A look at the WWE landscape through “Jaws”
All with a focus on how Night of Champions impacts SummerSlam
The Week in Wrestling is published every week and provides beneath the surface coverage of the business of pro wrestling.
Contents for The Week in Wrestling:
A look at WWE through the lens of Jaws
An inside look at the past week in wrestling
King and Queen of the Ring sets up SummerSlam
Tweet of the Week
As summer begins, the similarities between WWE and Jaws surface from the deep
The more I think about Night of Champions, the more I think about Jaws.
Fifty years after its debut, the film still holds up. The timeless classic is a summertime staple, with capitalism and a great white shark making for extraordinary theater on the big screen.
There are even modern-day similarities with WWE. Just like the beach needed to be open for the Fourth of July despite a dangerous shark roaming the waters, WWE needs to stay true to their commitment to Saudi Arabia–despite a war breaking out in the Middle East.
As the movie Jaws celebrates its half-century anniversary, let’s go in a new direction with it–and compare it to what is unfolding in WWE.
“24 hours is like three weeks!”
Regardless of political affiliation, or whether you are for or against the United States’ involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict, the trip to the Middle East this weekend will be extremely stressful for everyone traveling from WWE. That will also be the case for their families, who just want their loved ones to return home safely.
For some background: U.S. President–and WWE Hall of Famer–Donald Trump announced a ceasefire on Monday that ended 12 days of deadly strikes between Israel and Iran. But both Israel and Iran violated the ceasefire within hours of it taking effect, causing Trump to express his frustration before leaving for the NATO summit in the Netherlands, stating, “We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the fuck they’re doing.”
No, Saudi Arabia is not Iran. But the Middle East is currently in turmoil. Given what it is happening, there would be overwhelming approval if this trip to Saudi for Night of Champions was postponed. Unfortunately, this is not likely to happen–which will mean a stressful weekend for those involved.
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“There’s too many captains on this island. Ten thousand dollars for me, by myself.”
A memorable line uttered by Quint reminds me a whole lot of CM Punk.
Punk came back to WWE in November of 2023 under remarkable scrutiny. The ending to his controversial run in AEW was an abject mess, with the company opting to part ways with an extremely popular draw in Punk.
But then Punk returned to WWE, where he has been nothing short of sensational. Even after suffering an injury at the Royal Rumble in 2024, he still put together a brilliant feud with Drew McIntyre–which ended in a breathtakingly violent Hell in a Cell match last October. He brought out the best of Seth Rollins, did the same for Roman Reigns, reunited (briefly) with Paul Heyman, and now has made John Cena entertaining as a heel. Cena’s heel turn was damaged the moment The Rock stepped away from the story, but Punk has continued his run of turning everything he touches into gold by making Cena the most compelling heel in WWE.
While Punk’s trip to Saudi is controversial after he previously criticized WWE’s involvement with the country, it may serve as a precursor to next year’s Royal Rumble, which will also be held there. While Punk doesn’t appear destined to defeat Cena on Saturday, or win the belt this year, he immediately stands out as a favorite to win the Rumble in 2026–and then finally get his WrestleMania main event1 in Vegas.
One more note: just like the serious Quint comes alive once the boat hits the water, Punk becomes a spectacular entertainer the moment he steps in the ring.
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“I can do anything. I'm the chief of police.”
A turning point in the film occurs when Martin Brody realizes he needs to play by his own rules in order to defeat the shark.
That’s the same epiphany that struck Cody Rhodes in 2016. In order to become a star, he left WWE, created a list of wrestlers he wanted to face, joined Bullet Club, and went on an all-time hot streak. Rhodes played a pivotal role in the creation of All Elite Wrestling, then returned to WWE, where he has headlined the last three main events at WrestleMania.
By this point, there should be no doubting Rhodes. He has a massive match on Saturday against Randy Orton in the finals of the King of the Ring tournament, and it will be worth watching every move to see how Rhodes regains the WWE championship.
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“You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
Stop me if you’ve heard this before–the Cena/Punk main event should be on a stage grander than Night of Champions.
In only a short amount of time, there has been an exceptional build to this match. But it hasn’t been given the time it needs. Only eight days after Cena hit Punk with a pipe bomb, which was a scene from 2011 recreated in modern form, we’ll already have the match.
