WWE Night of Champions – 06.28.25

Live from the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia it is time for WWE’s Night of Champions.

Pre-taped arrivals include Randall Orton and his opponent in the King of the Ring finals tonight, Cody Rhodes. Also here’s Sami Zayn who will do battle with Karrion Kross (who’s accompanied as always by Scarlett). Exiting a limo whilst eating a banana is Rhea Ripley followed by a shot of her opponent Raquel Rodriguez (who’s still clutching her WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship belt) in the Street Fight portion of the evening. Next up is Asuka and her opponent in the Queen of the Ring finals Jade Cargill. Finally here’s CM Punk arriving prior to his main event matchup for the WWE Championship. The intro to the show is voiced by Fox Sports’s Tom Rinaldi and not surprisingly, it’s a damn good piece of video to hype the show.

Your announcers are Michael Cole and Wade Barrett on play by play, and Mark Nash doing ring intros. Jackie Redmond and Byron Saxton are your reporters for the evening.

King of the Ring 2025 Finals: Randy Orton vs Cody Rhodes

Orton is announced at 290 (!) pounds and I mean, I was around for 215 pound string bean Randy Orton of Evolution and he looks like he ate that person at this point. He’s ENORMOUS. It’s not like he’s dumpy or whatever, he’s just HUGE (and still pretty ripped, all things considered). This is when I’d like to see him nose to nose with Bork Laser again, but…well, you know. Cody pops the crowd as they sing his song. Cole reminds everyone of Legacy (HE WAS TRYIN’ TO EFF ON ME!) and that Orton won three world titles and a Royal Rumble during the two years of that group as Cody and Ted DiBiase Jr won two sets of tag championships. Orton is 7-3 in singles matches versus Cody. The bell sounds and we’re off.

Orton and Rhodes stop to admire the crowds enthusiasm as Orton works a headlock. Orton shoulders Rhodes down and they reset. Orton grabs a wristlock but Rhodes slaps Orton’s chest to break it. Rhodes breaks out of a waistlock with knees, but Orton knees Rhodes in the gut to break up that flurry. Rhodes drops down and fires a right hand to Orton’s jaw, and then hits an elbow as Orton charges after him in the corner. Rhodes hits a bulldog for two before ascending. Orton recovers and nails Rhodes with a right, and then Orton ascends and nails Rhodes with a superplex. Orton grabs his lower back area after the big move as Rhodes notices. Rhodes forearms Orton in the lower back and then hits a Disaster Kick for two. Rhodes drives a knee into Orton’s back and then suplexes him for one. Orton recovers and they slug it out, and then Orton catches Rhodes with his snap backbreaker, but Orton is still feeling the back pain. Rhodes drags Orton to the corner and wraps him around the post as Cole calls it “torturing” and I’m wondering if Cody’s heel turn is coming sooner rather than later. The crowd openly boos Rhodes at this point and starts a “Let’s Go Randy” chant.

Rhodes hits a missile dropkick for two. Rhodes knees Orton in the back and works a headlock. Orton breaks it up by backing Rhodes hard into a corner. Orton clotheslines Rhodes twice and hits his snap powerslam for two as Orton again clutches at his lower back. Rhodes is on the apron and Orton tries for the draping DDT, but Rhodes slips out and forearms Orton in the lower back twice. Rhodes hits the Cody Cutter for a LONG two, and then hits a TOP ROPE Cody Cutter for another two count. Orton reverses an Irish Whip as Rhodes goes up and over the corner. Orton hits the draping DDT and the crowd is into it as Orton goes into pre-RKO mode. Rhodes reverses the RKO into the CrossRhodes and that gets two to the bewilderment of Rhodes. Orton pops up and hits Rhodes with the RKO for two as Rhodes kicks out of it (!) and now Orton is bewildered. Rhodes is on his hands and knees as Orton considers The Punt, but as he finally goes for it Rhodes slips out of the way and grabs a Figure Four. Orton reverses it as Rhodes makes the ropes for a break. They slug it out in a long sequence. Rhodes tries another springboard Cody Cutter but Orton catches him with another RKO and Rhodes again kicks out at two as the crowd totally thought that was the finish.

