was a perfect storm scenario. That crowd was white hot, Sami had a ton of momentum during the Bloodline drama, playing the scrappy babyface, who was sick and tired of dealing with Roman Reigns being a manipulative bully. Sure, if Sami wins the title at Wrestlemania (if that’s the plan), he’ll get a nice reception, but WWE really missed a big opportunity in 2023.

The match itself was fine. Just about what’d you expect from a Fatal Four-Way: lots of near falls, everyone scrambling for a quick pin cover, and Trick Williams had a few moments. Not a bad match at all, but Sami winning was pretty much a foregone conclusion. 

Show Highlights-

-Jacob Fatu and Cody Rhodes brawl throughout the arena, Drew McIntyre gets involved 

-Rhyio retains, Raquel interferes, but Stephanie Vaquer intervenes

-AJ Styles defeats Shinsuke Nakamura 

-Sami Zayn becomes the number one contender to face Drew McIntyre for the WWE Undisputed Championship 

-Zayn thwarts McIntyre’s post-match attack

Overall Rating- 7/10

Wrestling Ratings- WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event- December 13, 2025

 

Location- Washington, D.C.

Venue- Capital One Arena 

Hosts- Stephanie McMahon & Joe Tessitore

Commentary- Michael Cole & Wade Barrett

Cody Rhodes (Undisputed WWE Champion) VS Oba Femi (NXT Champion)- Champion VS Champion

Winner Via Disqualification- Oba Femi

Rating- 7/10

Sol Ruca (With Zaria) VS Bayley (With Lyra Valkyria)

Winner- Sol Ruca

Rating- 7/10

AJ Styles & Dragon Lee VS Je’Von Evans & Leon Slater

Winners- AJ Styles & Dragon Lee

Rating- 6/10

John Cena VS Gunther

Winner- Gunther

Rating- 9/10

Overall Thoughts- Oba Femi VS Cody Rhodes was a solid opener. I never believed Femi had a chance of winning, but Cody did a great job of selling Oba’s offense. In the end, Femi proved he’s more than capable of holding his own against the top guy in the company, and that still counts as another huge notch on his belt. 

Drew McIntyre’s interference to end the match was the right call. We’re talking about a match, where both guys couldn’t afford to lose clean. Cody is the top babyface, so you might as well go ahead and put Oba in one of the Wrestlemania main events, if the plan was for Cody to lose. Drew interferes, pours more gasoline on his feud with Cody, and Oba is upset, because there’s a chance he could’ve won.

Sol Ruca and Bayley had a strong competitive match. Lots of good back and forth action in this one. Sol squeaked out a win over a big name in the women’s division, and Bayley walks away without any real damage. She almost had Sol, but SOMEONE from NXT had to pick up a clean win. No champions or titles were involved, so this match was the perfect scenario for Sol to defeat Bayley. 

I really wish the tag team match could’ve gone longer. The fast paced action from AJ, Dragon Lee, Leon Slater, and Evans was fantastic, but I still believe this match needed more time to breathe and develop. Although, I understand why they felt the need to rush things. The match before John Cena’s retirement match is a tricky spot to be in. I’m guessing the powers that be didn’t want to take any chances on a deflated or burnt out crowd. 

John Cena rides off into the sunset! The match started out at a slow and methodical pace, favoring Gunther’s style, until Cena could find an opening to start his comeback. Considering the fact that this was Cena’s big farewell, I was expecting the match to have a more epic feel to it, but Cena’s swan song was still a strong send-off. 

John truly emptied his tank, throwing everything he had left at Gunther, but it still wasn’t enough. Gunther, the persistent and brutal villain, was just too much for him to overcome in the end. The Ring General squashed all of Cena’s spirited offensive bursts. But what’s important for me is, Cena was genuinely having fun in the ring, soaking it all in, and you can really see it with the setup for the Five Knuckle Shuffle. 

Cena tapping out to end his career? I’m fine with it. The look of relief on Cena’s face, complete with the slow and soft tap out, when Gunther had him in the sleeper hold, works for a memorable moment. Yeah, I know “NEVER GIVE UP!” is one of Cena’s bigger taglines, but John didn’t have anything left to give. Gunther relentlessly beat the crap out of him. John left it all in the ring, one last time before he walks away. 

Gunther was the perfect opponent for Cena. He’s a dastardly heel and a strong character. Gunther always comes off as someone, who’s genuinely unlikable. He’s a bully and a condescending dick, with a pompous superiority complex. Also, Gunther really needed a strong win after tapping out to Jey Uso at Wrestlemania, and the world title loss to CM Punk at Summerslam.

The post match celebration and the video package was a nice touch. It’s a fitting end for Cena to quietly walk off into the sunset. He doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy, who would want a lot of hoopla with lots of pyro during a long and drawn out ceremony.

Punk and Cody giving Cena their world titles was a cool moment, but it’s hard to ignore the boos and the heckling for Triple H. I couldn’t get into Cena’s heel run. It was too forced, and they didn’t have enough time to get it right. Sure, Cena selling his soul to The Rock at Elimination Chamber was a shocking moment. But Rock completely disappearing just killed whatever they might’ve had planned in the long run. 

John Cena of all people turning heel is a monumental occurrence. It’s the kind of storyline that needs to be fleshed out, because one year with limited dates is not enough time to stuff, or compress a run that lasted twenty plus years. Too many fine details, and the idea of John Cena possibly ending his career as a bad guy just doesn’t work. 

Show Highlights-

Oba Femi holds his own against Cody Rhodes

Sol Ruca defeats Bayley

R-Truth and Joe Hendry beat up and embarrass The Miz

John Cena delivers one final salute and thanks the fans for years of support 

Overall Show Rating- 8/10