WWE Night of Champions is all set to take place today (Sat., May 27, 2023) from the Jeddah Super Dome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It begins at 12 pm ET with the Kickoff show leading right on into the main course at 1 pm ET on Peacock in the U.S., WWE Network everywhere else, or your local cable pay-per-view provider.
Luckily for you Cagesiders, our staff of learned wrestling blowhards is here to help figure out just how the event is going to play out with predictions for each match on the card.
Let's get to it.
Geno Mrosko: It's the boring pick that everyone is probably going to make but all signs have been pointing to this being the case. Pick: Seth Rollins
Sean Rueter: Getting here, and getting the platform to talk a bit about Roman Reigns to lay the groundwork for losing to the Tribal Chief later this year, is AJ's victory. Pick: Seth Rollins
Kyle Decker: Seth Rollins was really the only man who ever made sense. He actually holds a W (albeit a DQ one) over the Tribal Chief. That's the type of person who needs to hold this new title first. Now AJ Styles hasn't lost to Reigns, but he's not as hot as Rollins right now and looked to be specifically moved to SmackDown to eventually take part of a program with Reigns. Pick: Seth Freakin'
Claire Elizabeth: Seth has been the obvious best pick to win this thing since the moment Triple H announced it. I love AJ Styles and I love to see him add more notches to his WWE legacy (Did you know he's held the WWE Championship for more total days than he has the TNA World Heavyweight and NWA World Heavyweight Championships combined? Wild.), but this one isn't for him. Pick: Seth Rollins
Cain A. Knight: There's a reason why AJ Styles was drafted to SmackDown, and it's not because WWE wanted to move him back over to Raw a few weeks later as the brand's top champion. Pick: Seth Rollins
Marcus Benjamin: I wish WWE didn't make it so obvious here but it's all headed Seth's direction. When in doubt, go with the guy who gets the video package, the most tv time, and actually has a story going into the match. Pick: Seth Rollins
Geno Mrosko: I'm not really sure what they do here, but my gut feeling tells me Jimmy and Jey are going to cost Reigns and Solo and The Bloodline issues are going to get even worse. Hell, they might even result in a match at Money in the Bank involving all of them. Pick: Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
Sean Rueter: There are a few ways WWE could protect The Bloodline duo in a loss while setting up Reigns' summer. But the Tribal Chief invoking his father & his uncle gave me pause, which was enough time to remind me that WrestleMania taught me not to bet against Big Romey. Pick: Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa
Kyle Decker: I could see this conceivably going either way with this, but I think they are going to be reluctant to hit another pair of titles to Roman so they can never be featured on TV. Especially since it looks like Judgment Day is in line for a shot. Plus, they don't really need to tie up these titles in order to continue telling the story they're telling with the Usos, Roman, and Solo. The Usos accidentally costing Roman and Sikoa would work just fine. Pick: Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
Claire Elizabeth: I cannot divine this one by storytelling logic so I'm going by classic booking logic- heels over on the go-home means babyfaces over on the PPV. Pick: Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
Cain A. Knight: I guess WWE couldn't find a plausible challenger to try to end Roman's reign on day 1000, so now he gets another belt. But couldn't Roman have dropped the WWE Universal championship at WrestleMania if the next thing they had planned for him was a tag team title match? Pick: Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa
Marcus Benjamin: Hmmm. On one hand, Roman has enough belts. On the other hand, WWE doesn't think Roman has enough belts. It can go either way though so let me throw this one out there: The Usos directly or indirectly get their cousin and little brother the L. Pick: Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens
Geno Mrosko: I just can't see Cody winning a second match in a row against Lesnar. It's just something that doesn't happen unless you're Roman Reigns, and Cody is not Roman Reigns. Pick: Brock Lesnar
Sean Rueter: He beat Seth with a torn freaking pec, but beating Brock with broken freaking arm is a whole nother can of worms. Cody'll go down fighting though, setting the stage for a rubber match later this summer that he will win. Pick: Brock Lesnar
Kyle Decker: Cody's "broken arm" feels like an excuse to let him tough it out and lose without losing stock. I expect him to pass out to the Kimura lock and then win the rubbermatch at SummerSlam. Pick: Brock Lesnar
