WWE Night Of Champions 2026 Preview And Predictions

WWE Night of Champions 2026 Preview

Here is the full announced card for WWE Night of Champions 2026:

• WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Gunther vs. Sami Zayn
• King of the Ring Tournament Finals: Oba Femi vs. Jey Uso
• Queen of the Ring Tournament Finals: Liv Morgan vs. Iyo Sky
• United States Championship: Trick Williams (c) vs. Ricky Saints
• Women’s United States Championship: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Jade Cargill
• Bron Breakker vs. Seth Rollins

Let’s take a look at some key facts and tidbits heading into Night of Champions:

• Rhodes has been linked to a potential feud with the soon-to-be-returning CM Punk, making him the clear favorite to win the triple threat match for the WWE Championship.
• Brock Lesnar reportedly could retire at SummerSlam, and his likeliest opponent would be Femi. That means that the nearly unbeatable Femi could be shafted out of the King of the Ring finals, perhaps by Lesnar himself.
• If Sky defeats Morgan in the Queen of the Ring finals, that would likely set up a rematch for Morgan’s Women’s World Championship at SummerSlam.
• Saints beat Carmelo Hayes on last week’s SmackDown to become the No. 1 contender for the US title. Hayes very well could factor into the match at Night of Champions.
• Cargill ended Stratton’s WWE Women’s Championship reign last year, but now the two stars are fighting over SmackDown’s midcard title.

WWE Night of Champions 2026 Streaming Info

Date: Saturday, June 27th

Location: Kingdom Arena (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)

Start Time: 1 pm EST/12 pm EST (10 am PST)

Streaming Info: ESPN Unlimited (US), Netflix (internationally)

WWE Night of Champions 2026 Predictions

WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Gunther vs. Sami Zayn

Zayn has never won a world title while Gunther and Rhodes have been mainstays in the world title picture over the past few years. That makes Zayn a huge underdog heading into Night of Champions.

The favorite? That would have to be Rhodes, especially given that Rhodes vs. Punk in a dream match could be on deck on SmackDown, perhaps at SummerSlam. SmackDown has been stale for much of 2026, but WWE seems insistent on keeping the WWE title on “The American Nightmare” at all costs.

Gunther, a loathed heel and arguably the best in-ring performer in wrestling, would make for a great WWE Champion, but that won’t matter if WWE has big plans for Rhodes and the WWE title.

Prediction: Rhodes

King of the Ring Tournament Finals: Oba Femi vs. Jey Uso

Although Oba Femi is the best choice to win the WWE King of the Ring tournament, he’s not the most likely choice.

That’s because Femi is currently tied at one win a piece with Brock Lesnar, who just defeated him at Clash in Italy after “The Ruler” topped him at WrestleMania 42. WWE clearly looks to be building toward Lesnar’s retirement match at SummerSlam, where he was originally scheduled to retire prior to his faux retirement at WrestleMania.

By default, that makes Jey Uso the favorite to win the 2026 WWE King of the Ring finals, likely after interference from Lesnar costs Femi. That would set up Uso vs. his former tag team partner Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam.

Prediction: Uso

Queen of the Ring Tournament Finals: Liv Morgan vs. Iyo Sky

It’s been weird to see WWE book Liv Morgan in the Queen of the Ring tournament when she’s already the Women’s World Champion. What’s even stranger is that she’s likely going to lose to Sky in the QOTR tournament finals just to face Sky again at SummerSlam.

Sky vs. Morgan has reportedly long been penciled in for SummerSlam, with Sky expected to win the QOTR tournament in order to earn her world title match at SummerSlam. That’s a sensible move for Raw’s top women’s feud given the lack of other options for Morgan outside of a Judgment Day breakup.

Sky is one of WWE’s most popular stars and best in-ring performers, and a feud with Morgan feels fresh.

Prediction: Sky

United States Championship: Trick Williams (c) vs. Ricky Saints

The US title match at WWE Night of Champions is a great use of two of SmackDown’s brightest young stars, but the bigger star in the bout is, far and away, Trick Williams.

In just half a year on the main roster, Williams has demonstrated that he’s a future cornerstone of WWE. With Williams being relatively early on in his US title reign, that alone makes him the clear favorite to retain at WWE Night of Champions. In addition, he should be the obvious frontrunner just because he’s the most pushed young star on the brand.

While putting the US title on Saints wouldn’t be a bad idea, WWE has shown no signs of letting up on Williams’ push.

Prediction: Williams

Women’s United States Championship: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Jade Cargill

Cargill is pushed stronger than just about any woman in WWE, and yet, this feels like a match set up for “The Storm” to lose.

After all, Cargill just lost the WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania in April, so it would feel repetitive to put gold around her waist again right away. Stratton hasn’t done a whole lot of note with the Women’s US Championship, but that’s largely because she hasn’t gotten the chance to.

Stratton should get more time with the title, but she’s unlikely to beat Cargill clean at Night of Champions.

Prediction: Stratton

Bron Breakker vs. Seth Rollins

The Steel Cage stipulation at WWE SummerSlam is supposed to be designed to prevent outside interference, but WWE’s long history of interference-filled cage matches suggests otherwise.

Breakker, as a potential future world champion, would benefit greatly from beating Seth Rollins cleanly at SummerSlam. That, however, appears to be unlikely. Rollins has been rumored for a potential SummerSlam title match against Roman Reigns, making him unlikely to lose cleanly, even to Breakker.

Much like Femi vs. Lesnar, Rollins and Breakker are tied at one win each. In theory, the babyface Rollins is more likely to win the rubber match. It would be a better booking move, however, for Breakker to win, though he will likely need help from The Vision to do that.

Prediction: Breakker