WWE Night Of Champions 2025: Where Do We Go From Here?

WWE stars are reportedly already on their way home from Riyadh, which means Night of Champions is over — and with a special early start time for Monday's "WWE Raw," there's even less time than usual to process the results and try to figure out what happens next! At least we already know some parts of it: After Cody Rhodes' King of the Ring win, Jade Cargill's Queen of the Ring win, and John Cena successfully defending the WWE Championship against CM Punk, Cena vs. Rhodes for the WWE title in a rematch from WrestleMania 41 and Cargill vs. Tiffany Stratton for the WWE Women's Championship look to be your first two marquee SummerSlam matches, pending some unexpected last minute booking. But there are still tons of questions about how we get there from here over the course of the next month, especially with the first-ever two-night SummerSlam on the horizon.

What does the future hold for the likes of Sami Zayn and Rhea Ripley after winning their respective matches on Saturday? What's the next step for the Bloodline after Hikuleo's long-awaited debut and Solo Sikoa capturing the men's United States Championship? And what could "The Visionary" Seth Rollins, with his stable and his manager and his Money in the Bank briefcase, be planning for the biggest party of the summer? Another Saudi show is behind us — where do we go from here?

Raquel Rodriguez failed to defeat Rhea Ripley in a street fight, even with a bit of help from aspiring Judgment Day member Roxanne Perez, and the loss makes it a bit difficult to predict where things go from here for the heels. There have been reports that with Liv Morgan out injured, instead of Rodriguez relinquishing the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships, Perez will be stepping in to take Morgan's place. And while Perez didn't necessarily cost Rodriguez the match this afternoon, she didn't exactly do much to help other than distract Ripley enough for "The Eradicator" to drop a submission on Rodriguez and go after her instead.

Perez may have to continue to prove herself to Rodriguez over the next few weeks, or at least explain herself on "WWE Raw" on Monday, but, with the tag titles kind of just hanging in limbo, WWE could choose to have Rodriguez just embrace Perez's help, as she was pretty helpful on the "Raw" before Night of Champions, and move on from the singles loss. Last Monday, Rodriguez seemed pretty cozy with Perez after she helped send Ripley through a table, so it doesn't seem likely that Rodriguez would be too upset, especially after Perez didn't cost her the match in any way. She didn't get in the way of anything and really did attempt to help, so there shouldn't be too much Rodriguez should be upset with the former NXT Women's Champion about.

As for Ripley, she's been talking about going after the Women's World Championship held by IYO SKY for weeks. With Jade Cargill winning the Queen of the Ring tournament to get a shot at Tiffany Stratton's WWE Women's Championship at SummerSlam, it looks as though Ripley will figure out how to somehow win a shot at SKY at "The Biggest Party of the Summer." Knowing WWE, there will likely be a tournament or multi-woman match or some sort to determine that within the coming weeks.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Night of Champions saw the self-proclaimed "Tribal Chief" earn his first gold on the main roster at the expense of his former enforcer Jacob Fatu. But that wasn't all he had going on for the night, with one member in Tanga Loa returning to the fold and another in Hikuleo finally debuting, ensuring the numbers game was firmly stacked against the man who dared to leave The Bloodline. 

It seems highly unlikely that this will be the end of things between Fatu and Sikoa, and the latter went further in the Night of Champions Post-Show to say that he would even welcome Fatu back if he apologized. But given the way he lost the title and what he has said until this point, it also doesn't seem likely that the "Samoan Werewolf" fulfills Sikoa's criteria. Leading up to Saturday, Fatu had found an unlikely ally in the shape of Jimmy Uso with their shared blood and disdain for The Bloodline; whether they can build from that common ground is yet to be seen but it feels like a given that they will interact going forward. 

The unfortunate truth is that beyond Uso or the three flanking Sikoa, Fatu is going to be tasked with competing against others who want the champion next, as well as the eventual return of Tama Tonga. So the immediate future for him looks to be an uphill battle back up the mountain while the reign of Sikoa rolls forward, with "WWE SmackDown" next Friday likely to sow the seeds for that tale to grow.

