John Cena and Jey Uso earned victories in their respective matches at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event in Tampa, Florida.
The event also helped set up a tag team match that will feature Cena and Uso on opposing sides of a tag team match at the Money in the Bank in Inglewood, California, on June 7.
Cody Rhodes also returned to the WWE for the first time since losing the Undisputed WWE Championship to Cena at WrestleMania 41 in April.
SNME also featured a steel cage match between Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre as the co-main event.
USA TODAY Sports provides all the results, highlights and analysis from Saturday Night’s Main Event:
Saturday Night’s Main Event highlights
Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso challenge John Cena, Logan Paul
Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso challenged both John Cena and Logan Paul to a tag team match at Money in the Bank. The event will be held at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood on June 7.
Jey Uso def. Logan Paul
While Jey Uso was in the middle of a pin attempt on Logan Paul, John Cena returned to the ring and pulled the referee out of the ring. Cena would then attack Uso before Cody Rhodes made his return and attacked Cena.
Paul used the distraction to get a pair of brass knuckles to attack Rhodes, but was cut off and laid out with a spear by Uso. Uso performed a frog splash from the top turnbuckle and landed on top of Paul before getting the pinfall victory.
Damian Priest def. Drew McIntyre
Damian Priest walked out the door of the cage to earn the victory over Drew McIntyre.
Emergency personnel needed to check on McIntyre after the match, who had his head slammed between two steel chairs in the middle of the ring and was left incapacitated.
McIntyre tried to finish the match moments before by attempting to deliver a “Claymore” kick to Priest’s head in front of the steel chair lodged against the turnbuckle.
WWE announces upcoming events
WWE announced the dates for Evolution and the next Saturday Night’s Main Event. Both events will take place at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
SNME will be held on July 12th, followed by Evolution on July 13.
Evolution is expected to feature a match card exclusively featuring women’s matches. The first Evolution event was held on October 28, 2018, at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.
Jey Uso and John Cena exchange words backstage
John Cena and Jey Uso shared an interaction backstage following Cena’s victory over R-Truth. Both Cena and Uso were holding their respective championships.
John Cena def. R-Truth
R-Truth mimicked several of Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena’s mannerisms during his entrance to the ring.
Cena wasn’t pleased with Truth’s actions and immediately attacked him as he entered the ring. While Truth managed to get little offense in during the short match, he spent his time with the upper hand using maneuvers from Cena’s move set.
When the champion did regain control, he brought the title into the ring with the intention to use it against his opponent. While Cena didn’t use it during the match, it was enough to distract the referee and allow him to kick Truth in the groin behind the official’s back and win the match.
After the match was decided, Cena used the title to lay out Truth in the middle of the ring.
El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Chad Gable announced
El Hijo del Vikingo will make his WWE in-ring debut against Chad Gable when the WWE comes to Inglewood for Worlds Collide on June 7th.
El Hijo del Vikingo competes under the AAA promotion and is a former AAA Mega Champion.
TKO Group Holdings, which owns WWE, announced in April that it had acquired a majority stake in the Mexican wrestling promotion.
WWE legends in the crowd at Saturday Night’s Main Event
Bushwhacker Luke and Jimmy Hart were among the legends in attendance for the event in Tampa. Leilani Kai and Tatanka were also in attendance.
Barry Windham and Mike Rotunda were shown in the crowd before the main event. The tag team, known as the U.S. Express, won the opening match, alongside Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat, on the first-ever Saturday Night’s Main Event card in the Nassau Coliseum on May 10, 1985.
Zelina Vega def. Chelsea Green
Zelina Vega overcame the interference from Piper Niven and Alba Fyre before using a “code red” from the top of the turnbuckle and pinning Green to retain her Women’s United States Championship. Vega remains undefeated (5-0) against Green.
Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker def. CM Punk and Sami Zayn
Saturday Night’s Main Event started in a big way with a tag team match featuring some of the company’s biggest stars. It was Punk’s first match since losing a triple-threat match to Rollins at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas.
Bronson Reed returned and attacked Punk while the officials were distracted by Paul Heyman. Sami Zayn was caught off guard by the attack outside of the ring and was speared and pinned by Breakker.
Rollins and Breakker embraced Reed after the match, joining Heyman’s group.
