New WWE World Heavyweight Champion Crowned

Night of Champions got off to a hot start with a new WWE World Heavyweight Champion crowned as AJ Styles did battle with Seth Rollins.

Triple H announced ahead of the 2023 WWE Draft that the brand that did not end up with Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns would instead crown a new WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

Twelve stars were revealed for the tournament which began on Raw in Jacksonville, Florida. Seth Rollins defeated Damian Priest and Shinsuke Nakamura in the first triple threat match to move on to the semi-finals with Finn Balor overcoming Cody Rhodes and The Miz in the other. By the end of that show, however, it was Rollins who booked his place in the final at Night of Champions.

On the SmackDown side of things, Bobby Lashley saw off Austin Theory and Sheamus while AJ Styles overcame Hall of Fame competition in both Edge and Rey Mysterio. Styles then defeated Lashley to guarantee his place on the show in Saudi Arabia.

Rollins and Styles kicked off Night of Champions in their usual show-stealing style with the crowd inside the Jeddah Super Dome enjoying singing Rollins’ song. And they were signing it again after Rollins finished off Styles with a Stomp to capture the new title. Triple H handed over the new belt as Rollins takes his place as the figurehead of Monday Night Raw.

With the win, Seth Rollins is now a five-time world champion in the company as he has two previous reigns each as WWE Champion and Universal Champion.