Sami Zayn captures the WWE Championship at Night of Champions

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - JUNE 27: Sami Zayn after winning the Undisputed WWE Championship during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena on June 27, 2026 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images) | WWE via Getty Images Not a Roomba, I got rumors. Lead Rumor: Sami Zayn’s WWE championship It still doesn’t feel real that Sami Zayn pinned Cody Rhodes to win the WWE championship in the main event of Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia this past weekend. He is the reigning, defending WWE champion. Amazing! It’s probably not going to last. WRKD Wrestling already said “don’t get too attached” and Dave Meltzer echoed a similar sentiment on Wrestling Observer Radio. He said he doesn’t see a long reign and “I don’t think that he’s the guy in their plans,” comparing it to Darby Allin’s run with the AEW world championship. We will see if it lasts even that long. Another aspect of this is Meltzer wasn’t sure if this was a reaction to recent criticism of the booking and creative direction being stale. It certainly didn’t seem to be a long term plan, considering Zayn was working heel for months and then given a big babyface win out of nowhere. Cory Hays of False Finish outright said the original plan was for Zayn to win the title at WrestleMania 43 next year, which is also taking place in Saudi Arabia. There’s much to learn in the coming weeks. Other rumors floating around Meltzer mentioned on WOR that Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins had been planned for a long time for SummerSlam, and Rollins beating Bron Breakker at Night of Champions appears to be an indicator that WWE is going ahead with that plan. Fightful Select says it’s been the expectation that Hiromu Takahashi will sign with WWE and some feel Bakusai, a recent trademark from the company, will be his name. TNA is expected to bring in new talent “throughout the summer months,” according to Fightful. They also confirmed last week’s report that Eric Tompkins will be joining the TNA creative team. Willow Nightingale is expected to return to AEW in July, says Fightful Select, and “there have always been big plans for her this year.” Get in on this, y’all.

Sami Zayn is a WWE champion. After coming through both Gunther and Cody Rhodes at Night of Champions, Zayn has completed his rise to the very top of WWE after over a decade of hard work.

Sami Zayn capped a decade long journey in WWE to the very top as he became WWE champion for the first time at Night of Champions. Zayn overcame both Gunther and Cody Rhodes in an enthralling triple threat match in Saudi Arabia.

