The first WWE Saturday Night Main Event of 2026 takes place at the Bell Center in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and is the final stop before the Royal Rumble next weekend. Sami Zayn battled Drew McIntyre for the titles, Jacob Fatu earned his spot on the main event scene, AJ Styles danced with Shinsuke Nakamura for the last time, and RhIyo proved they weren’t ready to hand over the tag team titles just yet.
Before we officially begin the road to WrestleMania 42, here are four key takeaways from Montreal.
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1. Iron sharpens iron
A few weeks ago, the WWE Universe was shocked when Jacob Fatu’s interference in the main event of “SmackDown” directly led to Drew McIntyre ending Cody Rhodes’ Undisputed WWE Championship and crowning a new champion. Since then, tensions have escalated between Fatu and Rhodes, with a hungry challenger thirsting for blood and a revenge-hungry champion furious at the loss of his belt.
While fans expected Saturday’s brawl between Rhodes and Fatu to settle the score, their match never officially began. But security separated the two after a few minutes, and instead of a brief brawl, they engaged in what was essentially a “fall count anywhere” match, with the entire arena brawling without any official taking a three-count. McIntyre showed up, knocked Fatu through the table, whispered Rhodes, and powerbombed him through the table before standing tall in the center of the ring to end the brawl.
This fight is just what everyone needs.
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Rhodes has been in desperate need of a legitimate challenger after a mostly smooth run against John Cena in 2025. Fatu hit a ceiling last year, McIntyre never quite got over it, and it’s unclear where Rhodes will find a serious contender. But on Saturday night’s main event, Fatu attacked Roode and appeared to be his equal, immediately raising the credibility of Fatu’s potential as a title challenger. McIntyre wasn’t the target of jokes, but his presence and dominance over both opponents showed that his title win was no fluke. There’s still a lot of time between now and April, but seeing these three in the championship game wouldn’t be the shock of the century.
2. Sammy can win it all
Saturday night’s main event in Montreal, followed by the Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia, always felt like these two events were tailor-made for Sami Zayn to reach the top.
Zayn booked his ticket to a title match with Drew McIntyre on Saturday after a strong performance over Randy Orton, who several times seemed close to a title shot in his own right. Trike Williams played his role perfectly and never seemed out of place among the three top contenders. But in the end, Zayn is one step closer to winning the Undisputed WWE Championship for the first time in his career.
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On the other hand, one can fairly question how Damian Priest regained the heavyweight championship. After cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase to win the belt at WrestleMania 40, he never felt close to returning to the title role. When it was announced that he would challenge Orton, Williams, and Zayn in a Fatal Four-Way Match, it felt almost guaranteed that he would be the underdog.
Opportunities come with time, and McIntyre is a great use case that’s about to come true. Does Priest have what it takes to rise to the occasion in a similar manner?
3. It’s not me, it’s you
Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky never really seemed in danger of losing the Tag Team Championship on Saturday, except for a brief moment after Raquel Rodriuez interfered.
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The moment worked beautifully as Rodriguez pulled Ripley into the countdown referee before catching a diving Skye outside the ring and slamming her to the floor. Stephanie Wacker made the save to tussle with Rodriguez in the back, and Roxanne Perez rolled to Sky for a close two count. Ultimately, Ripley ended up getting the hot tag and defeated Morgan to retain the tag titles.
Still.
(WWE via Getty Images)
After losing the title again, maybe it’s time to wrap up Judgment Day. The group has reached its end, and disbanding them could bring some freshness to this relatively stale faction. Aside from the success of Dominik Mysterio and the tension that developed between him and Finn Bálor, the band feels like it’s been coasting for a while.
Morgan seems destined for bigger things, Rodriguez absolutely deserves to win the Women’s World Championship, and the trio should fight as three capable challengers.
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It seems unlikely that this type of evolution will unfold anytime soon, or even before WrestleMania. But maybe this is the year that every woman will achieve greater things on Judgment Day.
4. Closing time
When John Cena decided to end his career, he needed a list of former opponents to finish off in the ring. The same cannot be said for AJ Styles, who will end his wrestling career sometime in 2026. Most of Styles’ WWE competitors are either retired, unavailable, or wrestling elsewhere – with the exception of Shinsuke Nakamura.
That’s what makes their impromptu showdown on Saturday night’s main event so special.
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It took them some time to dust off the cobwebs, but once the duo got going, they really kicked things into high gear and showed glimpses of some of the old game that made their longstanding rivalry so endearing.
The end may be closer than we expected for Styles, who puts his career on the line against Gunther at the Royal Rumble next weekend. “The Ring General” went from a man who defeated Jey Uso and nearly lost to Pat McAfee to a man who ruthlessly retired legends, which was exactly what he needed. Styles’ last minute match against Nakamura certainly felt like a way to say goodbye to “The Extraordinary Man.”