WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event Draws Huge Numbers With Peacock Streaming Boost

The numbers are in, and WWE’s Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 14th didn’t just deliver—it dominated.

According to Variety, the two-hour broadcast brought in a massive 2.3 million viewers, combining 1.59 million from NBC’s live airing and an additional 700,000 who streamed it live on Peacock.

The impressive ratings put WWE’s return to Saturday Night’s Main Event ahead of ABC’s NBA Cup semifinal matchup between the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder, which averaged 1.89 million viewers. Not bad for a show that hadn’t aired on NBC since 2008.

The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the iconic venue that hosted the very first Saturday Night’s Main Event back in 1985, was the site for this monumental night. It was a throwback in all the right ways, with WWE Hall of Famer Jesse “The Body” Ventura returning to the commentary table to call the action—just like he did during the show’s original heyday.

The night was stacked with action, including Chelsea Green becoming the first-ever WWE Women’s United States Champion after defeating Michin. GUNTHER added to his unstoppable streak, retaining the World Heavyweight Championship in a triple threat match against Damian Priest and Finn Balor. In the main event, Cody Rhodes successfully defended his Undisputed WWE Championship against Kevin Owens, but the night ended in chaos when Owens attacked Rhodes post-match, leaving him stretchered out of the arena.

This show was the first of four quarterly WWE primetime specials under WWE’s new five-year deal with NBCUniversal, which also sees SmackDown move to USA Network next year. WWE has already announced the next Saturday Night’s Main Event will hit San Antonio, Texas, on January 25.

With ratings this strong and WWE blending nostalgia with today’s top stars, the future of Saturday Night’s Main Event looks brighter than ever.

What did you think of WWE’s Saturday Night’s Main Event? Were you tuning in on Peacock or NBC? Let us know your thoughts and feedback in the comments!