Where Do We Go From Here?

Raquel Rodriguez did not defeat Rhea Ripley in a street fight, even with a little bit of help from aspiring Judgment Day member Roxanne Perez, and the loss makes it a bit difficult to predict where things go from here for the heels. There have been reports that with Liv Morgan out injured, as an alternative of Rodriguez relinquishing the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships, Perez can be stepping in to take Morgan’s place. And while Perez didn’t necessarily cost Rodriguez the match this afternoon, she didn’t exactly do much to assist apart from distract Ripley enough for “The Eradicator” to drop a submission on Rodriguez and go after her as an alternative.

Perez can have to proceed to prove herself to Rodriguez over the subsequent few weeks, or a minimum of explain herself on “WWE Raw” on Monday, but, with the tag titles sort of just hanging in limbo, WWE could decide to have Rodriguez just embrace Perez’s help, as she was pretty helpful on the “Raw” before Night of Champions, and move on from the singles loss. Last Monday, Rodriguez seemed pretty cozy with Perez after she helped send Ripley through a table, so it doesn’t seem likely that Rodriguez can be too upset, especially after Perez didn’t cost her the match in any way. She didn’t get in the best way of anything and really did try and help, so there should not be an excessive amount of Rodriguez must be upset with the previous NXT Women’s Champion about.

As for Ripley, she’s been talking about going after the Women’s World Championship held by IYO SKY for weeks. With Jade Cargill winning the Queen of the Ring tournament to get a shot at Tiffany Stratton’s WWE Women’s Championship at SummerSlam, it looks as if Ripley will determine the best way to someway win a shot at SKY at “The Biggest Party of the Summer.” Knowing WWE, there’ll likely be a tournament or multi-woman match or some sort to find out that throughout the coming weeks.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Night of Champions saw the self-proclaimed “Tribal Chief” earn his first gold on the most important roster on the expense of his former enforcer Jacob Fatu. But that wasn’t all he had occurring for the night, with one member in Tanga Loa returning to the fold and one other in Hikuleo finally debuting, ensuring the numbers game was firmly stacked against the person who dared to go away The Bloodline. 

It seems highly unlikely that this can be the top of things between Fatu and Sikoa, and the latter went further within the Night of Champions Post-Show to say that he would even welcome Fatu back if he apologized. But given the best way he lost the title and what he has said until this point, it also doesn’t seem likely that the “Samoan Werewolf” fulfills Sikoa’s criteria. Leading as much as Saturday, Fatu had found an unlikely ally in the form of Jimmy Uso with their shared blood and disdain for The Bloodline; whether or not they can construct from that common ground is yet to be seen however it seems like a provided that they may interact going forward. 

The unlucky truth is that beyond Uso or the three flanking Sikoa, Fatu goes to be tasked with competing against others who want the champion next, in addition to the eventual return of Tama Tonga. So the immediate future for him looks to be an uphill battle back up the mountain while the reign of Sikoa rolls forward, with “WWE SmackDown” next Friday prone to sow the seeds for that tale to grow.

Written by Max Everett

Saturday saw Jade Cargill overwhelm Asuka at Night of Champions to be crowned the brand new Queen of the Ring. Now with a studded crown and a date with WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton set for SummerSlam, it appears that evidently Cargill and Stratton’s journey forward can be straightforward. There are, nonetheless, so many opportunities for the story to alter between now and SummerSlam’s early August date. How will Cargill take to being a brand new queen with a shot set for Stratton’s title? Where does Asuka go after this loss? Should we proceed with caution as Naomi lurks across the corner as Ms. Money within the Bank? Just where will we go from here?

Whether Cargill will adopt a queenly persona following her Queen of the Ring win is anyone’s guess. Some may point to the best way she so confidently and excitedly crowned herself after her victory as an indication that she’s going to fully assimilate right into a monarchy-inspired figure, but I personally don’t see her taking the Queen of the Ring gimmick too seriously. Cargill is not an overexaggerated heel like Nia Jax and Zelina Vega, who could afford to sunk their teeth into the role of a female tyrant. I feel there can be a number of mentions of her queenly status (perhaps a match with Charlotte Flair to find out the true “Queen” of the ring?), but otherwise, I do not see Cargill taking the gimmick change too seriously.

What she should take seriously, nonetheless, is her upcoming match against Tiffany Stratton for the WWE Women’s Championship. There are two premium live events for the ladies between now and SummerSlam: Saturday Night’s Principal Event on July 12, and Evolution on July 13. You’ll be able to bet your bottom dollar that Stratton will defend her title at either one in all those events (unlikely to be each), and that Cargill will play a significant role in those matches as WWE heads to Latest Jersey’s Metlife Stadium for the most important party of the summer. Whether Cargill or Stratton will interact beforehand, nonetheless, is unclear. While Cargill herself is not overly concerned together with her former friend Naomi’s Money within the Bank contract, Naomi’s presence is undeniable — every time Cargill has that title in her grasps, I’d bet that Naomi won’t be too far behind.

Over on “WWE Raw,” the celebrities were aligned for a Damage CTRL reunion between Asuka and WWE Women’s World Champion IYO SKY, and for what its price, I can see them still taking that route for either Saturday Night’s Principal Event or Evolution. SKY appears to be keeping the title warm for someone, but just who that might be is currently unclear. Given their history together, I would not be surprised if Asuka a minimum of gives the champion a run for her money. It’ll be a fun match stuffed with countless possibilities.

WWE’s female champions have their plates full for the subsequent coming months. Between Cargill, Stratton, and Naomi on “WWE SmackDown” and Asuka and SKY on “Raw,” take no detours on this road to SummerSlam.

