Recaps
WWE ‘Night of Champions’ 2025: The Top Six Takeaways
Night of Champions from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia went off as planned on Saturday, June 28, even though there were talks about concerns of the WWE traveling to the Middle East. However, with the current Iran and Israel ceasefire, and much money and major matches on the line, it was all systems-go for the premium live event streamed on Peacock.
As in any good soap opera, the storyline potentials coming out of Night of Champions, will be ones being talked all over social media by the WWE Universe leading up to August’s SummerSlam and beyond.
First, I think it should be noted that referee Charles Robinson was the MVP of the card, getting tossed around, running sprints and always in the line of fire. Kudos to Chuck! Now below, let’s get into the top six takeaways from six matches on the card at Night of Champions.
Photo: WWE
A HEEL IS A HEEL?
The main event featured John Cena defending his WWE Undisputed Championship against longtime rival, CM Punk. Both veterans put on one of their best matches in their decades long feud. But the WWE couldn’t just leave the two to battle it out, it was time for the run-ins to begin.
HOWEVER, before that happened, Cena went outside the ring to grab his championship belt to use as a weapon on Punk, as he has done religiously to attain victory against his other opponents since his heel run began. Things almost took a turn, when the crowd in Saudi Arabia was able to talk Cena out of using it on Punk. Next, as the match continued, Cena accidentally knocked the referee out of the ring and onto the floor.
Photo: WWE
As Punk had the match won with a Go To Sleep, the referee was still out, so there was no one to make the count. Cue Mr. “Money in the Bank” Seth Rollins. Along with his faction and Paul Heyman by his side, he came down the ring ramp faced with an interesting decision. Go after his arch-enemy Punk and cost him to lose the match, or try to cash-in on Cena and win the belt.
Next, the aforementioned Charles Robinson comes down the ramp, only for him to be annihilated by Cena as he goes flying. Now inside the ring, it looked like Cena and Punk came together for one sweet moment to fend off Rollins and his sidekicks, Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed. We also had run-ins from Penta and Sami Zayn to help out Punk.
Photo: WWE
The crowd went nuts that after ridding the ring of Seth and his faction, Punk reached out his hand to Cena to shake it. And just as it appeared that Cena was seriously reconsidering his choice to end his retirement tour and go out a heel, they hug and Cena give us the heel face that started this run when he attacked Cody Rhodes. Punk was ready for his swerve, but Seth Rollins hit him in the head with the briefcase followed by his signature stomp, allowing Cena to retain the belt when the original ref “woke up” and got back into the ring for the count.
Photo: WWE
In the “Where does this go from here department?” – Do we see an eventual scenario before John Cena’s last match in December that he faces Seth Rollins, which at that point will have being the full babyface? It all depends on the SummerSlam main event which after the King of the Ring victory by Cody Rhodes, leaves fans with Cody vs. Cena – a rematch of April’s WrestleMania 41 main event.
KING CODY
The opener on the card was Cody Rhodes vs. his mentor, Randy Orton in the finals of the “King of the Ring” tournament and the chance to go to SummerSlam to wrestle for the title.
Photo: WWE
Shockingly, from the onset, the match featured a more aggressive Cody Rhodes, pummeling the injured back of Orton, bending his spine backwards on the ring post. Conversely, Orton hesitated on a Punt Kick because he was friend’s with Rhodes, which ultimately cost him during the match. However, towards the end of it, Randy was grabbing steel chairs and taking the turnbuckle cover off to expose the steel to injure Rhodes while the referee’s back was turned.
Photo: WWE
As the match came to its conclusion, Cody hit a Cross Rhodes for the win, but it was the aftermath and the great camera work by the WWE production team that set up the fact that a Randy Orton heel turn is now imminent. You could see it in his face as he went up the ring ramp, while Cody celebrated receiving the crown.
Photo: WWE
Coming out of this, look for a heel turn by Orton, who could possibly ruin Cody’s chance at winning back the championship from Cena at SummerSlam. UNLESS a double turn goes down between Cody and Cena! Confused??
