There was one more SmackDown ahead of WWE’s Night of Champions premium live event in Saudi Arabia, and while you might have expected WWE to save all of its surprises for tomorrow’s event, that was not at all the case. A number of storylines moved forward while big rivalries picked up a bit more steam, but WWE also shook things up with a surprise Title switch, and now we know who WWE’s newest addition to the Champions club is.
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One of the biggest matches on the card tonight was the battle for the WWE Women’s United States Championship, as Zelina Vega defended her Title against one of SmackDown’s newest additions, Giulia. Giulia has been making it clear in previous backstage segments that she was coming after Vega’s Championship, and while she did initially face Vega in a Triple Threat that also included Charlotte Flair, tonight was her shot to actually take the Championship.
Vega and Giulia traded cover attempts to start off the match, and then they hit kicks to the head at the same time, knocking each other back. Giulia hit a suplex on Vega, but Vega came right back with a knee to the head that knocked Giulia to the floor. Vega then went up top and hit a big moonsault on Giulia, and while she did damage Giulia by knocking her to the floor, Vega also seemed to hurt her knee after landing directly on it.
Vega was okay enough to keep going, but Giulia started to get on a roll after slamming Vega into the steel steps. Giulia connected with a stiff kick and a strike before getting thrown thanks to a hurricanrana from Vega, but Giulia caught the 619 attempt and then responded to a counter from Vega by hitting a neck breaker off the apron to the floor. Vega then went up to and hit a missile dropkick before going for a cover, but Vega kicked out at 2.
Giulia brought Vega down face-first on the mat and then slammed her head into the mat after a stretch, but Vega kicked out of the pin attempt and rolled to the floor. Vega countered Giulia and slammed her into the steel steps and then connected with a meteora into the same steps, but once again, Vega seemed to damage her own knee with the impact. Giulia got knocked down with two clotheslines from Vega and then got rocked by double knees in the corner, which Vega followed with a meterora from the top rope.
Vega went back up after Giulia kicked out of the cover attempt, but Giulia caught her and hit an avalanche suplex. Vega responded with a Code Red into a near fall, but Giulia was able to get her feet on the bottom rope to break up the cover. Vega then went for a moonsault, but Giulia dodged it and got clocked with the arrivederci and then hit with the Northern Lights Bomb, and that was the final straw, as Giulia covered Vega and became the new WWE Women’s United States Champion. WWE isn’t finished in Saudi Arabia, though, and you can find the full card for Night of Champions below.
Night of Champions
- Undisputed WWE Championship Match: John Cena (C) vs. CM Punk
- United States Championship Match: Jacob Fatu (C) vs. Solo Sikoa
- Queen of the Ring Finals: Asuka vs. Jade Cargill
- King of the Ring Finals: Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton
- Street Fight: Rhea Ripley vs Raquel Rodriguez
- Sami Zayn vs. Karrion Kross
Night of Champions will take place on Saturday, June 28th at 1 PM EST.
What did you think of the match, and do you think we’ll get a rematch at Evolution? Let us know what you want to see, and you can talk all things wrestling with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!
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