Night of Champions ‘25: A Heated Affair (The Matches & The Weather) 

Emanating from the Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia, WWE hosted Night of Champions. Despite the name, only two championships were defended, though one could argue the King & Queen of the Ring as a title of sorts. Regardless, the show was one of the better Saudi shows WWE have put on (I feel this heavily remembering the early days where they were practically exhibition shows for the Crown Prince smashing his action figures together) with plenty to talk about. 

Opening the show was the King of the Ring final, of course since last year as well as winning a fancy crown the winners of the King/Queen of the Ring also earn a guaranteed match for their brand’s World Championship at SummerSlam. The men’s final saw Cody Rhodes taking on Randy Orton, who made it to the finals last year as well, before falling to Gunther in controversial fashion. And of course, the history between Cody & Randy was a big factor considering their shared time in Legacy and in many ways was a Mentor vs Student situation. Ultimately, Cody Rhodes came out on top, taking advantage of an exposed turnbuckle that had been exposed by Orton moments prior after he’d distracted the ref by grabbing a Steel Chair. Following the match, Cody made it clear that whether it be CM Punk or John Cena he faces at SummerSlam he is confident he will “get the ball back” and right the wrongs of WrestleMania 41.  

Next, we saw Rhea Ripley take on Raquel Rodriguez of the Judgement Day in a Street Fight. This match proved to be a surprise hit with many calling it match of the night. Despite interference from Roxanne Perez, continuing to try and cement herself in the Judgement Day during Liv Morgan’s absence due to her recent injury, Ripley ultimately came out on top, scoring another point in her seemingly never-ending fight against the Judgement Day.  

Following this, Sami Zayn took on Karrion Kross after months of Kross goading Sami and attempting to get him to embrace his darker side and telling Zayn he would never be a World Champion if he didn’t give in. Both men had vocal support going into this match, Sami of course as a Muslim was a crowd favourite and Kross has had a groundswell of support ever since his tirade following WrestleMania expressing the same criticisms many fans had following the show of the company’s neglect of deserving talent for “viral moments”. Ultimately, Sami was able to somewhat prove Kross wrong and defeat him in the match, though one would assume Kross will not let Sami get away so easily after one match. 

Then, Jacob Fatu defended his US championship against Solo Sikoa after he turned on Solo at Money in the Bank having finally had enough of Solo getting in his way. Given the participants in this match, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that several other members of The Bloodline got involved, first the combination of JC Mateo and a returning Tonga Loa (both were quickly taken care of by Fatu). And then, just as Fatu was about to secure the win, he was dragged out of the ring and choke-slammed through the announce table by another recruit to The Bloodline who many will recognise as Hikuleo from his time in Japan. The numbers game proved too much for Jacob as Solo Sikoa managed to score the win and escape with the United States Championship, with The Bloodline seeming stronger than ever despite the loss of Jacob Fatu and with Tama Tonga still on the sidelines to return at some point from injury. 

Penultimately, the Queen of the Ring finals saw Asuka facing Jade Cargill. Asuka having recently returned after an extended absence due to a knee injury, and Cargill looking to continue her strong momentum since defeating Naomi at WrestleMania to secure a title match. And Cargill did win the match securing her spot at SummerSlam against the Smackdown Women’s Champion whoever that may be come August, currently of course Tiffany Stratton but with Naomi waiting in the wings with the Money in the Bank Briefcase that could change at any time. 

And closing the show, we saw John Cena defending the Undisputed WWE Championship against long-time rival CM Punk. In a way, hell froze over again following the first time when Punk returned to WWE in the first place as Punk competing in Saudi Arabia was something many thought would never happen given an infamous tweet directed to The Miz several years ago. And in a total role reversal from Money in the Bank in 2011, CM Punk was the one trying to salvage the WWE Championship from Cena who’s threatening to retire with the belt at the end of his farewell tour and “ruin wrestling”. Though cracks continued to appear in Cena’s current persona during this match as Cena willingly dropped his title after having grabbed it intending to force a DQ.  

However, shenanigans continued as following the referee being accidently taken out by Cena & Punk hitting a Go to Sleep, his calls for a ref to count the pin were instead met by Money in the Bank holder Seth Rollins & his faction clearly intending to play back his “Heist of the Century”. Between Cena, Punk, Penta & Sami Zayn, Seth’s team were mostly thwarted. Punk then offered a handshake to Cena, who accepted and hugged Punk in a sight identical to Elimination Chamber (with the same deadpan face over Punk’s shoulder), however Punk saw the low blow coming where Cody Rhodes didn’t. However, an attempted GTS was thwarted by a briefcase shot & Curb Stomp from Seth Rollins which allowed Cena to quickly throw Seth out of the ring, swipe a 3 count and flee with the title still around his waist having defeated Punk despite the doubts of his demeanour continuing to creep in. And while Seth didn’t leave Riyadh with the Championship as he no doubt planned, he likely at least took some comfort in the fact that he cost CM Punk the match given their shared hatred for each other.