BLOODLINE OUT OF THE BLUE
Jacob Fatu is one of the most popular wrestlers in the WWE right now. So, at first, you might think this outcome of having him lose the United States Championship to his cousin, Solo Sikoa, was a bad booking decision, but think again?
Photo: WWE
Fatu is so hot right now, we could see him gunning for the WWE World Championship currently held by Gunther at SummerSlam or beyond.
However, at Night of Champions, Jacob dropped the belt to Solo, with the help of the returning Tonga Loa and the debut of the giant Tala Tonga (formerly known as Hikuleo). This Samoan family dynasty has no end to it! And, it’s a good thing that with Tonga and Tala now by Solo’s side along with JC Mateo, we finally have a rejuvenated Bloodline 3.0 story.
Photo: WWE
The question is, does Fatu get into a storyline bringing back Jimmy and Jey Uso and perhaps a return by Roman Reigns to combat the bad guys, or would the WWE just leave Fatu alone and only have him primarily in singles competition? Stay tuned.
GIVE A GIRL A CHANCE
One of the best matches of the night belonged to Raquel Rodriguez and Rhea Ripley as they went at each other in a match billed as a “Riyadh Street Fight” were all weapons are fair game including: Kendo sticks, trash cans, steel steps, and a crazy move atop a wooden table atop the ring post!
Photo: WWE
The match should elevate Rodriguez, even though she lost to the Eradicator, Rhea Ripley. While she hasn’t won a lot of high-profile matches and is currently one-half of the WWE women’s tag team champs with the injured Liv Morgan, instead of putting her into a tag team with her Judgment Day team member, Roxanne Perez, maybe she could do OK in singles competition, if only given the chance! What do you say talent bookers?
A STORM IS COMING
As expected, Jade Cargill won the Women’s “Queen of the Ring” tournament and was crowned the victor following her match with Asuka. This sets up the potential of Jade going up against Tiffany Stratton for the WWE Women’s championship at SummerSlam.
Photo: WWE
A reminder: Jade’s arch-enemy number one is Ms. “Money in the Bank” winner, Naomi. Either Naomi cashes in before SummerSlam on “Tiffy Time” and wins the belt forcing a Jade vs. Naomi match at the biggest event of the summer, OR Naomi gets the belt from Jade at SummerSlam. The wildcard in all of this is, what will the EST, Bianca Belair, have to say about all this when she returns to in-ring action following the injury to her hand?
SAMI and KARRION DESTINED TO BE TAG PARTNERS?
This was our least favorite match of the night, because the loss of Kross to Zayn, doesn’t really give Karrion, who has had little PLE time, to go anywhere. UNLESS, coming up, there is a moment where Sami needs saving and in a run-in by Kross, he actually helps Zayn and the two former rivals become a heel tag team? That would make the most sense, because this story feels incomplete coming out of Night of Champions.
Photo: WWE
Overall, this edition of Night of Champions had some exciting and buzzworthy matches with 3 out of 5 being notable. We give it a B+
Now below, check out the Michael Fairman Channel’s latest episode of its pro wrestling talk show series, What’s Up? Wrestling, where we break down the matches, and attempt to predict the future going into and out of SummerSlam.
So, what was your highlight and favorite moment from WWE Night of Champions 2025? Share your picks in the comment section.
General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Ric’s History of Jealousy Where Elizabeth is Concerned Has Come Back Around
On General Hospital, Ric Lansing (Rick Heart) is about to fall back into dangerous old patterns by the foreshadowing during the Wednesday, August 19 episode. After first coming to see his brother, Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and telling him of his plan to propose to Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) his longtime love tonight, Sonny has concerned.
Next, Sonny reminds his brother of what has happened in the past, when things have gone south with Elizabeth and wonders if it’s too soon for him to propose to her. What Ric did not tell Sonny is that he has seen the developing closeness between Sonny’s son, Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) and Elizabeth, which is propelling his urgent need to propose.
