3 Reasons why WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event XLI failed to live up to the expectations

WWE Saturday Night's Main Event saw new champions crowned. CM Punk became the new World Heavyweight Champion, while Jade Cargill also won her maiden Women's Championship from Tiffany Stratton.

However, despite two title changes, the event couldn't live up to the hype. There were a lot of things expected from SNME, as it was slated to shape storylines for Survivor Series: WarGames, which is on November 29, 2025. But the event turned out to be a damp squib.

In this listicle, we will list three reasons why WWE SNME failed to live up to expectations.

#3 No return or twist

A WWE event without a mind-blowing twist or a return of some superstar looks stale. This has been a specialty of the product since Vince McMahon's days, when the main events of special events left a lasting impact on the fans. However, the company's events have been gradually losing their glitter for the past few months. After SummerSlam, all the special shows of WWE have performed below expectations.

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For example, Wrestlepalooza, which was WWE's maiden event for ESPN, was a huge letdown. There was no twist or return of any superstar. The same happened with SNME.

There was no twist in any storyline. The Vision was expected to interrupt the match between Jey Uso and CM Punk, but the trio of Paul Heyman, Bron Breakker, and Bronson Reed remained absent. Brock Lesnar, too, was expected to make a return, but that also didn't happen.

Cody Rhodes was expected to drop the Undisputed Championship to Drew McIntyre, but that also didn't happen. In essence, SNME was below expectations, which once again raises a big question about the creative direction of the company.

#2 Same old story with former WWE Champion, Drew McIntyre

Drew McIntyre's poor run continues in the company. Once again, he had to taste defeat at the hands of Cody Rhodes. He had earlier lost the match to Cody at Wrestlepalooza, which was quite expected.

However, when the creative team pitched another match with Cody with the title on the line, it seemed that something was indeed in the works. It was rumored that Cody could lose the title to McIntyre, especially when McIntyre put up a condition that should the match end by DQ or count-out, Rhodes would lose the championship.

Cody had agreed to McIntyre's new condition before the contract signing. But it showed no result. McIntyre had to swallow a bitter pill of defeat. It also shows that maybe WWE wasn't too keen on pushing him and just wanted to use him for losing big matches.

However, the fans hold the 40-year-old superstar in high regard. A large section of the WWE Universe indeed wanted Drew McIntyre to win the championship at SNME despite him being a heel. This shows the enormous amount of faith the fans still have in him. But maybe Triple H thinks otherwise. It remains to be seen how the company books McIntyre after these two back-to-back losses.

#1 CM Punk vs Jey Uso's lackluster match

The main event match between CM Punk and Jey Uso was also a big letdown. Jey Uso appeared disengaged during the match, and so did CM Punk to an extent. It wasn't an edge-of-the-seat thriller match, something that would have taken the fans by surprise.

Rather, it was a dull match with CM Punk quite expectedly winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Moreover, Jey Uso, who had been exhibiting heel vibes for the past few months, also didn't turn heel.

In this match, the fans expected the intervention of Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed: the Vision members who weren't allowed to compete in the Battle Royal match on RAW. However, nothing of that sort happened, and CM Punk walked out with the title.

It will be interesting to see how Triple H weaves storylines for Survivor Series, which is just three weeks away. This week's Monday Night RAW is going to be an interesting one.

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Edited by Mohammad Bilal