Reviews

The John Report: WWE Night Of Champions 2025 Review

By John Canton • Published Jun 28, 2025 17:20 EDT
WWE Night Of Champions 2025 Review

It’s WWE Night of Champions featuring John Cena facing CM Punk, plus King and Queen of the Ring tournament final matches.

This is WWE Night of Champions with only two title matches, two tournament final matches, and two other matches. Night of Champions used to be shows where the full card was only title matches, but not this year. All six matches scheduled for the event are singles matches too. I would have liked to see a tag team match or even a triple threat match to change things up a bit.

It’s the second straight night for WWE in Saudi Arabia since they did SmackDown from there on Friday night. There was a power outage at the arena that caused a 30-minute delay for those of us watching on Netflix. That sucked, and I hope it doesn’t happen again. I’m a fan of a 1 p.m. ET start time for NOC, though. It’s 8 p.m. locally in Saudi Arabia when this show begins.

There was a two-hour Night of Champions Countdown Show on WWE’s YouTube channel, but I don’t review those shows. I am watching on Netflix in Canada. Let’s get to the main show.

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WWE Night of Champions
From Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Saturday, June 28, 2025

There was some footage shown of talent before the show, including Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn, Karrion Kross with Scarlett, Rhea Ripley exiting a car with a banana, Raquel Rodriguez, Asuka, Jade Cargill, and CM Punk.

A video package aired to get us ready for Night of Champions. It was written and narrated by acclaimed reporter Tom Rinaldi, as indicated on the screen. Since Rinaldi is a sports reporter, he lends credibility when discussing wrestlers’ need to win matches. Anyway, it was well done as usual and featured all the wrestlers competing on this show.

There was a pyro display to start the show. It was a packed Kingdom Arena just like at SmackDown last night. The stage looks massive and impressive.

The commentary team was Michael Cole and Wade Barrett. Mark Nash from SmackDown was the ring announcer. There was an Arabic commentary team at ringside as well.

Randy Orton was up first for the finals of the King of the Ring tournament. The crowd sang Orton’s song his way to the ring, just like at SmackDown. I love the crowds singing Orton’s song, not just because “Voices” is a great song, but you can tell how much Orton loves it, too.

Cody Rhodes was next, and of course, the fans sang his “Kingdom” song too. I appreciate the effort by the fans. It’s a lot of singing for the first two wrestlers.

King of the Ring Finals: Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes

It was 1:14 p.m. ET when the bell rang for the first match of the show. The great Charles Robinson is the referee. The crowd was going crazy with “ole, ole, ole” chants and a lot of them holding their phones up to provide some light. Orton knocked down Cody with a shoulder tackle. Cody was able to get some offense going with an up punch while on the mat and then a bulldog. Cody went up top, Orton followed him and Orton hit a superplex. Orton was selling a lower back injury, which the announcers pointed out because Orton had a major back surgery a few years ago. Cody hit Orton with a forearm to the lower back and a Disaster Kick for two. Cody hit a suplex for two. Orton got some offense going with a backbreaker onto his lower back and it’s a move Orton has done a lot, but this time it led to Orton selling the back injury. Cody pulled Orton to the ring post and pulled on Orton’s head/legs so that Orton’s back was stretched against the ring post. There were “Let’s Go Randy” chants from the crowd. Cody went up top and hit a missile dropkick for two. Cody grabbed a chinlock, Orton broke free, Orton hit a clothesline and Orton hit a powerslam for two. Orton wanted the draping DDT, but Cody hit him with a forearm to the back to stop that. Cody hit a Cody Cutter off the ropes. Cody went up top and hit an Avalanche Cody Cutter for just a two count. Orton came back to send Cody to the apron and Orton hit the draping DDT. The fans were going nuts for Orton and favoring him over Cody. Orton went for the RKO, but Cody blocked it and Cody hit a Cross Rhodes for a two count. There’s the first finisher kickout.