Orton goes outside and stares at the KotR crown before grabbing a chair from the timekeeper’s area. Charles Robinson grabs the chair from Orton and asks him what he’s thinking, but as Robinson disposes of the chair Orton takes off a top rope turnbuckle pad. I wonder if that will affect the outcome of the match, and also why are wrestling referees so bad at their jobs. Orton immediately tries to ram Rhodes into the exposed turnbuckle, but Rhodes reverses and sends Orton in ribs first. Rhodes hits the CrossRhodes for three and becomes the 2025 King of the Ring.

This was “methodically paced” as JR would put it. I think Orton might be winding down as a legit top guy which is odd as John Cena is kind of in the same situation at this point. One is voluntarily walking away, though. Cody is Cody, everything looks crisp and basic but he really needs to step up his game at some point. I don’t want to say “just a television match” but there’s no reason this couldn’t have happened on Smackdown. 2.5*

Winner and 2025 King of the Ring – Cody Rhodes (CrossRhodes)

Post match sees both Raw GM Adam Pearce and Smackdown GM Nick Aldis in the ring to present Rhodes with the crown, as both shake Rhodes hand. Here’s Byron Saxton to interview Rhodes. Saxton asks Rhodes how it feels to have a shot at the WWE Championship at Summerslam but Rhodes immediately thanks Orton and asks the crowd to give it up for him. Rhodes name checks Jey Uso, Orton, and then CM Punk and John Cena as he describes getting back to the title picture as being “arduous”. Hmm. Rhodes says no matter who it is at Summerslam, he gets the ball back. Yeah, there’s some heel hints being dropped here. WAY TO GO DWAYNE.

WWE Tag Team Champions The Street Profits are in the crowd fresh off retaining their titles on Smackdown last night (do NOT seek out that match unless you want to be wildly pissed at the finish).

Riyadh Boulevard Street Fight: Rhea Ripley vs Raquel Rodriguez

Rodriguez carries both women’s tag belts with her as Cole notes Liv Morgan’s shoulder surgery and that the GM’s are considering what to do about those titles. GIVE THEM BACK TO NXT AND ALL OF THIS IS SOLVED GENTS is a suggestion that I might STRONGLY RECOMMEND. Ripley gets a massive pop during her entrance. Rodriguez beat Ripley in a Last Woman Standing match in NXT but has lost every match between them since. Both competitors are in wildly similar dark body suits and like…shouldn’t someone be coordinating this stuff? The bell rings and we’re off.

Rodriguez gains an early advantage and tosses Ripley into a corner. Ripley slips a slam attempt and gains the advantage with some knee lifts. Rodriguez no-sells some clothesline attempts and glares at Ripley, before clotheslining Ripley down. Rodriguez snatches Ripley up and hits two fallaway slams. Ripley catches Rodriguez with a big boot and ascends but she misses her missile drop kick attempt. Rodriguez drives Ripley into the corner and shoulders her in the midsection before firing back elbows at Ripley’s head. I wonder when the “street fight” portion is actually going to happen. Rodriguez chop/slaps Ripley’s chest and then splashes her before tying Ripley up in the ropes. Rodriguez throws punches at a helpless Ripley before trash-talking her and slapping Ripley dead in the chest again. Rodriguez finds a chair and kendo stick under the ring (probably leftovers from last night’s Stratton-Jax Last Woman Standing match I’m guessing) as Ripley is still trapped. Rodriguez nails Ripley in the stomach with the kendo stick a couple of times before picking up the chair. Rodriguez advances but Ripley kicks the chair back into Rodriguez’s face before finally escaping the ropes.

Ripley hits a shotgun dropkick on Rodriguez that sends her to the floor. Ripley follows and sends Rodriguez into the ring steps as both are down. Ripley clears the Arabic announcer table and puts the hood in the timekeepers area very deliberately. Ripley bounces Rodriguez’s head off the cleared announcer table before grabbing Rodriguez and climbing onto the table. Rodriguez blocks a suplex attempts with right hands but Ripley headbutts her to stop the recovery as Rodriguez tumbles to the floor. Ripley leaps off the table but Rodriguez catches her and powerbombs Ripley through the announcer table hood into the timekeepers area. Rodriguez drags a table out from under the ring, and then sets the table up in the corner as the crowd perks up a bit. Rodriguez slams Ripley’s head into the Arabic announcer table and then the ring apron. Rodriguez yanks off the top portion of the ring steps and goes to slam Ripley’s head into it, but Ripley reverses and slams Rodriguez into the steps instead. Ripley takes off her belt and starts whipping Rodriguez with it repeatedly. Somewhere Jim Cornette is traumatized by the memory of Bobby Fulton whipping his rotund ass for three straight months in 1988 with a belt.

