Sami Zayn Wins the WWE Championship at Night of Champions: Ten Years and a Miracle in Riyadh

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Sami Zayn is the Undisputed WWE Champion. He pinned Cody Rhodes in the main event of Night of Champions 2026 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh to capture the title for the first time in his career, in what WWE itself is calling one of the greatest moments in the company's history. The triple threat match with Zayn, Cody Rhodes and Gunther ran 18 minutes and 42 seconds and delivered something close to a masterpiece. The crowd, which had been waving their phones throughout, completely lost it when Zayn flipped his hips on a rollup and the referee counted three. The tearful Zayn held the title up and told the crowd he had been in WWE for ten years and they said he would never do it.

The match itself was built on extraordinary storytelling. Gunther neutralised Zayn early and turned his attention to the champion, battering Rhodes with chops and powerbombs. Rhodes fired back with a double Cody Cutter to both opponents before surviving a Blue Thunder Bomb from Zayn and a powerbomb through a table outside from Gunther. The Ring General locked a sleeper on Rhodes in the ring until Zayn arrived just in time to break it up and hit a Helluva Kick that got a near fall. As Cody set up Cross Rhodes, Zayn grabbed his arm, flipped him over and rolled him up for the win. Rhodes pulled the referee out of the ring at one point, a desperate heel moment from the champion that the crowd noted.

Elsewhere on the card Oba Femi beat Jey Uso to become 2026 King of the Ring, earning a world title match at SummerSlam. IYO SKY defeated Women's World Champion Liv Morgan to claim the Queen of the Ring crown, calling out Morgan for a rematch immediately. Seth Rollins beat Bron Breakker in a steel cage to complete their trilogy. Both Trick Williams and Tiffany Stratton retained their United States Championships.

Night of Champions results: Sami Zayn wins Undisputed WWE titlewww.espn.com