6 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE Night Of Champions 2025 (Results & Review)
John Cena beats CM Punk; WWE crowns a new 'King' and 'Queen'; Hikuleo debuts as Tala Tonga.
All hail 'King' Cody. Unless you're Randy Orton, that is.
Cody Rhodes and Jade Cargill were the ones handed WWE's King and Queen Of The Ring crowns on an apparently roasting hot (just ask Michael Cole and Wade Barrett!) night in Saudi Arabia. Credit where it's due: Riyadh's rowdy wrestling fans created a party-like atmosphere for even the most basic bouts placed on Triple H's latest PLE. They were on all night, and it was great to see.
On the whole, this was a fab night of tidy wrestling action that has SummerSlam consequences. Now, Cody will challenge John Cena for the WWE Title again, Jade will meet either Tiffany Stratton or Naomi (if the latter cashes in Money In The Bank before August), and there will be revenge on the mind of one Jacob Fatu after he dropped the United States Title to old boss Solo Sikoa.
The scheming Sikoa debuted a brand new henchman and brought back an older face on Saturday night. Hikuleo has arrived, and none other than Tonga Loa is back in the mix too. They'll definitely help to give Solo and JC Mateo more gusto on episodes of SmackDown going forwards.
Several of the matches could be considered functional at best, but WWE will point to a drama-fuelled main event between Cena and CM Punk as the biggest selling point. They'd be right to. Sure, both veterans rammed their headliner full of more distractions than even Vince Russo could think up, but they took fans in Riyadh on some rollercoaster ride and deserve praise for it.
Here's all the good and bad from a newsworthy night.