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The WWE is returning to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on May 27, to hold one of their twice yearly premium live events in the country. It’s all part of the Saudi Vision 2030 program. As they do each time, WWE is facing backlash for the event, but also bringing over a big card for the event.
Originally, this event was set to be the King and Queen of the Ring. But that was later changed to Night of Champions. A PLE name that WWE hasn’t used since 2015. And in that event, it was Seth Rollins vs Sting for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Which seems kind of fitting since Seth Rollins is going to be main eventing again, for the new World Heavyweight Championship.
Now, since this is taking place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the timing for this Premium Live Event is a bit different, for us in the US. It’ll be taking place during the day. So here’s everything you need to know about how to watch Night of Champions.
How To Watch WWE Night of Champions 2023
If you’re in the US, you’re going to need to subscribe to Peacock to watch Night of Champions. Peacock costs just $5 per month, and brings in a load of other content to watch as well, from the NBCUniversal library. This is the third PPV that has been available on Peacock. Once you login to Peacock, you’ll see “WWE” in the top bar, click on that and you’ll see the PPV when it is live, as well as the rest of the WWE library.
You can sign up for Peacock here. It’s really worth signing up for, particularly if you are a Comcast or Cox customer, as you get Peacock for free.
Outside of the US, you’ll still need to use the WWE Network, which is around $9.99 everywhere else.
Main event preview
In the past, the WWE has marketed the Night of Champions event as the “only night of the year where every championship is defended”. That’s not how it’s being marketed this year, and there’s a couple of championships not being defended. Like Roman’s WWE and Universal titles, though he is competing for another title. And of course, Austin Theory’s US title. We also have two non-title bouts this time around.
The WWE is touting Night of Champions as having three main events. That’s the Undisputed Tag Team Championship match, the World Heavyweight Championship match and Brock vs Cody. Though, what should be main eventing is the new World Heavyweight Championship.
After WrestleMania at SoFi Stadium, and Roman Reigns retained his titles against Cody Rhodes, Triple H announced the draft. And then a week later, announced a new World Heavyweight Championship title. Basically saying that Roman Reigns was holding both titles hostage. After the draft, a tournament for the new title begun. With two triple-threat matches on each brand. Now, we’re down to the finals, which will see Seth Rollins vs AJ Styles in Jeddah.
This is a match that could become an instant classic. Both Rollins and Styles are crowd favorites, and have pretty similar wrestling styles. There are some implications for this match. Since the title is set to be on Raw, after Roman Reigns was drafted to Smackdown, whoever wins the title will be on Raw. That means that if AJ Styles wins, he’ll be traded to Raw. The big question is, what happens with the OC and Michin? Do they also head to Raw? If so, that could be a huge get for Raw.
Undisputed Tag Team Championship
The Undisputed Tag Team Championship match is one we didn’t really expect to see. You see, the champions consist of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Two competitors who have never competed on a Saudi show. For Sami Zayn, it’s because of his Syrian heritage. But the WWE has somehow mended fences so that he can compete.
And on the other hand, we didn’t expect them to be defending against the Tribal Chief Roman Reigns and the Enforcer Solo Sikoa. But that does make things interesting. Especially with the USOs trying to help our Reigns in recent weeks, and Reigns blowing a gasket. Many believe that the USOs will interfere and cost Reigns and Sikoa the match. Which is going to turn the Bloodline storyline into an all-new direction.
Brock vs Cody
After losing at Wrestlemania to Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes wanted a rematch. But the Wiseman, Paul Heyman made a stipulation that it was a tag team match, and it had to be someone that competed at Wrestlemania weekend and they wouldn’t be able to challenge Roman for a title match again, as long as he’s champion. And out pops Brock Lesnar, to the surprise of everyone.
Just before the match started, Lesnar destroyed Rhodes. Which led to a match in Puerto Rico at Backlash. After being busted open, Lesnar lost to Rhodes. That really pissed off Lesnar, as you might expect. And he’s been attacking Rhodes the past few weeks. Now the two will face each other at Night of Champions. Where Rhodes might actually have a broken arm.
WWE Night of Champions 2023 Match Card
Here’s the current match card for Night of Champions. This is subject to change with the press conference happening on Friday, as well as Friday Night Smackdown.
- Becky Lynch vs Trish Stratus
- Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair (c) vs Asuka
- Smackdown Women’s Championship: Rhea Ripley (c) vs Natalya
- Intercontinental Championship: Gunther (c) vs Mustafa Ali
- Undisputed Tag Team Championship: Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens (c) vs Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa
- Brock Lesnar vs Cody Rhodes
- World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins vs AJ Styles
What time does Night of Champions start?
As mentioned before, Night of Champions has an earlier start time, due to it taking place in Saudi Arabia. It’ll start at 1PM ET on May 27, streaming live on Peacock. As usual, there will also be a pre-show that will start at 12PM ET. The pre-show will be done in a studio in Stamford, CT, which is where the WWE is based. Typically for the Saudi events, they don’t do a live pre-show at the venue, like they do for other premium live events.
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