Claire Elizabeth: Honestly the way they've treated him, more than anything I'm afraid they're gonna go to the "Cody perseveres through massive traumatic injury" well too often, but I think doing it twice on the road to putting the big one on him is fine, especially when the second feather in his cap is Brock by god Lesnar. And honestly if they DO have the arm cost him, I think the match just plain doesn't happen and it's an entrance beatdown no contest, because that's where Brock is at. Pick: Cody Rhodes
Cain A. Knight: Brock Lesnar rarely loses two matches in a row against wrestlers who are not named Roman Reigns. I assume WWE went with the broken arm angle to give Cody an out for losing this rematch. Pick: Brock Lesnar
Marcus Benjamin: Brock Lesnar. That wasn't my thought before Monday but they established Cody's broken arm. It gives him the perfect out for the loss and no one believes anyone beats Brock with a broken arm. Pick: Brock Lesnar
Geno Mrosko: It's probably better to give Trish the win here but I can't pick against The Man. Pick: Becky Lynch
Sean Rueter: We can apply all the booking philosophy and storytelling logic we want to this one, and none of it will stand up to an Attitude Era-obsessed member of the House of Saud demanding some Stratusfaction. Pick: Trish Stratus
Kyle Decker: The only way I see Becky losing is if Lita turns on her. I don't know if Lita is in Saudi, but sure, let's go with it. Pick: Trish Stratus
Claire Elizabeth: Honestly Sean's logic is impeccable but I'll go a step further and say that it does actually make sense, if she's really gonna be around for a while (and since she was drafted I assume she'll be around for a while), to give Trish a big win or two early. Pick: Trish Stratus
Cain A. Knight: Here's the one match on the card that I can see going either way. I'll assume this feud isn't a one-and-done, which means the heel probably wins the first match. Pick: Trish Stratus
Marcus Benjamin: Trish Stratus if only because this feels like the beginning and not the end. And Becky keeps referencing some personal issues she dealt with when she went missing for a few weeks. Maybe that means she's unfocused, providing Trish an opening. Pick: Trish Stratus
Geno Mrosko: There's no way, right? Barring a shock title change, which they could maybe go for considering I don't see one anywhere else on the card, there's no chance for Ali. Pick: GUNTHER
Sean Rueter: Stay positive, Ali. Pick: Gunther
Kyle Decker: There's no recovering from "Get a life, kid." Pick: Gunther
Claire Elizabeth: I love Ali to death and I have since the Freelance days and I'm very happy he's getting a PPV spotlight like this, but yeah, GUNTHER ain't letting go of that title anytime soon. Pick: GUNTHER
Cain A. Knight: GUNTHER's lengthy reign as champion will not end at the hands of a low card wrestler. Pick: GUNTHER
Marcus Benjamin: I mean...come on. As much as I love Ali finally getting a spot like this, I wish I actually believed he has a chance. Pick: GUNTHER
Geno Mrosko: Nothing about this program has been done in such a way to even hint that this is how they'll end Belair's long title reign. It would be a real shame to end it like this, actually. Not because Asuka isn't talented enough for that, but because the story just isn't there. Pick: Bianca Belair
Sean Rueter: The best argument I can come up with in favor of an Asuka win would be that it could trigger an EST heel turn, but despite the rumors I have a hard time seeing WWE pulling the trigger on that any time soon. Pick: Bianca Belair
Kyle Decker: I think Bianca's championship run has gotten stale and we're at the point she needs to lose it or turn heel. And I think a Night of Champions card where no championship changes hands (as I'm predicting), is kind of lame. But there doesn't feel like there's enough juice (or mist) to this story to go with the change here. Pick: Bianca Belair
Claire Elizabeth: If Asuka couldn't win at WrestleMania as the murder clown, she ain't winning here. Pick: Bianca Belair
Cain A. Knight: Is Bianca Belair putting the title on the line against Charlotte Flair yet? No? That must mean she retains the gold again. Pick: Bianca Belair
Marcus Benjamin: Asuka didn't do it before and she's not doing it now. Oh, Claire basically said that. Oh well, I'm not changing. Pick: Bianca Belair
Geno Mrosko: I mean, come on. Pick: Rhea Ripley
Sean Rueter: I like Ali's odds better, Nat. Pick: Rhea Ripley
Kyle Decker: Sean has me thinking if Ali actually has a better chance against Gunther than Nattie has against Rhea. And I think he's right. But we'd be talking 0.2% chance over 0.1% chance. Pick: Rhea Ripley
Claire Elizabeth: Listen, cats make great nurses, it'll be fine. Pick: Rhea Ripley
Cain A. Knight: In some ways, Natalya is like Dolph Ziggler. She's been around for a very long time and is occasionally pseudo-pushed, but will never win matches like this one. Pick: Rhea Ripley
Marcus Benjamin: The way WWE slapped this thing together bothers me. And if not for a Twitter promo and a casual mention on Raw, would anyone remember this is a thing? That all spells doom for the challenger. Pick: Rhea Ripley
That's how we see the card playing out.
You?