WWE Saturday Night's Main Event in NYC, New York City, New York, USA, Streaming Live on Peacock, July 18th, 2026 — My Event Review:
- robbyplaha
- Jul 18
- 6 min read
Date: Saturday, July 18, 2026.
Location: New York City, New York, USA.
Streaming: LIVE on Peacock.
WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event in NYC Event’s Main Event Results: CM Punk & Cody Rhodes defeated Gunther & Sami Zayn in a Tag Team Match.
The WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event in NYC Official Match Results:
The Pre-Show Match: Trick Williams defeated Laredo Kid in a Singles Match | via Pin-Fall — (07:17)
The Opening Match: Fatal Influence (Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid) (with Jacy Jayne) defeated Brie Bella & Paige (c) in a WWE Women's Tag Team Title Match | via Pin-Fall — (07:14) — TITLE CHANGE!!!!
The 2nd Match: Danhausen defeated JD McDonagh (with Dominik Mysterio) in a No Disqualification Match | via Pin-Fall — (11:31)
The 3rd Match: Lyra Valkyria defeated Bayley in a Singles Match | via Submission — (10:30)
The Main Event Match: CM Punk & Cody Rhodes defeated Gunther & Sami Zayn in a Tag Team Match | via Pin-Fall — (14:08)
My Official Thoughts on WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event in NYC:
My Official Thoughts: The first hour of the show was pretty rough, and the only real highlights were Fatal Influence winning the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles and Karl-Anthony Towns of the New York Knicks saving Danhausen, helping him beat JD McDonagh of The Judgment Day. The second hour, however, completely turned things around, delivering two great matches, including a huge moment for Lyra Valkyria that pushed her heel turn forward as she seemingly wrote off Bayley. The All-Star Tag Team main event was excellent and felt like a true Madison Square Garden–level main event with a red-hot crowd. Nick Aldis appeared and cost Gunther the match by slamming the Undisputed WWE Title into his face, allowing Cody Rhodes to pick up the win for himself and CM Punk in the main event. Jalen Brunson and Roman Reigns closed the show, which I loved as a Knicks fan. Then we saw Tyrese Haliburton align with Seth Rollins, which was a fun parallel since Jalen Brunson’s biggest rival is Tyrese Haliburton, just like Roman Reigns’ biggest rival is Seth Rollins. It all ended with Jalen Brunson saving Roman Reigns, who nailed a massive Spear before posing with the NBA Finals Trophy while Brunson held both his custom world title and Roman Reigns’ world title. Overall, I enjoyed the show, and now we head into Monday Night RAW for the aftermath of Saturday Night’s Main Event in NYC.
My Official Match Ratings for WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event in NYC:
The Pre-Show Match: Trick Williams vs. Laredo Kid in a Singles Match | The Match Rating: **.25 — This was a cool little Pre-Show match. It was cool that WWE brought back Pre-Show Matches because the last time I remembered WWE doing a Pre-Show Match was when JD McDonagh took on Sami Zayn at WWE Crown Jewel in 2023, but this was a cool showing by Laredo Kid- such a special moment for him, I bet, fighting in Madison Square Garden. Laredo Kid had some awesome high-flying moments, but in the end the WWE United States Champion Trick Williams hit the Trickshot Knee and got the one, two, three for the win as he contiunes to ride high; as for Laredo Kid, he showed out in the World’s Most Famous Arena.
The Opening Match: Brie Bella & Paige (c) vs. Fatal Influence (Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid) (with Jacy Jayne) in a WWE Women's Tag Team Title Match | The Match Rating: ** — Finally, Fatal Influence got the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles, which was long overdue. Brie Bella & Paige are out of their prime and have been holding onto the titles, giving us matches we didn't need. But this match right here wasn't all that but what needed to be achieved was achieved in Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid of Fatal Influence got the win, and now are rthe brand new WWE Women's Tag Team Champions which they gladly deserve now I hoppe there's some 2nd Chance Match for Jacy Jayne so she can go onto WWE SummerSlam and obatin the Interim WWE WOmen's Title so they can be the Super-Group everyone touted them to be whent hey arrived to the Main Roster. But now we have good wrestlers holding the belts, very excited to see how everything goes for them, hoping for a lengthy run with good title defenses, etc.
