WWE Night of Champions returns for the first time since 2015 and will be the first version of the event to take place in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The return of the event will witness the crowning of the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion after Triple H revealed the new title several weeks ago. The announcement of a tournament followed involving Superstars from both Raw and SmackDown with the finalists being confirmed after first-round and semi-final matches.
As well as the brand new championship up for grabs, the event will see several other titles on the line, plus a fight and a multi-generational dream match.
The full card is as follows:
- Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles – World Heavyweight Championship
- Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
- Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens (c) vs. Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa – Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships
- Bianca Belair (c) vs. Asuka – Raw Women’s Championship
- GUNTHER (c) vs. Mustafa Ali – Intercontinental Championship
- Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus
- Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Natalya – SmackDown Women’s Championship
Who wins? Let’s have a look…
Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Natalya – SmackDown Women’s Championship
Natalya stepped up to Rhea Ripley following her vicious beatdown on Dana Brooke on the May 8th Monday Night Raw.
Following the confrontation, Ripley challenged the veteran to a title match at Night of Champions, which she accepted despite admitting she isn’t on the champion’s level.
Prediction: Not much to say other than Ripley retains.
Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus
Becky Lynch finally gets her hands on the woman who stabbed her in the back. On April 10th Trish Stratus blindsided the Man after the duo lost the Women’s Tag Team Championships.
Following the attack, Stratus declared she was no one’s sidekick and Lynch wouldn’t be in the position she was in today if it wasn’t for her paving the way for women’s wrestling. When Lynch returned she dropped the Hall of Famer with a right hook and Bexploder suplex before calling her out for a match in Saudi Arabia.
Prediction: If you recall the original report stated that Lynch vs Stratus was to go down at SummerSlam. So expect to see the WWE legend use some heelish tricks to steal the victory from Lynch. This would continue the story most likely involving a returning Lita and possibly Charlotte Flair resulting in a multi-generational tag team match at Money in the Bank before Lynch and Stratus finish the feud at SummerSlam. Stratus wins.
GUNTHER (c) vs. Mustafa Ali – Intercontinental Championship
Mustafa Ali won his chance to challenge the Ring General for the Intercontinental Championship after winning a Number One Contender Battle Royal on the May 15th episode of Monday Night Raw.
Prediction: Despite Ali’s quickness and athleticism, which may give him the edge in moments of the match, fully expect to see GUNTHER chop every ounce of positivity out of him for a decisive victory. GUNTHER retains.
Bianca Belair (c) vs. Asuka – Raw Women’s Championship
In a WrestleMania rematch Asuka will once again attempt to end Bianca Belair’s historic title run but this time she’s evil.
During Belair’s longest-reigning championship celebration on the May 12th edition of Friday Night SmackDown, Asuka came to ring seemingly to congratulate Belair but instead, she sprayed mist into the champion’s face turning her heel and setting up the rematch in the process.
Prediction: Despite both wrestlers being drafted to the SmackDown roster they are fighting over the Raw Women’s Championship. This bizarre situation foreshadows the result a little because until WWE sort out which title is represented on which brand the championships will stay put. Belair retains.
Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
It’s fight night at Night of Champions when Cody Rhodes takes on an irate Brock Lesnar in what promises to be a knock-down-drag-out brawl.
After Rhodes snatched a victory over Lesnar at Backlash, the Beast tore him apart during the World Heavyweight Championship tournament before calling him out, not for a match but a fight. The American Nightmare answered the call agreeing to face the former UFC Champion in Saudi Arabia.
After agreeing to the fight, Lesnar destroyed Rhodes, severely damaging his arm. Despite the medics, Adam Pearce, and Triple H trying to stop him from going through with the contest, Rhodes remained defiant and determined to battle it out with the Beast Incarnate again.
Predictions: Similar to their Backlash outing this will be a wild and bloody brawl. Rhodes, Lesnar, and WWE have been constantly putting over that isn’t a match but a fight, therefore giving them the perfect opportunity for both Rhodes and Lesnar to tear each other apart with neither taking the loss. No contest.
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens (c) vs. Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa – Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships
On the May 12th edition of Friday Night SmackDown Roman Reigns made his first appearance since the post-WrestleMania 39 Monday Night Raw. On the show, he berated the Usos for losing the tag team titles in Hollywood and then failing to get them back some weeks later.
Reigns demanded an apology from Jimmy and Jey for their recent losses before declaring he and Sikoa will be challenging Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens to bring the titles back to the Bloodline.
Predictions: As Reigns enters his 1000th day as Universal Champion it seems odd he is not defending it on a show in which all championships are to be represented. But in the Bloodline story, challenging for the tag team titles makes sense. The significant cracks in the faction will become wider when Sikoa takes the pin. Zayn and Owens win.
Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles – World Heavyweight Championship
On the May 8th episode of Monday Night Raw, Seth Rollins took a huge step towards winning the World Heavyweight Championship. Rollins saw off Damian Priest and Shinsuke Nakamura in a Triple Threat Match before getting the better of Finn Balor in the main event.
Over on SmackDown AJ Styles beat Edge and Rey Mysterio in the three-way and then bested Bobby Lashley in the semi-final to head to Saudi Arabia to face Rollins for the new title.
Prediction: The decision to introduce a third World Championship is confusing and has left many fans feeling like it is a secondary or a consolation prize. Reigns has been so dominant as the Undisputed Champion that it created a vacuum at the top and left performers like Rollins with no major title to challenge for. The creation of the title seems to be an effort to rectify that problem and therefore it is pretty obvious that Rollins will become the new champion. Rollins wins.
WWE Night of Champions, streaming LIVE from Jeddah Superdome on Saturday, May 27 at 1 p.m. ET on Peacock in the United States and on WWE Network everywhere else.