3 Biggest winners and losers from WWE Night of Champions 2025

The WWE Night of Champions 2025 delivered a fantastic six-match show to the crowd in Saudi Arabia. After a 20-minute broadcast blackout on the go-home episode of SmackDown ahead of NOC, the Stamford-based promotion didn’t miss a beat on June 28. But which superstars made the night truly theirs?

Below are three wrestlers who came out as the biggest winners at the premium live event, and three who suffered a big loss.

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#3. Winner: Solo Sikoa won more than just the United States Championship

Jacob Fatu had put the United States Championship on the line against Solo Sikoa. The two former allies fought fiercely, with The Samoan Werewolf having a clear edge right from the start.

However, things started to shift when members of the new Bloodline started interfering in the match. JC Mateo played the role of distraction, followed by Tonga Loa, who returned and dropped Fatu from the top rope with a spinning neckbreaker. Despite this, it wasn’t enough to keep the United States Champion down, as Fatu regained momentum shortly after. However, an interference from a debuting Hikuleo finally put The Samoan Werewolf to a stop.

The referee, Ryan Tran, wasn’t looking when the 6’8” powerhouse dragged Jacob Fatu out and neutralized him with a Chokeslam onto the announce table. He then put the champ back in the ring, and Solo Sikoa followed it with a Samoan Spike to become the new United States Champion.

This is the first main roster title won by the new Bloodline leader since his debut at the 2022 Clash at the Castle. Moreover, he now has his faction packed with numbers to enhance his strength even more. Thus, the heel superstar walked out of Riyadh as the biggest winner.

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#3. Loser: Karrion Kross couldn’t get the job done at WWE Night of Champions 2025

Karrion Kross had been trying to influence Sami Zayn and turn him heel in a long, drawn-out pursuit. Zayn's King of the Ring semifinal loss to Randy Orton, however, made him snap when The Herald of Doomsday tried to mock him once more. Punching the heel, Zayn agreed to a match at Night of Champions, and Kross laughed after finally getting a chance to fight Zayn.

Both former NXT Champions clashed in a great match with the tides shifting multiple times. Karrion Kross did a good job of constantly delivering verbal jabs at his opponent each time he was down. The final moments of the match, however, saw Sami Zayn land a Helluva Kick to Kross and then pin him for the win.

The Canadian star, who entered the arena wearing a keffiyeh to a huge pop from the WWE Universe in Riyadh, stood tall in the ring. If anything, this probably will keep the OG Bloodline member a babyface for a long time. So, The Herald of Doomsday lost a big match and also failed to make Zayn turn to his dark side.

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#2. Winner: Cody Rhodes became the 24th WWE King of the Ring

Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton competed in the final round of the King of the Ring Tournament. The long history between the two and their strong desire to face John Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship raised the stakes for the match.

The match saw The American Nightmare and The Viper gain the upper hand several times, refusing to go down. The Apex Predator even caught Rhodes mid-air with an RKO, but failed to keep his shoulders down for a three count. The desperation carried by the former 14-time WWE World Champion surfaced when he exposed one of the corner turnbuckles.

But Randy Orton couldn’t profit from this tactic, as Cody Rhodes blocked his attempt to run him into the exposed turnbuckle. The strategy then backfired when The Viper ran into the danger zone ribs first and got caught with a Cross Rhodes, losing the match. The American Nightmare became WWE’s 24th King of the Ring and celebrated the win with the crowd.

He thanked the WWE Universe for their support and also talked about how he had to fight his friends to earn the crown. He especially thanked Randy Orton for the match and for mentoring him, calling him a future WWE Hall of Famer. Now, he will head to SummerSlam to compete for the Undisputed WWE Championship against John Cena.

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#2. Loser: Asuka lost a great chance to feud with IYO SKY

Right from their days in NXT, Asuka and IYO SKY have been dominant forces, delivering great matches and winning top championships. The Japanese wrestlers have shared several rivalry moments in their careers. Owing to this, it was surprising to see Asuka join Damage CTRL back in November 2023. Especially since she had failed to defeat IYO SKY in a WWE Women's Championship match on SmackDown just a month ago.