Cody slowly got back and looked frustrated about not being able to put Cody away. The fans were booing Cody a bit as he walked around, and Orton popped back up with an RKO for a two count because Cody got his left shoulder up. Orton went for the dreaded Punt because Cody was on his knees, the fans were chanting “Yes,” and Orton was second-guessing himself because Cody is his friend. Orton psyched himself up, he went for the Punt, took too long and Cody avoided it. Cody tripped up Orton leading to a Figure Four Leglock. Orton was in the hold for nearly a minute until he managed to turn it over and they went into the ropes to break the hold. Cody and Orton did the “stand and throw punches” spot so the fans could react to every blow. They were cheering Orton and booing Cody, or so it seems. Cody kicked Orton and Cody went for a Cody Cutter, but Orton countered it with an RKO for just two again. Cody got his left shoulder up again. Orton left the ring to grab a steel chair even though, as Cole pointed out, a DQ would give the ring to Cody. Referee Robinson took the chair from Orton, which was just a way for Orton to take a turnbuckle pad off and expose the steel. The chair was just a decoy, as Wade pointed out. Orton tried sending Cody into the turnbuckle, Cody avoided that and Cody sent Orton ribs-first into the steel turnbuckle. Cody hit Cross Rhodes for the pinfall win at 19:45.

Winner by pinfall AND King of the Ring: Cody Rhodes

Analysis: ****1/4 That was an outstanding match as I expected. It reminded me of how great Orton’s KOTR match was with Gunther last year, and this one might have topped that match. Orton did an excellent job of selling the back injury throughout the match, Cody was aggressive in attacking the back injury, and Orton was still able to hit his big moves, including two RKOs that Cody kicked out of. I’m not surprised that Cody got the win. Orton used the chair to try to set up the steel turnbuckle, but it backfired, and Cody used the steel to his advantage, which led right into a Cross Rhodes for the win. I expected a Cody victory here. The fans booing Cody during the match was interesting, and it could also lead WWE to think that Cody should turn heel soon.

The win by Cody Rhodes means he gets to challenge for the WWE Title at SummerSlam.

After the match, Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton stared at each other for a bit. Orton left the ring. The SmackDown GM Nick Aldis and Raw GM Adam Pearce were in the ring to congratulate Cody and Aldis handed Cody the KOTR crown.

Cody Rhodes was interviewed in the ring by Byron Saxton, who said that Cody has the chance to reclaim the WWE Title at SummerSlam. Cody thanked Randy Orton as his mentor. Cody said that this isn’t Orton’s last stop here in Saudi Arabia, so Cody wanted the fans to cheer, and the fans cheered. Cody said he heard the fans while saying it’s an arduous path since he had to beat the popular Jey Uso and the locker room leader Randy Orton. Cody said he understands why the crowd feels the way they do. Cody said that whether it’s John Cena or CM Punk, Cody said he was born to do this, and at SummerSlam, “I get the ball back.” The fans cheered.

Analysis: Good interview by Cody as the noble babyface who acknowledged the heels by the fans and then turned the crowd around because they were cheering him by the end of it. I like Cody as a face and he’s good at it, but sometimes people get sick of wrestlers winning a lot and that’s why he could go heel soon.

A commercial aired about WWE’s upcoming tour of Perth, Australia, in October with Crown Jewel, along with Raw and SmackDown. It’s October 10, 11 (PLE), and 13.

A video was shown of the husband-and-wife team of Bianca Belair and Montez Ford visiting Perth recently for a promotional tour.

The Street Profits were shown at ringside as the WWE Tag Team Champions.

A video package aired about the Rhea Ripley-Raquel Rodriguez match. They were best friends from when they were in NXT together and have matching RNR tattoos. They are on-screen rivals now, leading to this Street Fight match.

Raquel Rodriguez had both of the Women’s Tag Team Titles with her since her friend Liv Morgan had shoulder surgery and will likely be out for the rest of this year. It’s likely that Roxanne Perez will be Raquel’s new tag team partner, but it’s not official yet.

Rhea Ripley got a huge ovation from the crowd, as usual. Ripley looked like a badass, and the fans were solidly behind her.

Riyadh Boulevard Street Fight: Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Rodriguez

A Street Fight means that weapons are allowed, so there are no countouts and no disqualifications. The fall must take place in the ring. Both women were in black body suits that looked similar. The WWE women in Saudi Arabia must wear outfits that cover their bodies except their heads and hands.

