CM Punk and Cody Rhodes team up at Madison Square Garden event
Cageside Seats • 3 min read • Latest: Jul 12, 2026, 5:00 PM
Last updated Jul 12, 2026

WWE's Saturday Night's Main Event, taking place at Madison Square Garden on July 18, features a key tag team match. Undisputed WWE Champion CM Punk and Cody Rhodes will face Gunther and Sami Zayn. This match reflects a long-standing tradition at the venue, where notable wrestlers have historically come together for significant showdowns. The context behind the match includes Punk's recent championship win, which has been influenced by interactions among the four competitors. The event also includes a grudge match between Danhausen and JD McDonagh, as well as a Women’s Tag Team Championship bout.
- •Event scheduled for July 18 at Madison Square Garden.
- •Punk and Rhodes face Zayn and Gunther in the main tag team match.
- •Match ties into recent titles and rivalries among the competitors.
- •Includes additional matches featuring Danhausen, JD McDonagh, and a women’s title bout.
- 5:00 PMCageside Seats — A Madison Square Garden tradition continues at Saturday Night’s Main Event
"Four of WWE’s biggest stars square off at “The World’s Most Famous Arena.” | (Photo: WWE) Saturday Night’s Main Event comes to Madison Square Garden this week for the first time ever, and it features a marquee showdown as Undisputed WWE Champion CM Punk and Cody Rhodes team up against Gunther and Sami Zayn. It’s an appropriate matchup given the Garden’s history of big names coming together to settle a score. At the first WrestleMania in 1985, Hulk Hogan joined forces with TV and movie star Mr. T to take on “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff in a grudge match built around Piper’s resentment of celebrities coming into his business. Three years later, Hogan and “Macho Man” Randy Savage headlined the inaugural SummerSlam against Andre the Giant and Ted DiBiase, the culmination of a pair of feuds that dominated 1988. In 2011, The Rock wrestled for the first time in over seven years, teaming with John Cena, the man he would face the following year at WrestleMania XXVIII. As tense as their alliance was, they put aside their differences long enough to overcome The Miz and R-Truth at Survivor Series. Continuing this tradition are Rhodes and Punk, who, despite their friendship, meet at SummerSlam for the Undisputed title. Across from them are Zayn, who beat Rhodes and Gunther at Night of Champions to win WWE’s richest prize, and Gunther, who took Rhodes out of his rematch with Zayn. That led to Punk winning the championship, undoing Gunther’s dismissive “gift” to Zayn, the man who also ended Gunther’s historic Intercontinental Championship reign at WrestleMania XL. Saturday Night’s Main Event doesn’t carry the prestige of WrestleMania, SummerSlam, or Survivor Series. On paper, the match leans on the old “can they coexist?” trope and resembles the kind of TV main event WWE often presents. Still, it’s New York and “The World’s Most Famous Arena,” and the personal stakes between all four superstars could make this a compelling stop on the road to SummerSlam. The Card Barring late additions on Raw or SmackDown, three matches, including one title bout, make up WWE’s next Peacock live event. Tag Team Attraction: Undisputed WWE Champion CM Punk & Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther & Sami Zayn Grudge Match: Danhausen vs. JD McDonagh Women’s Tag Team Championship: Brie Bella & Paige (c) vs. Fatal Influence — Lainey Reid & Fallon Henley How to Watch: WWE’s Saturday Night’s Main Event takes place Saturday, July 18, at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The show streams on Peacock beginning at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
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