Written by Max Everett

Saturday saw Jade Cargill overwhelm Asuka at Night of Champions to be crowned the new Queen of the Ring. Now with a studded crown and a date with WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton set for SummerSlam, it seems that Cargill and Stratton's journey forward will be straightforward. There are, however, so many opportunities for the story to change between now and SummerSlam's early August date. How will Cargill take to being a new queen with a shot set for Stratton's title? Where does Asuka go after this loss? Should we proceed with caution as Naomi lurks around the corner as Ms. Money in the Bank? Just where do we go from here?

Whether Cargill will adopt a queenly persona following her Queen of the Ring win is anyone's guess. Some may point to the way she so confidently and excitedly crowned herself after her victory as a sign that she will fully assimilate into a monarchy-inspired figure, but I personally don't see her taking the Queen of the Ring gimmick too seriously. Cargill isn't an overexaggerated heel like Nia Jax and Zelina Vega, who could afford to sunk their teeth into the role of a female tyrant. I think there will be a few mentions of her queenly status (perhaps a match with Charlotte Flair to determine the true "Queen" of the ring?), but otherwise, I don't see Cargill taking the gimmick change too seriously.

What she should take seriously, however, is her upcoming match against Tiffany Stratton for the WWE Women's Championship. There are two premium live events for the women between now and SummerSlam: Saturday Night's Main Event on July 12, and Evolution on July 13. You can bet your bottom dollar that Stratton will defend her title at either one of those events (unlikely to be both), and that Cargill will play a major role in those matches as WWE heads to New Jersey's Metlife Stadium for the biggest party of the summer. Whether Cargill or Stratton will interact beforehand, however, is unclear. While Cargill herself isn't overly concerned with her former friend Naomi's Money in the Bank contract, Naomi's presence is undeniable — whenever Cargill has that title in her grasps, I would bet that Naomi will not be too far behind.

Over on "WWE Raw," the stars were aligned for a Damage CTRL reunion between Asuka and WWE Women's World Champion IYO SKY, and for what its worth, I can see them still taking that route for either Saturday Night's Main Event or Evolution. SKY seems to be keeping the title warm for somebody, but just who that could be is currently unclear. Given their history together, I wouldn't be surprised if Asuka at least gives the champion a run for her money. It'll be a fun match filled with endless possibilities.

WWE's female champions have their plates full for the next coming months. Between Cargill, Stratton, and Naomi on "WWE SmackDown" and Asuka and SKY on "Raw," take no detours on this road to SummerSlam.

Written by Angeline Phu

Sami Zayn wasn't likely to be defeated in Saudi Arabia, especially not by Karrion Kross, even though Kross has a massive swell of support both online and in-person from fans, especially here in the United States. With the loss, Kross seems to remain directionless, but WWE can choose to make this a jumping off point for him. His character, instead of hiding in the shadows and appearing every so often on "WWE Raw" to just talk crap to other stars backstage, can now be out for blood after losing a match he seemed so confident about.

Kross' character can take the fact he's been directionless and turn it into a good thing. He's pretty much got a blank slate to start with. Getting his first match on a premium live event since WrestleMania 40 was a good place to start, win or lose. It was also the fan support that got him there, and fans aren't likely to turn their backs on him after a match where Zayn was likely to win anyway. WWE can put some heat under Kross and turn him into a madman out for vengeance, and the character almost just writes itself from there.

As for Zayn, his story the last few months has been him talking to others backstage about how he knows he's World Championship material and he's still looking for his shot at the gold. With John Cena tied up with Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam, hopefully WWE will find a way to get Zayn into the World Heavyweight Championship picture after GUNTHER and Goldberg have their match at Saturday Night's Main Event. While it seems more likely it would be Zayn challenging GUNTHER, as the bout is meant to be Goldberg's retirement match, you never really know with the former WCW Heavyweight Champion. There's also Money in the Bank holder Seth Rollins waiting in the wings. 

