After the dust has settled in Riyadh on WWE Night of Champions 2025, there are some clear changes ahead for the roster.
From new stars having made their arrival to others that seem poised to return imminently, the event kicked off several new stories on the road to SummerSlam.
Here are six changes to the WWE roster after Night of Champions 2025.
6. Return Of Roman Reigns
When there were plenty of shenanigans in the main event match between CM Punk and John Cena, even the Riyadh crowd attempted to summon the return of Roman Reigns.
With the appearance of Seth Rollins causing the Riyadh crowd to start chanting “OTC!”, it seems that Rollins will never escape Reigns.
Reportedly Reigns is set to be making his return to WWE action in the lead-up to SummerSlam, but his specific plans for the event have not been revealed.
While there are some scintillating options, certainly Triple H will have something intriguing up his sleeve for the Tribal Chief.
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5. Heel Cody Rhodes Rises
Immediately after winning King of the Ring, Cody Rhodes took a moment to thank Randy Orton as well as acknowledge that he had just been tasked with toppling two of WWE’s most beloved characters in his quest to get another shot at John Cena.
Subtly reminding fans that he is operating with a righteous overall intention – saving the Undisputed WWE Championship from being retired forever alongside John Cena – Rhodes had just gotten done displaying some interesting behavior during his tournament final match with Orton that teased a dark arc coming.
With a more intense pace in the match, Rhodes would specifically target Orton’s long injured back throughout the match. Also, while it was Orton who initially exposed a turnbuckle, it would end up actually being Rhodes who would ultimately use it to his advantage, driving Orton into the turnbuckle would then hitting Cross Rhodes to pick up the pinfall victory.
Randy Orton for his part after the match looked unimpressed by Rhodes, seemingly poised to be the perfect former villain to call out Cody’s apparent descent into the darkness.
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4. Trouble Between Seth Rollins & John Cena
Interestingly, WWE Night of Champions 2025 shined a light on a potential secret alliance between Seth Rollins and John Cena… while also watching it begin to crumble.
While Rollins’ curb stomp to CM Punk at Elimination Chamber paved the way for Cena’s win – and ultimately his victory at WrestleMania 41 in a way – his goals wouldn’t align with Cena’s at Night of Champions.
After Rollins called out a referee in an apparent attempt to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase to make the match between Cena and CM Punk a triple threat, Cena took out referee Charles Robinson and got in Rollins’ face.
The exchange would end in Rollins being incredibly torn about doing so before swinging the briefcase at Cena, only to be dropped by an Attitude Adjustment to the shock and horror of Paul Heyman. While the duo have mostly stayed out of one another’s way thus far, it seems that Cena and Rollins could be headed towards another run-in soon.
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3. Tala Tonga Debuts
Making a big impact during the United States Championship match between Jacob Fatu and Solo Sikoa – a brand new member of the Bloodline debuted.
While he was not referenced by name on the main Night of Champions broadcast, rather referenced as the half-brother of Tonga Loa and Tama Tonga, it was revealed in the post-show that former NJPW star Hikuleo had a brand new WWE name.
Tala Tonga had arrived in WWE and already made a serious impact, having cost Jacob Fatu the United States Championship and securing victory for Solo Sikoa.
Since it seems clear that there are more Bloodline battles as yet to occur, it certainly appears there will be more changes with the Bloodline in the near future…
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2. More Bloodline Returns
Not only did a new member of the Bloodline arrive – there was a return from one star that hadn’t been seen since WWE Survivor Series: WarGames in November.
Tonga Loa made a surprise return at WWE Night of Champions 2025 as the second interference in Solo Sikoa’s United States Championship victory over Jacob Fatu.
However, yet to be revealed is where Tama Tonga may align in the future of the Bloodline alliances since he too remains out of action due to injury.
Taking to social media after the match, Tama Tonga simply a gif of himself doing his signature shushing pose, so we’ll have to wait to see where he lands upon his return.
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1. New Women’s Tag Team Champions
Liv Morgan’s injury was confirmed at Night of Champions 2025 as well as the news that she has already undergone shoulder surgery and will be out of action for at least several months.
It was noted by Michael Cole and Wade Barrett on commentary that WWE GMs Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce were considering their options about the future of the titles with some sort of resolution hopefully to be revealed soon.
While there is recent precedent for injured members of the tag team to be swapped out with another wrestler – as was the case with Piper Niven joining Chelsea Green and Naomi joining Bianca Belair – the GMs could also elect to vacate the titles entirely.
While it remains to be seen exactly how the shift will be made, Liv Morgan is definitely unable to defend the WWE Women’s Tag Team Title and therefore at least she will have to lose the champion designation.
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