Predictions for Cody Rhodes, CM Punk More After WWE Saturday Night's Main Event 41

The move to make WWE Saturday Night's Main Event exclusive to Peacock instead of also airing on NBC resulted in the strongest installment yet since the concept was revived a year ago—despite still feeling like a glorified episode of Raw or SmackDown at best.

Cody Rhodes retaining the Undisputed WWE Championship against Drew McIntyre in their latest one-on-one encounter was hardly the most exciting kickoff to the event, but Jade Cargill becoming the new WWE women's champion in dominant fashion allowed the show to correct course.

Dominik Mysterio emerging from his Triple Threat with Rusev and Penta still the intercontinental champion was followed by CM Punk besting Jey Uso to clinch the vacant world heavyweight title.

All in all, it was a newsworthy show with two titles changing hands along with an announcement of how John Cena's final-ever opponent will be determined.

Fans' focus now shift toward Survivor Series on November 29 and what that card could look like. WarGames matches for the men and women are virtually confirmed to take place, but the rest of the lineup is entirely up in the air.

Let's look ahead to what might be next for Rhodes, Punk and other notable names that were in action at Saturday Night's Main Event 41.

Cody Rhodes

Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images

When in doubt, consider Cody Rhodes the odds-on favorite to retain his Undisputed WWE Championship in almost any situation he finds himself in where the gold is up for grabs. Saturday Night's Main Event was no exception.

The scenario was similar to his outing against Kevin Owens at last December's installment where Rhodes would have benefited from losing the title to Drew McIntyre for a brief period, especially after already beating the Scot clean at Wrestlepalooza, but it wasn't to be.

No one else has been built up for The American Nightmare while he and McIntyre have been feuding. The Scottish Warrior is bound to continue chasing Rhodes after the polarizing way he won, but there's no more story left to tell with them.

Rather, Rhodes moving on to work with Randy Orton would make more sense. It's a rivalry fans have eagerly awaited years to see finally come to fruition, and waiting until WrestleMania 42 in the spring would be too long.

Rhodes will remain at the apex of SmackDown, but the alarming lack of credible challengers isn't an encouraging sign for the future of his reign.

Drew McIntyre

Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images

The booking of Drew McIntyre in 2025 has been subpar, to say the least.

His feud with Damian Priest felt like an underwhelming use of him in the first few months of the year, followed by his short-lived storyline with Jelly Roll heading into SummerSlam.

Now, having fallen short twice of becoming undisputed WWE champion again, he has no clear-cut path going forward.

The only assumption fans are left with is that, as mentioned, his bad blood with Rhodes isn't over. He'll continue to complain about being cheated out of capturing the title but fail when it matters most.

Jacob Fatu was at least available as a fallback feud for him once he lost to Rhodes again at Saturday Night's Main Event, but Fatu being legitimately sidelined last month put those plans on pause for the time being as well.

The Scot is bound to still have a presence in the main event mix on SmackDown through Survivor Series, but there's no reason to believe he'll eventually walk away with the title. Even if he does, WWE should have struck while the iron was hotter with McIntyre.

Dominik Mysterio

Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images

Dominik Mysterio has surpassed the six-month mark as intercontinental champion and appears to be no closer to losing the prize coming off his latest defense against Rusev and Penta.

Mysterio has spent the last two months setting back challenges from Rusev, Penta and AJ Styles and finding a way to win however necessary. Fresh faces should be in line to challenge him post-Saturday Night's Main Event, though recent rumors suggest a particular name may be in line to face Mysterio at Survivor Series.

Despite a tournament to determine his final opponent set to get underway next week, John Cena is a likely opponent for Mysterio at the upcoming premium live event. The two have never gone one-on-one before, and in this instance, the Intercontinental Championship would be on the line.

WWE's idea might be to raise the stakes for Cena's retirement match, but nothing would be accomplished from him being the one to end Mysterio's lengthy run as champ. Cena vs. Mysterio works just as well as a non-title affair, but the company may not be able to resist having him take the title.

If not Cena, Sheamus would be a suitable foe for Mysterio soon, with The Celtic Warrior also never having held the IC belt in his illustrious career.

Jey Uso

Rich Wade/WWE via Getty Images

As one of the most popular performers on Raw right now, Jey Uso had a legitimate shot of winning the vacant World Heavyweight Championship on Saturday.

Although he already reigned as world champ earlier in the year, Uso has experienced something of a resurgence lately by developing an edge and showing signs of a heel turn. He instead narrowly lost to CM Punk, but that doesn't necessarily mean his current character arc is anywhere near over.

If anything, this setback should give him more of an incentive to eventually lash out, whether it be on the audience or his family. The tension teased between him and Jimmy Uso has to culminate in something significant soon, and there's also the question of how Roman Reigns factor into it.

Putting his differences aside with Jimmy, Reigns and Punk to combat Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed in WarGames is one option, but it'd be more intriguing to see where Jey's growing frustration takes him. At the very least, he needs to settle his score with Jimmy so they can go back to being a cohesive team in Raw's depleted tag ranks.

Another match against Reigns might be on the horizon as well. If so, it should be before the end of the year and Jey would have to win in order to cement his singles stardom outside of Reigns' shadow.

CM Punk

Michael Owens/WWE via Getty Images

At long last, the World Heavyweight Championship is back in CM Punk's possession.

His decisive win over Jey Uso at Saturday Night's Main Event puts a massive target on his back going into the remainder of the year. Not only could Uso be looking for another shot, but there's also a number of other potential challengers waiting in the wings for Punk in the months ahead.

If The Best in the World isn't headed for WarGames, he should be defending the title at Survivor Series, and LA Knight would be the most appealing choice.

Knight has yet to do anything to earn an opportunity at the gold, but the weeks where he and Punk were exchanging verbal jabs shouldn't be forgotten. That would be the best possible build for a World Heavyweight Championship match on that show, even if the outcome wouldn't be in much doubt.

Ultimately, Punk will have his hands full with Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed, including likely losing the title to Breakker at the appropriate time. Until then, Knight is the perfect filler feud for him, especially considering what they'd be capable of and the necessary spark it'd add to the Survivor Series card.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.