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Who will be anointed the new king and queen of WWE?
Night of Champions returns to WWE programming, again featuring the final of the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments. There's more than just a crown on the line though, as the winner earns a title match at WWE's second major event, SummerSlam, making it a high-stakes affair with the potential to headline the event.
As if there weren't enough implications on the line, three championships will be defended, giving challengers potential to insert themselves into the next premium live event on the schedule. Can anyone step up?
With a night that will set the tone for the rest of the season, here are the full predictions for Night of Champions 2026:
A trilogy match that can finally end a feud that has dragged on more than it has needed to. Rollins just cost The Vision the tag team titles, so expect them to play a role outside of the steel cage as a way to get back at them. The surprise in that could be Bronson Reed finally returning to the group. It appears he's all good to go, it's just a matter of waiting for the right time. There's no better time than now, as Reed comes back to play spoiler and help Breakker win, and give Rollins a new opponent to deal with. Winner: Bron Breakker.
This one has some history to play onto with Cargill having Stratton's number in their few interactions. This puts Cargill in a tough spot because she just failed to recapture the WWE Women's Championship, and failing to do it with another title really slows down her progression. However, Stratton has some star power that makes it tough to take the title off of her so soon. Maybe there's a rematch eventually down the line, but Stratton finally gets a victory over Cargill. Winner: Tiffany Stratton.
Two up-and-coming young stars that aren't anywhere on the same path. Williams continued to have a rocket strapped on his back while Saints' call up to the main roster hasn't really generated much. This match could help him garner some praise since he does have such a good persona, but it's hard to envision him suddenly toppling Williams. Winner: Trick Williams.
Clash in Italy felt like the best chance to take the title off of Rhodes, so him coming into this match still champion doesn't look good for Gunther or Zayn. If anything, maybe this restarts another feud between those two challengers, because given what can happen at SummerSlam, there's no way the creative department goes away from putting Rhodes in the headlining match. Winner: Cody Rhodes.
There's good reason why there's so much criticism of Morgan being in the tournament, and it makes sense. Why would a champion get another title opportunity? But if you think about it, there hasn't been a real double champion since Becky Lynch's iconic era in 2019. The possibility of that, plus another edition of Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley, makes it an enticing battle to see if Morgan can truly elevate herself to the top of the women's division. Winner: Liv Morgan.
There may be no bigger example of what should happen vs. what will happen. In normal circumstances, Femi wouldn't have any trouble against Uso, and he would become King of the Ring to set up an epic WWE title match. But it just can't be that easy for WWE to do. With Brock Lesnar still lurking, he comes out to cost Femi the match, leading to their trilogy match at SummerSlam that will serve as Lesnar's final match. Unfortunately, that means Uso gets the crown and will be heading toward a title match against Rhodes, just like Roman Reigns envisioned. As much as you don't want it to happen, it's going to. Winner: Jey Uso.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WWE Night of Champions 2026 predictions for King, Queen of the Ring
Continue reading...
Night of Champions returns to WWE programming, again featuring the final of the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments. There's more than just a crown on the line though, as the winner earns a title match at WWE's second major event, SummerSlam, making it a high-stakes affair with the potential to headline the event.
As if there weren't enough implications on the line, three championships will be defended, giving challengers potential to insert themselves into the next premium live event on the schedule. Can anyone step up?
With a night that will set the tone for the rest of the season, here are the full predictions for Night of Champions 2026:
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Steel cage match: Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker
A trilogy match that can finally end a feud that has dragged on more than it has needed to. Rollins just cost The Vision the tag team titles, so expect them to play a role outside of the steel cage as a way to get back at them. The surprise in that could be Bronson Reed finally returning to the group. It appears he's all good to go, it's just a matter of waiting for the right time. There's no better time than now, as Reed comes back to play spoiler and help Breakker win, and give Rollins a new opponent to deal with. Winner: Bron Breakker.
Women's United States Championship match: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Jade Cargill
This one has some history to play onto with Cargill having Stratton's number in their few interactions. This puts Cargill in a tough spot because she just failed to recapture the WWE Women's Championship, and failing to do it with another title really slows down her progression. However, Stratton has some star power that makes it tough to take the title off of her so soon. Maybe there's a rematch eventually down the line, but Stratton finally gets a victory over Cargill. Winner: Tiffany Stratton.
United States Championship match: Trick Williams (c) vs. Ricky Saints
Two up-and-coming young stars that aren't anywhere on the same path. Williams continued to have a rocket strapped on his back while Saints' call up to the main roster hasn't really generated much. This match could help him garner some praise since he does have such a good persona, but it's hard to envision him suddenly toppling Williams. Winner: Trick Williams.
Undisputed WWE Championship match: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Gunther vs. Sami Zayn
Clash in Italy felt like the best chance to take the title off of Rhodes, so him coming into this match still champion doesn't look good for Gunther or Zayn. If anything, maybe this restarts another feud between those two challengers, because given what can happen at SummerSlam, there's no way the creative department goes away from putting Rhodes in the headlining match. Winner: Cody Rhodes.
Queen of the Ring final: Liv Morgan vs. Iyo Sky
There's good reason why there's so much criticism of Morgan being in the tournament, and it makes sense. Why would a champion get another title opportunity? But if you think about it, there hasn't been a real double champion since Becky Lynch's iconic era in 2019. The possibility of that, plus another edition of Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley, makes it an enticing battle to see if Morgan can truly elevate herself to the top of the women's division. Winner: Liv Morgan.
King of the Ring final: Oba Femi vs. Jey Uso
There may be no bigger example of what should happen vs. what will happen. In normal circumstances, Femi wouldn't have any trouble against Uso, and he would become King of the Ring to set up an epic WWE title match. But it just can't be that easy for WWE to do. With Brock Lesnar still lurking, he comes out to cost Femi the match, leading to their trilogy match at SummerSlam that will serve as Lesnar's final match. Unfortunately, that means Uso gets the crown and will be heading toward a title match against Rhodes, just like Roman Reigns envisioned. As much as you don't want it to happen, it's going to. Winner: Jey Uso.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WWE Night of Champions 2026 predictions for King, Queen of the Ring
Continue reading...
