WWE Night Of Champions 2025 Results As Hikuleo Debuts, Solo Sikoa Wins

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Blake Oestriecher is a columnist covering WWE, AEW and wrestling

In a United States Championship match pitting two former members of The Bloodline against one another, it was Fatu who appeared destined to stand tall

Until he didn’t. “The Samoan Werewolf” couldn’t overcome a trio of interferences, including the debut of former NJPW star Hikuleo, and lost the United States Championship, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Although WWE Night of Champions had previously been portrayed as a night where all WWE titles were def, Fatu’s US Championship was ironically one of just two championships def on the show

Perhaps more importantly, however, Fatu vs

Sikoa was the culmination of Fatu’s ascension from heel role player to fan favorite megastar

Then, Hikuleo showed up and ruined the party

First, Tonga Loa showed up after being out of action for more than half a year

Then, the debuting Hikuleo appeared in Riyadh with a major assist as he became the newest member of Sikoa’s version of The Bloodline

When combined with his US title victory over Knight at WrestleMania 41 in April, Fatu had racked up an impressive pay-per-view winning streak seemingly set the stage for a lengthy US Championship reign

MORE FOR YOU Instead, Fatu lost to Sikoa in a shocking upset thanks to the numbers game advantage for Sikoa’s crew

Among the key highlights of Fatu’s successful United States Championship defense were: Sikoa attacked Fatu as soon as the bell rang, giving him the early advantage

After being worn down for much of the early portion of the match, Fatu responded with a lightning quick comeback culminating with a Swanton Bomb off the top rope

As Fatu went for another top rope move, JC Mateo ran to the ring and distracted the referee

That allowed a returning Tonga Loa to interfere and nearly cost Fatu the match

Fatu avoided a Samoan spike, hit Sikoa with a Superkick and then jumped over the top rope to take out both Mateo and Loa

Fatu hit a pop-up Samoan Drop on Sikoa, took out Mateo and then hit Fatu with a top rope moonsault

Just when it looked Fatu was going to pin Sikoa, Hikuleo made his long awaited debut, hitting Fatu with a chokeslam onto the table and then rolling him back into the ring

That allowed Sikoa to hit Fatu with the Samoan Spike for the win and capture his first-ever singles championship

WWE is ly strapping the verbial rocket to Fatu, who has been positioned as arguably SmackDown’s fastest-rising stars, especially in the absence of stars McIntyre and Roman Reigns

With the blue brand boasting a relatively thin midcard, Fatu seemed destined to hold US title for an ext run after his victory at WWE Night of Champions

Fatu’s Night of Champions loss, however, was instead a way to keep him looking strong while also ensuring that Sikoa can regain his momentum as a midcard heel

Well, a lengthy United States Championship reign may have actually held him back

As noted, SmackDown is currently without Reigns and McIntyre, meaning that the blue brand is sorely lacking in the main event scene

Sikoa’s version of The Bloodline is ly a midcard faction, but the fact that it took four superstars to defeat Fatu shows just how much WWE wants to tect Fatu with its booking

Had Fatu lost cleanly, WWE fans would have a reason to be concerned his push

Yet, that didn’t happen, of course

Hikuleo’s debut, Loa’s return and Mateo’s interference were all necessary for Fatu to lost his WWE United States Championship after just two months

That, however, may be a blessing in disguise that allows Fatu to rise up the ranks on SmackDown even quicker than expected

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