Written by Angeline Phu

Sami Zayn wasn’t prone to be defeated in Saudi Arabia, especially not by Karrion Kross, despite the fact that Kross has a large swell of support each online and in-person from fans, especially here in the US. With the loss, Kross seems to stay directionless, but WWE can decide to make this a jumping off point for him. His character, as an alternative of hiding within the shadows and appearing once in a while on “WWE Raw” to only talk crap to other stars backstage, can now be out for blood after losing a match he seemed so confident about.

Kross’ character can take the actual fact he’s been directionless and switch it into a very good thing. He’s just about got a blank slate to start out with. Getting his first match on a premium live event since WrestleMania 40 was a very good place to start out, win or lose. It was also the fan support that got him there, and fans aren’t prone to turn their backs on him after a match where Zayn was prone to win anyway. WWE can put some heat under Kross and switch him right into a madman out for vengeance, and the character almost just writes itself from there.

As for Zayn, his story the previous few months has been him talking to others backstage about how he knows he’s World Championship material and he’s still in search of his shot on the gold. With John Cena tied up with Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam, hopefully WWE will discover a approach to get Zayn into the World Heavyweight Championship picture after GUNTHER and Goldberg have their match at Saturday Night’s Principal Event. While it seems more likely it will be Zayn difficult GUNTHER, because the bout is supposed to be Goldberg’s retirement match, you never really know with the previous WCW Heavyweight Champion. There’s also Money within the Bank holder Seth Rollins waiting within the wings. 

Regardless of what, hopefully the perpetually over Zayn finds his approach to SummerSlam, irrespective of who’s champion on the time, be it Rollins, GUNTHER, or Goldberg. For the subsequent month, WWE can provide the star some more substantial wins and get him right on the right track to an enormous match at “The Biggest A part of the Summer.”

Written by Daisy Ruth

Cody Rhodes took one step closer to regaining the crown he lost at WrestleMania 40 by gaining one other crown because the 2025 King of the Ring, defeating Randy Orton within the opener of Night of Champions. 

It was a bout fought aggressively between the buddies, with each using their finishers to no avail and Orton torn about delivering the Punt Kick to place Rhodes away. He did eventually go for the move, however the moment of hesitation ensured that Rhodes could have the move scouted, and Orton would eventually resort to contorting the rule book in his pursuit of victory. He went for a chair, had that ripped from him by the referee before removing the highest turnbuckle pad off, only to then be driven into the exposed steel by Rhodes so he could win the match and the King of the Ring. Falling on his own sword, because the proverb would tell. 

In defeat, and despite Rhodes extending his respect to Orton as a mentor and a friend in his post-match speech, Orton stared back on the scene with a glance of rage and regret – a regret that he had put friendship over the World title shot. For a moment, he looked as if he would return to the ring, but eventually took his leave as Rhodes declared he can be facing either John Cena or CM Punk for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam. That surely indicates that Rhodes can be getting his WrestleMania rematch against Cena – who won within the most important event – on the August event, but leaves questions over what can occur between from time to time. Orton will certainly have something to say, or do, in regards to the loss and once more having to play second fiddle to the “American Nightmare,” and it would be interesting to see how he handles seeing him within the spot he’ll feel belongs to him.

Written by Max Everett

Saturday, John Cena defended his title against CM Punk within the most important event of WWE’s first Saudi Arabia-based event of the 12 months, and by the point the night led to Riyadh, five superstars other than Cena and Punk had arrived to take the show by storm. While some may say the most important event was overbooked nonsense, the quantity of individuals involved makes this most important event ending a goldmine for speculation and prospective booking. After Night of Champions’ chaotic most important event, the query is not where we go from here — it’s where cannot we go from here.

While Cena’s previous title defenses can have been givens — there was no way WWE was going to take the gold off of Cena’s retirement tour in its earliest stages — Cena is heading into his first premium live event where his title retention is up within the air. Cody Rhodes took home the King of the Ring title and its associated SummerSlam title shot privilege to open Night of Champions, and while Rhodes wasn’t present for the most important event’s whirlwind of Superstar appearances, his presence will turn into undeniable as the times count down towards SummerSlam’s early August dates. Cena shouldn’t be due for one more appearance until the July 18 episode of “WWE SmackDown,” which is the “SmackDown” after the upcoming July 12 edition of Saturday Night’s Principal Event, so there should not many opportunities to run Cena and Rhodes’ story before SummerSlam.

Now that he’s out of title contention until after SummerSlam on the very least, Punk may be on a collision course to feud with Rollins once more. Whether this rivalry will borrow inspiration from their previous feud is feasible, it’s more likely that, with “The Vision” by his side in Breakker and Reed, Punk and Rollins’ feud can be a numbers game. Perhaps with Paul Heyman now firmly on Rollins’ side, the unique “Paul Heyman guy” will try and sew discord inside The Vision’s top brass. After all, all of this has to also account for Rollins’ possession of the Money within the Bank briefcase, which could also be cashed in for either Cena’s WWE Championship or GUNTHER’s WWE World Heavyweight Championship at any time.

As for Penta and Zayn, they’re probably there to even the rating between The Vision and Punk. Penta and Zayn’s interference within the Night of Champions most important event might be establishing for a possible multi-person tag match at Saturday Night’s Principal Event or SummerSlam — they may possibly be constructing towards a WarGames team, but that November event feels too in the longer term to start planning for now. While Penta is a comparatively stable teammate, Zayn’s altercations with Karrion Kross impact the steadiness of Punk’s ragtag team, as Kross inspired Zayn to indicate more frustration and aggression during their very own Night of Champions match.

Six men are preparing for war on “WWE Raw” as Cena continues to chug along his retirement tour. There has never been a time to tune in WWE like right away.

Written by Angeline Phu