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WWE Saturday Night's Main Event Results (7/18/26): Nick Aldis Costs Gunther, Rollins Attacks Reigns

WWE Champion CM Punk will defend his title against Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam after they defeated Gunther and Sami Zayn at Saturday Night's Main Event. Thanks in large part, to SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis.
Rick Ucchino|
WWE Champion CM Punk & Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther & Sami Zayn
WWE Champion CM Punk & Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther & Sami Zayn | WWE

The last major stop along the road to WWE SummerSlam was Saturday night inside the world's most famous arena.

Saturday Night's Main Event was broadcasted live on Peacock from New York's Madison Square Garden and the state of the main event at the 'Biggest Party of the Summer' hung in the balance.

It is now a guarantee that WWE Champion CM Punk and Cody Rhodes will face each other for the title in a singles match. Gunther and Sami Zayn had their chance to make it a Fatal 4-Way if they could defeat Punk and Rhodes in a tag team match Saturday night, but SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis made sure that did not happen.

Aldis came out of nowhere to clock Gunther with the WWE Championship, revenge for the Ring General's blindside attack a week ago, and it resulted in Punk hitting Gunther with a GTS to give his team the win.

World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns was also in the house for Saturday Night's Main Event. Two weeks out from defending his gold against Seth Rollins, The OTC was in celebratory mood while in the Big Apple. Reigns and 2026 NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson closed out the show with a joint acknowledgement ceremony.

Brunson's teammate Karl-Anthony Towns made a huge impact earlier in the night when he helped Danhausen defeat JD McDonagh, while Lyra Valkyria overcame what looked like a broken nose to defeat Bayley. And Fatal Influenced shocked Scream Mode to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship.

Here's everything you may have missed from Saturday Night's Main Event inside Madison Square Garden.

WWE Saturday Night's Main Event detailed results:

Joe Tessitore and WWE Hall of Famer Stephanie McMahon kicked off the Saturday Night's Main Event Countdown Show by running down the major stakes of tonight's main event tag team match. If Gunther and Sami Zayn win, they will be added to the WWE Championship Match between CM Punk and Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam.

Men's United States Champion Trick Williams received an outstanding ovation from the packed crowd inside Madison Square Garden as he made his way down to the ring for the night's opening contest against Laredo Kid.

The Lucha Libre AAA cruiserweight was able to gain the upper hand early when he connected with a missile drop kick from the top rope, but Trick shook off the cobwebs and he dropped Laredo with a spin kick.

Williams wasn't able to capitalize, however, as Laredo's speed made it difficult for Trick to implement his offense. The kid always seemed to be a step ahead and scored a close two count on the Men's U.S. Champion when he rolled through on a Book End attempt. After Trick had rolled to the outside, Laredo then climbed to the top rope and dove off with a senton to the outside.

Laredo rolled Trick back into the ring and went for a corkscrew moonsault, but he came up empty. The moment he got to his feet, Williams was right there with a Trick Shot knee strike to pick up the victory.

Winner: Men's United States Champion Trick Williams.

Stephanie McMahon made her way down to the ring, where she introduced 2026 King of the Ring winner Oba Femi. The Ruler was greeted by loud "Oba" chants and fans performing his trademark strut as he made his way down to meet Stephanie.

When asked whether there was any trepidation about being locked inside Hell in a Cell with Brock Lesnar in two weeks' time, Femi said there was none. He's not the one who has been acting scared. He's not the one who lost at WrestleMania. He's not the one who faked a retirement. He's not the one who hired fake police.

At SummerSlam, he's not going to be locked inside Hell in a Cell with The Beast. It's Brock Lesnar who's going to be locked inside with Oba Femi.

The Women's Tag Team Championship Match opened up the main card festivities as Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid made their way to the ring first, accompanied by the leader of Fatal Influence, Jacy Jayne. Paige and Brie Bella made their way out to the ring soon after, and they were greeted by a crowd that was excited to see them.

Scream Mode opened up their fifth title defense in complete control, and scored a quick near fall on Henley with a double bulldog. A sneaky tag from Reid caught Paige off guard and Fatal Influence gained the momentum with a niffy-looking double team that saw Henley hang Paige out to dry on the top rope right into a German suplex from Reid.