Ripley hit a clothesline, Raquel didn’t go down and Raquel hit a lefty clothesline. Raquel hit two fallaway slams across the ring. Raquel tackled Ripley into the turnbuckle, and hit multiple elbow smashes to rock Ripley against the turnbuckle. Raquel hit a splash and tied up Ripley against the ropes, so Raquel punched Ripley a few times. Raquel introduced weapons by bringing in a kendo stick and a steel chair. Raquel hit Ripley in the ribs three times with the kendo stick. Ripley kicked the chair into Raquel’s face and Ripley broke free. Ripley kicked Raquel out of the ring. Ripley sent Raquel hard into the steel steps. Ripley cleared off the Arabic commentary table and put the hood of the table onto the barricade. They fought on the table where Raquel stopped a move while Ripley hit a headbutt. Ripley jumped onto Raquel, who caught her and Raquel gave Ripley a Powerbomb through the hood of the commentary table that was by the barricade. Great spot that sounded loud because it was the top of the table. Raquel set up a table against the turnbuckle. Ripley was back up and sent Raquel face first into the steel steps. Ripley took her studded leather belt off and Ripley hit Raquel in the back/ribs several times. Ripley splashed Raquel against the turnbuckle. Ripley hit a Razor’s Edge and a roundhouse kick to the head for a two count. Ripley applied the Prism Trap submission when Roxanne Perez showed up and hit Ripley in the back with a forearm to break the hold. Perez also had a back body suit outfit. Ripley went after Perez, who left the ring, so Ripley suplexed Perez on the floor. Ripley put a trash can on Perez and hit a running kick to knock her down. Raquel recovered and picked up Ripley to send Ripley into the ring post. Raquel sent Ripley into the steel steps that were on the apron. Raquel hit a corkscrew splash off the middle rope for two.

Ripley countered a Raquel move and sent her into the table, but Raquel stopped herself from going through the table. Raquel hit a boot to the face to knock Ripley down. Raquel set up the table on the top rope and Ripley sent Raquel into the table. Ripley kicked Raquel in the head. Ripley went to the top of the table, which was bridged across the top turnbuckle and Ripley rammed Raquel’s head into the table. Ripley picked up Raquel on the table and Ripley hit an Avalanche Riptide off the table for the pinfall win at 14:01.

Winner by pinfall: Rhea Ripley

Analysis: ***1/2 A good Street Fight between Ripley and Raquel, who are two women who know eachother well. I thought the Tiffany Stratton-Nia Jax match was better on SmackDown and that was Last Woman Standing, so it had a lot of similarities in terms of using weapons throughout the match. I figured Perez would get involved, which she did, but I felt like Ripley winning the match made sense. The finish was a bit risky because it’s not an easy spot to do a move off the table, so kudos to Ripley and Raquel for making it work.

A commercial aired for WWE LFG on A&E on Sunday night.

There was a commercial for the WWE Evolution PLE on July 13th. It’s a women’s only show.

The new Women’s US Champion Giulia was shown at ringside.

Karrion Kross made his entrance with his lovely wife Scarlett. It’s good to see Kross in a PLE match, and their entrance is still cool after seeing it for a few years. They showed a clip of Kross and Zayn exchanging words on Raw once again, setting them up for this match.

Sami Zayn got a huge ovation from the crowd and they were singing his song. The fans love him because he speaks Arabic like them, and he loves going to the Saudi shows.

Karrion Kross (w/Scarlett) vs. Sami Zayn

It was a vocal crowd singing for Zayn a lot. Zayn sent Kross into the ropes and Zayn hit a clothesline that sent him over the top to the floor. Kross moved while on the floor, so Zayn did a backflip into the ring. Zayn left the ring, Kross sent him into the barricade and Zayn did a moonsault onto a standing Kross. Back in the ring, Kross hit a Saito Suplex across the ring. Kross knocked Zayn with an elbow to the head. Kross was in control, Zayn did a leapfrog off the ropes over Kross and Zayn hit a clothesline. Zayn punched Kross more than ten times against the turnbuckle. Zayn hit a double axhandle to knock Kross down. Zayn went up top, Kross was back up, Zayn jumped over him, and Kross had Zayn on his shoulders, leading to a Death Valley Driver for a two count. Kross went for a submission, Zayn slipped out of it and Kross came back with a belly-to-back Saito Suplex across the ring. Kross went for a forearm, but Zayn hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for two as usual for that move. Kross slipped behind Zayn and hit a release German Suplex. Kross hit another release German Suplex. Zayn got a hold of Kross and hit an Exploder Suplex against the turnbuckle.

