Three favorites to win no. 1 contender’s match for Undisputed title at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event January 2026

Multiple contenders will try their hand to get a title shot at SNME.

A week before the Royal Rumble PLE, WWE will deliver the first edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event in 2026. The January 24 edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event is set to emanate live from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

During the January 9 episode of SmackDown from Berlin, the promotion started the build towards the event. General Manager Nick Aldis revealed a major shake-up, announcing four blockbuster qualifying matches for the January 16 episode of the Blue brand.

The winners of those matches were set to advance to a Fatal 4-Way match, which will be held at SNME in Quebec. The winner of that showdown would then earn a coveted opportunity to challenge for the Undisputed WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble on January 31. The winner of the match will be chasing the new Undisputed Champion, Drew McIntyre.

Ahead of the first SNME of 2026, let us take a look at the top three favorites to win the fatal four-way match and challenge the new Undisputed WWE Champion.

3. Sami Zayn

Sami Zayn made an appearance last week to announce that he is looking to win the World title, a title which has eluded him in his WWE career. Notably, Zayn’s recent United States title reign redefined the title as he restarted the iconic U.S. title open challenge, one that has now become synonymous with SmackDown programming.

Fans have long been demanding a title win for Zayn, and some rumors also hinted at the possibility of him winning the Royal Rumble match. However, WWE can still deliver this if Sami wins the fatal four-way at SNME and then challenges McIntyre for the title at the Rumble PLE.

Also Read: Backstage update on Drew McIntyre’s Undisputed WWE title win over Cody Rhodes on SmackDown

2. Randy Orton

‘The Viper’ Randy Orton made his return on the first SmackDown of 2026, and in a backstage segment, clarified his intentions to capture the Undisputed title with Cody Rhodes. However, since Cody is no longer the Champion, Orton will now have to redirect his focus toward McIntyre, someone he knows very well and has a long-standing feud with.

With a win in the fatal four-way match, Orton also will have the chance to not just avenge the loss from SummerSlam, but also win his 15th World title and move closer to Ric Flair’s 16 World title reigns, the second most in WWE history after John Cena.

1. Damian Priest

During the January 9 episode of SmackDown, in an interview with Byron Saxton, Damian Priest stated that what came next was joining everyone else in making his intentions clear for the World Title. Drew McIntyre then walked in as Priest noted that if McIntyre won in the main event, the two would have to go at it again, reminding him of what happened the last time they were in the ring together.

Now, McIntyre has won the title, and the promotion might decide to reignite the feud with Priest winning the qualifying next week on SmackDown and winning the fatal four-way match, which has set up the battle between the two titans once again.

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