Ripley hits Rodriguez with a Razor’s Edge in a nod to her Terror Twin buddy Damien Priest, and a running kick gets two. Ripley slaps on the Prism Trap but here’s Roxanne Perez (dressed in the same gear as Rodriguez, interestingly) to interfere and break up the hold. Ripley chases after Perez on the floor but eats a Codebreaker. Perez tries a spinning DDT but Ripley reverses into a back suplex on Perez. Ripley grabs a trash can from under the ring, puts it on Perez, and dropkicks the trashcan. Rodriguez is finally back in it and she grabs up Ripley and slams her shoulder-first into the ring post. They roll back in the ring and Rodriguez runs Ripley into the ring steps that have been on the apron for about ten minutes. Rodriguez hits a corkscrew splash from the second rope for two. Ripley reverses a Tejana Bomb attempt and tries to run Rodriguez into the corner table. Rodriguez stops that and drops Ripley with a big boot. Rodriguez re-adjusts the table so it’s now sitting over the top ropes in the corner and then yanks up Ripley. Ripley slips out and sends Rodriguez face-first into the table edge before kicking Rodriguez in the face as she advances again. Ripley ascends to the top of the table as Rodriguez arrives, so Ripley slams Rodriguez’s face into the table a couple of times. Ripley yanks up Rodriguez so both are on the (wobbly ass) table and then hits an Avalanche Riptide off the table for three.

It’s a plunder brawl so I always have difficulty rating it, as I’m not the biggest fan of garbage brawls at this point. These two have terrific chemistry and always have even if the rivalry is pretty one-sided. The finish came kind of abruptly but the overall work was good. The Perez interference didn’t take too much away and Ripley won on her own with a gigantic cool spot. I’m inclined to be friendly to this one but it didn’t change the game or anything. 3.5*

Winner – Rhea Ripley (Avalanche Riptide)

Cole talks over highlights of Giulia winning the WWE Women’s US Championship on last night’s Smackdown as the new champ is in the crowd.

Karrion Kross vs Sami Zayn

Kross is accompanied by Scarlett as she does the “FALL AND PRAY” bit prior to Kross getting a solid pop from the crowd. Highlights are shown from Raw where Zayn slugged Kross dead in the face to set up this match. Zayn enters in Arabic head-wear to a huge ovation. The bell rings and we’re off.

They lock up and Kross gains the advantage to put Zayn in the corner, but Zayn pie-faces Kross away. Kross fires up and lifts a knee to Zayn’s gut, and then follows with right hands and kicks to send Zayn to the mat. Kross charges in but Zayn recovers with a chop and a bunch of forearms. Zayn sends Kross into the ropes and then clotheslines him out of the ring (Kross takes the typical back bump here for those keeping score of his bumping this evening). Zayn does some acrobatics as Kross retreats up the ramp to regroup from the one bump he’s taken. Kross heads back the ring as Scarlett whispers something to him. I bet it was their grocery list for when they get home.

Kross pulls Zayn out of the ring and forearms Zayn in the head. Kross whips Zayn towards the barricade but Zayn leaps up on top of it and moonsaults Kross. Kross escapes into the ring and as Zayn follows him in, Kross snatches up Zayn and hits a nasty looking Doomsday Saito suplex. Kross hits Zayn with forearms and then Irish whips Zayn for a big back elbow that gets a one count. Kross puts a knee into Zayn’s back as he’s draped across the ropes before breaking at the ref’s count. Kross sets Zayn up on the top turnbuckle and Zayn responds with a series of back elbows that knock Kross down to the mat. Kross recovers and kicks Zayn into the Tree of Woe pose and Kross goes to work with more kicks. Kross covers for one and then starts clubbering Zayn with rights. Kross stalks around and then goes back to the right hands as he laughs at Zayn. Zay predictably fires up and starts whaling on Kross with his own right hands. Kross lifts a knee and whips Zayn off the ropes, but Zayn leapfrogs him and clotheslines Kross. Zayn clobbers Kross in the corner with descending rights and lefts. Zayn ascends and as Kross staggers over Zayn hits Kross with a leaping double sledge. Zayn ascends again but Kross charges in to catch him with another Doomsday Saito suplex for two.