Meanwhile, Dante ran into Elizabeth at the park during a break from their mutual team softball games. She needs help with a bookcase after the game at her house. Dante wants to put it together for her. Later, Dante arrived at Elizabeth’s house, limping after injuring his knee during the game. Head nurse Liz wanted to check out the injury as much as Dante protested, which required him to take off his pants.
Courtesy/ABC
RIC BEGINS TO UNRAVEL
Outside Elizabeth’s widow, Ric arrives with a bouquet of roses and the engagement ring. When he leers through the widow he is shocked to see Elizabeth rubbing Dante’s leg while Dante is in his boxer/shorts. He storm troops into the house, demanding to know what is going on here? Both Elizabeth and Dante look surprised by his reaction. In the pick-up of today’s Thursday, August 20 episode (see GH video teaser below), viewers will learn the upshot for all three characters.
A VENGEFUL PAST
As longtime GH fans know, Ric has done some horrible, vengeful things in regards to Elizabeth starting back in 2003 after she lost her baby after Ric’s ex, Faith Rosco pushed her down a flight of stairs. Ric accused Sonny for the accident and to get revenge, Ric kidnapped Carly (who was married to Sonny at the time), and stashed her in a panic room below the house where he was living with Liz.
On top of that, Ric fed his wife Elizabeth birth control pills to keep her from getting pregnant so that they could raise Carly’s baby together after it was born. Eventually, Elizabeth found Carly in the panic room but ended up having a pulmonary embolism. When she woke up in the hospital, Elizabeth was all confused by what happened, and Ric convinced her that her vision of Carly was just a bad dream. Eventually, Elizabeth learned the horrifying truth and divorced Ric.
Years later, Ric noticed the connection between Elizabeth and “Jake Doe” who eventually turned out to be Drew (Billy Miller) A jealous Ric hired Hayden Barnes to show up and claim to be “Jake’s” wife. Elizabeth stepped aside, and when Ric planned to propose to Elizabeth at the 2015 Nurses Ball, Carly exposed his manipulations, and Elizabeth dumped him yet again. And those are just two examples of the lengths Ric will go to for Elizabeth!
So, we ask you, given the history of Elizabeth and Ric, how do you see this playing out with Dante in the picture? How will Ric derail their growing bond? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.
Recaps
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Steffy and Carter Get Lame Excuses From Their Spouses, and Try to Shake Off Their Night Together
If you caught the Wednesday, August 19 episode of The Bold and the Beautiful, and if you were Carter Walton (Lawrence Saint-Victor), and your wife, who literally took off, threw of her wedding ring and abandoned their marriage to head to Paris, shows back up saying she overreacted and wants to be with him, would you bother to even take her back?
As for Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood), now that Finn (Tanner Novlan) is giving her the spiel about how he took her for granted, how he is so sorry for not listening to her, and that Sheila will never be in their lives again, would you want to listen to that, either, after so many broken promises?
That’s the situation hungover Steffy and Carter found themselves, while still reeling from the seeming fact that they had sex the night before while drunk in the Forrester Creations CEO office.
Courtesy/CBS
STEFFY AND CARTER GETS EARFULS
Daphne (Murielle Hilare) doesn’t understand why Carter is being so distant, and he says, “You said I wasn’t family.” She wants to put all of what she said and did behind them and now explore other ways to have a child. Carter seems hurt and annoyed.
Back at the cliff house, Steffy is so upset between sleeping with Carter and getting drunk, and Finn and his mother, Sheila (Kimberlin Brown) in Monaco. She tells Finn, “I need you to stand up for me. I can’t live like this. I won’t.” Finn begs her not to let “one terrible mistake” (get it!?) tear us apart.
Finn promised Steffy he will get a restraining order on Sheila if it calls for it. He understands why Steffy is so scared of Sheila after she shot her … and him. In the closing moments of the episode, Finn pronounces how lucky he is to have the “perfect wife.” To which a rattled Steffy in tears goes, “Oh, I’m not perfect.”