Zayn charged with the kick, but Kross applied the Kross Jacket choke hold. They went to the mat where Kross used his legs as body scissors around the waist. The referee checked the arm and Zayn’s arm went down twice, but it stayed up the third time. Kross nearly choked Zayn out, but Zayn got his hand on the bottom rope to break the hold. Kross hit a running clothesline against the turnbuckle. Kross charged again with a running clothesline. Kross wanted Zayn to say that Kross told the truth. Kross went across the ring, Zayn went running after him, and Zayn hit Kross with a Helluva Kick. It went 13:32.

Winner by pinfall: Sami Zayn

Analysis: ***1/4 It was a solid match to put over Sami Zayn after he was selling for most of the match. I liked the spot with Karrion Kross using the choke hold to nearly force Zayn to pass out, and Zayn sold it well, but Zayn found a way to stay alive. The result was what I expected with Zayn getting the win. I’m happy that Kross got to be in a PLE match, but I also think he needs to win some big matches soon. Hopefully, that happens for him.

There was a commercial for the WWE 2K25 video game.

A commercial aired for WWE Survivor Series, coming to Petco Park in San Diego on November 29th.

Legado Del Fantasma’s Santos Escobar and Los Garza were shown at ringside with Los Garza as the AAA Tag Team Champions.

There was a commercial for the Royal Rumble 2026 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

A video package aired for the Jacob Fatu-Solo Sikoa match up next.

United States Championship: Jacob Fatu vs. Solo Sikoa

It’s a matchup between first cousins who both share the same real last name, Fatu.

Solo was aggressive early on, but Fatu came back. The fans were singing “ole, ole, ole, Fatu, Fatu” as Jacob was on offense against the turnbuckle. Fatu hit a running clothesline off the steel steps on the floor. Fatu hit two senton splashes in a row. Solo left the ring and punched Fatu to stop a dive attempt. Solo gave Fatu a uranage on the apron and a uranage on the floor. Fatu worked over Solo with punches. Fatu went for a corner splash, but Solo moved, and Fatu hit the turnbuckle. Solo hit a running hip attack, followed by a Fatu-like shake. Solo grabbed Fatu in a chinlock while trash talking him saying he loved him, but Jacob never loved him and now he’ll take his ass out. That trash-talking is what Roman Reigns does a lot during a match, so Solo learned from one of the best. When Fatu got back up, Solo punched him a few times. Solo hit a German Suplex, which led to Fatu doing a moonsault bump. Solo did a Fatu-like shake and Fatu was back up with a German Suplex, superkick and a running hip attack. Fatu hit an Impaler DDT. Fatu went up top and hit a Swanton Bomb for two. Fatu went up top, but JC Mateo went down to ringside to distract the referee. Tonga Loa was back for the first time since WarGames last November, and Loa hit Fatu with a neckbreaker off the turnbuckle. The referee didn’t see it. Solo covered for just two. Solo went for a Samoan Spike, Fatu avoided it and hit a superkick.

Fatu ran the ropes and hit a twisting dive onto JC and Loa on the floor. That was an incredible move for a big man. Fatu hit a Samoan Drop on Solo. JC went into the ring, Fatu superkicked him and hit a hip attack. Fatu went up top and hit a top rope moonsault on Solo, but the referee wasn’t there to count. Hikuleo showed up to stop a count, as Cole mentioned he was the brother of Tonga Loa and Tama Tonga. Hikuleo gave Fatu a Chokeslam onto the commentary table. It didn’t break the table, but there was a loud smack. The referee saw none of this because he was distracted, apparently. Back in the ring, Solo hit a Samoan Spike for the pinfall win and Solo is the new US Champion. It went 12:05.

Winner by pinfall AND NEW US Champion: Solo Sikoa

Analysis: *** A solid match, but not that great. I think Fatu was outstanding in the match with some big moves and the fans got behind him. Solo is okay in his role. However, this was one of those classic Triple H booking finishes with three guys helping Solo get the win. We saw those kinds of finishes a lot with Roman Reigns and The Bloodline, so it was more of the same with Solo getting the cheap win to take the US Title. This was exactly what I predicted in the preview, with Hikuleo debuting and interfering to help Solo win. I’m sure a lot of people predicted the same thing too. It protects Fatu since he didn’t lose clean and it should lead to a rematch soon.

