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WWE ‘Night of Champions’ 2025: The Top Six Takeaways

By Michael Fairman

Published

1 year ago

on

Photo: WWE

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.

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Recaps

THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Steffy Tells Carter She’s Pregnant, But He Has a Way ‘Out of This Situation For All of Us’

Published

3 hours ago

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September 12, 2026

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Steffy and Carter

After taking a second pregnancy test on the Friday, September 12 episode of The Bold and the Beautiful, Steffy Forrester (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) freaks out ever more when it come back positive, too. Leading her to shriek, multiple times over, “Oh my God! Oh my God! I’m pregnant!”

As previously reported, reps for The Bold and the Beautiful have already confirmed that in the story, the baby Steffy is carrying is Carter’s (Lawrence Saint-Victor) which kicks-off their 40th season of storytelling.

On Friday’s episode, Carter gets a text from his wife, Daphne (Murielle Hilaire) telling him she wants to talk more about surrogacy later, since she cannot carry Carter’s child, and the couple was exploring ways for them to have a baby. Suddenly, Carter flashes back to waking up next to Steffy on the couch in the office after they had sex the night before in their drunken stupor.

Carter

Courtesy/CBS

CARTER DEVISES A PLAN

Then, Steffy comes whirling into the office demanding to talk to Carter right away. Steffy is informing Carter that she has to tell Finn (Tanner Novlan) about their night together more than ever! A confused Carter asked her what changed, when they agreed to keep their one night together a secret? Carter tells her if she reveals what happened between them, it will tear about all of their lives.

Carter thinks nothing will come of their “mistake” if they keep their mouth shut. Steffy responds, “You’re wrong.” She goes on to explain that she’s pregnant! That declaration stuns Carter and we fade to black.

However, it was the preview for the action next week on The Bold and the Beautiful, that aired at the end of Friday’s episode and is now all over B&B’s social media that is the real tell-tale sign of where this story is heading.

B&B SPOILERS

In a scene airing next week, Carter says to Steffy, “I have a way out of the situation for all of us!” This comes on the heels of Daphne telling Carter she wishes she knew someone who would be their surrogate. So, putting two and two together, it looks like Carter will come up with the idea to pass Steffy and his baby off as the surrogate child of Carter and Daphne.

Look no further than the official B&B spoilers for episodes airing Monday, September 14- Friday, September 18 and the teaser lines of the Steffy/Carter baby drama to back that up below.

Monday, September 14, Steffy’s news complicates things even more with Carter, while on Tuesday, September 15, 2026  Daphne is hopeful she and Carter will be able to find a surrogate and Carter rushes to stop Steffy. On Wednesday, September 16, Carter makes a passionate plea. and by Thursday, September 17, Daphne can’t believe Carter’s suggestion. Then come Cliffhanger Friday, September 18, Steffy is caught off guard.

So, what do you think how it look to be Carter who originated plan to keep the truth from ever coming out, that he and Steffy had sex, and the best way to do this is for Steffy to be the surrogate for Carter and Daphne’s child? How complicated will the cover-up eventually get? Will Steffy fall in love with the baby making this whole thing untenable for her? Share your thoughts and theories via the comment section, but first check out B&B’s video teaser for next week’e episodes below.

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General Hospital

GENERAL HOSPITAL: Jason and Britt Reach an Impasse; Is This the End of Their Relationship?

Published

4 hours ago

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September 12, 2026

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Jason and Britt

On the Friday, September 11 episode of General Hospital, Jason (Steve Burton) and Britt’s (Kelly Thiebaud) relationship becomes strained to potentially the point of no return.

Things take a turn when an unglued Britt having been traumatized by almost being killed by Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) asks Jason to back her up with the PCPD when she reports Anna for attempted murder.

However, Jason told Britt, he can’t. Jason shares that he does not believe Anna would have gone through with shooting her. Therefore, Britt was not in any real imminent danger. Britt is flabbergasted and hurt that Jason is refusing to tell the police what he actually witnessed for himself on Mount Emerson.

