The 2026 Night of Champions (), also promoted as Night of Champions: Riyadh, was a professional wrestling premium live event (PLE) produced by the American company WWE, held for wrestlers from the promotion's main roster brands, Raw and SmackDown. It was the 12th Night of Champions and took place on Saturday, June 27, 2026, at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the second consecutive year. Night of Champions is characterized by featuring championship matches.
This was the 15th major event WWE held in Saudi Arabia as part of its 10-year partnership in support of Saudi Vision 2030, as well as the first Night of Champions to livestream on the ESPN streaming service in the United States. The event hosted the finals of both the 25th King of the Ring and fourth Queen of the Ring tournaments.
Six matches were contested at the event. In the main event, Sami Zayn defeated Gunther and defending champion Cody Rhodes in a triple threat match to win SmackDown's Undisputed WWE Championship, making him a Triple Crown Champion and Grand Slam Champion in the process. In other prominent matches, Iyo Sky defeated Liv Morgan, both from Raw, to win the Queen of the Ring tournament, and in the opening bout, Oba Femi defeated Jey Uso, both from Raw, to win the King of the Ring tournament.
Production Background Night of Champions is a professional wrestling premium live event (PLE) produced by the American company WWE, established in 2007. It was held annually, airing via pay-per-view (PPV) as well as livestreaming beginning in 2014, but was discontinued after the 2015 event until it was reinstated in 2023, although an event was not held in 2024. The event is characterized by having championship matches. In early 2018, WWE began a 10-year strategic multiplatform partnership with the Ministry of Sport (formerly General Sports Authority) in support of Saudi Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia's social and economic reform program. The 2023 Night of Champions was the first Night of Champions held in Saudi Arabia, which was in Jeddah, and it was the ninth event under this partnership.
On March 17, 2026, POST Wrestling reported that Night of Champions was internally scheduled for Saturday, June 27 in Saudi Arabia. The event's status was initially subject to speculation due to the 2026 Iranian strikes on Saudi Arabia; notably, Formula One had called off the 2026 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix due to the strikes. However, on April 23, WWE officially confirmed that the event would proceed as planned on June 27 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. This marked the second consecutive year the venue hosted the event and the 15th event under the Saudi Arabian partnership.
In addition to airing on traditional PPV worldwide, Night of Champions was available to livestream on ESPN's direct-to-consumer streaming service in the United States, Netflix in most international markets, SuperSport in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Abema in Japan. This marked the first Night of Champions to livestream on ESPN in the United States, as WWE's contract with Peacock to air main roster PLEs expired at the conclusion of Clash in Paris in August 2025.
Storylines The event included matches that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.
During the May 25 episode of Raw, the 25th King of the Ring and fourth Queen of the Ring tournaments were announced to begin on the June 1 episode, subsequently held across episodes of Raw and SmackDown. It was later confirmed that like the 2025 finals, the 2026 finals would take place at Night of Champions with the winner of each tournament receiving a match for a world championship at SummerSlam. During the Clash in Italy post-show on May 31, the brackets for both tournaments were revealed, with first round matches consisting of fatal four-way matches with the winners advancing to the semi-finals, and then the winners of the semi-finals advancing to the finals at Night of Champions. Despite holding Raw's Women's World Championship, Liv Morgan was entered into the Queen of the Ring tournament with her explaining that she wanted to win SmackDown's WWE Women's Championship to become a double world champion. This subsequently confirmed that the winner would have a choice of which title to challenge for, unlike the prior two years in which the winner faced the world champion of their brand. The semifinals of both tournaments took place on the June 15 and 19 episodes of Raw and SmackDown, respectively. Oba Femi, Jey Uso, Iyo Sky, and Morgan, all from Raw, advanced to the finals of the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments.
In April 2025, Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, and Paul Heyman formed an alliance, with Bronson Reed joining them in May to form the The Vision. However, months later on the October 13 episode of Raw, Breakker and Reed turned on Rollins, attacking him and expelling him from the group. They later added Logan Paul and Austin Theory to the group. In early 2026, The Vision were repeatedly attacked by masked individuals, later revealed to have been orchestrated by Rollins, who was previously out due to injury. On Night 1 of WrestleMania 42, Rollins lost his match against Gunther after Breakker returned from injury and struck Rollins with a spear. At Backlash on May 9, Breakker defeated Rollins. On the May 11 episode of Raw, Rollins helped Joe Hendry and The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) defeat The Vision (Breakker, Paul, and Theory). As Rollins helped Dawkins get up after the match, Breakker attempted to spear Rollins, but Rollins moved, causing Dawkins to get hit. Later that night, Rollins attempted to form an alliance with The Street Profits, but Ford was furious at him. The following week, Rollins defeated Theory. After the match, Dawkins came out to help Rollins fend off Paul and Theory, and then Ford followed to help his partner. Ford asked why Dawkins came to the ring and then shoved him away to take a spear from Breakker. This allowed The Vision to continue their attack on Rollins. A week later, Rollins and Ford argued over a potential alliance, leading to a match later that night with Rollins defeating Ford. After the match, Theory appeared on stage with Dawkins, proceeding to slam his head with a steel chair. Later that night, Ford told Rollins that Dawkins needed them. On the June 1 episode, Rollins defeated Breakker with the help of Ford, who took out Theory. A week later, Rollins was in a first round match of the King of the Ring tournament. When Theory prevented Rollins from getting the pinfall, Ford came out to brawl with Theory. Breakker then speared Rollins, causing Rollins to get eliminated from the tournament. On the June 15 episode, Rollins challenged Breakker to a steel cage match at Night of Champions, which Breakker accepted and it was subsequently made official.