After ending her year-long hiatus, The Empress of Tomorrow returned on the June 16, 2025, episode of RAW for the Queen of the Ring Tournament. Furthermore, after securing a spot in the finals, she even gave The Genius of the SKY a cold shoulder when the Women’s World Champion congratulated her and got excited for a future match. However, this determination shown by the Kabuki Warrior failed to help her win the QOTR finals against Jade Cargill.

The Storm powered through the match with her sheer strength and put up a great fight against her highly experienced and competitive opponent. She reversed an Empress Impact to land her signature move, Jaded, and pinned the three-time Women’s Champ to win the match.

While Cargill will now go to SummerSlam, Asuka’s momentum after returning has come to a halt. Additionally, this has also derailed her from a match for the Women’s World Championship against IYO SKY. Now, The Empress of Tomorrow will be forced to pull off some tricks to get back in the title picture, as Rhea Ripley is also eyeing a shot against SKY.

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#1. Winner: John Cena sealed his head-to-head rivalry against CM Punk with a big win

John Cena and CM Punk have been hardcore rivals since the PG Era. The days leading up to Night of Champions saw The Franchise Player deliver his version of Punk’s famous pipebomb promo on last week’s episode of SmackDown. In response, The Second City Saint delivered a ‘Punkanomics’ promo on the go-home episode of the Friday Night Show, pulling the support of WWE fans in Riyadh towards him.

The match saw both superstars giving a great performance, with the 17-time WWE World Champion unexpectedly gaining the upper hand. Instead of a traditional finish, however, a series of interferences dictated the result. Seth Rollins entered the arena with Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed and had brought a referee to cash in his Money in the Bank contract.

The Never Seen 17 simply dropped the new referee to stop The Visionary from officially cashing in. This was followed by interference from Penta and Sami Zayn, who neutralized the numbers advantage Rollins had. Additionally, John Cena and CM Punk briefly teamed up to take out The Architect and his entire crew.

The Undisputed WWE Champion extended his hand to The Second City Saint, who took it, but also blocked a low blow from Cena. He was about to hit a GTS, before Seth Rollins hit Punk in the face with the briefcase and Curb Stomped him. The Last Real Champion tossed The Visionary out of the ring and went for the pinfall to successfully defend his title.

Before this match, John Cena and CM Punk were tied at 6-6. However, The Franchise Player has now claimed the rivalry with a 7-6 score, which won’t change since this was the last time the duo fought. Thus, Cena left Riyadh with the last laugh against one of his biggest rivals.

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#1. Loser: Randy Orton ended up in second place once again

The 2024 King of the Ring Tournament saw Randy Orton face Gunther. In the final moments, The Ring General pinned The Viper to secure the win. However, the pinfall was seen as controversial because the cameras showed that Orton didn’t have his shoulders properly down, which the referee failed to notice.

This year, The Apex Predator was determined to win the KOTR and defeat John Cena to win the 15th WWE World Championship. Randy Orton was already upset with the fact that his title match at Backlash saw him return empty-handed despite having Cena pinned. However, the referee wasn’t available to make the count. Additionally, interference from R-Truth ultimately cost him the match.

The Viper had even warned Cody Rhodes that he wouldn’t hesitate to run him over to get another shot at the Undisputed WWE Championship. However, he ended up securing the second place in KOTR once again. He failed to win despite resorting to shady tactics. Lastly, while The American Nightmare thanked and praised him as a future WWE Hall of Famer, Orton didn’t look pleased at all.

It remains to be seen whether this will trigger Randy Orton to turn heel for the first time since his WWE return at the 2023 Survivor Series in November. It would be interesting to see what lies ahead for these superstars and whether the winners continue to win, and the losers flip their fate in the future.