Solo Sikoa celebrated with the US Title, joined by JC Mateo, Tonga Loa, and Hikuleo, who may be called Talla Tonga or some other name in WWE. Fatu was frustrated in the ring while Solo said he’s taking it all.

A commercial aired promoting Gunther against Goldberg at Saturday Night’s Main Event on July 12th. That is two weeks away.

The WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton was shown at ringside.

There was a video for the Queen of the Ring Finals between Jade Cargill and Asuka.

Asuka made her entrance as Michael Cole talked about how Asuka trained very hard to come back from the left knee injury that cost her a year of her career. Jade Cargill was next and the fans seemed to like Asuka more, but that’s also partly because Asuka has been in WWE for a decade while Jade is still relatively new.

Queen of the Ring Tournament Finals: Jade Cargill vs. Asuka

Jade hit a sidewalk slam. Asuka slowed things down by wrenching on the left knee. Asuka kicked Jade in the leg a few times and hit a running knee to knock Jade down. Asuka worked over Jade with kicks. Jade went for a slam, but Asuka countered it with a kneebar submission. Jade countered that with a wheelbarrow suplex. Jade hit a spinebuster. Jade hit a running elbow against the turnbuckle and a fallaway slam. Jade knocked Asuka down with a superkick and Jade hit a Chokeslam variation for two. Asuka came back with strikes and a running spin kick against the turnbuckle. Asuka went up top and hit a missile dropkick for two. Jade went for a lifting slam, but Asuka slipped out of it and got a two count. Jade blocked a kick, which led to a sitout Powerbomb for two. Asuka applied an armbar on the left arm. Jade turned it over and got a pin attempt for two. Jade hit a pump kick and the fans booed that. Asuka avoided Jaded and Asuka applied the Asuka Lock submission. Jade flipped over into a pin attempt for two. Asuka came back with a kick to the body. Asuka went for Empress Impact, Jade caught her, and Jade hit a Jaded slam for the pinfall win at 8:40.

Winner by pinfall AND Queen of the Ring: Jade Cargill

Analysis: **3/4 It was an average match that felt like a TV match rather than something special. The fans were hot for most of the show, but then they needed a break during this match and barely reacted to it. Asuka had to gesture to the fans a few times to get them to react. Jade doesn’t have that connection with the fans yet, and the fans barely reacted to her in this match. I’m not surprised by Jade winning here. The finish was done well with Asuka going for the hip attack, Jade caught her and hit Jaded perfectly to win.

The win means that SmackDown’s Jade Cargill will challenge for the WWE Women’s Championship at SummerSlam.

After the match, Raw GM Adam Pearce and SmackDown GM Nick Aldis presented Jade Cargill with the Queen of the Ring crown.

Jade Cargill was interviewed in the ring by Byron Saxton. There were some fans booing. Jade told people to fight through the boos, don’t let them tell you who you are you show them. Jade said that a storm is coming for SummerSlam.

Analysis: A decent promo from Jade reacting to the booing. My official prediction was that Jade would win Queen of the Ring, I think she’ll win the WWE Women’s Title at SummerSlam, and I think Naomi will cash in Money in the Bank to leave with the WWE Women’s Title.

A commercial aired for WWE SummerSlam on August 2 & August 3.

This Monday’s Raw in Pittsburgh starts at 6 p.m. ET on Netflix. The announcers plugged the lineup:

* World Tag Team Championships: The New Day vs. The Judgment Day’s Finn Balor & JD McDonagh

* Sheamus vs. Rusev

They also plugged Gunther defending the World Heavyweight Title against Goldberg at Saturday Night’s Main Event on July 12th.

The video package aired about the John Cena-CM Punk main event. This video has aired a few times over the last few weeks. It’s a great video package.

CM Punk made his entrance first as the challenger. As I pointed out in the weeks leading up to it, Punk has lost his last five televised matches, yet he’s getting a WWE Title match because of his history with John Cena. Speaking of that history, Punk was wearing his Money in the Bank 2011 gear. That’s a night when he beat Cena for the WWE Title. The fans cheered loudly for Punk and sang along with the classic “Cult of Personality” song. Punk is a five-time WWE World Champion who last held it in 2013.