On the May 22 episode of SmackDown, WWE United States Champion Trick Williams faced Carmelo Hayes. Ricky Saints, who lost to Hayes the previous week, got himself involved in the match to distract Hayes, causing Hayes to lose to Williams. Later that night, Hayes attacked Saints backstage and told him to stay out of his business. A week later, Hayes stated that he would take care of Saints so he and Williams could have a fair match, but Williams claimed Hayes was making excuses. Saints came out to state his intention to take out Hayes and win the United States Championship. Hayes and Saints subsequently had a rematch that ended in a double countout. Another rematch between Saints and Hayes took place a week later, with Saints emerging victorious over Hayes. On the June 19 episode, Saints and Hayes faced off once again, but for the right to challenge for the United States Championship. Saints came out victorious in a title match against Williams was made official for Night of Champions.
After Gunther defeated Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 42, Paul Heyman owed Gunther a favor: a match for the Undisputed WWE Championship. At Clash in Italy on May 31, Gunther controversially lost to Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes; the referee did not see his foot under the bottom rope during the pinfall attempt that ended the match. On the June 5 episode of SmackDown, Rhodes told Gunther that they could have a rematch later that night. Sami Zayn came out to claim that both Rhodes and Gunther did him wrong. Zayn reminded Rhodes that he promised to teach Zayn a lesson after defeating Gunther. Then, Rhodes and Zayn both attacked Gunther. As Gunther and Zayn ended up sprawled on the floor, Rhodes went for a suicide dive to Gunther, but Gunther moved and Rhodes accidentally hit Zayn instead. Rhodes offered to help Zayn, but Zayn declined his offer. Later that night, SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis stated that Gunther's lawyers had one condition for Gunther and Rhodes' rematch: Zayn as the special guest referee. On the June 19 episode, Rhodes controversially retained the title against Gunther again after a fast three count by Zayn. Rhodes, Gunther, Zayn, and Aldis argued at Gorilla Position before Rhodes went back in the ring to demand their match to be restarted. Aldis agreed to the restart despite complaints from Zayn. The restarted match eventually ended in a no contest after Zayn attacked Gunther and Rhodes. After the match, Gunther demanded Aldis to give him another rematch. Later that night, Rhodes told Aldis that he wanted to beat both Gunther and Zayn, requesting a triple threat match. Aldis made it official for Night of Champions.
At Saturday Night's Main Event XLI on November 1, 2025, Jade Cargill defeated Tiffany Stratton to win the WWE Women's Championship. On the April 24 episode of SmackDown, Stratton defeated Giulia to win the WWE Women's United States Championship, while Cargill lost the WWE Women's Championship to Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 42. On the June 5 episode of SmackDown, Stratton teamed with Charlotte Flair to fight Cargill and Michin (accompanied by B-Fab). The match concluded when Cargill pinned Stratton after hitting her with Jaded. A week later, Flair and Cargill competed in the first round of the Queen of the Ring tournament. B-Fab and Michin attacked Flair, and then Alexa Bliss and Stratton came out to neutralize B-Fab and Michin, helping Flair to win the match. After the match, Stratton clarified that she and Flair were not friends, explaining that her assistance to Flair stemmed solely from their shared goal of preventing Cargill from becoming champion. Later that night, B-Fab and Michin defeated Stratton and Chelsea Green. After the match, Stratton blindsided B-Fab and Michin, and then she brawled with Cargill until she was overwhelmed by a simultaneous attack by Cargill, B-Fab, and Michin. After the assault, Cargill picked up the Women's United States Championship belt. A week later, Stratton agreed to defend the title against Cargill at Night of Champions.
Event + Other on-screen personnelRole:Name:English commentatorsMichael Cole Corey GravesArabic commentatorsFaisal Al-MughaisibJude Al-DajaniRing announcerMark NashRefereesCharles Robinson Daphanie LaShaunnDarryl SharmaDan EnglerInterviewersByron SaxtonPre-show panelJoe TessitoreBig EPeter Rosenberg Preliminary matches