WWE Saturday Night's Main Event 11/1/2025: Where Do We Go From Here?

The fifth edition of WWE's modern-day Saturday Night's Main Event was studded with gold this past weekend, as all four matches had championships on the line! Two champions — Dominik Mysterio and Cody Rhodes — retained their titles, while Rhodes' fellow AEW alumni Jade Cargill and CM Punk captured their own; in the wake of this shake-up, WWE CCO Triple has promised a "new landscape" on tonight's "Raw."

What will that landscape look like, you ask? Well, we think we have some ideas! The WINC staff has already given you some moments and matches we loved and hated, as well as our winners and losers, but now it's time for us to look to the future and divine how WWE creative coming off SNME will shape tonight's "Raw" and beyond as we prepare to close out 2025. New champions were crowned at WWE Saturday Night's Main Event — where do we go from here?

Cody Rhodes is still Undisputed WWE Champion after defeating Drew McIntyre, even though his champion's advantage was taken away when McIntyre demanded the stipulation be put in place on Friday's episode of "WWE SmackDown." That didn't stop Rhodes, however, who was able to hit McIntyre with a DDT right on the belt while the referee was downed in the corner. Now that Rhodes has once again defeated McIntyre, however, where does the story go for both of them?

If we know anything about McIntyre's character, it's that he's going to whine about how Rhodes got the victory by cheating means. He'll likely run the video over and over for "SmackDown" General Manager Nick Aldis and the crowd, showing Rhodes use the title, complaining that he deserves another fair shot at the gold. It's honestly possible that McIntyre could get another shot, this time, in a No Holds Barred match or some other kind of hardcore stipulation. If he couldn't beat Rhodes by taking away the champion's advantage, he could always attempt to lay him out in a Last Man Standing match or something.

Rhodes and McIntyre currently don't exactly feel like they'd fit into a WarGames match at Survivor Series this year. So, they could run a street fight or something of the like between them on that premium live event, as it's still marketed as one of the "Big Four" (or five, depending on who you ask) annual shows for WWE. If the company wanted to extend the story, they could run another match between the men at Saturday Night's Main Event next month, as it's a big show with John Cena's final match.

Randy Orton is hopefully going to come into play somewhere in Rhodes' story. Orton had been eyeing up the title, and could return to attempt to talk some sense into his friend, after Rhodes has been acting a little more aggressive, borderline heelish, in recent weeks. Orton will likely make his return to WWE TV ahead of Survivor Series, or even at the event, if Rhodes has a match. There's also the idea floating around the internet that Orton will be the one to turn on Rhodes, and the champion's heel turn teases right now could be a misdirection for that.

It doesn't feel like WWE will want to put Rhodes in another major feud before the end of the year, so it looks like another match with McIntyre is where they're heading. To fresh things up, hopefully Orton makes his return somewhere along the line, though it doesn't feel like "The Scottish Psycopath" is ever getting his hands on the Undisputed WWE Championship, at least not while "The American Nightmare" is holding the gold.

Written by Daisy Ruth

There aren't many better ways to begin your first title reign than a five-minute dismantling of the WWE Women's Champion of 302 days, but that's what Jade Cargill did at Saturday Night's Main Event against Tiffany Stratton. 

A major part of that victory was a knee injury sustained by Stratton, removing her base as she attempted to fight back and leaving her completely vulnerable to Cargill's onslaught. So it stands to reason that the former champion is not in the right condition to be calling for a rematch, and even if she does there's a chance it will be shot down by General Manager Nick Aldis. So that leaves the question of who will stand opposite the new champion. 

Former champion Nia Jax was Cargill's primary opponent when it came to earning number one contendership to the title, and will surely lurk around the picture for the next opportunity. On the other hand, Stratton was just last Friday being warned by Kiana James and Giulia that she would regret not taking their help, and while that may not be her takeaway from the defeat, that still puts them on the periphery of the title picture even with Giulia being the current Women's United States Champion. 

While this is pending her recovery from a finger injury, perhaps the most prominent of names to stake their claim for Cargill's title is Bianca Belair. Together, they reigned as the Women's Tag Team Champions until Naomi drove a car-shaped wedge between them, and things had never quite been the same when Cargill made her return and Belair distanced herself from the feud between her fellow Big Three members. Now Cargill has fully embraced the dark side as one might say, it will be interesting to see how their dynamic shifts with the title in the frame.

