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 Wrestlepalooza (2025)

Location- Indianapolis, Indiana

Venue- Gainbridge Fieldhouse

Commentators- Michael Cole, Pat McAfee, & Wade Barrett

John Cena VS Brock Lesnar

Winner- Brock Lesnar

Rating- 3/10

The Vision (Bronson Reed & Bron Breakker) VS The Usos- Special Guest Referee- LA Knight

Winners- The Vision

Rating- 5/10

Vacant Women’s World Championship- Iyo Sky VS Stephanie Vaquer

Winner & New Women’s World Champion- Stephanie Vaquer

Rating- 9/10

CM Punk & AJ Lee VS Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch

Winners- CM Punk & AJ Lee

Rating- 8/10

Undisputed WWE Championship- Cody Rhodes (Champion) VS Drew McIntyre

Winner- Cody Rhodes

Rating- 5/10

Overall Thoughts- We’re in the final stages of Cena’s retirement run….and they open the show with a glorified squash match? I just don’t understand it. They pushed Cena VS Lesnar as the marquee matchup, and this is what they decided to do? But I should’ve known something wasn’t right, when they decided to start off the show with this one.

Cena’s farewell tour was finally going in the right direction, after they abandoned that weird heel turn that just wasn’t working out at all. They were aiming for a callback to the Summerslam 2014 (Michael Cole mentioned it on commentary) match. I get that, but the big difference is, when Brock Lesnar demolished Cena in that match, it was genuinely shocking to see John Cena suffer through a decisive beating. He was manhandled, but this was just disappointing. 

It’s to the point, where you can count Cena’s remaining dates on one hand now. Lesnar has more than enough accolades under his belt at this point, and he’s Brock Freaking Lesnar! I just don’t see the need, or a sense of urgency to make him look invincible, so they can build up momentum for whatever WWE is planning to do with Brock going forward. 

A lot of questions for Paul Heyman introducing Lesnar. Was this just a one-off thing for The Beast and his advocate? Or, is Heyman working on another favor with Lesnar? Survivor Series is coming up, so maybe there’s a chance Lesnar fills the role of a mercenary for The Vision somewhere down the line, as Heyman’s secret weapon.

The tag match between The Vision and The Usos was starting to heat up, but Jey’s freak accident with the chair undoubtedly derailed the final stages of the match. LA Knight stayed true to his character as the special guest ref. Using Knight as the ref was probably the best option to go with. He’s still involved in the storyline, and Knight refusing to raise Reed’s hand was a nice touch.

AJ Lee is back! There’s no denying the match was put together and structured in a way that would benefit Lee, but I still had a blast with this one. No real signs of ring rust on AJ, the entire match was a lot of fun, and the comedy spots were hilarious. Also, Becky Lynch deserves a lot of credit for the build leading up to the match. She was fantastic, playing the annoying and pushy jerk, and the promos with Punk were pretty good. 

Iyo Sky VS Stephanie Vaquer easily takes the top spot for the best match. Sky has a seemingly endless gas tank, and she did a great job of selling the knee injury. A strong match with lots of action, while Sky and Vaquer struggled to get the upper hand on each other, complete with the right winner. Vaquer needed this more than Iyo. Stephanie’s triumphant crowning moment on the main roster was incredible, and Iyo was the right opponent. 

Drew lost again! Cody VS Drew wasn’t bad, but for a world title main event, the match severely lacked any kind of drama or believable tense moments. I never believed Cody was in any real danger of losing the title, and what’s next for Drew? Sure, McIntyre is someone, who will always have the credibility to work main event feuds as a heel, but he lost another big match here. You have to believe Drew is starting at the bottom of the ladder again, and it’ll probably be a long time before he gets anywhere near the top.

Was Wrestlepalooza a bad PLE? No, but with all the hoopla behind WWE’s big debut on ESPN, it’s safe to say Wrestlepalooza didn’t live up to the hype. Triple H’s introduction, a really good opening video package (with LOTS of pyro), and Pat McAffe joined commentary for a while. WWE obviously wanted Wrestlepalooza to be a big deal, but it’s a painfully average show. 

Wrestlepalooza would’ve been a forgettable PLE without the mixed tag and Iyo VS Stephanie. The rest of the card? I just couldn’t shake the feeling that certain matches could’ve happened on Raw or Smackdown. Crown Jewel: Perth is right around the corner. Hopefully Australia is an upgrade over this, because Wrestlepalooza was mostly a big disappointment.

Show Highlights-

-AJ Lee returns to the ring, submits Becky Lynch for the win

-The Undertaker announces Stephanie McMahon is the first inductee for 2026 WWE Hall Of Fame

-Stephanie Vaquer wins Women’s World Championship

-Cody Rhodes retains against Drew McIntyre

Rating- 5/10