Britt

Courtesy/ABC

BRITT WANTS BACK UP FROM JASON

Jason counters that he can’t believe that Britt would want Anna punished. or sent to prison, or a mental facility after the trauma she endured while being locked up and mentally tortured while at Wyndemere.

He asks Britt, “How could you even say that you want her locked up or prosecuted for what she did when you knew she was being held prisoner and you did nothing to save her?” Britt is stunned by Jason’s response.

Coming up, official General Hospital spoilers share that on the upcoming Monday, September 14 episode, Jason confides in Carly (Laura Wright), while Britt is stung. In the video preview that aired at the end of the Friday, September 11 episode for this coming Monday, Britt says to Jason, “You don’t believe me. Do you?”

General Hospital head scribes, Chris Van Etten and Elizabeth Korte previously teased in their fall preview of the soap, “Britt and Jason have come a long way and fought a lot of enemies to be together. But the most stubborn obstacle to their happiness isn’t without, it’s within. Decisions Britt made to stay alive while under Cullum’s thumb will come back to haunt her and may prove too difficult for this unlikely couple to survive.”

So, what do you think will happen? Will Jason and Britt break-up over Britt’s lies and Jason’s unwillingness to report Anna’s crime against her? Do you want Jason and Britt to go their separate ways? If they do, will Britt become romantically involved with Dr. Tristan Roberts (Dean Geyer) ? If so, who do you pair Jason with? Anyone? Weigh-in via the comment section.

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Recaps

THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Steffy is Shaken to the Core, ‘Oh My God! I’m Pregnant!’

Published

2 days ago

on

September 10, 2026

By

Steffy

On today’s Thursday, September 10 episode of The Bold and the Beautiful, Steffy Forrester (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) discovers she’s pregnant, after taking a home pregnancy test, that will launch a new story arc that will remain front and center for the show in the months ahead.

The life-changing story kicks off the B&B’s 40th season which officially began on September 8. In it, Carter Walton (Lawrence Saint-Victor) is the biological father of Steffy’s unborn child from their drunken night together when both endured turbulent times in their marriages.

Previously, Carter had trouble with Daphne (Murielle Hilaire), when she initially walked out on him, because she could not carrying his child. Meanwhile, Steffy broke up with Finn (Tanner Novlan) while in Monaco over Finn’s mother Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown) showing up, who once tried to kill her.

Courtesy/CBS

Fast-forward, Carter and Steffy made a pact that no one will ever need to know about their drunken night together, but now with Steffy becoming pregnant it changes everything. Making matters all the worse, Daphne views Steffy as her best friend, in fact, Daphne and Carter have been talking about having a child via surrogacy. While Finn had showed the couple how to start the process of finding a surrogate, Daphne felt just choosing a random person to carry Carter’s child is so impersonal. She would rather have it be someone she knows.

It does not take a scientist to predict … that somehow Steffy will carry the baby pretending to be the surrogate, when she its biological mother, and along the way, the questions become, does she keep the whole thing somehow a secret to herself? Doe Carter find out at some point? Stay tuned to see how this story reveals itself.

At its root, this is a major storyline for Wood, who has already won three Daytime Emmy Lead Actress Awards in her 18 years with The Bold and the Beautiful. In that time, her character of Steffy has experienced multiple pregnancies, given birth to two children, Kelly with Liam (Scott Clifton) as the father, and Hayes with Finn as the father, and endured a miscarriage.

So, what did you think of Steffy getting confirmation she is pregnant and looking mortified when she found out? What will she do next? Will she tell Carter? Will Daphne come to Steffy to ask her to be her surrogate, which Steffy may think will be the answers to her prayers, only for the truth to come out later, or falling in love with the baby since its hers to be begin with? Share your thoughts and theories for this major story for Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, via the comment section.

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