There was a very loud reaction as the 17-time World Champion John Cena’s music hit, and the Undisputed WWE Champion Cena made his entrance for his final match in Saudi Arabia. Cena held up his farewell tour slogan: “The last time is now.” The fans sang “John Cena sucks” during Cena’s song.

The ring announcer Mark Nash did the special in-ring introductions. Mark is not a tall guy, but he’s a good announcer. Nash did the special introduction for Cena that he does every time Cena is in a match or a segment on SmackDown. The fans were hot for the introductions, that’s for sure.

Undisputed WWE Championship: John Cena vs. CM Punk

The guys locked up with some basic holds and the fans were going crazy with “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants. They did some more basic stuff like locking up and headlocks for a couple of minutes. Cena got some offense going with punches while Punk was tied up against the ropes. Cena hit a Fisherman’s Suplex, leading to a quick kickout by Punk. Cena hit a shoulder tackle. Punk went for a lift, but Cena escaped and left the ring. Punk lay across the top rope for the mind games. Punk went for a move, but Cena tried a lift and Punk countered, and Punk hit a clothesline. Punk went for an octopus hold style submission, but Cena got out of it and hit some punches. Cena hit two running shoulder tackles along with a spinning suplex. Cena hit the Five Knuckle Shuffle first drop. Cena picked Punk up, but Punk was back up with a heel kick and a neckbreaker. Punk hit the running knee, followed by the clothesline. Punk went up top and jumped off the top with an elbow drop. Punk went for the GTS, Cena blocked it and Cena countered it with an STF. Punk countered it with an Anaconda Vice. Cena countered it into a pin attempt for two. Cena hit an Attitude Adjustment for a two count because Punk got his left shoulder up. There’s the first finisher kickout.

Cena went for the AA again, Punk landed on his feet and Punk hit a DDT for a two count. Punk applied the STF on Cena as Cole did the cliché announcer line wondering if Cena would tap to his own move. Cena got to the ropes to break the hold. Punk hit the running knee and Punk went for the bulldog, but Cena hit the spinning slam again. Punk kicked Cena in the head and Punk wanted a neckbreaker, but Cena got out of it and Cena hit another Attitude Adjustment for a two count as Punk got his left shoulder up. They went to the turnbuckle where Cena teased the AA off the turnbuckle, but Punk elbowed his way out of it. Punk jumped off the top with a cross body block, Cena caught him and Cena hit a third Attitude Adjustment for another two count. That’s three AA’s that Punk has kicked out of. Cena was frustrated about not being able to beat Punk, so Cena grabbed the WWE Title and brought it into the ring. Cena threw the title down to the floor. Punk was back up, Cena wanted AA, Punk countered it with a Go To Sleep and that got a two count. Wade was shocked that Cena didn’t use the WWE Title like he had done in the past. Punk worked over Cena with punches, Cena came back with punches and Cena hit a shoulder tackle. Cena went for a shoulder tackle, Punk ducked and Cena hit the referee Dan Engler to knock him out of the ring. Punk hit a GTS on Cena, but there was no referee to count the pin. The announcers talked about how no referee cost Punk the match.

Seth Rollins made his entrance as Mr. Money in the Bank joined by Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed and Paul Heyman carrying the MITB briefcase. Rollins was in dress clothes, including a jacket, so he wasn’t in his wrestling gear. Rollins took his jacket off and held the MITB briefcase. Bron and Reed went into the ring to go after Punk while Cena left the ring. Punk clotheslined Bron out of the ring. Punk avoided a charging Reed to send Reed out of the ring. Punk went for a slingshot dive over the top and nearly landed on his head. Bron and Reed picked up Punk and gave him a double spinebuster through the commentary table. The table broke. Rollins signalled for a referee to come down to the ring. Charles Robinson ran down to the ring and Cena ran him over!

Analysis: Poor Charles! That was like a Pounce from Cena. Charles took a great bump.

Cena got in Seth’s face and stopped him. Cena gave Rollins the Attitude Adjustment. Bron and Reed went after Cena in the ring. Penta made his entrance to go after Bron. They fought on the apron and Bron suplexed Penta on the ramp. Sami Zayn was next as he ran down the ring to fight with Bron and Zayn went fighting with Bron to the back. Penta jumped off the ramp with a cross body block on Bron and Zayn on the floor.

