WWE Sunday Night’s Main Event 2026 Preview And Predictions

WWE Sunday Night’s Main Event 2026 is not a typo. The Peacock special is traditionally held on Saturday night, but this time around, WWE’s latest marquee event heads to Atlanta for a rare non-PLE on a Sunday.

With recent SNME events featuring rather lackluster match cards, Sunday’s special is more reminiscent of a major PLE. With no actual PLE scheduled for September, Sunday Night’s Main Event is loaded with a handful of WWE’s biggest stars. Arguably the biggest attraction inside the State Arm Arena is a WrestleMania grudge match pitting Randy Orton against Cody Rhodes.

But Sunday Night’s Main Event will also feature Oba Femi and Charlotte Flair competing in high-profile matches as WWE sets the stage for October’s Money in the Bank.

Below is the confirmed match card for WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event XLV:

• Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton

• Bron Breakker vs. Oba Femi

• Baron Corbin vs. Lil Yachty

• Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair and Tatum Paxley vs. B-Fab, Jade Cargill and Michin

Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair and Tatum Paxley vs. B-Fab, Jade Cargill and Michin

Let’s take a look at some important notes for the final Saturday Night’s Main Event before SummerSlam:

• Orton is making his return to the ring after missing roughly four months of action following his WrestleMania 42 loss to Rhodes.

• Femi retired Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam last month and could still potentially get a future world title match after winning the King of the Ring tournament earlier this summer.

• Rapper Lil Yachty, Trick Williams’ manager, will be making his in-ring debut in WWE. All he has to do is last five minutes in the ring with Corbin in order to earn Williams another shot at the United States Championship.

Orton is making his return to the ring after missing roughly four months of action following his WrestleMania 42 loss to Rhodes.

Femi retired Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam last month and could still potentially get a future world title match after winning the King of the Ring tournament earlier this summer.

Rapper Lil Yachty, Trick Williams’ manager, will be making his in-ring debut in WWE. All he has to do is last five minutes in the ring with Corbin in order to earn Williams another shot at the United States Championship.

Location: State Farm Arena (Atlanta)

Start Time: 8 pm EST/7 pm EST (5 pm PST)

Streaming Info: Peacock (US), YouTube (internationally)

Given that Rhodes beat Orton at WrestleMania 42, it stands to reason that this match is all about “The Viper” getting at least some modicum of revenge at Sunday Night’s Main Event.

Because Rhodes rarely loses and recently suffered a big WWE title loss to Sami Zayn, this could be a case where Rhodes sneaks by Orton with a craft win only for Orton to beat him down post-match. The reality, though, is that Orton, after a long layoff, needs to win at SNME in order to rebuild some momentum.

With Orton technically performing as a heel despite positive crowd reactions, expect him to beat Rhodes in controversial fashion in Atlanta.

WWE has booked itself into a bit of a pickle with Breakker vs. Femi at Sunday Night’s Main Event because, truth be told, neither star should be losing right now.

Breakker has reportedly been frustrated with the way he’s been booked in 2026, and rightfully so. He has, after all, been saddled with a role in The Vision that is well below him. The good news is that WWE appears to be taking steps toward reestablishing Breakker as a potential main eventer.

The bad news is that Breakker will run into Femi at Sunday Night’s Main Event, and “The Ruler” likely isn’t losing another match anytime soon.

WWE’s celebrity obsession continues with Yachty’s first-ever match, which will have a five-minute limit.

It should be kept short and sweet, with Yachty spending most of the time avoiding Corbin in order to get Williams another US title shot. This will be an angle more than a wrestling match, and it’s highly unlikely that anyone gets pinned inside State Farm Arena.

Instead, expect Williams to help Yachty outwit and outlast Corbin so that Yachty lasts the full five minutes and “wins” the match.

The never-ending saga between Flair and Cargill will continue at WWE Sunday Night’s Main Event but with a few other parties involved in a six-woman tag team match.

The X-factor here is Paxley, who was recently called up from NXT and has awkwardly aligned herself with Flair and Bliss in much the same Bliss initially did with Flair. Because Paxley is new to the main roster and B-Fab and Michin are essentially never pushed strongly, this outcome seems clear.

Expect Cargill to be protected as either B-Fab or Michin gets pinned by Flair at WWE Sunday Night’s Main Event.

Prediction: Bliss, Flair and Paxley

This article was originally published on Forbes.com