WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event 2026 (WWE SNME 2026) is set for another great year of action and memorable moments, including championship matches, celebrity appearances, and more. And it all starts on Saturday, January 24, with the first event of the year, Saturday Night’s Main Event XLIII, which airs live on Peacock at 8 PM ET/ 5 PM PT in the U.S. and Netflix internationally.
WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event History
WWE SNME first debuted in 1985 as a show that featured some of the company’s top stars in championship matches. This was rare at the time, as normally those kinds of matches weren’t seen on weekly TV. The show ran through 1991 on NBC, bolstering a new golden age of professional wrestling but also television in general, as SNME aired in place of Saturday Night Live reruns, giving NBC live content in such an important TV spot. Early episodes of Saturday Night’s Main Event were a huge draw. The March 14, 1987, edition, which featured Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, and other top names in a massive battle royal, remains to this day the highest-rated televised program to air in a late-night timeslot.
Saturday Night’s Main Event gave viewers a chance to see their favorites for free, and as a result, its popularity rose. The success of SNME led to spinoffs, including Friday night’s The Main Event, which debuted with a rematch of Hogan vs Andre from WrestleMania III. Over 30 million viewers tuned in to the event, which drew a 15.2 rating. The Main Event’s premiere continues today as the highest-rated televised wrestling show in history and one of the highest-rated television specials ever outside of major championships in professional sports.
While initially a great success, television viewing habits changed as the 90s hit and with them came the decline of SNME. Combined with declining ratings and NBC Universal had just acquired the rights to the NBA, the last SNME aired on April 27, 1991. Two additional episodes aired on Fox in 1992 before the show was canceled. It would take 14 years for it to make its triumphant return on NBC as part of WWE’s new contract agreement with USA Network to become the broadcast home of Monday Night Raw. Five episodes of the program aired between 2006-08 before it faced a second cancellation. Still, WWE believed there was value left in the SNME property, and when they renegotiated with USA Network in 2024, this time as the home to Friday Night SmackDown, Saturday Night’s Main Event made a return yet again.
As part of the new agreement, WWE would produce quarterly specials over the course of the five-year deal, meaning 20 new Saturday Night’s Main Event programs in all. The first episode of the revival aired in December 2024 and was steeped in nostalgia. Not only did it air in the Nassau Coliseum, home to the first-ever SNME in 1985, but it also included elements of the old branding such as the WWE throwback logo and return of the Winged Eagle championship belt, original theme song and ring set up with red, white, and blue ropes and no TitanTron, referees in formal attire, and Jesse Ventura back on commentary. Over 15,000 people attended the six-match card, officially relaunching SNME. Since that debut, WWE has pulled out all of the stops for SNME, including CM Punk’s first title win since returning to WWE and, most recently, using the program as the vehicle to host one of the largest events in company history, John Cena’s retirement, which drew a record-breaking gate for a non-PLE.
