Add as a preferred source on Google Saturday Night’s Main Event has always had a very specific role in WWE: turning television into an event. From its debut in 1985 to its modern return in 2024, the special was never just another weekly show. It was built to make fans feel like something bigger could happen on an ordinary Saturday night.
In 2025, though, that weight became even bigger. That same year, the show hosted Goldberg and John Cena’s in-ring farewells, both against Gunther. In other words, Saturday Night’s Main Event stopped being just a nostalgia play and became the setting for two historic endings in the modern era.
Below are the five biggest moments in the history of the show:
5 – Saturday Night’s Main Event Returns in 2024
The return of Saturday Night’s Main Event in December 2024 may not have been the biggest moment from a storyline standpoint, but it was essential in putting the special back on WWE’s calendar.
The show returned at Nassau Coliseum, the same venue that hosted the first edition in 1985, and featured several nostalgic touches, including the old-school presentation, the broadcast-TV feel and appearances from names tied to the classic era. In the ring, Cody Rhodes defeated Kevin Owens in the main event, while Chelsea Green defeated Michin to become the first Women’s United States Champion in history.
The fact is, without that edition, Goldberg and Cena’s retirements in 2025 might not have carried the same weight. WWE needed to prove that Saturday Night’s Main Event still had value as a special stage. And it did.
4 – Hulk Hogan vs. Paul Orndorff in a Steel Cage Match
In January 1987, Hulk Hogan and Paul Orndorff delivered one of the most memorable matches from the classic era of Saturday Night’s Main Event.
The match took place inside a Steel Cage for the WWE Championship, with Hogan defending the title against “Mr. Wonderful.” The finish had everything you would expect from 1980s WWE: both men escaped the cage at nearly the same time, there was confusion between the referees, the match was restarted, and Hogan ultimately walked out as the clear winner.
This is one of those moments that helps explain why the special mattered so much. Hogan rarely wrestled on regular weekly television, so seeing him defend the title on broadcast TV gave Saturday Night’s Main Event an aura that modern shows can rarely recreate.
3 – The Mega Powers Are Formed
Few Saturday Night’s Main Event moments had bigger consequences than the formation of The Mega Powers in October 1987.
At the time, Randy Savage was facing The Honky Tonk Man for the Intercontinental Championship. After the match ended in a disqualification, Savage was attacked by Honky and The Hart Foundation. Miss Elizabeth went to get help, Hulk Hogan made the save, and one of the most iconic alliances in WWE history was born.
What made the moment even more interesting is that it was not just a celebration. It also planted the seeds for everything that came later. The partnership between Hogan, Savage and Elizabeth eventually led to the collapse of The Mega Powers and the historic match between Hogan and Savage at WrestleMania V.
So Saturday Night’s Main Event was not just the backdrop for a major moment. It was the starting point for one of the most important stories of WWE’s golden era.
2 – Goldberg Retires Against Gunther in 2025
Goldberg’s retirement in July 2025 deserves to be near the top for several reasons. First, it marked the end of a career that began in WCW and was defined by an aura of invincibility that crossed generations. Second, WWE chose Gunther as the man responsible for closing that chapter.
Goldberg challenged Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship at Saturday Night’s Main Event on July 12, 2025. WWE promoted the match as the Hall of Famer’s retirement match, while the result confirmed Gunther as the winner and still the World Heavyweight Champion.
Even though Goldberg had been far removed from his peak for years, his farewell carried real historical weight. He was one of the last major symbols of WCW still capable of occupying a major WWE stage. Seeing his career end on a show with such a strong connection to broadcast TV also made sense. Goldberg was always a quick-impact character, built for direct, simple and explosive moments.
In the end, his retirement also helped reinforce Gunther as a kind of executioner of past eras. That would become even clearer a few months later.
1 – John Cena Wrestles His Final Match Against Gunther
The biggest moment in Saturday Night’s Main Event history could only be John Cena’s final match.
On December 13, 2025, at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., Cena officially ended his in-ring career against Gunther. WWE presented the show as a special event built around his farewell, and the match ended with Cena losing by submission after The Ring General locked in the Sleeper Hold.
The result had a huge impact because Cena built his entire career around the idea of never giving up. That is exactly why seeing him tap out in his final match was such a heavy, controversial and symbolic decision. According to the New York Post, it was Cena’s first submission loss since 2004, making the moment even rarer.
The farewell also closed a curious circle. In the same year, Gunther retired both Goldberg and John Cena on editions of Saturday Night’s Main Event. WWE could have taken safer routes with both men, giving them emotional wins or protected endings. Instead, the company used both farewells to strengthen a star of the present.
The fact is, when it comes to Saturday Night’s Main Event, no moment carries as much historical, symbolic and emotional weight as Cena’s final match. The special had already been the stage for major rivalries, historic alliances and nostalgic returns. But ending the career of the biggest name of modern WWE puts the show on another level.
Either way, 2025 forever changed how Saturday Night’s Main Event will be remembered. Before, it was the nostalgia show. Now, it is also the stage where two eras came to an end.