Why WWE Really Changed Next Saudi Arabia PLE To Night Of Champions

WWE is bringing Night of Champions back for its next trip to Saudi Arabia.

by Andrew Pollard
WWE Saudi Arabia
WWE.com

With WWE recently changing its next Saudi Arabia event from King and Queen of the Ring to Night of Champions, there's now an update on the reasoning for this.

As per PWInsider.com (via WrestlingHeadlines.com), the reason for this change is because WWE believes the Night of Champions name will mean more to an international audience than King and Queen of the Ring would.

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Initially running annually from 2007 through until 2015, the Night of Champions concept was for each active title to be defended at that event. The most recent iteration of this Premium Live Event saw Seth Rollins defend the WWE Title against Sting in a match which forced the Icon into retirement.

It remains to be seen whether WWE will once again have every championship defended at next month's return for Night of the Champions, with current Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens two talents who do not travel to Saudi Arabia due to religious regions and personal preference.

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That said, Zayn and Owens are set to defend the the Tag Team Titles against the Usos on the 28 April episode of SmackDown, so it may even be that WWE pulls a title switch before they head to the Jeddah Super Dome on Saturday 27 May for Night of Champions...

As for the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments, this latest report notes how WWE is likely to hold off until after the upcoming Draft before then commencing these tourneys.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.