WWE Night of Champions takeaways: Zayn, Femi and Sky win bigplaySami Zayn defeats Rhodes, Gunther to become Undisputed WWE Champion (0:29)Sachin ChandanMultiple AuthorsJun 27, 2026, 06:35 PM ET
tamil yogi
After a decade in WWE, Sami Zayn is finally the Undisputed WWE Champion. Zayn pinned Cody Rhodes in front of a red-hot Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, crowd to win a triple-threat match over Rhodes and Gunther.
Despite his uncomfortable and desperate behavior in recent months, the crowd was solidly behind Zayn, as it has been at prior Saudi premium live events. Zayn’s championship win shakes up the main event picture on “SmackDown,” and many rivals will be chasing him, including the two men he shared the ring with at Night of Champions on Saturday.
Zayn was the only new titleholder at Night of Champions, but two competitors were crowned, as both King and Queen of the Ring. Oba Femi, a sensation in his first year on the WWE main roster, defeated Jey Uso in the opening match, while Iyo Sky beat Liv Morgan after an impressive finish and maybe some supernatural help.
Elsewhere on the card, Trick Williams retained his Men’s United States Championship over Ricky Saints, Tiffany Stratton retained her Women’s United States Championship in a hectic finish over Jade Cargill, and Seth Rollins finally had his revenge over Bron Breakker in a steel cage match.
Let’s take a look at where the biggest winners and losers from Saturday’s action could be headed next.
Femi and Sky are eyeing gold in August
0:42
IYO SKY flies high vs. Liv Morgan to become Queen of the Ring
The proverbial rocket has been strapped to Femi since his main roster debut. Femi has looked dominant in his wins and has gained the full attention of the audience. To win the tournament final, Femi brushed off the offense of Jey Uso and finished the match with an emphatic Fall From Grace.
Femi has his choice of champion at SummerSlam, which can be — as of now — either World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns or Zayn. Femi is following in the footsteps of another instant phenom, Brock Lesnar. In 2002, Lesnar won the King of the Ring tournament after less than a year on the roster and then went on to defeat The Rock at SummerSlam. Femi, who had a pair of matches with Lesnar this year, will walk into Minnesota for his first shot at a top championship in WWE. A sign for optimism is that the past two King of the Ring winners have won their SummerSlam challenge, including Rhodes last year.
In the women’s final, Morgan eyed history as the first WWE Women’s Champion to enter and win Queen of the Ring. She exited the competition beaten and cursed. Sky was prepared for Morgan’s offense for much of the match and, barring a mid-match stretch when Morgan attacked her injured knee, finished off the champion after a Spanish Fly and an Over The Moonsault. Sky did not make us wait long, expressing her intent to take on Morgan again in five weeks at SummerSlam.
Morgan will have to shake off a curse before then. Before the match, Morgan confronted the “very nice, very evil” Danhausen, who has been on a roll with his curses lately, including cursing, and then uncursing, the New York Knicks before their 2026 NBA Championship victory. When Morgan reminded Danhausen of the money he owes Judgment Day, he responded with, you guessed it, a curse on Morgan. If she can’t get uncursed before the defense of her championship, she could be looking at another loss to Sky.
The Vision-Seth Rollins feud may be over
0:20
Rollins’ ‘avalanche stomp’ secures steel cage win over Breakker
With no one at ringside to interfere, Rollins finally got his hands on Breakker with no distractions. Rollins finished off Breakker with a Stomp from the top rope to put an end to this extended conflict. It’s time for a new direction for Rollins, after spending months battling his way through The Vision, the group that he created and was later ejected from in 2025.
It’s not yet clear what Seth’s path for SummerSlam will be. If Femi challenges for the Undisputed WWE Championship, Rollins has the credibility to challenge Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship.
For Breakker, it will be refreshing to get him away from the Rollins storyline. Despite the loss, the cage was a fantastic environment to display Breakker’s power. Breakker hit a top-rope Frankensteiner, a fully powered spear, and used the assembly of steel chairs in creative ways. Losing the rivalry with Rollins will hurt in the short term, but it’s time for Breakker to move on to other feuds, especially as other members of The Vision are on the mend.
Zayn’s win creates plenty of options
Zayn had been spiraling since his loss to Drew McIntyre in January, and his interactions with the other top stars on “SmackDown” have shown Zayn’s desperation for a title. Entering this PLE, Zayn had never won a top WWE championship. Zayn’s insecurities pulled him into the championship feud between Rhodes and Gunther, which culminated in a triple-threat match. For the first time, Zayn is the WWE’s Undisputed champion.
Zayn’s win freshens up the championship picture on “SmackDown,” and he will have no shortage of challengers. Surely, Gunther and Rhodes will want their shots at the new champ, and both have a good reason to deserve a challenge. Particularly, Zayn and Rhodes have plenty left to explore in their rivalry, as they both resorted to heel-ish tactics in the no-disqualification match to block each other from winning.
Femi, the King of the Ring, has not yet revealed his challenger. He would be a daunting test who could turn Zayn’s feel-good moment into a short reign.
Rhodes’ third reign as WWE Champion has come to an end, and he looks for his path to SummerSlam. Rhodes vs. Zayn would be a big match worthy of the main event. How about the possible future match teased between him and CM Punk? Could that be done later on in the year without the championship involved?
Gunther’s path forward has a few options. If he doesn’t challenge Zayn at SummerSlam, could he have another featured match lined up, maybe against another titan who called Minnesota home in Lesnar?
