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It was a weekend to celebrate Sami Zayn.
Zayn, after more than a decade on WWE’s main roster, finally won a world title when he pinned Cody Rhodes during his triple threat match with Gunther at Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia. Zayn didn’t need any pranks or distractions from outside. It stopped the “American nightmare” and caused a mass frenzy in Riyadh.
Zayn’s win now raises the question of what Rhodes will do from here.
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Busted Open noted that it had been a while since Rhodes lost without any distractions or interference.
It just underlines the reign Rhodes has had over WWE since returning to the company at WrestleMania 38.
It’s been a strange 10 months for Rhodes. He defeated John Cena last August to regain the WWE Undisputed Championship. He lost the title to Drew McInyre in January and then regained it almost two months later. He held the title during WrestleMania 42 when he defeated Randy Orton on Night 1. He took the liberty of booking the Night of Champions triple threat himself so as to leave no doubt as to who the best star in WWE is.
Sami Zayn fights Cody Rhodes during Night of Champions at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on June 27, 2026. (Rich Freeda/WWE)
Maybe a little shortsighted. Zayn is at the top of the mountain and Rhodes is stunned looking at one of the men who counted the most.
Zayn spoke to Pak Gazette Digital before winning the championship at Night of Champions. He said he believed the victory could be a “cultural moment.”
“I think it’s one of those things that would be hard to process. I really don’t know. I don’t know how the fans would react,” he said. “I hope you enjoy it, but you never know because my character right now is a little polarizing; I really don’t know. But I don’t know. I think there are a lot of cultural and historical meanings that would maybe affect me after the fact.
“From a sentimental standpoint, sure, I think it would be amazing. I think it would be a great cultural moment, actually. I don’t think about it a lot at the moment because we come to Saudi Arabia a lot. There’s been a lot of talk about the fact that I’m Arab or Muslim or whatever. But when I was a kid, that wasn’t the case. It wasn’t like this was a common thing or something you could ever dream of. I couldn’t have dreamed that. This would happen. So, yeah, I think it would be a big deal.”
As Zayn begins the cultural shift, Rhodes’ biggest fans will be looking at where he goes from here.
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Will Ospreay officially be a Death Rider?
Will Ospreay and Swerve Strickland will compete in a wrestling match at AEW Forbidden Door in San Jose, California on June 29, 2026. (Lee Sur/AEW)
Will Ospreay earned victory over Swerve Strickland in the Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament on Sunday night at Forbidden Door. He will get a title shot against the AEW World Champion at All In.
As the professional wrestling world celebrates Ospreay’s opportunity at All In, the looming shadow of The Death Riders grew substantially. Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Daniel Garcia, Pac, Yuta Wheeler and Marina Shafir were in Ospreay’s corner as he took down Strickland. They celebrated with him and Alex Windsor in the ring.
While it seemed like Ospreay was keeping the Horsemen of Death at arm’s length, a real alliance seemed to form. He used Moxley’s moves to beat Strickland. Moxley and Castagnoli hoisted it onto their shoulders. Those who were skeptical of Ospreay applauded him.
Ospreay and Windsor returned to the ramp as the Horsemen of Death exited through the crowd. What happens next will be really interesting. Will both parties be able to trust each other two months before All In?
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The reign of King Oba
Oba Femi fights Jey Uso during the Night of Champions at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on June 27, 2026. (Rich Freeda/WWE)
Oba Femi defeated Jey Uso to win the King of the Ring Tournament. He earned the opportunity to win a world title of his choice because he won.
Femi was defiant when interviewed in the ring after his victory.
“It feels so good to go from ‘The Ruler’ to being the king,” Femi said in his post-match promo. “Jey Uso didn’t understand what he was up against tonight. He thought he was just fighting a man. You may be able to beat a man, but you can’t beat fate and you can’t beat fate and most importantly, you can’t beat me.
“I am the ruler, the destroyer, the bringer of war, the mountain you cannot climb, the mountain you cannot conquer, the one of one, the slayer of beasts, the chosen one, the king of the ring, Oba Femi!”
The biggest question is how Femi will be signed in the future. He will likely turn his attention to Roman Reigns, the world heavyweight champion who has dominated the Raw roster. It would be the best way to do it for Femi.
But there is a beastly shadow looming behind him.
Femi’s rivalry with Brock Lesnar is not over yet. Lesnar did not interfere in Femi’s match against Uso. Professional wrestling fans are probably hoping that the final match will take place at SummerSlam. It would be an amazing ending if that were the case.
It would also raise the question of whether Femi will play two matches at SummerSlam. Can he take care of Lesnar and Reigns in one weekend? How about in a day? Femi has a rocket strapped to his back, that’s for sure.
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Jonathan Gresham talks about PRODUCING
Professional wrestling star Jonathan Gresham spoke to Pak Gazette Digital about his latest endeavor in the sport. Gresham and Abe will participate in a new wrestling series presented by Orange Crush. The event is called “PRODUCE Volume 1: El Pulpo”. It will take place at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, New York, at 8 pm ET.
He is also listed as a co-producer of the event.
“The only thing I think about is attention to detail and consistency over time,” Gresham told Pak Gazette Digital when asked what fans can expect from the event. “I think that’s something that’s missing in modern wrestling and it’s something that Adam and I talk about quite a bit.”
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Title changes at TNA Slammiversary
Nic Nemeth enters the ring during New Japan Pro-Wrestling at the Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center in Sapporo, Japan on February 23, 2024. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
In Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) several championships changed hands at Slammiversary. Nic Nemeth won the TNA World Championship, Xia Brookside won the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship, Rosemary and Allie captured the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship, and The Hardys captured the TNA World Tag Team Championship.
Additionally, there was an important announcement about the arrival of a new title to the list. TNA announced the formation of the Knockouts TV Championship, which would be defended exclusively on “Impact.”
TNA’s Slammiversary show was extremely strong given the talk around the company over the past week. The next big events could become must-see shows.
News and notes from the world of professional wrestling last week:
- WWE announced a double show on August 30. NXT Heatwave and Lucha Libre AAA will take place at the Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, Texas. Tickets go on sale to everyone on July 8.
- Uhaa Nation debuted at Slammiversary as part of Mustafa Ali’s open challenge for the TNA International Championship. However, Ali was able to hold his own against Nation and Rich Swann in a triple threat match.
- Kendal Gray became the new NXT Women’s Champion at The Great American Bash. Defeated Lola Vice to win the title.
- A new WWE ID champion was crowned. Max Abrams defeated Chazz “Starboy” Hall.
- Nikkita Lyons defeated Wendy Choo to become the new WWE Evolve Women’s Champion.
- Major League Wrestling announced during “MLW Fusion” that it was in the middle of a “contract dispute” with Bishop Dyer, one half of the tag team champions.
- The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) announced that it will stream “Powerrr” on Tubi.
- WWE star Nattie Neidhart will return to the National Wrestling Alliance for NWA 78 on July 25.
- Trevor Murdoch was thought to be retiring from professional wrestling after an illustrious career. But he deflected everyone and called the fans “idiots.” He made fun of everyone for thinking he would retire. He styled himself “King Trevor Murdoch I.”