They were getting some good heat on the anti-diva, but one lapse in focus allowed Paige to tag in Brie who quickly took down Henley with a Russian Leg Sweep. She then followed up with the "Yes Kicks" that her husband, Bryan Danielson, made famous.

Jacy Jayne soon attempted to get involved, but Paige knocked her off the ring apron with a stiff forearm. Henley, who was bleeding from the mouth, was then sent flying into the ring barricade, and Reid missed a moonsault attempt after Brie pulled Paige out of the way.

Paige seemed to have everything in control after she threw Reid into the ring post, but as she attempted a German suplex, Henley grabbed a hold of her tag team partner. Brie then took down Henley with a crossbody, which allowed Paige to roll Reid through for a cover.

She appeared to have the match won, but as the referee was making the count, Jacy Jayne pulled on Paige and Reid rolled through with a cover of her own. She grabbed Paige's gear for extra leverage and scored the three count to win the tag team titles.

Winners: AND NEW!... WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid.

Danhausen and JD McDonagh were next up, as the hero of New York bravely took on The Judgment Day in a No Disqualification Match all on his own. Dominik Mysterio quickly took advantage of the match stipulation by jumping onto the ring apron to distract Danhausen, which allowed McDonagh to hit him with a forearm from behind.

Dom and JD then took the opportunity to bash Danhausen's face into the commentary table repeatedly, before rolling him back into the ring. As McDonagh kept up with his offense, Dominik really got the crowd going by shining his shoes with Danhausen's stolen Knicks jersey.

McDonagh thought he had the match won after he hit Danhausen with a brainbuster, but a lackadaisical cover allowed him to kick out at two. JD then went up to the top rope for a moonsault, but he missed. That gave Danhausen a chance to don his Knicks jersey and hit McDonagh with an atomic drop.

Danhausen then had a chance to show off some moves, including a pretty impressive counter into a cutter, but Dom attacked him from behind and ripped off his jersey. As they continued their 2-on-1 assault, some mini-hausens attempted to make the save, but they were taken out by The Judgment Day.

While Dom and JD were distracted by the mini-hausens, however, Danhausen ran up the ramp to his cloning machine and threw in the stuffed black cat that he introduced on SmackDown. The machine proceeded to spit out New York Knicks Center Karl-Anthony Towns.

The man also known as "Kat" marched down to the ring and delivered two massive choke slams, including one that sent Dom through a table. Danhausen then hit McDonagh with the Triple D and pinned him.

Winner: Danhausen

Lyra Valkyria made her way down to the ring for her match with Bayley, and debuted a more eerie version of her entrance song. Bayley was out next, and unfortunately for The Role Model, her music was the same. If you know, you know.

Valkyria was busted open very early into the match after taking a forearm to the nose from Bayley. Blood was gushing all over the ringside area, but after a quick check from the referee, Lyra decided to keep fighting.

Bayley refused to take it easy on her former friend and tag team partner, and continued her assault by tossing her to the outside and hitting a diving forearm across her head and neck area. Lyra was clearly struggling with her nose in rough shape, and she was almost pinned with after a sunset flip powerbomb.

Valkyria was somehow able to gain the upper hand after she connected with a neck breaker across the top turnbuckle. She followed up with a leg drop to the back of Bayley's neck and scored a two count.

The Role Model got back on the offensive with a sunset flip bomb into the corner. She then took Lyra down with a crossface with her hands draped over her broken nose. Valkyria fought her way over to the ropes, which forced Bayley to roll through. When both women got their feet, Bayley went for the Bayley-to-Belly, but Valkyria countered into a bulldog chokehold and forced Bayley to pass out.

Winner: Lyra Valkyria

Post-match, Valkyria added insult to injury when she delivered a Nightwing to Bayley onto the steel ring steps.

With the event being held in Saudi Arabia next year, WWE announced that watch parties for WrestleMania 43 will be held at the Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden. AAA Eternal Glory and NXT Stand & Deliver will also be held at the venue.

It was then time for the main event! WWE Champion CM Punk and Cody Rhodes were the first to make their entrances, and The American Nightmare decided to have a bit of fun with his longtime friend by sitting cross-legged in the middle of the ring as Punk walked down to meet him.