Written by Max Everett

"Saturday Night's Main Event" saw Dominik Mysterio come out of his ninth Intercontinental Championship defense with his reign barely intact after Penta mistakenly nailed Rusev with Mysterio's ring bell hammer. While the dirty finish may imply a continuation in either Rusev or Penta's title campaigns, three failed attempts from Rusev and two from Penta may force them to look away from Mysterio's title, and towards each other in the beginning of a vitriolic feud. If Rusev and Penta are out of the Intercontinental title picture, who is Mysterio's next challenger? With the golden gleam of the Intercontinental Championship hanging in the balance of a volatile title scene, where do we go from here?

WWE could be really obvious and boring, and continue to run either the Mysterio/Rusev or the Mysterio/Penta feud. However, with only Survivor Series and another "Saturday Night's Main Event" left on WWE's 2025 calendar, I struggle to see how this will end in a clean, satisfying way for Mysterio, Rusev, or Penta. An Extreme Rules or other stipulation match for Survivor Series, which will be hosted in Mysterio's hometown of San Diego, is possible (and would be kind of cool), but then what? I don't know if Rusev's over enough to dethrone Mysterio period, much less in his hometown. Penta's probably at that level with the fans, but again, it's not a great look for Mysterio if he drops the title in his own San Diego streets. If Mysterio retains, which would be a defensible call, then what happens to either Rusev or Penta's reputations? While "Saturday Night's Main Event" would be a lackluster place to end this three-way story, I don't know if keeping these contenders on life support until Survivor Series would be much better.

If not Rusev or Penta, then who? With Saturday's hammer incident just another point in their timeline of animosity, Rusev and Penta could turn on each other, and if either of them aren't going to campaign for the Intercontinental Title, I'd anticipate that. For Mysterio, though, the door is — thank God — open for a variety of contenders. Whether Pearce forces him into an Open Challenge, a la Sami Zayn and Ilja Dragunov's recent successful United States Championships, or WWE decides to push Mysterio with a full-blown homecoming storyline, I'm excited to see what opponents outside of Penta and Rusev can deliver. Maybe we'll see the fantastic Ivar stun Mysterio with his power and agility. Maybe we'll see Sheamus campaign for yet another title. Maybe we'll see The Judgement Day finally fracture, with Finn Balor or JD McDonagh breaking free from the group to gun for Mysterio's title. Who will be the next target of Mysterio's lying, cheating, and stealing ways?

Written by Angeline Phu

It took five GTS finishers and a number of near-falls to get there, but CM Punk has finally reclaimed his spot at the top of WWE's mountain at the expense of "Main Event" Jey Uso. But while that's a journey to reclaim what he had held for just moments back at SummerSlam coming to an end, which in itself was supposed to be a decade-long journey to reclaim what he had lost in 2013 coming to an end, it means yet another one with Punk as the champion is beginning. And the first question will undoubtedly be: Who's next? (Probably, definitely not the one who coined that term, for all that is worth)

There is of course the runner-up in Saturday's battle for the title vacated by Seth Rollins, although having been beaten clean that would usually entail a gesture to the back of the line. LA Knight was another in the running to get his hands on Rollins, and despite falling behind in the chase by the time Saturday rolled round, Knight could be moving up in the aforementioned line. Rollins himself is dealing with a shoulder injury, which would render him out of the immediate running for Punk, though undoubtedly they will be picking up things when he does return sooner or later. 

Another former holder of the title, and the man Punk beat at SummerSlam for the first ill-fated reign, Gunther, has yet to return since that match. If he were to do so soon, then one could argue his championship pedigree should be enough to grant him a rematch. Brock Lesnar will more than likely return towards or at the Royal Rumble, but it would be folly not to mention him considering his re-alignment with Paul Heyman, Heyman being the one who betrayed Punk and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania to align with Rollins – who he also betrayed alongside Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed. 

And that brings us to Reed and Breakker, the latter being the one to initiate the Vision's betrayal of Rollins, pulling the title from him and parading with it until the following week. General Manager Adam Pearce carved them out of the title picture for their actions, making things cleaner for Punk as he defeated the eventual battle royal winner in Uso. So they are more than likely to have something to do or say about that now that a new champion wears the belt, and it would make all the sense in the world for that to be shown during Monday's "WWE Raw."

Written by Max Everett