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On Saturday, January 25, the WWE will run their second Saturday Night’s Main Event show in the last six weeks since resurrecting it from a 16-year hiatus last month.
SNME was launched in 1985, and ushered in many epic moments during the company’s Hulkamania Era. A generation of wrestling fans grew up on Saturday Night’s Main Event as the franchise ran 31 episodes from 1985 until 1992.
After 1992, the WWE didn’t hold another SNME until 2006. That year, the promotion would go on to hold five SNME episodes over the next two years. Then, the company shelved their iconic show until December 14, 2024.
As of this writing, there are a handful of matches confirmed for Saturday’s big show. Most of those matches will have WWE championships on the line.
The January 25th SNME show is headlined by Gunther defending his World Heavyweight Championship against Jey Uso. This highly anticipated event will emanate from the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas.
The show will also feature a Women’s World Championship match, an Intercontinental Title match, and a hard-hitting hoss fight between Braun Strowman and Jacob Fatu. And, last but not least, Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens will have a contract signing for their ladder match at Royal Rumble a week later. Shawn Michaels will be the official moderator.
This weekend’s WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event has an 8pm ET start time on NBC and Peacock. Let’s take a closer look at the available WWE odds, courtesy of the top sports betting sites, and make our WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event predictions.
WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event Card
WWE Match | Favorite | Prediction |
---|---|---|
Braun Strowman vs. Jacob Fatu | Jacob Fatu (-2000) | Jacob Fatu (-2000) |
Women’s World Championship Match | Rhea Ripley (-7500) | Rhea Ripley (-7500) |
Intercontinental Championship Match | Bron Breakker (-500) | Bron Breakker (-500) |
World Heavyweight Championship Match | Gunther (-2000 | Gunther (-2000 |
Royal Rumble Contract Signing | NA | NA |
Rhea Ripley is by far, the largest odds-on favorite for Saturday Night’s Main Event card. She’s listed at -7500 odds, which is bigger than any favorite on the December 14, 2024, SNME show. That card saw Liv Morgan as the favorite at -5000 odds.
Gunther and Jacob Fatu are the second biggest favorites on the board for this weekend’s SNME event. Each man is listed at -2000 odds to win their respective bouts.
The smallest favorite for the show is Bron Breakker (-500) as he defends the Intercontinental Title against Sheamus. Keep an eye on these WWE odds as they could shift throughout the week.
WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event Predictions
The following WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event predictions are for the confirmed matches as of this writing:
Braun Strowman vs. Jacob Fatu
- Braun Strowman (+750)
- Jacob Fatu (-2000)
Could this be the next big step in Jacob Fatu’s ascension up the ladder in the WWE and within his own faction? It’s certainly a massive opportunity for Fatu as he takes on Braun Strowman it what will be a stiff contest with plenty of physicality.
With Solo Sikoa losing to Roman Reigns on RAW’s Netflix debut a few weeks ago, The New Bloodline is in need of a big win on a signature event. Additionally, Sikoa’s hold on the group’s leadership role could diminish with each victory by Fatu.
WWE has a ready-made feud on their hands with Sikoa and Fatu. Real life cousins could turn into bitter enemies. Personally, I rather see the duo claim the tag-team titles first. Another Samoan tag-team carrying on the legacy and heritage of previous generations would be incredible to this longtime wrestling fan.
As for this match, it makes no sense to have Strowman win. A victory for Fatu would elevate him further, create another legitimate heel singles star, keep The New Bloodline faction in the spotlight, and set Fatu up for bigger feuds.
Every year, wrestlers are elevated after WrestleMania to become the next cycle’s superstars. Fatu is one of my picks to get that elevation and become a world title contender.
Bet: Jacob Fatu (-2000)
Women’s World Championship Match
- Rhea Ripley (-7500)
- Nia Jax (+1400)
Rhea Ripley recently won back the title that was taken from her last year. She defeated Liv Morgan after a feud that spanned most of 2024. However, Ripley didn’t have to wait long before her next opponent materialized.
Nia Jax attacked Ripley backstage at the start of a recent episode of RAW. Ripley would save Bayley after a match between her and Jax. The two would end up in a post-match brawl that resulted in Ripley demanding a match at SNME.
Jax is one of the most believable women on the roster when it comes to being a champ. Unfortunately, now is not the time for her. Ripley is the face of the women’s division. Sure, she will have company at the top when Charlotte is in full swing, but it’s clear that Ripley is one of the company’s biggest stars regardless of gender.
As you can see by the odds, WWE betting sites listed Ripley as the biggest favorite for the entire event. That’s largely due to the fact that Ripley just won the title back a few weeks ago and there’s no way that the WWE will take the belt off of her so soon.
This match should be intense with some physicality and stiff moves. I expect it to be entertaining between the ropes. Yet, it’s a foregone conclusion that Ripley will win.
Bet: Rhea Ripley (-7500)
Intercontinental Championship Match
- Bron Breakker (-500)
- Sheamus (+300)
In a recent interview, Sheamus made the following comments about his physical style of wrestling:
“I’m sure there are people who don’t want to get in there with me because they don’t like the physical aspect that I bring, but I don’t give a sh*t because if you want to go in there with me, come in there with me. A lot of young talent will want to get in there, and they’ll know when they’re going to have a Sheamus match — a banger of a Sheamus match to walk away — and the crowd will give them that much more respect.”
Well, he’s not going to have to worry about an opponent that shies away from physicality, stiff shots, and a fight. Bron Breakker, from the legendary Steiner family, is a more athletic and well-rounded version of Sheamus. He loves a fight just as much as the Celtic Warrior.
These two men have been involved in some sort of feud or storyline since last fall. Breakker has been the IC champ two times, with his second reign beginning on October 21 after he defeated Jey Uso for the belt. Uso had taken the title off of him on the September 23 episode of RAW.
