Night of Champions 2023

Night of Champions 2023 was a pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event aired on pay-per-view worldwide and was available to stream through Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network internationally. It took place on May 27, 2023 at the Jeddah Super Dome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
==Production==
===Background===
On March 6, 2023, WWE announced that King and Queen of the Ring, featuring both the King of the Ring and Queen of the Ring tournaments, would take place on May 27 at the Jeddah Super Dome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. However, on April 13, WWE would scrap King and Queen of the Ring, altering the event to revive Night of Champions. 
===Storylines===
At WrestleMania Night 1 on April 1, Trish Stratus teamed up with WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Becky Lynch and Lita to defeat Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai and IYO SKY). On the April 10 episode of Raw, Stratus partnered with Lynch to defend the championship due to Lita being attacked backstage. Stratus and Lynch would be defeated after Stratus was pinned. After, Stratus would attack Lynch. The following week, Stratus revealed she had attacked Lita, claiming that she had helped make the women's division relevant and would not be a nostalgia act. On the May 8 episode of Raw, Lynch would return, attacking Stratus. The following week, Lynch would challenge Stratus to a match at Night of Champions, which was later made official. 
On the May 15 episode of Raw, Mustafa Ali won a battle royal, earning a match against Intercontinental Champion Gunther at Night of Champions. 
At WrestleMania Night 2 on April 2, Bianca Belair defeated Asuka to retain the Raw Women's Championship. As part of the 2023 WWE draft, both Belair and Asuka were drafted to SmackDown. On the May 12 episode of SmackDown, Asuka would confront Belair before spitting green mist on her. On May 18, it was announced that Belair would defend her Raw Women's Championship in a rematch with Asuka at Night of Champions. 
On the May 8 episode of Raw, SmackDown Women's Champion Rhea Ripley would defeat Dana Brooke. After, Ripley would continue to attack Brooke before Natalya made the save. The following week, Natalya would take issue with Ripley for attacking Brooke. Ripley would respond, declaring that if Natalya interrupted her again, she would end her career. The next week, Ripley promised to end Natalya's career and as a result, a match between the two was scheduled for Night of Champions.
On the April 3 episode of Raw, prior to a tag team match, Brock Lesnar would attack his scheduled partner Cody Rhodes, preventing the contest from taking place. At Backlash on May 6, Rhodes would defeat Lesnar in singles competition. On the May 8 episode of Raw, Rhodes took part in the World Heavyweight Championship Tournament, competing in the first round Triple Threat Match. However, Lesnar would interfere and attack Rhodes, costing him the match. Lesnar would then challenge Rhodes to a rematch at Night of Champions, which was later made official.
At WrestleMania Night 1 on April 1, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn won the Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Championships from The Usos (Jey and Jimmy Uso). On the April 28 episode of SmackDown, Owens and Zayn defeated The Usos in a rematch for the championships. At Backlash on May 6, Owens and Zayn teamed up with Matt Riddle in a loss to The Usos and their Bloodline stablemate Solo Sikoa, who won the match. However, during the bout, there would be uncertainty between Sikoa and The Usos. On the May 12 episode of SmackDown, leader of The Bloodline Roman Reigns would praise Sikoa before criticising The Usos for failing to win back the tag team championships. Paul Heyman, the manager of The Bloodline, then announced that he had acquired another tag team championship match for the faction. However, rather than The Usos, it would be Reigns and Sikoa who would challenge Owens and Zayn at Night of Champions.
On the April 24 episode of Raw, Triple H revealed a new World Heavyweight Championship for the brand that did not select Roman Reigns in the draft. Triple H further announced that a champion would be crowned at Night of Champions. In the draft, Reigns was drafted to SmackDown, making the title exclusive to Raw. The tournament, which featured wrestlers from both brands, took place on the May 8 episode of Raw and the May 12 episode of SmackDown. The first round for both brackets took place in the form of a Triple Threat match before a semifinal singles match later in the night. Seth Rollins would win the Raw bracket while AJ Styles won the SmackDown bracket, resulting in Rollins facing Styles in the tournament final at Night of Champions.
==Match Preview==
Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus 	Preview
Gunther vs. Mustafa Ali 	Preview
Bianca Belair vs. Asuka 	Preview
Rhea Ripley vs. Natalya 	Preview
Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar 	Preview
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. The Bloodline	Preview
Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles 	Preview
==Results==
;
;
*Seth Rollins defeated AJ Styles in the World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Final Match to win the World Heavyweight Championship (20:40)
*Trish Stratus defeated Becky Lynch (14:50)
*Gunther (c) defeated Mustafa Ali to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship (8:35)
*Asuka defeated Bianca Belair (c) to win the WWE Raw Women's Championship (15:00)
*Rhea Ripley (w/Dominik Mysterio) (c) defeated Natalya to retain the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship (1:10)
*Brock Lesnar defeated Cody Rhodes (9:40)
*Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn (c) defeated The Bloodline (Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa) (w/Paul Heyman) to retain the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship & WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship (26:25)
==Other on-screen talent==
;Commentators
*Michael Cole
*Corey Graves
;Interviewers
*Byron Saxton
;Ring announcer
*Mike Rome	
;Pre-show Panel
*Kayla Braxton
*Matt Camp
*Peter Rosenberg
;Referees
*Dan Engler
*Danilo Anfibio
*Daphne Lashaunn
*Eddie Orengo
*Jessika Carr
*Ryan Tran
==See also==
*List of WWE pay-per-view events
*WWE Event History
*Event gallery
*Night of Champions
==DVD release==
* [ Night of Champions 2023 on DVD]
==External links==
* Night of Champions 2023 Official Website
* Night of Champions 2023 Kickoff Show on WWE Network
* Night of Champions 2023 on WWE Network
* Night of Champions 2023 at CAGEMATCH.net
Category:Night of Champions
Category:World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view events
Category:2023 pay-per-view events
Category:Night of Champions 2023