Kross slaps the Kross Jacket sleeper on, but Zayn slips it immediately and tries for a Blue Thunder Bomb. Kross reverses that into a third Doomsday Saito and then pulls his elbow pad off. Zayn ducks a Kross Hammer attempt and hits the Blue Thunder Bomb on Kross for two. Kross fakes being dead weight so he can yank Zayn into a nasty snap German suplex, and then he hits a second one for good measure. Kross stalks Zayn in the corner but Zayn recovers with an Exploder suplex as Kross goes hard into the bottom turnbuckle. Zayn tries for the Helluva Kick but Kross goes back to the Kross Jacket sleeper. The ref does the arm drop routine and to literally no one’s surprise, Zayn manages to get his arm up on the third drop. Zayn fades again but finally makes the ropes. Kross hits a running lariat on a prone Zayn and then slaps him while begging Zayn to admit he’s a liar. Kross hits another running lariat on Zayn and as he goes for a third, Zayn blasts out of the corner and hits the Helluva Kick and that gets the three count.

I don’t think anyone thought Kross was winning here but he got a bunch of shine AND took a bunch of bumps, so that should keep people from being too grumpy about this. Zayn can always take punishment and still fight from underneath and that’s what this was. It was physical but Kross takes too much time in between moves so the match loses any kind of flow. Hopefully Zayn can move on now. 2.5*

Winner – Sami Zayn (Helluva Kick)

Highlights are shown of Los Garza winning the AAA Tag Team Championships at Triplemania Regia a few weeks back as Berto and Angel are in the crowd along with Santos Escobar.

The Royal Rumble is announced for Riyadh in 2026 and I can already hear the rhetoric building around that particular choice.

WWE Men’s US Championship: Jacob Fatu (C) vs Solo Sikoa

Fatu’s entrance rules, for the record. Sikoa slugs Fatu just before the bell rings and we’re off.

Sikoa runs Fatu shoulder-first into the ring post and then goes to work on Fatu with right hands. Fatu recovers as Sikoa is taunting the crowd, and runs Sikoa into the corner. Fatu splashes Sikoa and starts clubbering. Fatu runs Sikoa into the opposite corner but as he charges in Sikoa stops him with a big boot. Fatu responds with a big right hand that drops Sikoa. Fatu shit-talks Sikoa as he kicks him in the corner, but when Fatu wants the hip attack Sikoa bails to the floor. Fatu follows Sikoa and pounces off the ring steps with a lariat. Back in the ring, Fatu hits two running sentons on a prone Sikoa. Fatu wants his moonsault but Sikoa again bails to the floor. Fatu tries a tope suicida but Sikoa catches him with a big right as Fatu was coming through the ropes. Sikoa hits Fatu with a uranage on the apron and then hits a uragage on Fatu to the floor. Sikoa re-enters the ring and Fatu makes it back in at the ref’s count of five.

