Jimmy Uso And The Winners, Losers

WWE Night of Champions 2023 was another banger of a Premium Live Event with a strong crowd in Saudi Arabia and more storyline developments involving the Bloodline.

WWE continues to flourish as the Bloodline crumbles, with the latest plot twist featuring the rise of self-proclaimed Tribal Chief Jimmy Uso. Night of Champions was a near-perfect show as WWE’s International Premium Live Events, a Nick Khan special, continue to literally pay off.

WWE’s last two PLE’s have been in two different continents, and Money in the Bank in London will mark a third. All three have been big money makers for WWE as SmackDown and Backlash sold out its Friday and Saturday shows in Coliseo de Puerto Rico. WWE reportedly received nearly $2 million to host Backlash in Puerto Rico, similar to WWE’s Saudi shows, which are estimated to make around $50 million per shot. Meanwhile, Money in the Bank in the O2 Arena is virtually sold out, moving over 17,000 tickets with just over 100 left.

Similar to AEW, WWE is on fire overseas. Unlike AEW, however, WWE continues to move tickets domestically as well, with SummerSlam in Detroit closing in on 40,000 tickets sold.

As WWE heats up Cody Rhodes and the Bloodline all over again, WWE will continue to fill up buildings around the world.

WWE Night Of Champions 2023 Winners

Jimmy Uso

Jimmy Uso was the big winner of WWE Night of Champions 2023. The Jimmy Uso character is finally getting an upgrade after his entertaining “Nobody’s Bitch” run in 2021, where he was the defiant Uso upon his return. As the Bloodline storyline peaked, Jimmy found himself in more of a pacifist role as Jey Uso teased leaving the Island of Relevancy. Now, the roles have reversed as Jey looks to keep the peace.

This time, however, Jimmy didn’t only tease leaving the Bloodline, he outright betrayed Roman Reigns with a super kick that cost Reigns and Solo the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championships. After months of gaslighting and abuse from Reigns, Jimmy Uso should have an interesting summer as the Bloodline projects to implode.

Sami Zayn

Saturday night marked the Syrian-born Sami Zayn’s first WWE PLE in Saudi Arabia, and he embraced the poignant moment by wearing a thobe during his entrance. Zayn then performed his own introduction in Arabic as the Saudi Arabian crowd soaked it in.

WWE’s relationship with Saudi Arabia will always be subject to scrutiny, but as more women compete on Saudi shows, and Saudi relations with Syria improve, WWE in Saudi Arabia has tap-danced out of the “cancel culture” category.

Brock Lesnar And Cody Rhodes

Even though Cody Rhodes suffered a rare loss, he was once again protected in defeat as the injured babyface fought a valiant fight and almost pulled off the upset. Rhodes used everything from his titanium cast to three Cross Rhodes finishers, but it wasn’t enough as Brock Lesnar was able to trap the top star in multiple Kimura Locks.

Similar to Steve Austin’s star-making moment at WrestleMania 13, Cody Rhodes was too proud to tap out and instead passed out from the pain. Lesnar and Rhodes are on a collision course for a rubber match, which is likely to put Rhodes in rarefied air as a full-time star with multiple wins over Lesnar.

Some fans make light of the Codyverse since Rhodes seems to exist on his own island of storylines. For Rhodes, this is a good problem to have because a lack of storytelling and follow-up is much of what’s causing AEW to crater right now. Cody Rhodes remains the best storyteller in wrestling, and as a result fans have eagerly joined him for every step of his compelling journey.

Asuka

Asuka picked up an upset victory over Bianca Belair, who once again received a heel reaction from a PLE crowd (more on that later). Asuka has returned as a newly minted heel, but as Asuka continues to evolve her character, fans seem to be more invested. Either that, or fans might be fatiguing of Belair’s linear path as a dominant world champion.

Belair remains one of WWE’s biggest stars, and she can be an excellent babyface role model for the rest of her career. Still, as more copycat crowds look to recreate the wild scene from Puerto Rico—where Belair was booed vociferously in favor of Iyo Sky—WWE may have a John Cena problem on its hands. Cena as a top babyface was defined by dueling chants of “let’s go Cena, Cena sucks!” Instead of turning him heel, however, WWE made it work. It’ll be interesting to see if WWE keeps Belair as a babyface, similar to Cena, or if they pull the trigger on what would be an all-time heel run from the former Raw Women’s champion.

Rhea Ripley

Rhea Ripley traveled halfway across the country to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for a 69-second victory over Natalya. Ripley’s mystique continues to grow as she has not lost a singles match since May of last year. It’s now on WWE to build her a roster of compelling challengers who can push this overpowered character, leading to more intriguing and competitive matches.

WWE Night Of Champions 2023 Losers

Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns’ power is beginning to wane as the Bloodline falls apart at the seams. WWE is telling a long-term story of the Bloodline falling, which could leave Reigns in a vulnerable position should he find himself in a WrestleMania rematch opposite Cody Rhodes as has been reported.

Jimmy Uso is the latest Bloodline member to stand up to Roman Reigns, delivering a pivotal superkick to the Reigns less than 24 hours after declaring himself the Tribal Chief. Jey Uso is likely to join his twin brother in defying Roman Reigns, and WWE has already made subtle teases of Solo Sikoa betraying Reigns as well.

If 2022-23 was the rise of the Bloodline, 2024 will be the fall.

Bianca Belair

Bianca Belair’s record-breaking WWE Raw Women’s Championship run ended at Night of Champions, and for the second consecutive PLE, fans were strongly behind her heel opponent.

WWE does not need to overreact and turn Belair heel just yet, if ever. As we saw with John Cena, a highly marketable babyface can receive polarizing reactions and still move merchandise as a face of the company. This era of WWE, however, is not predicated on the star as much as it is on the brand. WWE is making record profits, with more to come as TV rights negotiations commence, so WWE will not suffer financially by turning one of its biggest babyfaces heel. But with fans seemingly becoming restless with WWE’s lack of character development for Belair, it might be time to shake things up for the EST.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship

By night’s end, nobody was thinking about the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. A third-rate consolation prize, WWE solidified its new championship as a beta belt by slating its first world title match in the opener. The opening match can easily be argued as the second-most important match of the show, but by crowning the inaugural WWE world heavyweight champion in the beginning of the show, WWE defined the title down amid the skepticism that already surrounded it.

With Cody Rhodes, Brock Lesnar and the Bloodline far more interesting than a paper championship, it will be an upward climb for Seth Rollins to really make this belt mean something. Thankfully, Rollins and AJ Styles put on an awesome world title match. One that will hopefully build momentum for WWE’s third world championship.