CM Punk and Jade Cargill rose to the top of their respective divisions at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Various storylines are also being advanced.
Around three weeks after Seth Rollins’s serious injury, the WWE World Title has a new owner.
CM Punk secured the vacant belt in the main event of the TV special Saturday Night’s Main Event in Salt Lake City. It was just one of several major developments that will steer the storyline in new directions in the coming weeks and months.
WWE: CM Punk triumphs over Jey Uso
Punk – who was briefly World Champion at SummerSlam three months ago, but then lost the belt to Money in the Bank winner Rollins – defeated Jey Uso in a closely fought match with his signature move, the GTS.
Congratulations, @CMPunk!!!! pic.twitter.com/jBwLljRXLp
— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2025
The 47-year-old has thus finally cemented his place at the top of the league hierarchy around two years after his late WWE comeback – while former World Champ Jey Uso is facing a new character development.
For weeks, there have been increasing signs of a “heel turn” into the role of the villain. As Punk celebrated his title win, Uso appeared noticeably frustrated and annoyed – it wasn’t shown on TV, but could be seen in a video circulated online. Uso also posted a picture on Instagram with a middle finger emoji, further underscoring his drift to the dark side.
Jey Uso via Instagram Stories:
“Y’all win.” pic.twitter.com/4qQcKn5VuA
— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) November 2, 2025
Jade Cargill dethrones Stratton, Cody Rhodes wins controversially
Meanwhile, Jade Cargill’s heel turn is now complete, and she also played a leading role at SNME: she crowned herself the new WWE Women’s Champion with a victory over Tiffany Stratton, winning her first singles title in WWE.
In a rematch of their SummerSlam duel, Cargill consistently targeted Stratton’s injured leg, which she herself had weakened with her attack a week ago. Two crushing powerbombs in a row finally robbed Stratton of her strength.
Tiffy’s time has officially run out! ⏰@Jade_Cargill is your NEW WWE Women’s Champion!!! pic.twitter.com/20H9T95r6G
— WWE (@WWE) November 1, 2025
Meanwhile, Cody Rhodes remains WWE Champion after defeating his rival Drew McIntyre in the opening match under controversial circumstances: He pinned McIntyre after hitting him with a DDT on the title belt, which his opponent was about to bring into play himself. The referee did not see the action, which, according to strict interpretation of the rules, should have led to Rhodes’ disqualification – and thus to McIntyre winning the title. Rhodes and McIntyre had previously agreed on SmackDown that the title would change hands in their match even in the event of a DQ, contrary to usual practice. Under these circumstances, another duel seems the logical consequence.
Group photo of former AEW stars
Noteworthy: After the event, Rhodes, Punk, Cargill, and Rhodes’ friend, NXT Champion Ricky Starks, posed for a group photo. It is a group meeting of four stars who were all active together at rival AEW just four years ago and have now all ended up at WWE for different reasons.
Another piece of news that was revealed during the night: John Cena’s final opponent in his last match at the next Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13 in Washington will be determined in a 16-man tournament that will start on Monday at Monday Night RAW.