Who Will Become King of the Ring at Night of Champions 2026?
The 2026 King of the Ring Tournament began with 16 superstars searching for the opportunity to win the prestigious crown and earn a world title opportunity in the future. The field has shrunken down to the final two competitors: ‘The Ruler’ Oba Femi and ‘Main Event’ Jey Uso. Both men will meet for the first time ever at Night of Champions 2026, where the winner will become the 25th King of the Ring. Although both men will try to stay focused on each other to win the tournament, outside interference will no doubt play a huge role in the outcome of this match. Which of these two men should walk out of Night of Champions as the 2026 King of the Ring?
On one side, we have ‘The Ruler’. Since arriving on the main roster, Femi has been nothing short of dominant, finishing his opponents off with ease and without even breaking a sweat. His insane speed and unmatched power have made him one of the most feared men on the roster. The former two-time NXT Champion has shown no fear whatsoever, and he proved it by stepping up to Brock Lesnar and challenging him to a match at WrestleMania 42. ‘The Ruler’ displayed his power and conquered ‘The Beast’, sending Lesnar into a somewhat early retirement. The 10-time World Champion would return to attack Femi and challenge him to a second match, and at Clash in Italy 2026, it took Lesnar seven F5s to defeat Femi. Despite suffering his first loss on the main roster, the former two-time NXT Champion was determined to continue wreaking havoc on Raw, and competing in the King of the Ring Tournament was the perfect way for him to do so.
In the first round of the tournament, Femi was victorious over Penta, Solo Sikoa, and Carmelo Hayes to advance into the next round. In the semifinal match, ‘The Ruler’ had to overcome all of Judgment Day in order to defeat ‘Dirty’ Dominik Mysterio and advance to the final. The former two-time NXT Champion has all the makings of a King of the Ring winner, but a dark shadow looms behind him, as Lesnar will no doubt respond to Femi after being challenged to face him on multiple occasions. The 10-time World Champion could play a role in costing the former two-time NXT Champion the match, forcing ‘The Ruler’ to go after him at SummerSlam. Lesnar could also wait until Femi possibly wins the match and attack him, accepting the match while also putting the former two-time NXT Champion world title opportunity on the line, forcing ‘The Ruler’ to possibly main event both nights of SummerSlam 2026. With Uso being his challenger in the final, there is no doubt that the Bloodline will also try to get themselves involved in the match in order to guarantee that the former World Heavyweight Champion wins and goes after the Undisputed WWE Championship. Whatever the case may be, Femi will have a lot on his plate at Night of Champions 2026.
On the other side, we have ‘Main Event’ Uso. He might not be having the 2026 he thought he would get, but he is still constantly talked about by the WWE Universe, whether it's good or bad. Although he lost the opening bout at WrestleMania 42 in a six-man tag team match, Uso has still found a way to continue being in the main event picture. The former World Heavyweight Champion, realigned with his brother Jimmy Uso, reunited with the ‘OTC’ Roman Reigns to reform the Bloodline. This decision was met with heavy criticism due to all the hard work being put into having Jey be separated from everything Bloodline-related, being seemingly swept under the rug. ‘Main Event Jey’ continues to run his mouth, but it feels less validated due to him hiding behind the Bloodline once again. Despite being heavily criticized and not being backed by many in the WWE Universe, Uso has transformed the hate into fuel to get himself far into the tournament.
‘Main Event Jey’ walked away victorious in the first round of the tournament, defeating LA Knight, Royce Keys, and Finn Bálor in order to take one step closer to the King of the Ring crown. In the semifinal, the former World Heavyweight Champion defeated a rising star in Je’Von Evans to earn his spot in the King of the Ring Tournament Final. Although Femi is the clear favorite to win this tournament and the more likable character among the two, Uso isn’t one to back down from a fight, as he might run his mouth a lot, but he backs it up in the ring and pulls out the victory when everyone least expects it. Jey will definitely have the Bloodline in his corner, who will do whatever it takes to bring the crown to the Bloodline. However, ‘Main Event Jey’ has made a lot of enemies since making his way back into the Bloodline, and one of those men is ‘The Megastar’. Knight has been very vocal about the Bloodline for years and has even threatened to take care of them if necessary. If Knight decides to fulfill his promise, then he will try to get involved in the match and attempt to put a stop to Uso. The downfall of Uso in this tournament might be due to his own actions.
Everyone will have their eyes set on this match, whether it be allies or enemies, waiting to make their move. Although Jey is the more experienced competitor in this match, WWE knows that having Femi win this match further pushes his stock in the company. Femi has become a crowd favorite very early, and this tournament is the perfect trampoline for ‘The Ruler’ to make his way into the main event scene. No other superstar has made quite as large an impact as the former two-time NXT Champion has made since arriving from NXT. There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that Femi should defeat Uso and win the 2026 King of the Ring Tournament.
