Night of Champions (2026)

Night of Champions
Night of Champions
	Promotional poster featuring various WWE wrestlers
Promotion	WWE
Brand(s)	Raw; SmackDown
Date	June 27, 2026
City	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Venue	Kingdom Arena
WWE event chronology
← Previous; Clash in Italy	Next →; NXT The Great American Bash
Night of Champions chronology
← Previous; 2025	Next →; —
WWE in Saudi Arabia chronology
← Previous; Royal Rumble	Next →; WrestleMania 43

The 2026 Night of Champions, also promoted as Night of Champions: Riyadh, is an upcoming professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by the American company WWE. It will be the 12th Night of Champions and will take place on Saturday, June 27, 2026, at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the second consecutive year, and will be held for wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. Night of Champions is usually characterised by featuring championship matches, though this has not been the case since 2023.

This will be the 15th major event WWE will hold in Saudi Arabia as part of its 10-year partnership in support of Saudi Vision 2030, as well as the first Night of Champions to livestream on the ESPN streaming service in the United States. The event will host the finals of both the 25th King of the Ring and fourth Queen of the Ring tournaments.

Production

Background

Night of Champions is a professional wrestling event produced by the American company WWE, established in 2007.^[1] It was held annually, airing via pay-per-view (PPV) as well as livestreaming beginning in 2014, but was discontinued after the 2015 event until it was reinstated in 2023, although an event was not held in 2024. The event is characterized by having championship matches. In early 2018, WWE began a 10-year strategic multiplatform partnership with the Ministry of Sport (formerly General Sports Authority) in support of Saudi Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia's social and economic reform program.^[2]^[3] The 2023 Night of Champions was the first Night of Champions held in Saudi Arabia, which was in Jeddah, and it was the ninth event under this partnership.^[4]

On March 17, 2026, POST Wrestling reported that Night of Champions was internally scheduled for Saturday, June 27 in Saudi Arabia. The event's status was initially subject to speculation due to the 2026 Iranian strikes on Saudi Arabia;^[5] notably, Formula 1 had cancelled the 2026 Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix due to the strikes.^[6] However, on April 23, WWE officially confirmed that the event would proceed as planned on June 27 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This marks the second consecutive year the venue will host the event and the 15th event under the Saudi Arabian partnership.^[7]

In addition to airing on traditional PPV worldwide, Night of Champions will be available to livestream on ESPN's direct-to-consumer streaming service in the United States, Netflix in most international markets, SuperSport in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Abema in Japan.^[8] This marks the first Night of Champions to livestream on ESPN in the United States.

Storylines

The event will include matches that result from scripted storylines. Results will be predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands,^[9]^[10] while storylines will be produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.^[11]

During the May 25 episode of Raw, the 25th King of the Ring and fourth Queen of the Ring tournaments were announced to begin on the June 1 episode, subsequently held across episodes of Raw and SmackDown. It was later confirmed that the 2026 finals would take place at Night of Champions with the winner of each tournament receiving a match for a world championship at SummerSlam.^[12]^[13] During the Clash in Italy post-show on May 31, the brackets for both tournaments were revealed, with first round matches consisting of fatal four-way matches with the winners advancing to the semi-finals, and then the winners of the semi-finals advancing to the finals at Night of Champions.^[14]^[15]

Matches

No.

Matches*

Stipulations

1

TBD vs. TBD

King of the Ring tournament final^[13]
The winner will be crowned "King of the Ring" and will earn a world championship match at SummerSlam.

2

TBD vs. TBD

Queen of the Ring tournament final^[13]
The winner will be crowned "Queen of the Ring" and will earn a world championship match at SummerSlam.

*Card subject to change

Tournament brackets

†	Raw	‡	SmackDown

King of the Ring

First Round
Raw
June 1–8, 2026
SmackDown
June 5, 2026

Semifinals
TBA
TBA

Final
Night of Champions
June 27, 2026

Penta

—

Oba Femi

Pinfall

Solo Sikoa

9:00^[16]

Carmelo Hayes

—

Oba Femi

Dominik Mysterio

Bron Breakker

Trick Williams

Damian Priest

Seth Rollins

Je'Von Evans

Talla Tonga

Ricky Saints

Jey Uso

LA Knight

Royce Keys

Finn Bálor

Queen of the Ring

First Round
Raw
June 1–8, 2026
SmackDown
June 5, 2026

Semifinals
TBA
TBA

Final
Night of Champions
June 27, 2026

Liv Morgan

Becky Lynch

Alexa Bliss

Chelsea Green

Sol Ruca

Lyra Valkyria

Charlotte Flair

Jade Cargill

Roxanne Perez

—

Iyo Sky

Pinfall

Giulia

10:40^[16]