Sikoa talks shit and slugs Fatu in the head, and then puts the boots to Fatu while he’s draped over the bottom rope. Fatu fires up with some rights of his own, but when he whips Sikoa into the corner and charges, Sikoa slips it and Fatu goes face first to the top of the ring post. Sikoa hits a Hip Attack and mocks Fatu’s shimmy. Sikoa puts Fatu in a headlock and continues to berate his ex-henchman. Fatu finally rallies only to get slugged down again by Sikoa. Sikoa hits Fatu with forearms and continues yapping at him, but Fatu fires up with some right hands. Sikoa hits a release German that Fatu fully rotates through and damn near lands right on top of his head. Fatu shakes it off and hits a German of his own on a celebrating Sikoa. Fatu superkicks Sikoa into the corner and Hip Attacks him. Fatu hits an Impaler DDT and ascends for a Swanton that gets two. Fatu hits some headbutts on a prone Sikoa and ascends again as JC Mateo sprints to ringside to distract the ref. Tanga Loa enters the ring from presumably the timekeeper’s area and hits Fatu with a rotating neckbreaker. Sikoa crawls over and covers for two. Sikoa picks up Fatu for the spike, but Fatu slips it and superkicks Sikoa. Fatu acrobatically knocks Mateo from the apron and then flies over the top rope onto both Mateo and Loa. Loa grabs his upper arm and I’m wondering if he immediately got hurt again because replay shows that Fatu’s knee hit directly on Loa’s shoulder. Fatu hits a pop up Samoan Drop on a charging Sikoa and Mateo just comes in the ring to eat a superkick and Hip Attack. Not sure why that’s not a DQ but okay. Fatu hits his springboard moonsault and covers but the ref is with Mateo.

Talla Tonga, the former Hikuleo, yanks Fatu out of the ring and goozles Fatu onto the American announcer table. Tonga launches Fatu back into the ring as Sikoa grins at Tonga. Fatu hits the Samoan Spike on Fatu and covers him for three.

I know secondary belts get changed way more often than the main titles do but WOW does this feel like a mistake. I know Jacob Fatu on a path of vengeance is probably a good story to run but like, Jimmy Uso HELPED Fatu last night and they seemed to be cool with each other finally so where was he? I mean, if you’re going to overbook this, which they did, why not send Jimmy out there to at least try to even things up. The match was not great but this is easily Sikoa’s biggest singles moment on the main roster because he ate a lot of pins for a long time. I guess we’re going with Temu Bloodline again? Fan-fugu-tastic. 2*

Winner AND NEW WWE Men’s US Champion – Solo Sikoa (Samoan Spike)

WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton is shown in the crowd after her successful defense against Nia Jax on Smackdown.

Queen of the Ring Final: Jade Cargill vs Asuka

Cargill looks like a million bucks in her white and gold gear. Barrett remarks how hot it is inside the arena and how it could affect Asuka’s stamina since she’s just back from injury and hasn’t had a lot of ring time. Asuka has some swank black and red gear herself. The bell rings and we’re off.

They lock up and Asuka goes behind. Cargill tries to escape with elbows but she throws them too high so Asuka lets her go and taunts. Asuka climbs on Cargill’s back to tie her up, but Cargill drops Asuka with a side slam for a one count. Cargill charges at Asuka on the apron, but Asuka slips the big boot attempt and hits a Dragon Screw leg whip. Asuka goes to work on the leg as Cole mentions Cargill getting frustrated during her semi-final at being unable to put away Roxanne Perez. Asuka goes for a half-crab but Cargill kicks her off, so Asuka flattens her with a running knee that gets one. Asuka kicks Cargill hard in the chest and Cargill tells her to do it again. Cargill rises and tries to rally, but Asuka slips under and puts Cargill’s bad leg in a knee bar. Cargill finally manages to roll through and drops Asuka on her head with a short wheelbarrow German. Cargill wins a slugfest and whips Asuka into the ropes. Cargill drops Asuka with a huge spinebuster and then splashes a staggered Asuka in the corner. Cargill hits a fallaway slam and nips up as apparently her knee has healed miraculously (which Cole continues to point out even though she’s mostly not selling it at all).

Cargill hits a superkick on Asuka with the leg she’s supposed to be selling, and then hits a drop chokeslam for two. Cargill goes for Jaded but Asuka back-headbutts her way out of it. Cargill charges in and eats a kick to the head as both women are down. They slug it out while on their knees and once they rise Cargill’s momentum is stopped by a backfist from Asuka. Asuka hits some signature kicks and a Codebreaker. Asuka drops Cargill with another kick to the head and ascends. Asuka hits a missile dropkick and covers for two. They rise and Cargill goes behind and tries for Jaded again, but Asuka rolls through and gets two. Asuka goes for another head kick but Cargill catches her in a sitout powerbomb that gets two. Cargill gets caught in an armbar by Asuka but Cargill smartly rolls over and gets a quick two count as Asuka has to release the hold. Cargill hits a pump kick and goes for Jaded again, but Asuka slips out of it and puts on the Asuka Lock. Cargill again smartly rolls over and gets another quick two count. Asuka fires up with kicks and goes for the Empress Impact, but Cargill catches her in Jaded and gets the three. Jade Cargill is the 2025 Queen of the Ring and will face Tiffany Stratton (assuming she’s still champion) at Summerslam.

