Cody Rhodes will defend his WWE title against two challengers at Night of Champions. (Credit: Andrew Timms/WWE via Getty Images)
WWE via Getty Images
WWE Night of Champions 2026 is the final PLE en route to SummerSlam, and it will indeed have plenty of ramifications on WWE’s next “Big Four” event.
At Saturday’s PLE in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Trick Williams will put his WWE United States Championship on the line against fellow up-and-coming star Ricky Saints while Seth Rollins will once again battle Bron Breakker. Perhaps more importantly, WWE will crown both the King and Queen of the Ring, with the winners of their respective tournaments earning the right to challenge for a world title at SummerSlam on August 1 and 2.
Night of Champions will follow last month’s Clash in Italy PLE, where Brock Lesnar, Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns all picked up monumental victories. Which marquee stars will do the same at WWE Night of Champions 2026?
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Here is the full announced card for WWE Night of Champions 2026:
Let’s take a look at some key facts and tidbits heading into Night of Champions:
Date: Saturday, June 27th
Location: Kingdom Arena (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)
Start Time: 1 pm EST/12 pm EST (10 am PST)
Streaming Info: ESPN Unlimited (US), Netflix (internationally)
Zayn has never won a world title while Gunther and Rhodes have been mainstays in the world title picture over the past few years. That makes Zayn a huge underdog heading into Night of Champions.
The favorite? That would have to be Rhodes, especially given that Rhodes vs. Punk in a dream match could be on deck on SmackDown, perhaps at SummerSlam. SmackDown has been stale for much of 2026, but WWE seems insistent on keeping the WWE title on “The American Nightmare” at all costs.
Gunther, a loathed heel and arguably the best in-ring performer in wrestling, would make for a great WWE Champion, but that won’t matter if WWE has big plans for Rhodes and the WWE title.
Prediction: Rhodes
Although Oba Femi is the best choice to win the WWE King of the Ring tournament, he’s not the most likely choice.
That’s because Femi is currently tied at one win a piece with Brock Lesnar, who just defeated him at Clash in Italy after “The Ruler” topped him at WrestleMania 42. WWE clearly looks to be building toward Lesnar’s retirement match at SummerSlam, where he was originally scheduled to retire prior to his faux retirement at WrestleMania.
By default, that makes Jey Uso the favorite to win the 2026 WWE King of the Ring finals, likely after interference from Lesnar costs Femi. That would set up Uso vs. his former tag team partner Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam.
Prediction: Uso
It’s been weird to see WWE book Liv Morgan in the Queen of the Ring tournament when she’s already the Women’s World Champion. What’s even stranger is that she’s likely going to lose to Sky in the QOTR tournament finals just to face Sky again at SummerSlam.
Sky vs. Morgan has reportedly long been penciled in for SummerSlam, with Sky expected to win the QOTR tournament in order to earn her world title match at SummerSlam. That’s a sensible move for Raw’s top women’s feud given the lack of other options for Morgan outside of a Judgment Day breakup.
Sky is one of WWE’s most popular stars and best in-ring performers, and a feud with Morgan feels fresh.
Prediction: Sky
The US title match at WWE Night of Champions is a great use of two of SmackDown’s brightest young stars, but the bigger star in the bout is, far and away, Trick Williams.
In just half a year on the main roster, Williams has demonstrated that he’s a future cornerstone of WWE. With Williams being relatively early on in his US title reign, that alone makes him the clear favorite to retain at WWE Night of Champions. In addition, he should be the obvious frontrunner just because he’s the most pushed young star on the brand.
While putting the US title on Saints wouldn’t be a bad idea, WWE has shown no signs of letting up on Williams’ push.
Prediction: Williams
Cargill is pushed stronger than just about any woman in WWE, and yet, this feels like a match set up for “The Storm” to lose.
After all, Cargill just lost the WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania in April, so it would feel repetitive to put gold around her waist again right away. Stratton hasn’t done a whole lot of note with the Women’s US Championship, but that’s largely because she hasn’t gotten the chance to.
Stratton should get more time with the title, but she’s unlikely to beat Cargill clean at Night of Champions.
Prediction: Stratton
The Steel Cage stipulation at WWE SummerSlam is supposed to be designed to prevent outside interference, but WWE’s long history of interference-filled cage matches suggests otherwise.
Breakker, as a potential future world champion, would benefit greatly from beating Seth Rollins cleanly at SummerSlam. That, however, appears to be unlikely. Rollins has been rumored for a potential SummerSlam title match against Roman Reigns, making him unlikely to lose cleanly, even to Breakker.
Much like Femi vs. Lesnar, Rollins and Breakker are tied at one win each. In theory, the babyface Rollins is more likely to win the rubber match. It would be a better booking move, however, for Breakker to win, though he will likely need help from The Vision to do that.
Prediction: Breakker
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