Night of Champions: Riyadh will be hosting the finals of the King and Queen of the Ring. Night of Champions used to feature only title matches, but that hasn’t been the case since 2023. Who will walk out of Riyadh as a champion or a Queen or King?
Singles Match for the WWE United States Championship
Trick Williams (c) vs Ricky Saints
Allen: I’ve been a big Ricky Saints fan ever since I saw him back in AEW. I’m glad he’s able to put on great matches in NXT and now the main roster. That said, Trick Williams is on another planet in terms of popularity. He and Saints can have a great match and rivalry going forward. However, I don’t see Trick dropping the title any time soon. My pick is Trick Williams.
Greg: So a quick caveat here before I make my wildly inaccurate predictions. I haven’t been paying attention to anything going on in the fed since the last PLE, which felt like hours ago. But I’m gonna just blurt out whatever and hope that I get first place in our overall rankings.
I’m gonna say Trick Williams gets the win because Saints just got to Smackdown and hasn’t even had a full cup of coffee yet.
BigFreaky: Unfortunately, I’m in the same boat with Greg. I’ve been busy with life, it seems. Going with that, as much as I’d like to see some gold on Ricky already, I’m not sure taking it off Trick is the right direction atm. Trick is in his stride.
Justin: I really like Ricky Saints and want him to succeed, but Trick is still pretty over right now. I can see both outcomes, but will predict Trick Williams will retain.
Singles Match for the WWE Women’s United States Championship
Tiffany Stratton (c) vs Jade Cargill
Allen: Tiffany for me has been kind of a dud in the last year. She is more interesting as a heel. Jade has been having impressive PLE matches lately, and I see Tiffany doing the same as Rhea. Jade is already testing the waters with Charlotte, and they really don’t need the US title for that feud. My pick is going to Tiffany Stratton.
Greg: What I do know about Jade is she better glue her weave on tight for this match. Don’t want no more hair accidents in the middle of a match. Anyway, Tiffy Time should retain since I think she just got this belt recently too, right? It makes no sense to play hot potato with it.
BigFreaky: I’m gonna have to flip a coin on this one. Heads goes with Tiffy.
Justin: Never thought I would say this again so soon, but Jade Cargill wins the title here. She’ll defeat Tiffany Stratton and maybe move on to Charlotte.
Steel Cage Match
Seth Rollins vs Bron Brekker
Allen: Seth has been very bland when he doesn’t have the crazy outfits or the over-the-top cackle. I want to see the baddass Bron to succeed. Will there be shenanigans even with a steel cage? Maybe. Would like the W to go to Bron and he goes over in this feud. My pick is Bron Breakker.
Greg: I go with Bron simply because this feud has dragged on way too long and both men need better things to do than dance with each other.
BigFreaky: Can Bron just bury Seth for a while? I get it, Seth is one of the major players always. But a win from him does nothing for Bron. Big Spear Bron.
Justin: Seth Rollins defeats Bron Breakker to set him up for the Roman feud that WWE wanted to do before he got hurt. Does it help Bron at all? Nope.
King of the Ring Tournament Final
Oba Femi vs Jey Uso
Allen: I do not want to see Jey vs Roman again. I’m sure the kids still love to Yeet, but I think the Main Event Jey Uso experiment was cool a few years ago. Let Brock run in and interfere, but somehow Jey will still mess this up. Oba can look super strong and be the King. Continue to strap the rocket on Oba and have him main-event both nights of Summerslam. Night one vs. Brock, then night two vs. Roman. My pick is the new King of the Ring, Oba Femi.
Greg: Ok. I know this too well, since the hate for Jey Uso is strong. Like peak X-Pac go-away hate. With that said. Oba Feminists are going to be sad because the YEET man is gonna go over. Jey Uso for the win because the fed hates us all.
BigFreaky: I still can’t figure out whether WWE likes KOTR or hates it. Sometimes they really go with it, and sometimes it’s just played off a big joke. King Oba and King Jey both sound decent. But I think we will get that Brock interference and we’ll end up with King Jey. Right up there with Allen as well, with Oba doing double duty.
Justin: I would love for Oba Femi to win this and ride his continued momentum to the top. However, looking at the story, it seems like Jey is going into this with a renewed fire to his character. On top of that, Oba has been calling out Brock every week. Brock Lesnar interferes, costing Oba the match and setting up their rematch. Jey Uso wins King of the Ring.
Queen of the Ring Tournament Final
Liv Morgan vs Iyo Sky
Allen: I like the story of Liv trying to win it all and be Queen of the Ring. However, Iyo is just primed to win this. I would love to see her pick Rhea once she is all healed up from her injury. Keep running with the story that Rhea cannot beat Iyo. Long-term booking for the win. My pick and new Queen of the Ring is Iyo Sky.
Greg: Liv’s latest run on top hasn’t been great, and if anything makes us stop hearing her god-awful original song, then I’m all for it. Go IYO.
BigFreaky: Weebs are gonna get Queen Iyo in all her glory. Big Crown and Long Flowing Cape. I am a weeb.
Justin: Iyo Sky defeats Liv Morgan. Iyo is long due for a big win, and adding this to her list of accomplishments would be a great way to do that.
Triple Threat Match for the Undisputed WWE Championship
Cody Rhodes (c) vs Gunther vs Sami Zayn
Allen: Smackdown needs some variety and craziness because it has been super boring the last few months. One of the highlights has been Sami and his segments. I love that he is sticking his nose in the main event scene. If there is ever a time for him to win the WWE Championship, it is this time. He doesn’t even need to hold it for long. He can say he is champion and thank his ride-or-die fans for never leaving him. I would also love to see him get the pin over Cody. He beat Gunther before, so having him pin Cody would be best. My pick and new WWE champion: Sami Zayn.
Greg: As much as I would like Gunther to win, I think Sami Zayn is finally due for a run with the gold. I dunno. I just got a feeling that if Jey Uso gonna be king of the ring, then he might as well challenge his former Bloodline ally.
BigFreaky: Going for the Grandslam of predictions for our squad. Sami gonna get that strap… but he might only hold onto it for a week. The outcome of this match is really going to be intriguing.
Justin: I want to go with the more interesting option here in my opinion and say Sami Zayn defeats Cody Rhodes and Gunther. Gives him a nice win-win in Saudi. Closes the title loop that he previously opened. And with my prediction that Jey wins his match, you can set up a match between these two at Summerslam with their history.
Clash In Italy Results
Allen: 2-5
Greg: 3-5
BigFreaky: 2-5
Justin: 5-5
Booker Allen and BigFreaky tried to reach for some wins to close the gap but only ended up last place for the first time this month among the team. Booker Justin pulls off another perfect prediction PLE.
Predictions Count
Allen: 21-31
Greg: 22-31
BigFreaky: 17-31
Justin: 26-31
We have a shift in the rankings as Booker Greg takes over second place over Booker Allen for the first time this year. Booker Justin still ranks at the top, widening the gap among the rest. With Night of Champions having six matches, will we see any more shifts after the show?