Photo: JPI
STEFFY’S GUILT
Steffy is losing her grip at this moment as Finn says he wants to step up and be the husband he deserves. Along with Daphne, I kind of want to kick Finn to the curb, too. Then Finn lays it on real thick and adds, “You’re pure, you’re honest, you’re loyal.” Steffy interrupts, “Not quite.”
Suddenly a guilt-ridden Steffy says to Finn, “There’s something I need to tell you.” Can she actually get the words out about getting drunk and having sex with Carter …or, will she keep it under wraps so we can have months of the line “one terrible mistake?”
Take a look at some of the scenes between Steffy and Finn from today’s episode below.
Now let us know: would you bother to take back Daphne or Finn, if you were Carter and Steffy? Would you like to see Steffy just blurt out she had sex with Carter to her husband? Weigh-in via the comment section.
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On the Tuesday, August 18 episode of The Bold and the Beautiful, viewers were tuned-in to see if Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) and Carter (Lawrence Saint-Victor), who were were both on benders, wound up having sex in the Forrester Creations CEO office.
As the Monday, August 17 episode concluded, Carter and Steffy shared a close moment where it looked like they would kiss. Now in the pick up which starts the morning after, Steffy awakens from the couch in the office, and realizes she has no clothes on and is mortified to see Carter on the end of the couch also naked and under blankets.
In that moment, Steffy realizes they had sex, and begins to unravel to Carter as she scrambles to get dressed: “We shouldn’t have done this. Oh my God, I shouldn’t have done this!”
Photo: JPI
STEFFY RACES TO GET HOME
Steffy’s panic of the situation escalates when she finds her phone, and sees multiple text messages from her husband, Finn (Tanner Novlan), desperately trying to reach her. He told Steffy he was on his way home from Monaco.
Suddenly, a hungover Carter speaks up and agrees. He says to Steffy they made a terrible mistake and wanted to talk about it, but Steffy kiboshed any discussion, not dealing with Carter, and racing home to be with her kids and Finn. As a disheveled Steffy ran out of Forrester, Carter stayed behind to straighten up the office and get rid of any remnants of their drunken binge.
Just then, Daphne (Murielle Hilaire) showed up as Carter is shocked. She apologized for running out on him, and details how when she got to the airport to board the plane to Paris, she realized she couldn’t leave him. She loved him too much, and asks him to please forgive her and her, “terrible mistake.” Daphne hugs Carter and he looks like a man who has no idea what to do or make of this entire situation in the moment.
Photo: JPI
WHAT WILL BE THE REPERCUSSIONS OF CARTER AND STEFFY’S DRUNKEN NIGHT TOGETHER?
Cut to: Steffy comes home and runs into her mother, Taylor (Rebecca Budig). She explains what happened with Finn and Sheila (Kimberlin Brown) in Monaco. Next, Steffy details how she took off her wedding ring after Taylor noticed it was no longer on her finger. Just then, Finn arrives. Taylor leaves the two to talk. Finn begs for Steffy’s forgiveness and the episode comes to an end with Steffy facing away from Finn and towards the camera, trying to figure out what to do next. Take him back?
Now the real story begins: it would appear that the intent was to have Carter and Steffy face long-lasting consequences of their drunken night together. So that, Steffy would become pregnant with Carter’s child, which would cause the ripple effect in Carter’s marriage to Daphne, who is unable to carry a child.
One other theory, unless, Carter and Steffy believe they had sex, but they passed out in compromising positions but nothing ever happened? Perhaps one of them, or both will have flashbacks of them carrying on together on the couch? Were they set up? Stay tuned.
So, we ask you. What happens from here? Steffy gets pregnant with Carter’s child? Does Steffy goes back to Finn? Carter goes back with Daphne? They really never had drunken sex? Weigh-in via the comment section. But first, take a look below, and a bit of what went down when Steffy and Carter realize what happened between them.
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GENERAL HOSPITAL: Ric’s History of Jealousy Where Elizabeth is Concerned Has Come Back Around
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Steffy and Carter Get Lame Excuses From Their Spouses, and Try to Shake Off Their Night Together
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