WWE Night of Champions hosts several all-time great, current and former titleholders. Legendary rivals John Cena and CM Punk battle again, perhaps for the last time, with the undisputed WWE championship in play.
Cena and Punk reignite a 16-year-long rivalry in Saudi Arabia on Saturday. The winner likely walks into SummerSlam against a respected former world champion. Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton meet in the King of the Ring tournament finals. The winner of this pupil vs. mentor match will challenge for the undisputed WWE title at SummerSlam.
Night of Champions also crowns a Queen of the Ring. Asuka and Jade Cargill battle through to the finals. The winner earns a shot at their respective brands’ women’s champion on the weekend of Aug. 2.
The biggest match of the night will see a pair of legends battling it out for what could be the last time. Undisputed WWE champion John Cena will defend his title against CM Punk as the pair revisit of the promotion’s biggest rivalries of the last 25 years. Cena has been hellbent on ruining everything on his way out the door and plans to retire with the title as the “last real champion.” In recent weeks, he also parodied Punk’s famous pipebomb promo, with Punk in the same position he was on that night in 2011.
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Shakiel Mahjouri
The other title match set for Saturday sees a family feud boil over as United States champion Jacob Fatu takes on Solo Sikoa. Fatu has been on the outs with Sikoa and his ways for weeks as Sikoa mocked Fatu behind his back. It reached a boiling point at Money in the Bank when Fatu cost Sikoa his chance at grabbing the briefcase and led to a beatdown. Now, the two will try to hash it out in the ring.
With all the scheduled action, let’s take a look at who the CBS Sports experts are picking for all six matches at Night of Champions.
WWE Night of Champions 2025 predictions
Undisputed WWE Championship — John Cena (c) vs. CM Punk
It feels like every Cena match is the right time for him to lose. That’s largely because his heel champion run has been a total bust until his “pipebomb” reversal on Punk. Punk and Cena have had a great rivalry in the past, in part because it wasn’t run into the ground like Cena’s rivalry with Orton. Ultimately, it just makes no sense for Cena to drop the belt right now, especially in Saudi Arabia. The best we can hope for is a little of the old magic between the two and for it to build a little momentum for Cena before he drops the title. Pick: John Cena wins — Brent Brookhouse (also Shakiel Mahjouri)
King of the Ring Tournament Finals — Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton
WWE is clearly working towards another encounter between Cena and Rhodes. “The American Nightmare” and Jey Uso beat Cena and Logan Paul at Money in the Bank, giving Rhodes ammo for a rematch. Cena and Orton recently had a match that ticked the right boxes for me, but doesn’t need a sequel. Cena vs. Rhodes 2, a sequel to their WrestleMania 41 main event, is the right scale for the first two-night SummerSlam. Pick: Cody Rhodes wins — Mahjouri (also Brookhouse)
Queen of the Ring Tournament Finals — Asuka vs. Jade Cargill
WWE seems ready to pull the trigger on Cargill. She’s visually one of WWE’s most impressive superstars. There might be concern over Cargill’s ability to carry a major singles program, but Asuka is talented enough to help maximize Cargill’s stock on the way there. Admittedly, this is the pick I’m least confident about. Cargill and WWE women’s champion Tiffany Stratton lack the experience to guarantee a good match. However, Asuka vs. Iyo Sky is a certified banger. I’ll stick with Cargill even if it might not be the best choice. Pick: Jade Cargill wins — Mahjouri (also Brookhouse)
United States Championship — Jacob Fatu (c) vs. Solo Sikoa
Fatu’s popularity has nothing to do with the United States championship. His aura and talent are impenetrable, meaning he can overcome the occasional loss. This is a fresh feud that WWE won’t wrap up soon. Sikoa should lean on JC Mateo to steal the title, setting the field for a bigger showdown at SummerSlam. Jimmy Uso, who recently aided Fatu on SmackDown, is a wildcard, but his presence complicates things. I’d find an excuse to omit Jimmy from the show and stack the deck against Fatu. Pick: Solo Sikoa wins — Mahjouri (also Brookhouse)
Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Rodriguez (Street fight)
It’s unfortunate that Liv Morgan is injured, but the issues between Ripley and Morgan/Rodriguez/Judgement Day have gone on for so long that hopefully this match is a chance to end things and let Ripley and Morgan be fully separated when Morgan is healthy again. As for this match, the street fight stipulation should allow it to be a straight brawl, which will do well to hide some of Rodriguez’s shortcomings and should make for a watchable match. The only woman who should get the win is Ripley, who can take the win forward into bigger and better (and hopefully fresher) things. Pick: Rhea Ripley — Brookhouse (also Mahjouri)
Sami Zayn vs. Karrion Kross
Zayn needs a win here, and they’ve paired him with the right man to get the job done. Aside from being on the winning side of WarGames, Zayn has not won a Premium Live Event match since he beat Bron Breakker at Money in the Bank 2024. Kross has struggled to gain any momentum on the main roster and once there was the start of a swell of support for him around WrestleMania, WWE did nothing with him other than continuing the “mind games” stuff backstage. Zayn needs a little bump in his momentum and Kross doesn’t have any reason to get the win here other than to set up an unnecessary rematch. Pick: Sami Zayn — Brookhouse (also Mahjouri)
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