Predicting What's Next For Cody Rhodes, Gunther, Bron Breakker, More WWE Night of Champions Losers

WWE Night of Champions 2026 said just as much about where certain stars are headed as it did where others are not.

Oba Femi and Iyo Sky winning the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments respectively guarantees them world championship shots at SummerSlam. More amazingly, Sami Zayn has finally won the Undisputed WWE Championship in an absolute shocker.

All three of them should be prominently featured come SummerSlam on August 1-2, but what will come of those they defeated in Saudi Arabia on Saturday?

SummerSlam is widely recognized as one of WWE's tentpole premium live events, and as such, the card should be as star-studded as possible. That means notable names including CM Punk, Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar will be brought back for marquee matches, which means top talent that have been pushed in their absence might be left off the lineup entirely.

Let's look ahead and attempt to predict what the future holds for Cody Rhodes, Gunther and every loser from Night of Champions.

Cody Rhodes

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Cody Rhodes' reign as undisputed WWE champion had run its course, despite not lasting more than a few months.

There's still juice left in The American Nightmare as a babyface, but his booking has left a lot to be desired for the last year. The subpar storylines he's been put in haven't helped, either.

Night of Champions was the right time for WWE to pull the trigger on Sami Zayn finally becoming champion, but it seemed unlikely it would take the title off of Rhodes so close to SummerSlam. Thankfully, the company did, but that doesn't mean he won't be getting the belt back before or at the event itself.

WWE still has Saturday Night's Main Event coming up on July 18 and that could be where Rhodes regains the gold, or at least get his rightful rematch. With SummerSlam a mere five weeks away, the feud between Rhodes and Zayn is bound to continue, culminating in a major singles match at the August extravaganza.

That's presumably where he's headed, though WWE taking him out of the title picture completely for the foreseeable future and having him resume his rivalry with the returning Randy Orton would be the better option.

Either way, save the heavily speculated clash with CM Punk for WrestleMania 43 at the earliest.

Liv Morgan

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As women's world champion, Liv Morgan had no business being in the Queen of the Ring tournament in the first place. That didn't mean she didn't have a chance of winning the whole thing and advancing to SummerSlam to fight Rhea Ripley for the WWE Women's Championship, though.

Danhausen cursing her before her bout at Night of Champions instantly spoiled the ending of her high-stakes encounter with Iyo Sky. The Genius of the Sky needed the win way more than Morgan, so at least WWE got that part right.

Sky didn't waste any time getting on the mic afterward and declaring that she chooses to challenge Morgan for the Women's World Championship at SummerSlam.

From a storyline standpoint, it makes sense because they were already feuding going into the weekend and Sky now knows she's capable of beating Morgan. But from a booking standpoint, there isn't anything exciting about them running it back.

Worse yet, the pseudo-pop star hasn't defended her coveted title since winning it at WrestleMania 42, so unless ex-champ Stephanie Vaquer returns and gets an opportunity at the title (which she won't win) between now and SummerSlam, it looks like Morgan will go nearly four months without defending the belt she holds and that's a problem.

Gunther

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Gunther's gradual fall from grace in the first half of 2026 has been bewildering, to say the least.

The two-time world heavyweight champion went from retiring the illustrious likes of Goldberg, John Cena and AJ Styles to nearly not having a match at WrestleMania 42, not having anything of note to do in the immediate aftermath of 'Mania to then failing to capture the Undisputed WWE Championship on three separate occasions.

Sami Zayn rightfully got his moment at Night of Champions and Cody Rhodes will be fine, but Gunther feels like the odd man out going into SummerSlam.

Granted, it's a slightly encouraging sign he wasn't pinned yet again at Night of Champions, but it's not as if there's anything super significant lined up for him going forward based on what we've seen as of late.

The only match WWE remotely teased for him on the Night of Champions post-show was with SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis, an incredibly accomplished competitor WWE has yet to let wrestle for some reason.

Otherwise, The Ring General might have to disappear again for a few months via a storyline suspension in order to feel fresh again when he returns.

