WWE Saturday Night's Main Event Review - July 18, 2026

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Pre-Show: United States Champion Trick Williams def. Laredo Kid (Non-Title)

This was unexpected. I didn't even know WWE was doing a pre-show for Saturday Night's Main Event until well after it was over. Clearly, I didn't miss much, but I do think it's nice they technically added another match to the card, even if it was random. Kid and Williams worked well together and produced a quality contest in the time they were allotted. Of course, Williams was really over with this crowd.

Pre-Show: Stephanie McMahon Interviewed Oba Femi

This just felt like an excuse to get Femi out in front of the crowd at Madison Square Garden. Stephanie didn't ask anything of note and Femi didn't say anything of note. In short, the segment was forgettable, but hey, at least they kept it short. Obviously, Brock Lesnar didn't show up, but I am curious to see if Femi and Lesnar can produce one last hot segment before their Hell in a Cell match at SummerSlam.

Fatal Influence (Lainey Reid and Fallon Henley) def. Paige and Brie Bella to Win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship

This was as average of an outing as their initial encounter a month or so ago. There wasn't anything wrong with it and I thought all four women had solid showings, but it was hardly an exciting opener, either. Jessica Karr blatantly ignoring Jacy Jane's interference at the end was pretty bad, but on the bright side, Fatal Influence won the tag titles as they should have. Hopefully this means Paige can branch off on her own finally.

Danhausen def. JD McDonagh in a No Disqualification Match

This was exactly what I assumed it would be, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Danhausen is practically a legend in New York City at this point, so the crowd ate up everything he did and McDonagh played his role exceptionally well. Even Karl-Anthony Towns coming down to help Danhausen fend off McDonagh and Dominik Mysterio was well done. This definitely didn't belong on a Saturday Night's Main Event, but I understand why it made the show because of where they were.

Lyra Valkyria def. Bayley

These two had a hell of a two-out-of-three falls match on Raw about a year ago, but this wasn't that in terms of quality. Valkyria and Bayley had a very good bout here, but it was more about establishing Valkyria's new ruthless persona. The blood obviously wasn't intentional, but it did make Valkyria look more badass. I'm glad she won and in decisive fashion, too. The post-match angle felt like a write-off for Bayley (in the midst of AEW rumors, no less), but I don't think she's done with the company quite yet.

Cody Rhodes and Undisputed WWE Champion CM Punk def. Gunther and Sami Zayn

This was the real main event of the show in my book. You put four great wrestlers in there together and you're unsurprisingly going to get a great match. This was perfectly paced and also had the drama of whether the heels would win so they could be added to the title matchup at SummerSlam. That was never going to happen, but I liked how Nick Aldis cost Gunther the win to officially them up for a collision at SummerSlam.

World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns and Jalen Brunson Shut Down Seth Rollins and Tyrese Haliburton

While I originally found it odd that they'd close the show with what was basically a talking segment, it made sense in that Reigns and Brunson were the biggest names on the show, so WWE probably didn't want to run the risk of people leaving if their segment happened any earlier. It took forever for them to get to the ring, and nothing special was said, but it had to have been a cool moment for everyone in attendance. I enjoyed the segment for what it was, but I understand anyone else who thought it was a waste of time.

Overall Show

​If you aren't a Knicks fan, you likely thought this was a subpar show. Hell, even if you are a Knicks fan, you still likely thought this show felt like filler. I had a fun time with it overall, but it was more of a glorified house show than anything else. The title change was notable and the crowd was lively throughout, but that's about it. Now the focus has to shift toward kicking the hype for SummerSlam into high gear.

SEE MORE: SNME Reviews