Gunther and Sami Zayn were out next and the action quickly got underway when all four men didn't even bother to wait for the bell to ring to trade blows. Referee Charles Robinson quickly gained control, but the pace of the match stayed lightning fast.

Both teams did a great job of tagging in and out, keeping each man as fresh as possible, but it was Cody Rhodes who broke an early stalemate with two Cody Cutters on The Ring General. Gunther then tagged out, and Sami quickly scored a couple of near falls on The American Nightmare with a roll up and a Blue Thunder Bomb.

Zayn went for a Helluva Kick, but Rhodes moved out of the way and tagged in Punk. The Best in the World then quickly gained the upper hand on Sami with a running knee to the corner and a bulldog. He then hit the top rope elbow drop for a two count and quickly transitioned into the anaconda vice. Gunther tried to break up the hold, but Cody caught him and put him in the Figure Four.

The Ring General was still able to save Sami by racking Punk across the eyes, and then Sami repaid the favor by breaking up the Figure Four. The action really picked up from there as Zayn hit Punk with a Helluva Kick. Cody came in a dropped Zayn with a Cross Rhodes. Gunther then came in and took down Rhodes with a lariat, and when he tried the same on Punk, he counted with a GTS and all four men were down.

Gunther got back to his feet and locked in a sleeper on Punk. The Best in the World was able to stay on his feet, and he reached out in desperation to tag Cody. The American Nightmare then hit a Cross Rhodes on Gunther, but Sami broke up the ensuing pinfall attempt by pushing Punk into referee Charles Robinson.

With the official down, Gunther grabbed the WWE Title belt and clocked Cody with it. He then hit a powerbomb as another referee ran down to the ring to make the count, but SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis appeared out of nowhere to pull the replacement ref out of the ring. Aldis followed up by striking Gunther with the title belt.

The Ring General fell right into the waiting arms of CM Punk, who hit a GTS and then rolled Cody into the cover. Nick Aldis finished what he came to New York to accomplish when helped Charles Robinson back into the ring, and he counted the three. The main event of SummerSlam will remain a singles match.

Winners: WWE Champion CM Punk and Cody Rhodes.

World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns and NBA MVP Jalen Brunson were out next to close the show. Brunson received an NBA style introduction as he made his way back inside the Garden for the first time since winning the Knicks' first title in over 50 years. He met Roman Reigns at Gorilla and both men made their way to the ring to The OTC's entrance music.

The white-hot crowd greeted Brunson with chants of "MVP" and "Jalen Brunson." Once things quieted down, Reigns addressed the WWE Universe. The OTC said this was rare air with greatness acknowledging greatness.

Reigns proceeded to put over Brunson as the Knicks' team captain, the finals MVP and the new King of New York, which prompted another loud "Jalen Brunson" chant from the crowd. Once he could speak again, Roman said that every champ needs a title in WWE, and he presented Brunson with a custom New York Knicks World Heavyweight Championship belt with his own side plates.

With belts in hand, Roman then said it was time. He asked Madison Square Garden and all of New York to acknowledge them, but then Seth Rollins' music hit. Only, it wasn't Rollins who came down to the ring. It was Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton and he had a chair in hand.

The distraction allowed Rollins to attack Roman Reigns from behind. Haliburton slid The Visionary the chair, and he was about to deliver a stomp onto it when Brunson stepped in front of The OTC. The pause allowed Reigns to get to his feet to deliver a Superman punch, and then he followed up with a spear to send Rollins back up the ramp with Haliburton.

With Rollins out of the way, Reigns and Brunson held up their hardware to end the show.

WWE Saturday Night's Main Event match results:

CM Punk
CM Punk | WWE
  • WWE Champion CM Punk & Cody Rhodes defeated Gunther & Sami Zayn thanks to SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis.
  • Lyra Valkyria defeat Bayley.
  • Danhausen defeated JD McDonagh in a No Disqualification Match thanks to an assist from Karl-Anthony Towns.
  • Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid defeated Paige and Brie Bella to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship.
  • Men's United States Champion Trick Williams defeated Laredo Kid with the Trick Shot.
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Published | Modified
Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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