Reed was in the ring, and he went up top, but Punk shoved Reed off the top rope. Cena picked up Reed and gave him an Attitude Adjustment to take care of him. Wade pointed out that Punk and Cena were working together at that point.

Punk extended a hand to Cena and Cena shook his hand. As Cena hugged Punk, Cena had a heel look on his face and he went for the low blow. Punk was ready with a GTS attempt, but Rollins was there to hit Punk with the briefcase in the head. Rollins hit The Stomp on Punk, Cena tossed Rollins out of the ring, the original referee Dan Engler was back in there and Cena covered Punk for the pinfall win at 26:15.

Winner by pinfall: John Cena

Analysis: ***3/4 It was a chaotic match with a lot going on after the extremely long ref bump led to a whole lot of interference. The problem with ref bumps is sometimes you see another ref get out there quickly and take over, but in this case, it felt like it lasted 10 minutes (it wasn’t that long, but it felt very long) before the referee finally got back in here to count the pin. I think this was booked in a way to tease the idea that Cena is having second thoughts about being a heel since he refused to use the WWE Title as a weapon and he also hugged Punk as a sign of respect. Perhaps we’ll see Cena go face soon. In terms of the actual work between Cena and Punk, I thought they did a good job of telling a story and having a lot of kickouts of finishers to show how they are big match performers. Rollins getting involved cost CM Punk yet again to continue that rivalry, so I think Rollins against Punk seems likely at SummerSlam. Anyway, this followed the same pattern as most of Cena’s matches this year, with a referee bump and chaos after that. I expected Cena to retain here. There are some fans who will hate a finish like this because of how cheap it was and the number of people involved. Yes, the interference hurts the match quality, but I still thought it was a very good match in front of a crowd that cared a lot.

John Cena celebrated with the WWE Championship while Cole shouted about how Seth Rollins screwed CM Punk out of the WWE Title. Cena was smirking on the ramp as he posed with the WWE Title. That was the end of the show.

Analysis: I thought we might see Cody Rhodes confront John Cena on the stage to tease their SummerSlam match, but there was no sign of Cody there.

WWE Night of Champions had a runtime of 3 hours, 0 minutes. It was exactly a three-hour show.

===

Five Stars of the Show

  1. Cody Rhodes
  2. John Cena
  3. Randy Orton
  4. CM Punk
  5. Rhea Ripley

===

Final Thoughts on WWE Backlash

I’m going 7.25 out of 10 for this show.

It felt similar to Backlash and Money in the Bank as a 7.25 out of 10 type of show to me.

The best match was definitely the Cody Rhodes-Randy Orton opener. I don’t think any other match really came close to it in terms of quality. I liked the story of Orton trying to use the exposed turnbuckle, but Cody was able to use it instead and finished off Orton.

That main event with John Cena and CM Punk was a nice reminder of the chemistry those guys. I enjoyed that part of it. The ref bump went on for way too long to allow for a lot of interference. I get why it’s done, but I also get why some fans hate that stuff. It continues the Seth Rollins story with CM Punk, which keeps on going.

I doubt I’ll remember much from the other four matches. Rhea Ripley was very impressive in her match. Sami Zayn had a strong showing. Solo Sikoa winning the US Title by cheating was what I expected. The Jade Cargill-Asuka match was disappointing compared to the others.

I went 6-for-6 in my preview of the show and I got perfect in predicting Money in the Bank three weeks ago as well. The product isn’t bad, but a lot of Triple H’s booking is predictable after a while, so I get why people aren’t as excited about the product. There are still many good performers and match quality is usually strong.

Here are my rankings of WWE PLE’s in 2025:

Elimination Chamber (March 1) – 9 (out of 10)

Royal Rumble (February 1) – 8.5

WrestleMania 41 (April 19 & 20) – 7.5

Money in the Bank (June 7) – 7.5

Night of Champions (June 28) – 7.25

Backlash (May 10) – 7.25

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As a reminder, I have a listing of every WWE PPV that I reviewed in order by year. Thank you for supporting us at TJRWrestling. We appreciate you.

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