WWE Sunday Night’s Main Event: 4 big takeaways for Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, Oba Femi and more

WWE Sunday Night’s Main Event took place from State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Sunday night, with Randy Orton pinning Cody Rhodes in the main event. Also on the card, Bronson Reed returned to help Bron Breakker take out Oba Femi, a misstep from Tatum Paxley cost Charlotte Flair their match against Jade Cargill, and Trick Williams was once again crowned United States Champion.

As we march toward Money in the Bank, here’s four takeaways from Sunday night in “the A.”

In a WrestleMania rematch, Orton and Rhodes picked up right where they left off with a brawl throughout the arena Sunday night. We’ve seen plenty of “no fighting until the fight” stipulations, but this is the first time I can remember both wrestlers immediately brawling once they were in the ring together to pay off a month’s worth of tension. 

Orton and Rhodes hit all the high notes, with the duo matching intensities throughout a hard-hitting bout. Rhodes teased the punt to Orton, but once he couldn’t pull the trigger, the wily veteran Orton took advantage and found an opening for the win.

THE KILLER INSTINCT 😱@RandyOrton has defeated Cody Rhodes in his hometown! pic.twitter.com/2W9pAjEibc

— WWE (@WWE) September 7, 2026

I’m really interested to see where we go from here. This story feels similar to what played out in the run-up to WrestleMania, with Rhodes needing to find another gear and using heel-like tactics in the actual match to retain his WWE title. It’ll be interesting to see what threads these two opt to tug on to make the next chapter in this rivalry compelling.

How much further can Rhodes and Orton push each other, and why does it feel like they’ll kill the rivalry with something like a Last Man Standing match?

You could have bet your life’s savings this one wouldn’t have a clean finish, and sure enough it ended in chaos that involved every member of The Vision — even the returning Bronson Reed. A super trimmed-down Reed hit the ring after Austin Theory got slammed through the table and Logan Paul got caught trying to hand Bron Breakker brass knuckles. Reed slammed a chair into Oba Femi’s back numerous times and the match ended with Reed and Breakker trading finishers on Femi.

The Vision is as strong as EVER!! 😲@BRONSONISHERE | @bronbreakkerwwepic.twitter.com/x8VNk4eYbV

— WWE (@WWE) September 7, 2026

I get why you return Reed here and the progress in building Femi against a faction. But if the end goal is to make Breakker a legit contender against someone like “The Ruler,” I would have loved to have seen him get an actual clean win here. The shenanigans just make Breakker feel like one of the guys, rather than “the guy.”

As for Paul Heyman, I fully expect the advocate to eventually align himself with the man who retired Brock Lesnar now. There seems to be dissension between the direction of The Vision and where Heyman sees things moving. Whether that leads to a total breakdown or not remains to be seen. 

Lil Yachty has been building toward an actual match for months, and Sunday night felt like a nice preview of what we can expect for him in the ring. He was no Bad Bunny, but there’s a clear commitment here to working on his craft in the ring, and it was a decent showing in his five minutes (and beyond) against Baron Corbin. That opened the door for Trick Williams to cash in his United States title shot immediately, taking advantage of a champion who was anything but fresh. Williams survived an onslaught from Corbin, including a belt shot to the head, to land the Trick Shot and reclaim his gold. 

LIL YACHTY SURVIVES 🤩@lilyachtypic.twitter.com/kfl7bOn5O8

— WWE (@WWE) September 7, 2026

If I’m not checking my brain at the door, I still can’t wrap my head around if the match was No Holds Barred and Williams needed Yachty to last five minutes, why he wouldn’t help his friend from the very beginning? Yes, it would ruin the element of surprise and the pop Yachty got while hovering on the top rope as the clock wound down. But when you set up these moments to where you have to remove logic, it’s just tough to follow. 

Nearly two months since her last win, Jade Cargill desperately needed to show some fight when her squad matched up against Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss and Tatum Paxley on Sunday night.

Cargill needed some help to get over the line, but finally found her opening thanks to some miscommunication between Paxley and Flair. After the tag partners knocked heads attempting stereo figure-four leg locks, the door opened for Cargill to snatch an all important win. 

.@Jade_Cargill, @TheVibeBri and @MiaYim pick up the WIN here at #SNME! 💪 pic.twitter.com/ai19NByOOE

— WWE (@WWE) September 7, 2026

WWE is seemingly determined to make Flair and Cargill a long-term rivalry, despite the two going back and forth for months. The feud between these six women doesn’t appear to be slowing anytime soon either. But it certainly looks to be setting the stage for a falling out between Flair and Paxley, who WWE intentionally lingered on well after the bell rang. Which side Alexa Bliss picks seems to be the only real question here.