Short and inoffensive. Asuka was great as usual and despite Cargill’s very spotty selling, she held up her end of the bargain. The finish made sense as Jade kept trying to hit the move and finally did, but her cover was awkward and they had a bad camera angle so you couldn’t tell if Asuka might have actually slipped out before three. Again, this was nothing that couldn’t have been on television. 2.75*

Winner and 2025 Queen of the Ring – Jade Cargill (Jaded)

Adam Pearce, flanked by Nick Aldis and Byron Saxton, present Cargill with the crown. Cargill looks legit emotional as Saxton mentions her title opportunity at Summerslam. Cargill tells Saxton she felt like she had the world on her shoulders as the tournament started but she came through. She tells everyone to show people who they are, not be defined by others, and a storm is coming to Summerslam.

Cole previews Raw in Pittsburgh Monday night which starts at 6 PM Eastern. The New Day will defend their titles against Finn Balor and JD McDonagh and Sheamus will hoss it up with Rusev. In two weeks it’s the big Atlanta weekend with Goldberg vs GUNTHER on SNME and then Evolution the next day.

WWE Men’s Undisputed Championship: John Cena (C) vs CM Punk

Punk enters first to a huge pop as I guess the apology tour worked. He sits cross-legged in the ring as his entrance music finishes up. Cena enters wearing a green and purple t-shirt to no one’s surprise. Mark Nash does the in-ring intros and I have to admit, I’m really digging his “Never Seen Seventeen” schtick now. The bell rings and here we go.

They lock up and the crowd is going nuts for this with their cel phone flashlights, so they pull back with a drone to show the full effect. Cena gets a quick pin attempt that gets one. Punk gets a side headlock takedown but Cena slips out of it and goes with leg scissors. Punk pops out of it and does the “you can’t see me” gesture to a pissed off Cena. Cena gets Punk in the corner but releases cleanly. Cena runs over Punk with a shoulder tackle and gestures to the crowd who go nuts with the cel phones again. They lock up again and Cena gains the advantage with some rights. Cena headbutts Punk who goes through the ropes, and Cena starts firing rights at him. Cena hits a Fisherman’s Suplex for one, and a bodyslam for one. Cena runs Punk over with a shoulder but Punk pops up and goes for the GTS. Cena slips it and bails to the outside.

Punk goes full tranquilo in the corner as he waits for Cena to re-enter. Punk tries some weird Octopus-looking thing, but he ends up on Cena’s shoulders before slipping off and rolling Cena up for one. Punk hits a lariat and a side Russian leg sweep for two. Punk gets the Octopus as Barrett name-checks AJ Lee for using the hold when she competed. Cena breaks out and drops Punk to the mat for a one count. Cena goes to ground and pound and then as Punk rises, Cena hits him with a big…sneaker…and Punk is down. Barrett talks about Cena controlling the pace and working “methodically” which is JR-speak for “this dude is old and slowing down”. Cena runs Punk over with shoulder tackles, ducks the inevitable punch attempt, and hits his side slam. Cena tells Punk he can’t see him and hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Punk slips an AA attempt and hits Cena with a leg lariat. Punk hits a rolling neckbreaker and running knee in the corner, and then pulls Cena in for a short arm lariat.

Punk ascends and hits the Macho Man elbow drop, then signals it’s time to go to sleep. Cena grabs Punk’s leg as he tries the move and slaps on the STF. Punk reverses to the Anaconda Vice, but Cena rolls him over and gets a two count as Punk is forced to break. Punk walks into the Attitude Adjustment but he kicks out at two. Cena goes for another AA but Punk slips off and hits a DDT before he puts the STF on Cena. Cena gets to the rope to break it up. Punk hits a running knee on Cena in the corner and then drags him out for a bulldog. Cena blocks it and drops Punk to the mat. As Cena tells Punk he can’t see him even more now, Punk waffles him with a kick to the head. They exchange move attempts but Cena recovers to hit another AA for a LONG two.

