Every WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event of the 2000s, Ranked

If there was an edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event that came up as underwhelming, it was definitely this one. The event kicked off with the top rivalry at the time, which was then WWE Champion John Cena against The Great Khali.

A match that was built for One Night Stand ended up being the match opener for the night. Khali gained the upper hand by beating Cena cleanly, leaving the rest of the show in an ambiguous state with the crowd. 

The next match that took place was Batista and Chris Benoit getting the win over the then World Heavyweight Champion Edge and WWE United States Champion MVP. This tag team bout was the match of the night, as the rest of the card was filled with jobbers.

Followed by this match was Finlay and Hornswoggle defeating The Boogeyman and Little Boogeyman. The final match of the night was the odd team of Kane, Doink the Clown, and Eugene beating Viscera, Umaga, and Kevin Thorn. It was mainly a backwards show as the first matches were the main event while the undercard matches closed the show.

#4: WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event (August 2, 2008)

Usually, Saturday Night’s Main Event would run for two hours on NBC. This time, it was a one-hour special that showcased only three matches. The show began with JBL teaming up with Kane, Cody Rhodes, and Ted DiBiase, gaining the victory over John Cena, Batista, and Cryme Tyme. Closing the show was Jeff Hardy against Edge. In this match, Edge gained the victory due to outside interference by MVP, with whom Hardy was feuding at the time. 

This one-hour special was more of a filler show. For one, the advertised matches were something fans would see in house shows. Edge, on the other hand, was building momentum for his Hell in a Cell Match with The Undertaker at that year’s SummerSlam, as well as JBL, who was the number one contender for CM Punk’s World Heavyweight Championship.

#3: WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event (August 18, 2007)

Much like the event in 2008, this one was more of a build towards SummerSlam. The show started with Batista and Kane beating the then World Heavyweight Champion, The Great Khali, and Finlay. Following this tag team match was then WWE Champion John Cena beating Carlito. Afterwards, Randy Orton delivered an RKO to Cena on a steel chair at ringside. 

One of the biggest moments of the night was Evander Holyfield having a Boxing Match against Matt Hardy. The bout ended with Holyfield knocking out the U.S. Champion MVP for constantly berating Holyfield. In the end of it all, Hardy earned Holyfield’s respect for showing so much resiliency. The final match was CM Punk and The Boogeyman getting the win over ECW Champion John Morrison and Big Daddy V.

The final segment was Mr. McMahon seeking to find out who could be his illegitimate child. Not having any luck, Stone Cold Steve Austin came out to insult his former boss. Austin concluded his “piece” by hitting McMahon with a “Stone Cold Stunner.”

#2: WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event (March 18, 2006)

For this being the first WWE special held on a Saturday night in over a decade, fans expected this to be a big show . Luckily for them and WWE, it ended up being one, as it was a show building towards WrestleMania 22. The opening match involved WrestleMania main events colliding with one another in tag team action, while the closing bout was between Shawn Michaels and Shane McMahon competing in a Street Fight. 

The show also gave fans segments that ended in a brawl, such as Mick Foley attacking Edge and The Undertaker physically responding to Mark Henry’s challenge. The most entertaining segment was Stone Cold Steve Austin and JBL going at it in a beer-drinking contest. Fans also witnessed Mickie James making an impact by turning heel on Trish Stratus and challenging her for the WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania.

#1: WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event (July 15, 2006)

When thinking about which Saturday Night’s Main Event had the most stacked talent in one show, it was the one that was building for SummerSlam 2006. It was a combination of RAW and SmackDown’s top talent all competing in entertaining matchups. A strong open occurred when Hulk Hogan made his return to WWE to accept Randy Orton’s SummerSlam challenge. 

SmackDown’s top babyface, Batista, had his first match in almost half a year when he, World Champion Rey Mysterio, and Bobby Lashley defeated King Booker, WWE United States Champion Finlay, and Mark Henry. The unique duo of Carlito and Trish Stratus also defeated Intercontinental Champion Johnny Nitro and Melina, whom they’ve had problems with on RAW. 

The most entertaining match of the night was Triple H and Shawn Michaels of D-Generation X defeating all five members of The Spirit Squad in what was a 5-on-2 handicap elimination match. What was amusing about this match was that whenever someone faced elimination, they entered a shark cage at ringside.

When the entire Spirit Squad was in the cage, DX gave Mr. Mahon a taste of his own medicine when Michaels hit McMahon with a “Sweet Chin Music”, thus landing on The Spirit Squad. 

Following the Handicap Elimination Match were two cooldown matches, where the first one was SmackDown’s Michelle McCool beating RAW’s Victoria in a Diva Bull-Riding Contest. Next up was an ECW bout, where Sabu defeated Stevie Richards in an Extreme Rules Match. Right before the main event, The Great Khali, alongside ECW Champion Big Show, came out to gloat about their attack on The Undertaker at ECW.

Thinking they were untouchable, The Undertaker came out for revenge. Unfortunately for The Undertaker, he fell short against the two giants and was beaten down much like the initial attack. 

The final match of the night was John Cena getting a shot at the WWE Championship against Edge. Cena pulled all the shots in trying to reclaim the WWE Title. What seemed as if Cena was on his way to beating Edge, Lita pulled the referee out of the ring and slapped him in the face, leading to Cena winning the match via disqualification. This made Cena furious due to not winning the championship in a DQ finish.

Cena decided to take his anger out on Edge by nailing him with an “FU” on the announcer’s table.