WWE returned to Saudi Arabia for Night of Champions on June 28, the only show set to take place in the kingdom in 2025, and one that was more focused on interference than in-ring action.
While the Saudi shows remain an issue with some fans given the sportswashing and human rights laws in the country, Night of Champions was the first of the 13 shows to take place that had many questioning if it should go ahead at all. With ongoing tensions in the Middle East with Iran and Israel, coupled with the military action by the US, there was a legitimate concern for the safety of the performers, production staff, and the fans in the arena as to whether the event should be rescheduled, relocated, or called off entirely. However, as many had presumed, the show did go on after all, but was it all worth it? To be honest, not really.
WWE Night Of Champions: Low Reward For A Very High Risk
Although it is hard to find many positives when looking at the evolution of the Saudi Arabia shows over the years, credit has to be given to the live fans in the arena. Given that the early shows saw a virtually silent crowd, the fans in Riyadh were loud and provided a good atmosphere to the event. This was seen right from the off when Cody Rhodes faced Randy Orton in the King of the Ring finals. As most fans are aware, Rhodes and Orton have history together stretching back to their days in the Legacy faction and it appeared that a feud between Rhodes and Orton for the WWE Championship was going to happen. Unfortunately, with only 5 days of build and the match being more about the King of the Ring final as opposed to their personal relationship, this was not the contest many were hoping for.
With both men being the baby face in the match, Orton was unable to show his true vicious side and Rhodes did at times target Orton’s back, but there was no defined good guy and bad guy role. And while it is very apparent that finishers mean a lot less than they did before, Rhodes should not have kicked out of 2 RKOs. Ultimately, Orton brought in a steel chair as a way of distracting the ref so that he could expose the top turnbuckle, but the tactic led to his downfall as Rhodes charged Orton into the corner, hit the Cross Rhodes and won. The match was fine, but considering this was the first time in over a decade that Orton and Rhodes met one-on-one, this should have been a lot more special. For what it’s worth, the camera did focus on Orton after the match, possibly foreshadowing that both men will run things back at some point down the road.
The first of 3 matches to receive interference, Rhea Ripley defeated Raquel Rodriguez rather too easily. With the match being a street fight, Roxanne Perez was expected to get involved, and did, but her spot should have had a lot more impact. Although Perez did briefly give Rodriguez the advantage, she was taken out by Ripley rather easily and was not seen again. The avalanche Riptide from the elevated table was impressive, but Rodriguez should have won here to further the story. With Morgan out injured until further notice and with Rodriguez holding both Women’s Tag Titles solo, Perez getting on the same page as Rodriguez and helping The Judgment Day member win could have led to Perez being named as the replacement partner, creating tension for when Morgan returns. Additionally, Ripley would have lost nothing by suffering a defeat here.
Then we had a match with one of the more bizarre stories of the year being published about one of the competitors. Shortly after Karrion Kross vs. Sami Zayn was announced, a weird report broke claiming that Kross has been kept away from the ring as he would not take back bumps properly, which was quickly debunked the next day. Much like his previous matches, Kross did take plenty of back bumps and played the heel role well of working over Zayn, but Zayn ultimately won by intercepting a Kross lariat with a Helluva kick. Kross put on a good showing and reminded fans what he was capable of, but this was more a match to put over Zayn and give the Saudi fans a feel-good win.
The match that generated the most headlines came next as Jacob Fatu put the United States Championship on the line against Solo Sikoa. Although the bulk of the match was predictable with Fatu being able to overpower Sikoa, only to be distracted by interference, there were some surprises. Beginning with the return of Tanga Loa, who hit Fatu with a top rope neckbreaker, the Samoan Werewolf was then attacked by a debuting Hikuleo, who has since been renamed to Tala Tonga. With Fatu unable to overcome the odds, Sikoa took advantage to win the match and his first title on the main roster. Sikoa earned the win considering his improvement as of late and Fatu will likely win the title back soon with the help of Jimmy Uso, but fans are now tired of The Bloodline story, which ran out of steam a long time ago.
The penultimate match saw Jade Cargill defeat Asuka to win the Queen of the Ring tournament. Cargill was a favourite ever since the tournament was announced and looked set to have a major match at SummerSlam. Asuka can have a great match with anyone and made Cargill look strong in the spots despite her inexperience. The pin was a little wonky as Asuka’s shoulder looked to have come up before the 3, but it appears that Cargill is on course to win the title at SummerSlam. However, with Naomi remaining Miss Money in the Bank, the bigger question is how long will Cargill remain the champion for?
And then it was time for the main event as John Cena put the Undisputed Championship on the line against CM Punk. Although both men have history with each other given their rivalry from the early 2010s, once the bell rang it was a reminder that the old rivals are not in their prime anymore. Punk is 46 and Cena is 48, meaning that the match was never going to be a fast-paced affair one the bell rang. Both men hit their signature moves and Punk kicked out of 2 Attitude Adjustments. Remember this is also the man who was out cold for 10 minutes after being put through one table.
With the first half out of the way, the many run-ins began as Seth Rollins and co first made their way down to the ring following a ref bump. Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker tried to soften up Punk to potentially lead to a cash-in, but Punk fought Breakker and Cena to keep the match a one-on-one affair. Side note, Punk’s dive to the outside looked scary as he narrowly avoided landing on his head. At this point, referee Charles Robinson sprinted to the ring to call back to the WrestleMania 24 run that has since lived on in meme form. However, unlike last time, the 60-year-old was bodychecked by Cena in what was the spot of the night.
The fans chanted OTC in anticipation of a Reigns return, but they never got their wish. Instead, Penta and Sami Zayn were the ones who made the save to take out Rollins’ cronies. In another humorous moment, Penta didn’t exactly rush to the ring given what was going on. The match ended with Rollins hitting Punk with the briefcase and a stomp, only for Cena to dump Rollins out of the ring and steal the win.
With the closing shot of the Netflix feed being Cena posing with the title, there was no Rhodes confrontation, no Reigns return and nothing to end the show on a cliffhanger. Also, where was R-Truth in all this?
WWE Night Of Champions: Final Thoughts
There were some positives from the show. First, the fact that there were 6 matches in 3 hours and a loss less advertisements made Night of Champions easier to get through than some of the other Premium Live Events that have at times and more than half of the wrestling show contained wrestling, which is sadly a rarity with WWE in 2025. Additionally, none of the matches were bad and the crowd was into it.
Unfortunately, there were a lot of things that could have been improved, most notably the amount of interference spots that took place on the show. While none of the matches were bad, none are worth another watch. Clips from Hikuleo’s debut will feature in future video packages and the King and Queen of the Ring finals set up SummerSlam, but the others felt like they could have been on Raw or skipped entirely. Had the show ended with a memorable angle, such as the return of Roman Reigns or a brawl between Cena and Rhodes, the overall show rating could be raised by a couple of points. However, with the show feeling forgettable already, if you haven’t seen the show then save yourself a few hours. It should also be noted that had Dominik Mysterio not been injured and could have faced AJ Styles, this would have easily been match of the night.
Night of Champions will be remembered as the show that many felt should not have happened given the political unrest that took place just days before the show. With this in mind, it feels even more uneasy that with all the risk involved, WWE still made the trip and put on an uneventful and mediocre show. While there is the argument for letting things play out, there is a difference between long-term storytelling and just taking a long time to tell a story.
The Saudi shows remain a point of contention and few are looking forward to the Royal Rumble next year as it will take place in Riyadh. At least there will be something memorable happening on that show, because this was not worth the time and effort.
Featured image: WWE