It’s been over six hours now, and I’m still kinda shocked that WWE actually went ahead and made Sami Zayn it’s Undisputed champion at Night of Champions in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Sat., June 27, 2026. I’m sure I’ll have many more thoughts on the well-deserved crowning of a performer I and many, many others have enjoyed watching for a decade or more. Eventually I may even get around to publishing some of those*, maybe about how Sami winning the big one just weeks after dismembering a “gingerbread man” on SmackDown is once again proof that in this crazy business/artform/sport we love — the right story can elevate almost anyone, and the right story for the right performer can do… pretty much any damn thing. Thankfully, many of Zayn’s co-workers and fellow pro wrestlers have found the words. And you’d rather read their thoughts anyway. Within the business, Sami has an actual “ride or die”. Sure, the new WWE champ and Kevin Owens try to kill each other every few years. But in between they team up to cause chaos and/or save the day, depending on what Triple H wants or needs at the time. KO was among the first to shout out his friend. Which since they’re men, includes a bit of the chops-busting we menfolk are apparently genetically required to do when praising another guy we love: I’ve missed a lot of things I wish I hadn’t in the last 15 months because of this injury but today is, by far, the one I wish I had been there for the most. He has brought out the best in me as both an ally and a foe. That’s because he is THE best. When you’re consistently that good for that long, you become undeniable. Sami becoming WWE Champion was inevitable. He has deserved that moment for a very long time and I am so happy to see him finally get it. Now enjoy these pictures of me annoying him at various stages of our careers. The last one is him putting on my sock in a hotel room in the middle of nowhere in Texas because I thought I had broken my back the night before and could not move. He had to help me put on my boxers too. Look how happy he is… Now tell me he doesn’t deserve to be champion! @SamiZayn I’ve missed a lot of things I wish I hadn’t in the last 15 months because of this injury but today is, by far, the one I wish I had been there for the most. He has brought out the best in me as both an ally and a foe. That’s because he is THE best. When you’re consistently… pic.twitter.com/bIn3uCzBLs — Kevin (@FightOwensFight) June 27, 2026 Speaking of Paul “Triple H” Levesque, he’s been sitting in Gorilla Position for almost all Zayn’s big championship wins in WWE like his NXT, United States, and now this one. Sami Zayn: Then, Now, Forever! pic.twitter.com/1VzAIQu0xM — NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW news (@nodqdotcom) June 27, 2026 The Chief Content Officer got another point pic with The Last Real Good Guy, which he shared along with some video of that moment. From underdog to undisputed. Congrats to the NEW @WWE Undisputed Champion @SamiZayn! Never say never. pic.twitter.com/bbw3qpA6ry — Triple H (@TripleH) June 27, 2026 On the Night of Champions Post Show, former WWE champ Big E shared his thoughts on Sami’s win. E’s been with the company even longer than Zayn and KO, which gives him a little different perspective on the former Ring of Honor, Chikara, and PWG star’s career. As a long-time El Generico-truther, I’d like to thank Large Epsilon for embracing Sami’s entire career despite shattering a few Nacho Libre-inspired kayfabe dreams: “Sami’s overcome a lot of nevers. When I was in the locker room for the longest time, we knew who El Generico was, we knew about his work on the indies, but there was always, ‘He’s not the WWE mold. He’ll never be signed here.’ “He finally comes to WWE: ‘Okay, he’s a good hand. He can put on these great matches in the mid-card, but he’ll never be World Champion.’ “He broke through that glass ceiling that he was butting his head up against for all these years so many times to finally become WWE Champion.” Others, like fellow WWE Grand Slam champion The Miz, Low-Key Legend Nattie Neidhart, and current TNA announcer Matthew Rehwoldt (fka Aiden English), offered their congratulations as well. We’ve got another Grand Slam Champion. Congrats and welcome to the club. Well deserved. https://t.co/G0ec8cUHQO — The Miz (@mikethemiz) June 27, 2026 The impossible is possible. @SamiZayn reminded the world that it’s never too late to chase the dreams people told you were out of reach. He asked, “Why not me?” So…why not you? Why not now? More inspired than ever. Congrats, Sami. You deserve it. — Nattie (@NatbyNature) June 27, 2026 Underdog from the underground…now on top of the world. Congrats champ ❤️ Sami Zayn Forever pic.twitter.com/d5uoEynRy6 — Matthew Rehwoldt (@DramaKingMatt) June 27, 2026 * If I make it through this weekend’s four-event gauntlet without losing my mind, or the ability to type. Post any we missed or that came after publication time in the comments below. Along with your own congratulations for the champ, of course.

Sami Zayn wins the WWE championship in Riyadh after a hard fought match against Cody Rhodes and Gunther.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it happened. How did it happen? Let’s rewind to before the match started. Sami Zayn, a proud Muslim, came out to the ring first in the traditional Saudi dress, to a massive ovation from the crowd. From the beginning, the feeling was there of what if this actually happens?

The Night of Champions Post Show began moments after main event ended, and one of the first things we were treated to was an interview with the man who won the last bout in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Arena today (Sat., June 27, 2026). That would be Sami Zayn, who defeated Gunther and Cody Rhodes to win the WWE title he’s been chasing since signing with the company a decade ago. Zayn, who is of Syrian descent and a practicing Muslim, has also forged a bond with the people of Saudi Arabia over the course of WWE’s relationship with the Kingdom. He opened with this, before saying what I presume was the same thing or something similar in Arabic to the crowd: “A lot of folks said I would never win the WWE championship. But I stand here tonight in front of my people, the WWE Champion.” When they responded with a “you deserve it” chant, the Last Real Good Guy agreed with his whole chest: “You know what? You’re damn right I deserve it! Twenty-plus years in the game at the highest level, never got the recognition. Ten-plus years chasing this championship, never got the recognition. I don’t care what happens to me tomorrow, next week, next month, next year. Forever, I will be Sami Zayn, WWE champion.” "A lot of folks said I would NEVER win the WWE Championship" You proved them ALL wrong, @samizayn! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/ETklED1oCh — WWE (@WWE) June 27, 2026 Hard to believe. I’ve been following this guy’s career since the late Aughts (look, this isn’t the time to debate kayfabe history… I’m marking out over here!) and I never thought this would ever happen, especially since his long-time frienenemy Kevin Owens never had another run with either of WWE’s top belts after his “break glass in case of emergency” Universal championship run with Chris Jericho. We’ll worry about booing you again later, Sami. Right now, a lot of us are too busy saying “you’re damn right he deserved it!”

