This is the first episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event for 2026! Live in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, we got a stacked card ahead. We will see a fatal 4-way match to determine the next #1 contender for the Undisputed WWE Championship; we’ll see “The American Nightmare” take on “The Samoan Werewolf” in a one-on-one match; the Women’s Tag Team Titles will be on the line tonight; and we’ll get to witness a dream match between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura! Check in for the live recap of WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event tonight at 8 PM ET on Peacock. Hit F5 or refresh as often as you like for the latest updates.
Stephanie McMahon is the host for tonight’s SNME because Joe Tessitore is stuck at an airport in Detriot, Michigan due to the severe weather occuring all over the States. Stephanie notes that it’s -7 degrees there in Montreal! We get a video package for the past episodes in 2025, plus leading into a new SNME tonight. Cue the pyro!
Michael Cole welcomes us to the show taking place in the Bell Centre and he’s joined by Wade Barrett. Jacob Fatu cuts a promo backstage saying “I went from EBT to WWE! Yadadamean?!” Fatu heads to the ring first and Lilian Garcia is the ring announcer for this event. Cody Rhodes heads out next and hands off his weight belt to a young fan in the aisleway.
FATU ATTACKS RHODES ON THE APRON! Fatu didn’t even wait until Rhodes got into the ring, and referee Charles Robinson gets knocked down in the process! The match hasn’t even started yet! Rhodes finally gets to take off his ring jacket before knocking him down, but Fatu blocks a suicide dive with an uppercut. Several referees, security and agents head to the ring to calm things down, but they get attacked and Fatu wipes them all out with a dive off the top rope to the floor! Fatu heads to the back, but Rhodes breaks free and brings him back to continue fighting, and sends him over the announce table. Cody clotheslines him over the barricade and they continue fighting through the crowd. Fatu counters him with a back body drop on the floor, starts to walk away, Rhodes fights back, smacks his head on an equipment case, and they fight through the crowd up the steps.
The fight heads to the concourse area, Cody throws a garbage can at Jacob and other security members, and Fatu slams a security member through the merchandise table with a urinage! Cody throws a drink at him, and they fight back to the crowd and down the steps this time. SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis has finally caught up with them to get involved as Fatu chokes Rhodes calling him a punk-ass bitch. Rhodes and Fatu fight on top of a platform, they throw security aside while continuing to fight each other, then suddenly DREW McINTYRE throws Fatu backwards through a table, gives Rhodes a lowblow, then JACKKNIFE POWERBOMBS Rhodes through another table!! The Undisputed WWE Champion heads to the ring to soak in the glory and attention after leaving Fatu and Rhodes laid out in the tables, leading to our first commercial break.
We get a commercial for the Monday Night War Edition of WWE 2K26, with pre-orders going live on January 30th as well as the Attitude Era Edition. We get replays of the melee that just occured. McIntyre storms backstage grabbing his championship on the way, and he says that was a statement of what happens when you get in his way or if you come for his championship.
* WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: Iyo Sky & Rhea Ripley {C} vs. Roxanne Perez & Liv Morgan
Referee Jason Ayers holds up the titles high to show off the prize. The bell dings and Iyo dropkicks Liv quickly, but Liv soon slams her down lay in punches. Roxanne gets the tag, Iyo blocks a double suplex, fights them both off, uses Perez to attack Morgan, hits a basement dropkick to Perez, pulls her away from the apron, and Liv gives Sky a hotshot on the top rope behind the ref’s back. Roxanne wails on Sky, sends her into the corner, hits a running European uppercut, and tags out. Liv hits the Codebreaker, Roxanne delivers a Russian legsweep, and Liv covers for 2. Liv delivers a vertical suplex, rolls over, another suplex, rolls over, completes the Three Amigos, hits the shining wizard, and covers for 2.
Roxanne tags in, elbow to the back of the head. Iyo breaks free, but Roxanne drops her, then Iyo rolls her up into a double foot stomp, Liv tags in, and Iyo makes the hot tag! Liv looks on with apprehension, Rhea clotheslines her, delivers the fallaway slam, and hits a basement dropkick for 2. Liv counters the Riptide, Rhea blocks the Codebreaker, Liv avoids the Razors Edge, tags out, Rhea pulls Perez into the ring, and headbutts Morgan. Roxanne wails on her, Rhea kicks her down, Roxanne goes for a top rope hurricanrana, Liv makes the blind tag, Roxanne delivers the hurricanrana off the ropes, Liv hits the diving Codebreaker, and gets a near-fall! Roxanne had hit Sky with a suicide dive.
