WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event 2026 was a pivotal stop for SmackDown and its most prestigious title, the WWE Championship.
After Drew McIntyre’s upset victory over Cody Rhodes, WWE moved quickly to name a new No. 1 contender for the Scottish superstar’s title. SmackDown’s General Manager Nick Aldis booked a mini-tournament featuring a quartet of singles matches, with the winners of those bouts earning the right to compete in a Fatal 4-Way to determine who would face McIntyre for the WWE Championship at the 2026 Royal Rumble.
At Saturday Night’s Main Event XLIII in Montreal, four of SmackDown’s biggest stars competed for the right to earn that No. 1 contendership: Damian Priest, Randy Orton, Sami Zayn and main roster newcomer Trick Williams.
WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event Results for Sami Zayn vs. Trick Williams vs. Randy Orton vs. Damian Priest
At WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event 2026, there seemed to be only two stars who had a realistic shot at leaving the Bell Centre with a WWE Championship opportunity: Randy Orton and Sami Zayn.
At times, it looked like either star could win it, but in the end, it was Zayn who prevailed with a career-definining victory when he blasted Priest with his panted Helluva Kick to pick up the victory and become the No. 1 contender for the WWE title.
Here are the key moments and highlights of Zayn’s massive victory at Saturday Night’s Main Event:
- Zayn, the hometown hero, got a huge reaction as expected, with the crowd chanting “Ole! Ole! Ole!” to kick off the match. Early on, Williams targeted Zayn as the match spilled to the outside. Back in, Priest took down Zayn with a couple of clotheslines.
- Orton tossed out Priest and then faced off with Zayn. Orton pummeled Zayn with punches in the corner until Zayn reversed and did the same. Williams reentered the ring and beat down both Orton and Zayn. He hit a neckbreaker on Zayn for a two-count, the closest nearfall thus far.
- Williams blasted Zayn with a spinning heel kick, but Priest entered the ring and hit him with a flatliner. After nearly slipping on the rope, Zayn hit Priest with a nice tornado DDT for another two count. Orton entered the ring and nailed Pritest with a power slam before hitting another on Zayn. Orton hit his patented draping DDT on Priest and went for it on Williams, but Zayn stopped him and hit a blue thunderbomb.
- Williams took out Orton with a lariat and Priest took him out with a kick. The action spilled to the outside as Zayn hit a flipping dive onto Williams. Zayn hit Orton with a side suplex onto the announce table and then sent Priest into the corner with an exploder suplex.
- Zayn nailed Priest with a Helluva Kick, but Williams pulled the referee out of the ring as he made the count. The crowd hated that. Orton blasted Williams with two side suplexes of his own onto the announce table. He then did the same to Zayn and Priest before firing up the crowd.
- Orton sent Priest into the announce table for a third time, then rolled him into the ring. Williams rolled back out, and Zayn went for another blue thunderbomb. Orton wiggled out, and Zayn got a quick roll-up for two. Orton inadvertently went shoulder first into the steel ring post.
- Zayn leaped off the top, and Orton ducked. Orton attempted an RKO, but Zayn blocked it. Zayn pumped up the crowd as he waited for Orton to stand up, but Zayn ran right into an RKO. Williams tossed out Orton and tried to steal the pin, but Priest broke it up.
- Williams and Priest exchanged blows on the apron, and Orton got back up and hit them simultaneously with draping DDTs. The crowd chant “RKO!” as Orton teased an RKO on Williams. He went for it, but Williams avoided and sent Orton into Priest, who went for a South of Heaven Chokeslam.
- Moments later, Priest went for it again, but Williams avoided. Williams ran right into Zayn, who hit him with an exploder suplex. Zayn missed the Helluva Kick, and Williams climbed to the top rope. Zayn met him at the top, and Priest reentered the ring. He picked up Zayn and nailed him with a Razor’s edge.
- Zayn was able to get back up and hit Priest with the Helluva Kick out of nowhere. He went for the pin and got it just in time before Orton could break it up. Post-match, WWE Champion Drew McIntyre showed up and tried to attack Zayn, but Zayn escaped and sent McIntyre over the top rope.
WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event Results: What’s Next for Sami Zayn and Randy Orton?
Sami Zayn has spent much of the year not-so-subtly hinting at his desire to become a world champion, and at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event, he got himself one step closer to that dream becoming a reality.
But is it actually still a dream? Well, it would appear so.
Though Zayn will now face McIntyre at the 2026 WWE Royal Rumble, WWE’s reported WrestleMania plans for the WWE title don’t involve Zayn. Rather, the two leading options are McIntyre vs. Rhodes or a triple threat match with Fatu, not Zayn, as the third superstar involved. For Zayn, that means that his victory at Saturday Night’s Main Event is about as close to winning a world title as he will get anytime soon.
When WWE recently made drastic changes to its WrestleMania 42 plans, there was hope that Zayn could find himself in the world title mix come WrestleMania. With Zayn earning his shot for the Royal Rumble, however, that looks a lot less likely as the wildly popular star figures to be a stepping stone for McIntyre en route to WrestleMania 42.
Zayn’s big win ultimately should keep him right where he typically is at the cusp of the main event scene. Likewise, Randy Orton, who came up short at Saturday Night’s Main Event, isn’t positioned to be a factor in the WWE Championship scene as WrestleMania 42 approaches.
Much like Zayn, there had, at times, been teases that Orton would be involved in the WWE title scene come WrestleMania 42. But when he recently made his return in a segment with The Miz on SmackDown, he largely seemed to move on from his storylines with both McIntyre and Cody Rhodes in favor of a rivalry with Williams.
That makes Orton a likely candidate to enter the 2026 men’s WWE Royal Rumble, where he should have a strong showing, although he’s not a major threat to win it. Likewise, both Priest and Williams figure to be involved in the men’s Rumble as well. given his recent issues with Orton, Williams would be a wise choice to eliminate Orton.
WWE should book Williams as one of the most impressive performers in the match. He’s already done a great job of getting over on the main roster and is a star SmackDown should be building around in the months ahead. A strong showing in the 2026 WWE Royal Rumble would go a long way toward accomplishing that goal.
While Williams, Orton and Priest technically left WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event as losers, they are all still well positioned for significant roles on both SmackDown and at WrestleMania 42.