Jesse Ventura returns for Saturday Night’s Main Event
Jesse Ventura returned as part of the preshow alongside Joe Tessitore for Saturday Night’s Main Event. He also participated in the show as a commentator.
When is Saturday Night’s Main Event?
Saturday Night’s Main Event will take place Saturday, May 24 at 8 p.m. ET.
How long will Saturday Night’s Main Event be?
It will be a two-hour event.
How to watch Saturday Night’s Main Event: TV channel, streaming
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Yuengling Center in Tampa, Florida.
TV: NBC
Stream: Fubo, Peacock
Watch Saturday Night’s Main Event on Peacock
Where is Saturday Night’s Main Event?
The newest edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event will take place at the Yuengling Center in Tampa, Florida.
Saturday Night’s Main Event match card
Matches not in order
John Cena vs. R-Truth
World Heavyweight Championship match: Jey Uso (c) vs. Logan Paul
CM Punk and Sami Zayn vs. Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker
Steel cage match: Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest
Women’s United States Championship match: Zelina Vega (c) vs. Chelsea Green
Saturday Night’s Main Event predictions
Here are predictions for every match from USA TODAY Sports’ wrestling experts:
John Cena vs. R-Truth
Jordan Mendoza: This match seems like it will mostly be for entertainment value, given R-Truth knows how to bring out fun against anyone, but this could be a critical point in Cena’s final year. R-Truth could try to bring Cena back to the good side and embrace the fans instead of the heel run he’s on. The champion may seem conflicted, but it won’t change the fact this will be a comfortable win against R-Truth. Winner: John Cena.
Richard Morin: The title won’t be on the line when R-Truth challenges his ‘childhood hero,’ but Cena’s identity crisis could reach a fever pitch on Saturday. Cena looked conflicted after R-Truth helped him defeat Randy Orton at Backlash. He later sent R-Truth through a table at the press conference. Could we be seeing the first cracks in Cena’s heel persona? I think Cena wins, but could R-Truth serve as a martyr to help Cena find his way back home? Winner: John Cena.
James H. Williams: While I didn’t have R-Truth on my bingo card as a participant during John Cena’s retirement tour, I think there will be an opportunity for Truth to be featured in a prominent spot and put together a fun match. While the title isn’t on the line, I’m not expecting any sort of surprise result. At the very least, there’s some direction on who Cena’s next opponent might be on the other side of SNME. Winner: John Cena.
World Heavyweight Championship match: Jey Uso (c) vs. Logan Paul
Jordan Mendoza: The only title being defended on the night, this match has the potential to surprise people. Hate him or love him, Paul knows how to deliver a captivating match. He’ll definitely try to cheat his way to victory, but it would be way too early to strip the championship off Uso. Winner: Jey Uso.
Richard Morin: It felt as if WWE didn’t even want to go through with this match after initially teasing it for Backlash, only to instead shoehorn an Intercontinental Championship rematch between Dominik Mysterio and Penta. Still, WWE wants a world title match for Saturday Night’s Main Event, so this is what we get with WWE Champion John Cena not defending. It’s a clear win for the champ. Winner: Jey Uso.
James H. Williams: I think it’s a smart move to have Logan Paul and the general interest he attracts and put him in the ring with Jey Uso. I don’t expect Uso to have his title reign end this early, but I think someone like Paul could be a nice change of pace and provide a different type of match from what we’ve seen with Uso on a big stage against Gunther. Winner: Jey Uso.
CM Punk and Sami Zayn vs. Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker
Jordan Mendoza: All eyes have been on what Rollins does with Paul Heyman on his side. With him and Breakker trying to establish a reign of destruction, Punk and Zayn will have their hands full trying to put a quick end to it. But there’s no way you slow down the momentum after the shocking WrestleMania moment. Rollins and Breakker introduce the final piece to their puzzle with another member that gets them the defining victory. Winner: Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker.
Richard Morin: Punk and Zayn will try to be the first pair to slow down the new faction of Rollins and Breakker, who will have Paul Heyman in their corner. Rollins’ group has been terrorizing RAW in recent weeks and will make their presence felt even more if they can knock off Punk and Zayn. But I think the new group holds serve here. The biggest question is whether we get introduced to a new member. Winner: Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker.