Lash Legend

—

Iyo Sky

Bayley

Raquel Rodriguez

Jacy Jayne

Kiana James

References

^ "Night of Champions history". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on June 6, 2008. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
^ WWE.com Staff (March 5, 2018). "Saudi Arabia to host the Greatest Royal Rumble". WWE. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
^ "National Transformation Program 2020" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 28, 2017.
^ Lambert, Jeremy (April 13, 2023). "WWE Changes 'WWE King & Queen Of The Ring' PLE To 'WWE Night Of Champions'". Fightful. Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^ Thurston, Brandon (March 17, 2026). "Night of Champions has been on WWE's internal schedule for Saudi Arabia for early this summer; war in the region raises questions". POST Wrestling. Archived from the original on March 18, 2026. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
^ "Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix will not take place in April". Formula One. March 14, 2026. Archived from the original on April 20, 2026. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
^ Russell, Skylar (April 23, 2026). "WWE Night Of Champions Returning To Saudi Arabia In June". Fightful. Archived from the original on April 23, 2026. Retrieved April 23, 2026.
^ "Where to Watch WWE Premium Live Events, Raw, SmackDown, NXT and more". WWE. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
^ Grabianowski, Ed (January 13, 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
^ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
^ Steinberg, Brian (May 25, 2016). "WWE's 'Smackdown' Will Move To Live Broadcast On USA (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on May 26, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
^ Lambert, Jeremy (May 25, 2026). "King And Queen Of The Ring Tournaments Begin On 6/1 WWE Raw". Fightful. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
^ ^a ^b ^c WWE [@WWE] (May 29, 2026). "The King of the Ring and Queen of the Ring Tournaments begin MONDAY! Who are your picks to be crowned at Night of Champions and secure a World Title shot at SummerSlam?! 👑 👑" (Tweet). Retrieved May 31, 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
^ Lambert, Jeremy (May 31, 2026). "WWE King of the Ring 2026 Bracket Revealed". Fightful. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
^ Lambert, Jeremy (May 31, 2026). "WWE Queen Of The Ring 2026 Bracket Revealed". Fightful. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
^ ^a ^b Powell, Jason (June 1, 2026). "WWE Raw results (6/1): Powell's live review of start of the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 1, 2026.

External links

Official website

[1] "Night of Champions history". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on June 6, 2008. Retrieved January 1, 2012.

[2] WWE.com Staff (March 5, 2018). "Saudi Arabia to host the Greatest Royal Rumble". WWE. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved March 7, 2018.

[3] "National Transformation Program 2020" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 28, 2017.

[4] Lambert, Jeremy (April 13, 2023). "WWE Changes 'WWE King & Queen Of The Ring' PLE To 'WWE Night Of Champions'". Fightful. Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2023.

[5] Thurston, Brandon (March 17, 2026). "Night of Champions has been on WWE's internal schedule for Saudi Arabia for early this summer; war in the region raises questions". POST Wrestling. Archived from the original on March 18, 2026. Retrieved April 23, 2026.

[6] "Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix will not take place in April". Formula One. March 14, 2026. Archived from the original on April 20, 2026. Retrieved April 23, 2026.

[7] Russell, Skylar (April 23, 2026). "WWE Night Of Champions Returning To Saudi Arabia In June". Fightful. Archived from the original on April 23, 2026. Retrieved April 23, 2026.

[8] "Where to Watch WWE Premium Live Events, Raw, SmackDown, NXT and more". WWE. Retrieved January 1, 2026.

[9] Grabianowski, Ed (January 13, 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.

[10] "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.

[11] Steinberg, Brian (May 25, 2016). "WWE's 'Smackdown' Will Move To Live Broadcast On USA (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on May 26, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.

[12] Lambert, Jeremy (May 25, 2026). "King And Queen Of The Ring Tournaments Begin On 6/1 WWE Raw". Fightful. Retrieved May 31, 2026.

[KingQueen-13] WWE [@WWE] (May 29, 2026). "The King of the Ring and Queen of the Ring Tournaments begin MONDAY! Who are your picks to be crowned at Night of Champions and secure a World Title shot at SummerSlam?! 👑 👑" (Tweet). Retrieved May 31, 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).

[14] Lambert, Jeremy (May 31, 2026). "WWE King of the Ring 2026 Bracket Revealed". Fightful. Retrieved May 31, 2026.

[15] Lambert, Jeremy (May 31, 2026). "WWE Queen Of The Ring 2026 Bracket Revealed". Fightful. Retrieved May 31, 2026.

[Raw06012026-16] Powell, Jason (June 1, 2026). "WWE Raw results (6/1): Powell's live review of start of the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 1, 2026.

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