HE DID IT! HE ACTUALLY DID IT! SAMI ZAYN IS THE WWE CHAMPION! The last real good guy, a man who has been struggling like hell to find himself for what feels like forever, who has come so close to achieving the lifelong dream of winning the WWE championship only to have his heart broken time and time again, pinned Cody Rhodes in the main event of Night of Champions in front of thousands of adoring fans in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He took the title out into the crowd with him, the man swept up in a sea of people sharing in the ecstasy of the moment. At 41-years-old, after over 13 years working for the company, Zayn has reached the summit. I cannot believe this is real. They had what I would consider an ideal triple threat match too. Whoever laid it out deserves a ton of credit, because there were multiple instances where I would have bought a finish from all three of the guys in the match. It sure looked like GUNTHER was about to do it when he had Rhodes in the sleeper only for Zayn to rush in and hold Cody’s arm up himself. It sure looked like Rhodes would retain when he was about to hit a second Cross Rhodes. But it was Zayn who countered, who rolled up arguably the top babyface of the past four years, who finally achieved the dream and won it all. No one involved in the match is worse off for this. It may even be the most interesting outcome possible for GUNTHER but especially for the guy who had been calling himself QB1. What does he call himself now? What’s next for him? All eyes turn to the King of the Ring, and WWE already has analysts talking about Zayn being the easier title to go after. Perhaps that had something to do with making a switch here? Either way, holy shit. It’s real. He did it. Sami Zayn is WWE champion. Kevin Owens is smiling somewhere, just like the rest of us. A new King WWE knew the smartest play for Night of Champions was to put the two tournament finals on ESPN for the free first hour, seeing as they would be crowning two new top contenders. First, Oba Femi and Jey Uso squared up and I was surprised they had a competitive match. I didn’t expect a squash or anything but I also didn’t see Jey getting as much offense on Femi as he did. After all, this man was booked to be a world beater who was running through Brock Lesnar F-5’s. It took SEVEN to finally keep him down. The idea that he is out there selling for Jey Uso hits weird after that. Then again, a victory only means as much as it does when there’s an actual hill to climb, a challenge to overcome. In the end, Femi was given the emphatic victory. They didn’t go overboard with the celebration either, which I appreciated. He doesn’t need all the pomp and circumstance. Just the crown and a few words on the microphone to make clear he is the ruler, the bringer of war, a runaway freight train from hell going straight up the… you know the rest. We’re now playing the game of “who will Oba choose to challenge at SummerSlam” and I actually think they’re right to lean into that. I love the idea of his working Roman Reigns, for certain, but I’m not so sure they shouldn’t hold off on that for a while. I wouldn’t hate jumping him over to SmackDown and taking the WWE championship off Sami Zayn, which could very well be the reason they were okay with making the switch here. It’s time for QB1’s refresh, right? Why not have a big bad like Oba send him into crisis? A new Queen I was surprised to see Danhausen coming out on the stage just before the Queen of the Ring Tournament Final was to take place. Then my colleague here at Cageside, Kyle Decker, made the great point in the office that it makes a ton of sense to have the most sports adjacent star on the roster appear during the ESPN portion of the broadcast. Liv Morgan was none too pleased to see him, as she cut him off and demanded human monies for his interfering with Judgment Day business. Naturally, he responded by cursing her. That might as well have been a spoiler. They did their best to create some doubt — including a spot where Morgan pushed Sky off the top rope and she sold like she hurt her knee. It was ultimately just an obstacle to overcome, and Sky did just that, though it felt a bit rushed from Morgan being in control to Sky making her comeback and scoring the victory. After, Sky didn’t bother cutting a promo at all. She simply told Liv she’ll see her at SummerSlam, calling her shot for the world championship match, leaving Rhea Ripley free to worry about her own business on SmackDown. It’s the right booking choice for what they’ve been doing, I just don’t find it all that compelling. On the plus side, they should have no issues putting together a much better match for Minneapolis. Find out who you are A steel cage match is supposed to keep the two participants locked inside to ensure they finally settle their differences in a no holds barred setting. That’s why I really appreciated Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker grabbing all the gimmicks they wanted to use — chairs, tables, kendo sticks, what have you — and bringing them into the ring with them. That kind of simple logic is missing from pro wrestling all too often. It’s worth praising when they bother with it. The ensuing match was a fun war of attrition, one that showed how unhinged Breakker can be. At one point, he put Rollins between a chair and screamed at him “YOU’RE GONNA DIE” before grabbing a separate chair and lining up what looked like a damn guillotine style killing blow. Seth moved, of course, but I like going the extra mile in a match designed for it. They pushed it to the limit when they both went to the top of the cage to fight it out, and coming down by way of a superplex from Seth to Bron through a table set up in the ring below them. Breakker came up bleeding near the eye somehow. Rollins kept telling him to find out who he is, to finish the fight. That led to the most incredible near fall, when Breakker missed a Spear and sent himself HARD through a table, then took a Pedigree and a Stomp and still managed to kick out before three. The finish may have been the best part — when they got back up, Bron called Seth off and tried to fire himself up enough to get back in. He just didn’t have anything left in the tank, and Rollins was in position to hit a Super Stomp. That’s what finally did the trick. Both men were fantastic here. Breakker took the loss but it’s couldn’t be any more obvious that he’s a future WrestleMania main event level guy. YACHT DROP At first, it sure looked like Lil Yachty traveled all the way to Saudi Arabia to do an entrance with Trick Williams and get kicked out of the match just two minutes into it when Ricky Saints did his best Eddie Guerrero impression. It was the most interesting thing about the United States championship match. Saints was doing his best to really introduce himself to a wider audience, and to be fair the audience responded to him like a star, but I was underwhelmed by the entirety of the match they put together. Having said that, the result made the most sense to me — Trick going over clean. After, Yachty made his way back out, of course, and the babyfaces added insult to injury when they had the rapper hit the People’s Elbow on the way out. They’re calling it the Yacht Drop. There isn’t much to say about this one. I love me some Trick Willy but his matches can be lacking, and that was the case here. A mess Jade Cargill vs. Tiffany Stratton got off on a tough start when the former appeared to hit a legitimately hard knee to the latter’s grill on a spot on the outside. The work remained pretty sloppy from there. They overbooked the hell out of it, perhaps understanding the potential need to do so, with Chelsea Green showing up from under the ring to help deal with Michin and B-Fab, who had interfered on Cargill’s behalf. That only worked for so long and saw the United States championship left in the ring for Jade to grab to use as a weapon. Except none other than Charlotte Flair appeared as if from nowhere to take the title and use it against Cargill first. Stratton took the gimme, hit the Prettiest Moonsault Ever, and retained the title right after. I still see Green as the wrestler I’m most interested in coming out of this, as has been the case for most of these segments in recent memory, but it would appear we are moving right into Cargill vs. Flair. I enjoyed the show. Grade: B- Your turn.