Cena parks a staggered Punk in the corner and Cena ascends. Cena wants a second rope AA but Punk elbows out of it and pushes Cena off. Punk hits a cross-body from the top but Cena rolls through and hits a third AA and Punk kicks out again at two. Cena goes outside and grabs his title belt, but as he’s got Punk lined up for it, he hesitates and tosses it aside. Cena wants another AA but Punk reverses into another GTS and Cena kicks out at two. We’re just out here kicking out of finishers, dear reader. A mid-ring clubbering session ensues, and when it finally breaks up Cena hits his running shoulder block on the referee as my Overbooking Spidey Sense starts tingling again. Punk hits another GTS as Cena wanders over, but there’s no ref (he’s on the floor) to count. Punk calls for another ref, but BURN IT DOWN erupts onto the gigantic video board as I nod grimly to myself.

Here’s Seth Rollins, Paul Heyman (carrying the MITB briefcase), Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker to join the proceedings. Rollins, notably, is not in his gear and Barrett points out he’s not coming down with a ref to cash in. Rollins removes his jacket and Heyman hands him the briefcase. Rollins gives a signal and Reed and Breakker charge in to attack Punk. Punk knocks Breakker over the top rope with a clothesline and then kicks a charging Reed in the face. Punk flies over the top rope and lands basically on top of Breakker awkwardly knocking Reed out of the way because no one tried to catch him (it appeared, anyway). Reed stops things with a headbutt and then he and Breakker team up to awkwardly slam Punk on and then through the Arabic announcer table (Punk appears to be profusely sweat-drenched and I’m not surprised at how this is going given that fact). Rollins is in the ring with the briefcase watching all this and now he calls for a referee. Charles Robinson comes running down and gets WAFFLED by Cena with a shoulder tackle. Cena jumps in the ring to bitch at Rollins for whatever this intrusion is, so Rollins tries to hit him with the briefcase. Cena ducks it and hits Rollins with an AA, but Breakker and Reed swarm Cena and go to work.

As Reed gets ready to ascend, here’s Penta to interrupt. Reed works over Cena while Breakker charges up the ramp. Penta hits some kicks, but Breakker catches his charge and back body-drops Penta on the ramp. Breakker goes to work with right hands as Sami Zayn comes down to start throwing bombs at Breakker. That turns into a hockey fight just below the video board and a recovered Penta flies onto both of them from the ramp. Back in the ring, Reed ascends but Punk dumps him off the top rope into Cena, who miraculously gets the big man up for an AA. Punk and Cena reset, but we still have no referee (it was just a shoulder tackle dude, you didn’t take a Burning Hammer). Punk and Cena shake hands and embrace to show respect for coming to each other’s aid, but Cena makes the same look into the camera he did when he turned on Cody. Cena was going to go for the low blow, but Punk blocks it. Cena whips Punk around and Rollins waffles Punk with the MITB briefcase and then hits the Stomp on Punk. Cena tosses Rollins as miraculously the ref has recovered, and Cena covers Punk for three.

So I think a fair few of us thought that Rollins would get involved here because they don’t want to take the title off Cena yet and Punk truly doesn’t need it to be as wildly over as he is. Still though, what an overbooked mess the end of this was. Ref bumps have been happening for years and it’s such a trite piece of storytelling at this point that I wish they’d do it in less high-profile settings, but I’m not Hunter. These guys worked at half-speed in an apparently boiling hot arena, they got their greatest hits in, and then we overbooked the shit out of the finish. I cannot in good conscience go higher than three stars for this, it was finisher spamming and overbooking 101.3*

Winner and STILL WWE Men’s Undisputed Champion – John Cena (Rollins briefcase shot to Punk’s head)

As with most of these Saudi shows, this was fairly skippable. Nothing was spectacular other than Rhea Ripley’s enormous Riptide, and the two title matches were WILDLY overbooked. I’m sad that they gave Jacob Fatu ten weeks with the US title and he lost in his second defense and I think that’s going to be a talking point coming out of this amongst the smart fans.

Thanks for reading, have a good Sunday.