WWE is coming back to Salt Lake City this week. But what is Saturday Night's Main Event?

SALT LAKE CITY — Professional wrestling fans in Utah's capitol city have a glimpse of WWE superstars through the company's RAW and SmackDown properties, almost annually.

But Saturday's premium live event at Delta Center will be something else entirely, a new genre for the old and a nod to the nostalgic when Saturday Night's Main Event visits Salt Lake City for the first time.

And it's even more of a spectacle, one insider said.

"It's an ode to the old school, for a lot of us who grew up in the 80's and 90's watching and loving WWE and remember that feel of Saturday night wrestling," said WWE analyst Ettore Ewen, who works with the company under his ring name Big E. "It really leans into that retro feel, with more pomp and circumstance. You'll also see more title matches on them, as well.

"These specials are big. That's the difference between Saturday Night's Main Event, and an episode of RAW or SmackDown."

Big E has seen professional wrestling at the highest level, working his way up from the developmental scene with Florida Championship Wrestling, rising to become NXT champion, and becoming one of 33 individuals to win a Triple Crown title (WWE Championship, Intercontinental Championship and World Tag Team Championship) in the industry's history.

But Saturday Night's Main Event promises to be an even bigger event, one that will officially include a one-on-one bout between former World Heavyweight champion Jey Uso and CM Punk for the now-vacated World Heavyweight Championship, the company announced last week.

"CM Punk's really energized so many fans, and people who have been fans of his for many years. Having him back in the fold along with his lovely wife AJ Lee has been really exciting," Big E said. "We have so many of our greats who are talking about retiring — John Cena's last year, and AJ Styles retiring next year — and we don't know when Punk's last year will be, either.

"If you're a fan of CM Punk or someone who is just starting to get into it," he added, "take this opportunity to come out and see a legend like CM Punk. Because we don't know how long we'll have him."

WWE also announced that Tiffany Stratton will defend her WWE Women's title against Jade Cargill, and Drew McIntyre will try to take the Undisputed WWE title from Cody Rhodes. Other cards will be announced this week.

Saturday Night's Main Event originally ran on NBC from 1985-92 as part of a contract with the World Wrestling Federation, or WWF (which later became WWE). The original run of special episodes meant to serve NBC's late-night slot as an occasional replacement for Saturday Night Live drew large crowds for six years before a one-year run on FOX.

NBC attempted to revive the series in 2006 as a series of prime time special events. But the series was discontinued after five episodes.

The current iteration of the premium live event has been back since last year, when WWE moved Monday Night RAW from USA Network to Netflix; Friday Night SmackDown from FOX to USA Network; and added the new semi-regular series for NBC, Peacock and YouTube outside the United States.

Saturday's premium event, which will stream exclusively on Peacock, arrived upon an agreement with Delta Center, Smith Entertainment Group and the Utah Sports Commission as part of a broader deal with WWE and parent company TKO.

The company also announced plans to bring another pay-per-view UFC fight to Utah's capitol through 2026, building on the success of UFC 278: Usman vs. Edwards 2 in 2022, UFC 291: Poirier vs. Gaethje 2 in 2023, and UFC 307: Pereira vs. Rountree Jr. in 2024 — events that generated an estimated economic impact of $74.1 million to the Salt Lake City region, according to research firm Applied Analysis.

Utah's fight scene and professional wrestling fans have probably been underserved for many years, Big E admitted, and the companies are just getting around to remedying the past.

And personally, he can't wait — Big E and his fiancée Kris Yim (whose sister Mia competes on SmackDown under the ring name Michin) recently visited Sundance and fell in love with the state's natural beauty.

A former Iowa defensive lineman, Big E added he'd love to get back for an edition of the BYU-Utah rivalry game.

"It's so beautiful (in Utah), and the people were so warm and friendly," he said. "And I have a bucket list of great college rivalries I would love to attend, and that one is definitely on the list."

Tickets for Friday Night SmackDown and Saturday Night's Main Event are available on SeatGeek.

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