The main event of today’s (June 27) Night of Champions PLE in was a triple threat match with Cody Rhodes defending the WWE championship against GUNTHER and Sami Zayn. WWE talked up this match as Sami’s tenth and possibly last shot at winning a world title in the company. Cody and GUNTHER both dismissed him as a serious threat to win the title in the buildup to this match, and they paid the price for underestimating him, especially in front of his people in Saudi Arabia. Late in the bout, GUNTHER was on the verge of winning the match after powerbombing Rhodes through a table and putting him to sleep. However, Zayn was there to catch Cody’s arm on the drop when the referee checked it. Sami Zayn SAVES the match and Cody Rhodes in the process 🫢 pic.twitter.com/zdeGM9SpEn — WWE (@WWE) June 27, 2026 Rhodes eventually recovered and was on his way to victory with this double Cross Rhodes on his opponents, but Zayn was one step quicker on Cody’s follow-up attempt, and pulled off the shocking miracle pin on WWE’s Golden Boy. SAMI ZAYN IS UNDISPUTED WWE CHAMPION!!!!! A MIRACLE IN SAUDI ARABIA!!! pic.twitter.com/rtmYqWSgfw — WWE (@WWE) June 27, 2026 WHAT A MOMENT FOR SAMI ZAYN!!! 🥹 pic.twitter.com/NPgf2Anv8x — WWE (@WWE) June 27, 2026 Now that Sami Zayn finally has his surprise world title win, do you think he’ll actually hold on to the top prize in WWE until SummerSlam? Let me know your reaction to Zayn’s unbelievable world title win in the comments below, Cagesiders. Catch up on all the results from Night of Champions in our live blog right here.

After more than a decade in the company, Sami Zayn captured the Undisputed WWE Championship by pinning Cody Rhodes at Night of Champions.