At Survivor Series WarGames, Breakker defeated Sheamus and Ludwig Kaiser in a triple threat match for the IC belt. He hit a spear on Sheamus for the pinfall victory. Sheamus suffered a storyline injury to his ribs during the match due to Kaiser’s underhanded tactics. Breakker took advantage of this with the spear.
It’s a bit surprising to me that Sheamus has never held the IC belt before. He’s held just about every other championship in the promotion. With that said, I don’t see that changing this weekend. Breakker is on a trajectory towards the world championship level.
Like with Fatu, I expect Breakker to get that elevation to main event status after WrestleMania. The odds are still low enough to find small value with Breakker retaining the IC belt.
Bet: Bron Breakker (-500)
World Heavyweight Championship Match
- Gunther (-2000)
- Jey Uso (+750)
I’m actually surprised that Gunther’s odds aren’t higher than this. A line of -2000 seems rather low considering there’s no way that The Ring General is losing this Saturday.
Gunther won the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam last year by defeating Damien Priest in an obvious result. Personally, I thought that Gunther should’ve been world champ sooner. With that said, I don’t see the WWE taking the belt off of Gunther anytime soon, and certainly not for Jey Uso.
I’ve enjoyed the rise and success of Jey Uso as a singles star. However, the WWE has clearly placed that glass ceiling over his head and there’s no reason to believe that they will make him a world champ anytime soon. In fact, Sikoa and Fatu have a better shot at becoming a world champ before either Uso brother.
Nevertheless, that doesn’t take away from this bout. Uso is going to be a big reason why this match is a success. He reminds me of the baby faces of back in the day. Wrestlers like Ricky Steamboat, Tommy Rich, Tito Santana, etc. Wrestlers that really made the heels look like monsters. Uso will do that for Gunther and it will be a great match.
Gunther will hold this title until WrestleMania. I remain torn as to if the WWE will and should have him put over someone else to become world champ.
Bet: Gunther (-2000)
Royal Rumble Contract Signing
As mentioned above, Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens will appear at Saturday Night’s Main Event to sign their contract for a ladder match at the 2025 Royal Rumble.
SmackDown GM Nick Aldis has demanded that both men relinquish the championship titles that they’re carrying, even though Owen’s belt was stolen and not earned. The titles will be suspended over the ring for their ladder match at RR.
Shawn Michaels, who holds a special place in WWE lore for his ladder matches, will moderate the contract signing between Rhodes and Owens. It would be great if the WWE used Sami Zayn to add another layer to this storyline.
Owens recruited Zayn to have his back at the Rumble as he would have his. It’s hard to trust whether Owens would actually help Zayn or not. But the WWE could make things more interesting if Zayn comes out during the contract signing to help Owens. At the very least, it would create more doubt about Rhodes winning at the Royal Rumble, which 99% of WWE fans believe he will at this point.
Recent Saturday Night’s Main Event Results
As mentioned, the most recent SNME was held on December 14, 2024, at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.
By time the show was finalized, there were six total matches if you count the Dark Match (untelevised). Otherwise, the televised portion saw five bouts.
I went a perfect 5-0 in my WWE predictions for this event. The following is a quick recap of the results with some quotes from my predictions for each match:
Sami Zayn vs. Drew McIntyre
“As for this weekend’s SNME bout, the oddsmakers got it right. Take McIntyre to win a competitive match, which will put him back into contention for whatever title he chooses.”
McIntyre was a -700 betting favorite over Sami Zayn (+400). McIntyre would go on to win via pinfall at the 10:05 mark. It was a bit surprising that the match was this short, considering how much Zayn had been pushed.
Women’s US Championship Match
At the time of publication, I wasn’t able to get odds for this bout. However, I got the prediction right by taking Chelsea Green who won via pinfall at the 8:05 mark.
“Heading into the tourney, including all the way up until the Semifinals, I was picking Stratton to win it all. She’s the perfect candidate for this mid-card title. Yet, the same could be said about Green. And, with the help of Niven, I expect Green to walk away as the inaugural Women’s US Champ.”
Women’s World Championship Match
This really was one of the easiest matches to predict. Liv Morgan was a -5000 favorite against Iyo Sky at +1000 odds. Morgan would win via pinfall at the 9:05 mark.
“As stated above, Morgan has the biggest odds for the entire SNME card. Yet, the WWE wants us to pretty much believe that Sky has a real shot at winning, despite knowing that Morgan isn’t dropping the title to her or anyone else until next year. Further cementing the outcome is the fact that Sky isn’t a believable world champion right now considering the other names that Morgan could drop the belt to.”
World Heavyweight Triple Threat Match
This was a good match between three top competitors. However, I didn’t see a scenario where Gunther (-300) would lose to Finn Balor (+800) or Damien Priest (+1000) despite what the oddsmakers listed them at.
“With that said, I don’t see Gunther dropping the title until closer to WrestleMania next year. He’s a legit champ with plenty of value to the fans and WWE programming. Priest and Balor are not at his level of on-air credibility right now. I see Gunther taking advantage of the bad blood between Priest and Balor to pick up the victory and moving into 2025 as the champ.”
Undisputed WWE Championship Match
In the show’s most heated rivalry, Cody Rhodes (-500) successfully defended his title against Kevin Owens (+300). It wasn’t hard to predict this outcome:
“As for this match, it’s really crazy that Rhodes’ odds aren’t much higher. You can book The American Nightmare as your champ until at least the 2025 WrestleMania. Right now, there isn’t anyone to take the belt off of Rhodes other than Reigns or Punk. And, that wouldn’t happen until a major event like Royal Rumble or WrestleMania.”