3 Mistakes WWE has already made ahead of Night of Champions 2025
The WWE Night of Champions will take place on June 28, 2025, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Triple H and his team have less than three weeks to build a good match card and the promos around it.
However, this week’s episode of RAW saw the Stamford-based promotion already committing three big mistakes ahead of the premium live event.
#3 WWE spoiled Asuka’s return
The WWE Universe has had its eyes peeled since the 2024 Backlash to see the return of Asuka. Fighting her last match at the event in Lyon, France, The Empress of Tomorrow lost the Women’s Tag Team Championship alongside Kairi Sane to Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill. The Japanese star was on an injury-related hiatus after the match and was nursing a knee injury.
This week on WWE RAW, a video package of Asuka was shown. This was followed by the revelation that the three-time Women’s World Champion will return to next week’s Monday Night Show and compete in the Queen of the Ring Tournament. This was a big mistake since it spoiled the 43-year-old’s return.
Several top stars made a comeback this year, including Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair, who had been missing from WWE for over two years. The pop they received, especially Lexi, was phenomenal, and the same could have happened with Asuka. However, the early reveal will now dampen its effect.
#2 Pitting CM Punk against John Cena
CM Punk interrupted John Cena’s in-ring segment on this week’s show. The Second City Saint reminded him of his opportunistic victory at the 2025 Elimination Chamber that helped him win the Undisputed Championship at WrestleMania 41. He also fired shots at the unbecoming of the character he had in his heyday.
Lastly, since the 17-time WWE World Champion was demanding competition, The Second City Saint challenged him for his title. The Never Seen Seventeen said that Punk would get his title shot at Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia, which is problematic for several reasons.
WWE has almost no time to build this feud, with just two more weeks of RAW left ahead of Night of Champions. This would mean that things would mostly be shouldered by the iconic rivalry already shared by John Cena and CM Punk.
The Straight Edge Superstar has also previously criticised the company’s 10-year deal with Saudi Arabia, labeling it ‘blood money’ back in 2019. Moreover, a match of this stature deserves a place at a bigger and later premium live event, such as SummerSlam, where it would receive the necessary hype and buildup.
#1 Not granting Cody Rhodes a title shot
Cody Rhodes returned at last month’s Saturday Night’s Main Event to save Jey Uso from Logan Paul and an interfering John Cena. This was his first appearance since his Undisputed Championship loss to The Franchise Player at WrestleMania 41. The American Nightmare also declared a tag team match between him and Jey Uso against Paul and Cena to be fought at Money in the Bank.
The match went on to become the main event of the Los Angeles premium live event and saw Cody Rhodes pinning John Cena for the win. Despite this, the former holder of the Undisputed Championship was denied a title shot, with CM Punk getting favored over him instead.
This could result in the fizzling out of Rhodes’ momentum and thwart the continuity of his feud with Cena. It would be interesting to see what lies ahead for these stars as Night of Champions approaches.
