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WWE Night of Champions 2026 special UK start time for Saudi Arabia event
This weekend, WWE returns to Saudi Arabia for Night of Champions 2026.
As part of the wrestling giant’s ongoing 10-year partnership with the kingdom, the likes of Cody Rhodes, Oba Femi and Trick Williams are heading to Riyadh for a blockbuster event.
There had been some speculation from fans earlier in the year about whether or not the event would go ahead given the current state of the world, but WWE has pushed on with its plans.
It marks the 15th major WWE event in Saudi Arabia so far, following February’s Royal Rumble, while the first WrestleMania outside North America will be in Riyadh in April 2027.
This evening, the company has loaded the six-match card with three championship bouts, a Steel Cage grudge match, and both the King and Queen of the Ring tournament finals.
The Night of Champions card has massive implications for the future of WWE, with plenty at stake, so here’s everything you need to know.
When is WWE Night of Champions 2026?
WWE Night of Champions will stream tomorrow evening (Saturday, June 27), at 6pm for fans in the UK.
The special early start time means it’s a 1pm ET/10am PT kickoff for US fans.
How to watch Night of Champions on Netflix?
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You know the drill by now, but if not, it’s quite simple.
With the exception of Saturday Night’s Main Event, almost every single WWE event is available live or on demand via Netflix, and Night of Champions is no different.
It’s all part of your regular subscription, meaning it’s as easy as logging in, hitting play, and enjoying the action.
For most of the world outside the US, WWE on Netflix includes a wealth of WWE content, including live weekly episodes of Raw, NXT and
SmackDown, plus monthly PLEs and hundreds of historic events.
There’s also a behind-the-scenes series, with tell-all documentary WWE Unreal returning in July for season 3, featuring the likes of John Cena, Matt Cardona, CM Punk and Liv Morgan.
WWE Night of Champions 2026 full match card
- WWE Title: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. GUNTHER vs. Sami Zayn
- WWE Women’s United States Title: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Jade Cargill
- WWE United States Title: Trick Williams (c) vs. Ricky Saints
- King of the Ring Final: Jey Uso vs. Oba Femi
- Queen of the Ring Final: Iyo Sky vs. Liv Morgan
- Steel Cage Match: Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker
Will WrestleMania come to the UK?
Metro’s WWE expert Alistair McGeorge weighs in on the chances of WrestleMania in Europe.
WWE just wrapped up another UK tour, and with that comes fresh chatter about the prospect of WrestleMania heading our way.
There was plenty of conversation around the idea of a European Mania following 2022’s Clash At The Castle in Cardiff, 2023’s Money In The Bank in London, and 2024’s iconic Backlash event in Lyon, France.
Since then, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has voiced his support for bringing the massive event to the capital, although the money WWE typically expects for a show of this scale could be a stumbling block.
In Sheffield earlier this week, Cody Rhodes gave a passionate speech where he admitted he probably only has five years left as an active wrestler before he hangs up his boots, and he’s adamant the UK should get a WrestleMania before he heads off into the sunset.
The earliest it could happen is 2028, despite previous rumblings about Nashville being lined up as the show could return to the US after Saudi Arabia gets the first international Mania in 2027.
I’ve said it before, but mainland Europe – particularly crowds in Italy, Spain, France and Germany – have overtaken us Brits in terms of wild, passionate and creative crowds.
There are logistical issues in the UK when it comes to stadium availability and weather in April, but nothing can be ruled out. Let’s keep our fingers crossed, because Cody’s recent comments prove that it’s still on people’s minds inside WWE.
Why Jey Uso should not win King of the Ring
Metro’s WWE expert Alistair McGeorge breaks down the polarising match
Look, Jey Uso is undoubtedly a huge star for WWE.
I was at SmackDown in London earlier this week, yeet-ing along with the rest of The O2 (which will air tonight), and without giving too much away, he got a great reaction.
I’ll even admit there’s plenty of interesting matches if he wins King of the Ring, between a family feud with Roman Reigns, to all his history with the likes of GUNTHER, Sami Zayn and former tag partner Cody Rhodes.
I’m almost arguing against myself, as there’s an embarrassment of riches waiting if he gets the crowd and secures himself a world championship match at SummerSlam in August.
But… he’s no Oba Femi.
WWE needs to turn the future into the now, and back the likes of Oba, Trick Williams, Je’Von Evans, Kendall Grey and Sol Ruca to become megastars right now.
They’re doing a fine job, but the King of the Ring final is a toughie for WWE to juggle.
The path for Oba is clear either way. If he loses to Jey, it’ll likely be because Brock Lesnar costs him, setting up their rubber match at SummerSlam, where he can retire the Beast for good in his hometown.
However, just imagine if he wins, still retires Brock on night one, before beating Roman Reigns the next night to instantly become WWE’s next breakout megastar, bulletproof and ready made.
It would be the kind of star-making weekend WWE and wrestling is built on, so let’s see how it plays out.
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