Rhea drops Morgan with the Razors Edge, Iyo hits the missile dropkick, and Roxanne maneuvers around Ripley to break up the count. Roxanne does a double-rotation into a headscissors, Liv avoids the Bullet Train Attack, plants Sky with a rolling crucifix bomb, and gets a 2-count. Liv and Roxanne try to take control, Iyo hits Morgan with the Shotei, rolls through the Pop Rox to kick Perez in the head, Roxanne hits the POP ROX, and gets 2.9 as Iyo kicks out and Rhea makes the late save! Rhea headbutts Perez, plants her with the RIPTIDE, Iyo tags in, hits OVER THE MOONSAULT, makes the cover, and RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ saves the match by tripping Ripley onto the ref!!
Raquel attacks Ripley at ringside, blocks a suicide dive by Sky, powerbombs her on the floor, and throws Sky back into the ring. STEPHANIE VAQUER shows up to take down her nemesis, and hits a diving crossbody off the barricade! With Raquel out the pucture, Roxanne lays an arm over Sky, the ref is alive again, and counts the 1-2-KICKOUT! Liv gets the tag, hits Iyo with the OBLIVION, Rhea made the blind tag, kicks Morgan in the head, plants her with the RIPTIDE, and covers for 3!! WINNERS and STILL WWE WOMEN’S TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: RHEA RIPLEY & IYO SKY!!
What a match! That was chaotic but we got to a finish. Now Rhea and Iyo will soon face their next challengers, Giulia and Kiana James. We get a video package to hype up Styles vs. Nakamura coming up next! Breaktime.
“The Phenomenal” AJ Styles heads to the ring wearing a mask, and Cole tells us that the last time he wore a mask was ten years ago in Japan and his opponent was indeed Nakamura. Out comes the “King of Strong Style” Shinsuke Nakamura heading to the ring donned in all-red leather. The referee will be Dan Engler.
* AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
They lock up collar-and-elbow, Nakamura with a side headlock, Styles pushes him off, and Nakamura puts on the brakes. They lock up again, Nakamura with a headlock takedown, Styles rolls him to cover for 1, Nakamura keeps the headlock on, the crowd does dueling chants, Styles switches to a rear waistlock, Nakamura goes back to the headlock, Styles pushes him off, and Nakamura kicks him to block a leapfrog. They lock up again, Nakamura gets him on the ropes, Styles pushes him off, and Nakamura challenges him to “Come on!” Styles ducks and dodges kicks, and lands his big dropkick followed by a backbreaker.
Styles does shoulder thrusts to the midsection in a corner, Nakamura fights back, Styles hits a back elbow, lands the plancha over the ropes to ringside, and throws him back into the ring. Michael Cole notes that Dan Engler has refereed many of AJ’s matches for decades (going back to their TNA days). Nakamura side-steps him in a corner, places him on the top ropes, hits the running kick, and covers for a 1-count. Nakamura with a snapmare, jumping kneedrop, knee strikes, and puts him in a chinlock. Nakamura backs him to a corner, hits more knee strikes, lays on the Good Vibrations, struts away, Styles rolls under a kick, clotheslines him twice, and hits the sliding forearm smash. Styles hits the forearm smash in the corner, connects with the Ushigoroshi, and covers for 2. Nakamura blocks a powerbomb with the scorpion kick, hits a running dropkick, three kicks to the chest, hits an enzuigiri, swings him onto the ropes and hits the sliding German suplex.
Nakamura hits the flying knee from the middle ropes, covers for 2, Styles kicks him in the knee, delivers the dragon screw, and rolls into the Calf Crusher! Nakamura makes it to the bottom rope, kicks him again, AJ with another dragon screw, and locks in the Calf Crusher in the middle of the ring! Nakamura crawls to the ropes, they roll back to the middle of the ring, and Nakamura grabs his arm for a cross armbreaker, AJ rolls over to the stomach, so Nakamura switched to the triangle choke! AJ goes for the Styles Clash, Nakamura counters, AJ hits him with a big knee as he was sliding into it, and we get another 2-count.
They start trading shots back and forth, AJ hits the Phenomenal Blitz, Nakamura punches him, AJ hits the Pele Kick, and Nakamura kicks him in the back! “This is awesome! This is awesome! This is awesome!” Nakamura goes for the Kinshasa, but his knee gives out after all that punishment, and AJ hits his own version of the Kinshasa, and covers for a near-fall! Styles ducks a swing, plants him with the torture rack bomb, and Nakamura kicks out at 2.5! Styles picks him up, Nakamura counters a suplex, Styles blocks the sliding German, knees him in the face from the apron, throws him back into the ring, Nakamura blocks the Phenomenal Forearm, plants him with the Samoan driver, and gets 2.5!!
Styles blocks the full nelson, blocks a German suplex, Nakamura hits a sling blade, Styles blocks another suplex, and hits another Pele Kick.
