WWE's Iconic 'Saturday Night's Main Event' to Return on December 14

WWE is reviving Saturday Night's Main Event.

The program, which last aired in 2008, is returning on Dec. 14 and will be broadcast on NBC, the television home for the vast majority of its previous on-air runs.

Variety's Joe Otterson first reported the news, noting WWE and NBC signed a five-year deal in 2023 that not only saw SmackDown move to USA Network but also promised four prime-time specials annually.

Saturday Night's Main Event was appointment viewing for wrestling fans in the mid-to-late 1980s. It guaranteed the presence of WWE's top stars in a way that wasn't readily available outside of pay-per-views.

The show's luster steadily faded, though, as WWE programming evolved, and that dovetailed with a wider decline in fan interest across the board. By the time of Saturday Night's Main Event's first demise in 1992, viewers had grown tired of seeing Hulkamania run wild and there wasn't a true successor to Hulk Hogan waiting in the wings.

WWE brought SNME back in 2006, but it only lasted a few years as it quickly became an afterthought. The company was broadcasting monthly PPVs along with Raw, SmackDown and ECW every week, so Saturday Night's Main Event didn't stand out.

It remains to be seen how WWE will handle it this time around.

For older fans, there will unquestionably be a lot of nostalgia and goodwill attached to this brand. Maintaining what's likely to be the strong momentum behind the first show might be difficult, however.

If SNME isn't presented as a major spectacle on par with the premium live events, then maybe it will at least offer a refreshing change of pace from Raw and SmackDown.

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