No matter what, hopefully the perpetually over Zayn finds his way to SummerSlam, no matter who is champion at the time, be it Rollins, GUNTHER, or Goldberg. For the next month, WWE can give the star some more substantial wins and get him right on track to a big match at "The Biggest Part of the Summer."

Written by Daisy Ruth

Cody Rhodes took one step closer to regaining the crown he lost at WrestleMania 40 by gaining another crown as the 2025 King of the Ring, defeating Randy Orton in the opener of Night of Champions. 

It was a bout fought aggressively between the friends, with both using their finishers to no avail and Orton torn about delivering the Punt Kick to put Rhodes away. He did eventually go for the move, but the moment of hesitation ensured that Rhodes could have the move scouted, and Orton would eventually resort to contorting the rule book in his pursuit of victory. He went for a chair, had that ripped from him by the referee before removing the top turnbuckle pad off, only to then be driven into the exposed steel by Rhodes so he could win the match and the King of the Ring. Falling on his own sword, as the proverb would tell. 

In defeat, and despite Rhodes extending his respect to Orton as a mentor and a friend in his post-match speech, Orton stared back at the scene with a look of rage and regret – a regret that he had put friendship over the World title shot. For a moment, he looked as though he would return to the ring, but eventually took his leave as Rhodes declared he would be facing either John Cena or CM Punk for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam. That surely indicates that Rhodes will be getting his WrestleMania rematch against Cena – who won in the main event – at the August event, but leaves questions over what can happen between now and then. Orton will surely have something to say, or do, about the loss and once again having to play second fiddle to the "American Nightmare," and it will be interesting to see how he handles seeing him in the spot he will feel belongs to him.

Written by Max Everett

Saturday, John Cena defended his title against CM Punk in the main event of WWE's first Saudi Arabia-based event of the year, and by the time the night ended in Riyadh, five superstars other than Cena and Punk had arrived to take the show by storm. While some may say the main event was overbooked nonsense, the amount of people involved makes this main event ending a goldmine for speculation and prospective booking. After Night of Champions' chaotic main event, the question isn't where we go from here — it is where can't we go from here.

While Cena's previous title defenses may have been givens — there was no way WWE was going to take the gold off of Cena's retirement tour in its earliest stages — Cena is heading into his first premium live event where his title retention is up in the air. Cody Rhodes took home the King of the Ring title and its associated SummerSlam title shot privilege to open Night of Champions, and while Rhodes wasn't present for the main event's whirlwind of Superstar appearances, his presence will become undeniable as the days count down towards SummerSlam's early August dates. Cena is not due for another appearance until the July 18 episode of "WWE SmackDown," which is the "SmackDown" after the upcoming July 12 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, so there are not many opportunities to run Cena and Rhodes' story before SummerSlam.

Now that he is out of title contention until after SummerSlam at the very least, Punk may just be on a collision course to feud with Rollins once again. Whether this rivalry will borrow inspiration from their previous feud is possible, it is more likely that, with "The Vision" by his side in Breakker and Reed, Punk and Rollins' feud will be a numbers game. Perhaps with Paul Heyman now firmly on Rollins' side, the original "Paul Heyman guy" will attempt to sew discord within The Vision's top brass. Of course, all of this has to also account for Rollins' possession of the Money in the Bank briefcase, which may be cashed in for either Cena's WWE Championship or GUNTHER's WWE World Heavyweight Championship at any time.

As for Penta and Zayn, they are most likely there to even the score between The Vision and Punk. Penta and Zayn's interference in the Night of Champions main event could be setting up for a possible multi-person tag match at Saturday Night's Main Event or SummerSlam — they could possibly be building towards a WarGames team, but that November event feels too in the future to begin planning for now. While Penta is a relatively stable teammate, Zayn's altercations with Karrion Kross impact the stability of Punk's ragtag team, as Kross inspired Zayn to show more frustration and aggression during their own Night of Champions match.

Six men are preparing for war on "WWE Raw" as Cena continues to chug along his retirement tour. There has never been a time to tune in WWE like right now.

Written by Angeline Phu