The 2nd Match: Danhausen vs. JD McDonagh (with Dominik Mysterio) in a No Disqualification Match | The Match Rating: *.50 — This wasn't my cup of tea. I thought this match could've been better off on a RAW Episode than a special event. I get Danhausen was a big part of the Knicks championship win, but this match wasn't good. The great part was seeing Karl Anthony Towns, and also seeing how JD McDonagh in this spot shined, as he dominated and was doing some great things, but I wasn't a fan of this match whatsoever.
The 3rd Match: Lyra Valkyria vs. Bayley in a Singles Match | The Match Rating: ****.25 — Now this right here was awesome. Lyra Valkyria, who looks so out of touch and insane, had an awesome match. The intensity of this match went up when Lyra Valkyria was shot busted open on the nose by Bayley. It was very hard-hitting and physical. I don't think these women ever had a horrible match against each other. I was super happy when Lyra Valkyria won, but now she's a heel; new finishers have arrived as she choked out Bayley with the Bulldog Hold. Then, after the match unleashed a more vicious attack, which made me believe that Bayley is going to be written off for some time. I hope WWE capitalizes on this awesome heel version of Lyra Valkyria.
The Main Event Match: CM Punk & Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther & Sami Zayn in a Tag Team Match | The Match Rating: ****.50 — All-Star Tag Team Match that delivered big-time. What an awesome, fast-paced, hard-hitting, and red-hot match we got as the main event. The match started with fists flying everywhere. I loved the Tag Team of CM Punk and Cody Rhodes; they even matched with New York Knicks Colors. Gunther and Sami Zayn don't like each other, but man, they were working well together in this match. There were many good moments, but when Nick Aldis was the General Manager of SmackDown came out underneath the ring to cost Gunther the chance of winning by pulling out the referee, and hitting Gunther with the Undisputed WWE Championship as Cody Rhodes and CM Punk came away with the win, but man this was great a MSG Level Main Event that delivered and goes to show All-Star Tag Team Matches are a hit bring them back Triple H you use to use them all the time from 2022-2024.
My Official Match of the Night for WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event in NYC: CM Punk & Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther & Sami Zayn in a Tag Team Match | The Match Rating: ****.50 — An All-Star Tag Team main event delivered a fast-paced, hard-hitting Madison Square Garden–level bout. CM Punk and Cody Rhodes, sporting New York Knicks colors, teamed effectively against Gunther and Sami Zayn. In the climax, SmackDown GM Nick Aldis blasted Gunther with the Undisputed WWE Title, allowing Rhodes and Punk to score the win and proving the All-Star Tag format is still a hit.
My Official Episode Grade for WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event in NYC: 7/10 (B-) — The first hour of the show was pretty rough, with the only real highlights being Fatal Influence winning the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles and Karl-Anthony Towns of the New York Knicks saving Danhausen to help him beat JD McDonagh of The Judgment Day. The second hour completely turned things around with two strong matches, including a huge moment for Lyra Valkyria that advanced her heel turn as she seemingly wrote off Bayley. The All-Star Tag Team main event felt like a true Madison Square Garden–level attraction with a red-hot crowd. Nick Aldis cost Gunther the match by slamming the Undisputed WWE Title into his face, allowing Cody Rhodes to get the win for himself and CM Punk. Jalen Brunson and Roman Reigns closing the show was a blast as a Knicks fan, especially with Tyrese Haliburton aligning with Seth Rollins as a fun parallel to their NBA rivalry. It all ended with Brunson saving Roman Reigns, who hit a massive Spear before posing with the NBA Finals Trophy while Brunson held both his custom world title and Roman Reigns’ world title. Overall, I enjoyed the show, and now we head into Monday Night RAW for the aftermath of Saturday Night’s Main Event in NYC.
Comments