James H. Williams: Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker united the night after WrestleMania and have a chance to build some momentum together with a tough test in the form of CM Punk and Sami Zayn. I think Punk could use a Premium Live Event victory, but considering where things stand between Punk and Paul Heyman coming out of WrestleMania 41, Heyman will remain a wild card for how this match could play out thanks to his new allegiance to Rollins and Breakker. Winner: Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker.
Steel cage match: Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest
Jordan Mendoza: Drew McIntyre just finds his way into trilogies. A second matchup with Priest practically guarantees a third one in the future, likely leading to SummerSlam. The two have put on a great display of hatred in their feud, and Priest finally gets past McIntyre after weeks of getting stomped on to even the score. Winner: Damian Priest.
Richard Morin: It’s starting to feel like we could get a trilogy of matches between these two after McIntyre defeated Priest in a Sin City Street Fight at WrestleMania 41. Since then, the two have been at war on SmackDown and even took things to the extreme during a fatal four-way at Backlash. If we are getting a third match after this, it only makes sense for Priest to win this one. Winner: Damian Priest.
James H. Williams: This could be the end of the feud between these two. There’s been a level of tension dating back to WrestleMania 40, when Damian Priest cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to surprise Drew McIntyre and win the World Heavyweight Championship. McIntyre got his revenge on Priest during a Sin City Street Fight in April at WrestleMania 41. I’d imagine Priest will find a way to get the best of McIntyre in the cage. Winner: Damian Priest.
Women’s United States Championship match: Zelina Vega (c) vs. Chelsea Green
Jordan Mendoza: Vega had a tough task of trying to follow up on the immaculate job Green did as the inaugural champion. It would please people to put the title back on her, but it feels too early to do it. Green’s agents in Piper Niven and Alba Fyre cost her the match and Vega holds on — barely. Winner: Zelina Vega.
Richard Morin: It seems odd that Green gets a rematch so soon after taking multiple defeats from Vega and ultimately losing her title. Don’t get me wrong; I’m here for the Green Regime, but there’s something missing here. All I can think WWE is eyeing Giulia for the title down the line after pinning Vega Friday on SmackDown. Perhaps they want a heel for Giulia to chase. Winner: Chelsea Green
James H. Williams: Vega fell short of qualifying for the Money in the Bank match on SmackDown but quickly found herself back in a match and defending her title against Green after an attack. Considering the backup Green will have in her corner, it wouldn’t be a bad idea if Vega had some of her own. Winner: Chelsea Green.
Saturday Night’s Main Event history
If there was an event that had WrestleMania-worthy matches not at WrestleMania and for a nationwide audience, it was Saturday Night’s Main Event.
As wrestling continued to grow across the country in the 1980s as WWE strengthened its position as the top company in the U.S., Saturday Night’s Main Event was a way to showcase the biggest stars, getting in the ring against each other.
Typically held on NBC, it allowed millions of people a rare opportunity to tune in to watch marquee matchups, and the show was a success from 1985-1992. After a hiatus, it returned in 2006 and a couple more shows took place over the next few years. It returned again in December 2024 and appears to be something WWE is going to try to hold regularly. The second edition was in San Antonio in January.
Will Jesse Ventura be back for Saturday Night’s Main Event?
It’s unknown if ‘The Body’ will be back on the headset on Saturday night.
WWE Hall of Famer Jesse Ventura hasn’t been confirmed to be at the event. The former governor of Minnesota was a commentator for WWE after his wrestling career and was featured in the early editions of Saturday Night’s Main Event. He came back for the show’s return in December and January.
John Cena 2025 farewell tour stats
Saturday will be the fifth match of the year for Cena as he embarks on his final year of in-ring competition. He’s 3-1 so far in 2025 and it will be the third singles match he’s had. He’s 2-0 in such instances.
His matches this year are:
Men’s Royal Rumble: Lost (Royal Rumble, Feb. 1)
Men’s Elimination Chamber match: Won (Elimination Chamber, March 1)
Undisputed WWE Championship match vs. Cody Rhodes: Won (WrestleMania 41, April 20)
Undisputed WWE Championship match vs. Randy Orton: Won (Backlash, May 10)