WWE’s Main Event Has An Old Age Problem

The world title matches at SummerSlam 2026 featured huge main event stars in Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Cody Rhodes and CM Punk, four men who have been definitive of the new WWE era under TKO and Triple H. When looking across the main event scene in the last couple of years and the world title picture in the coming months, a huge issue is arising. WWE’s current main eventers are, simply put, getting old… and not enough is being done to transition a new set of stars into the main event positions in the men’s division. WWE is running out of fresh feuds, new faces, and young names, and that needs to change.

WWE’s Main Event Scene Is Full Of Older Names

• Most of WWE’s main eventers are over 40.
• Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Cody Rhodes & CM Punk are continually being booked strongly.
• Triple H has clear favorites in the main event scene.

When looking across the most recent world champions in WWE’s main event scene, Roman Reigns is 41, CM Punk is 47, Cody Rhodes is 41, Sami Zayn is 42, Drew McIntyre is 41, John Cena is 49, and Seth Rollins is 40. In fact, the only recent world champions who were under 40 at their time of winning a championship have been Gunther & Jey Uso, but even they are now approaching or at that age. It won’t be long until some or all of these wrestlers decide to hang up the boots, can’t move as well as they used to, or will simply receive lesser buzz from fans due to spending so long in the main event scene.

On the back of SummerSlam 2026, the next challengers stepping up for Reigns & Punk are LA Knight and Kevin Owens, who are 43 and 42 respectively. There is simply no new blood in the main event scene and a complete lack of risks being taken to push younger stars. With other older names such as Randy Orton, Finn Balor, and Brock Lesnar being either in top matches or world title fights in recent months, the main event scene has been full of these aging wrestlers; something that has often been an issue within WWE.

WWE Must Push Young Stars Like Oba Femi & Bron Breakker To The World Title

• Breakker & Femi are two of WWE’s biggest prospects.
• The WWE roster doesn’t have many younger names.
• The men’s division in NXT is lacking in young blood.

When looking across the younger prospects on the WWE roster, there are names who are arguably ready for the main event scene and world title coronations, but with the current main event stars clearly being in favor amongst Triple H and WWE’s creative team, there is a lack of boldness to book new stars. Bron Breakker was ready to rise up and defeat either CM Punk, Roman Reigns or Seth Rollins for a world championship, but he instead lost in a feud to Rollins and has done nothing for a couple of months. In the case of Oba Femi, he’s been busy with Brock Lesnar and looks like he’s set for an eventual main event push, but he is just one name and cannot single-handedly carry WWE into the future.

WWE’s roster has a lot of older names, though there are a few decent younger names who could be in WWE for decades to come including the likes of Je’Von Evans, Logan Paul, Trick Williams, Carmelo Hayes, and some names in NXT (though not enough to feed into the future of the company), but without WWE making bold moves to elevate them to the next level, they will forever remain as midcarders. WWE pushed the likes of John Cena, Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar, The Rock, and so many more to the main event and world title victories when they were in their 20s, establishing them as stars and enabling them to become legit draws and legends down the line. WWE is not doing that with their current batch of talent.

WWE’s Only Option Is To Sign New Main Eventers

• WWE’s current roster is weak in terms of potential.
• AEW is the home of rising younger stars.
• WWE’s future depends on signing new names.

As opposed to WWE, AEW’s upper midcard and main event has featured a range of talents both on the rise and those who are older and established; which is how it really should be. WWE has fallen behind when it comes to cementing and pushing younger stars, leaving them with an older roster that is only going to grow weaker in a few years. WWE’s future may depend on drawing in established rising stars (or at least those who are below the age of 35) to add depth into the main event division.

For instance, if WWE were to somehow lure away the likes of MJF, Kyle Fletcher, Adam Page, Kevin Knight, Will Ospreay, Konosuke Takeshita, and Swerve Strickland, all of whom are 35 and younger, then the main event division would instantly be far healthier and prepared for the future. However, with the trajectory of all these names, taking them away from AEW looks to be a tough task. With NXT’s lack of male talents, WWE’s current roster only featuring a handful of younger stars, and with WWE’s hesitance to take risks, WWE has an enormous problem.