Hopefully this isn’t it for Cena and Punk. They deserve more time together, and they’re putting together the best feud in all of wrestling.
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“Smile, you son of a…”
Somewhat quietly, there is also a very important match at Night of Champions. It isn’t a title bout–or the King or Queen of the Ring finals. It’s the singles match pitting Karrion Kross against Sami Zayn, which marks the first singles match for Kross on a WWE premium live event since 2022.
It has been a while since we’ve seen Kross wrestle. His only singles match on Raw this year took place in April. Kross can cut a promo, but if he wants to climb the next tier of stardom, he also needs to showcase his work in the ring.
If Kross is going to be a factor in WWE, then he needs these types of big matches. Now that he finally has one, he needs to capitalize. Zayn is known for delivering excellence in the ring, so Kross is certainly wrestling the right opponent. Even if Kross loses, this is still his chance to show why he belongs in the upper echelon of WWE performers.
In Jaws, Brody was running out of time and needed to make the most of his opportunity. We’ll see if Kross can do the same.
This past week…
Fourteen years after being the recipient, John Cena finally delivered a pipe bomb of his own to CM Punk.
Seth Rollins’ new faction is missing that one last ingredient. And yes, it is the presence of Sami Zayn, who would add a completely different element to the group.
Becky Lynch and Bayley should be wrestling for the world title, not the IC belt, but it’s always entertaining when the two lock up.
Jade Cargill is on the cusp of her biggest accomplishment in wrestling–winning Queen of the Ring. And she has the right opponent, as Asuka is one of the best in the world.
Mercedes Moné added even more gold to her collection, winning the CMLL title last week on the “Grand Slam” edition on Dynamite. I cannot envision a scenario where Moné does not defeat AEW women’s champion Toni Storm at All In.
Kota Ibushi is back in AEW, and he’s returned to protect Kenny Omega.
Sabu is being honored tonight, fittingly, at the old ECW Arena.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling announced their newest signing: former Olympic gold medalist Aaron Wolf. He’ll debut in the Tokyo Dome this January at Wrestle Kingdom.
I cannot get enough of the WWE Vault.
Cody Rhodes is destined to become King of the Ring, but what about SummerSlam?
Yes, I believe Cody Rhodes is going to defeat Randy Orton at Night of Champions and crown himself King of the Ring.
That would set Rhodes up for a rematch against John Cena at SummerSlam. It is a match befitting the main event of one of WWE’s signature shows, but it all feels too rushed.
That is a familiar feeling. Rhodes had his King of the Ring semi-final bout against Jey Uso on Raw, a one-off that deserved a whole program. Rhodes now wrestles Randy Orton at Night of Champions on Saturday in the finals of the King of the Ring tournament, and yes, you guessed it, we’re rushing through a highly anticipated Rhodes-Orton matchup. I understand that WWE creative cannot put months of storyline into every match, but it would have only benefited Rhodes and Orton had they been given at least an extra week to build toward this match.
The Night of Champions card is what we should be seeing at SummerSlam. That would mean a Cena-CM Punk main event, the Rhodes-Orton finale for King of the Ring, and a breakout moment for Jade Cargill in her quest to become Queen of the Ring. Instead, it is all coming together extremely quickly.
The King and Queen of the Ring winners receive a world title shot at SummerSlam. Cargill winning Queen of the Ring should allow her to win the title from Iyo Sky. The writing on the wall appears clear, as Naomi can then cash in her Money in the Bank contract and take the belt from Cargill. Predicting the King of the Ring2 has proven to be more complex.
The reason I thought WWE wouldn’t go with Rhodes is because it is difficult to have the same main event at WrestleMania and SummerSlam. We’re on pace for that if Rhodes wins King of the Ring, unless SummerSlam somehow turns into a multi-man match also featuring Punk and Orton.
If that is the case, could Rhodes save his title shot for later in the year? That would necessitate some creative storytelling from WWE, but it would allow Rhodes to have a shot at Cena later in the year–and with a proper build.
With the main event of SummerSlam hanging in the balance, we now wait to see how it all unfolds at Night of Champions.
Tweet of the Week
Welcome to the world of professional wrestling.
Night Two, not the opening night.
Sami Zayn was my pick.