Any momentum he had from the beginning of the year is all but gone, so if he is going to stick around, WWE's best bet would be to have him rekindle his rivalry with longtime foe Ilja Dragunov so they can make some magic in the ring again.

Ricky Saints

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Ricky Saints debuted on WWE's main roster as a member of the SmackDown brand shortly following WrestleMania 42 and quickly inserted himself into the United States Championship conversation.

After trading wins with Carmelo Hayes, he earned an opportunity at Trick Williams' star-spangled prize at Night of Champions and had an impressive outing before falling short. Post-match, Williams' hype man Lil Yachty laid out Saints as retaliation for Saints striking Yachty on SmackDown the night prior.

In other words, nothing was done to indicate that his chase for the championship will continue.

Saints will remain in the hunt for a little longer, if only so WWE can do the previously-teased Triple Threat for the title between him, Williams and Hayes. From there, he'll be moved into another midcard program on the show, with Finn Bálor being a prime candidate.

Bálor hasn't really been able to get going since starting with SmackDown earlier in the month, so working with Saints would allow him to rack up some victories and start building momentum again.

Being utilized as a stepping stone might be the spot for Saints for now, unfortunately.

Jey Uso

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All signs pointed to Jey Uso emerging from Night of Champions as the 2026 King of the Ring, but Oba Femi scoring the quick and decisive victory and punching his ticket to SummerSlam made much more sense.

Although Uso has played a pivotal role in The Bloodline's resurgence on Raw since before WrestleMania 42, he wouldn't have been a compelling challenger for either of the top titles at SummerSlam had he won King of the Ring.

It isn't ideal for him to be portraying a lackey for Roman Reigns again a la 2021, but he also shouldn't be competing for world championships currently, either. The tag team division is depleted, so that doesn't leave him with many options in the interim other than to tease more tension within The Bloodline, specifically with Jacob Fatu.

It's a story that's been done to death, but WWE is clearly creatively bankrupt with The Bloodline and would rather rely on the group for its featured story on Raw on the road to SummerSlam.

Unless he's in line for a one-on-one outing with Fatu, then odds are Uso isn't making the cut for the event and will be more of a background player than he's been recently.

Jade Cargill

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It's been surreal to see Jade Cargill losing so frequently in the last few months considering how dominantly she had been booked for the first two years of her main roster run.

Cargill isn't any less of a star because of the setbacks she's suffered, however, as all of them have been designed to get her to where she needs to be, specifically a storyline with Charlotte Flair.

The two have been at odds for months, and at Night of Champions, they took their bad blood to the next level when Flair cost Cargill the Women's United States Championship against Tiffany Stratton.

The bout was largely forgettable, but the finish was crucial in setting up a Flair and Cargill collision for SummerSlam.

WWE is wise to make it a non-title affair, as a first-ever match of that magnitude doesn't need anything hanging in the balance. It'd also be another opportunity for Cargill to show off the strides she's made inside the squared circle against elite competition.

It will be refreshing to have a women's match serve as an attraction at SummerSlam in addition to the expected championship bouts.

Bron Breakker

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More concerning than just about anything else coming out of Night of Champions is what WWE intends to do with Bron Breakker following his latest loss to Seth Rollins, this time inside a steel cage.

It was an admirable performance from the two-time intercontinental champion, but it's difficult to not see how badly the company has butchered his once-hot momentum in appalling fashion since he severed ties with Rollins last October.

His injury and subsequent hiatus weren't WWE's fault, but nothing has been done to heat him back up in any significant way since he's been back on television. Rollins winning must mean he's next in line for the World Heavyweight Championship, while Breakker is left to flounder.

The only realistic route WWE can take is pairing him off with a main event player that he can beat at SummerSlam and start working his way up the ladder again.

CM Punk would be a fine choice seeing as how Breakker has yet to avenge that loss to The Best in the World from the first Raw of 2026, or getting The Vision involved with The Bloodline so he and Jacob Fatu could wage war at SummerSlam.

Where Breakker goes from here will determine whether WWE still considers him an imminent world champion or someone it's content cooling off as it focuses on fresher faces such as Oba Femi.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.