Add as a preferred source on Google Night of Champions will return to Saudi Arabia this June, once again taking place at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh on June 27. Given the name of the event, there is a natural expectation that WWE will deliver something beyond standard title matches. The idea of a night of champions calls for coronations, course changes, and moments capable of shifting a wrestler’s standing within the company.
Throughout history, not every edition has lived up to that role. Some were simply transitional events, with predictable defenses and few meaningful changes. Others, however, served as a starting point for names who had not yet truly been tested while carrying a major championship.
For this list, the criteria is simple: wrestlers who left Night of Champions with a title they had not previously won in WWE or on the main roster. In some cases, the win marked the beginning of a major run. In others, it was the overdue confirmation of someone who had deserved that moment for a long time.
5 – Kofi Kingston – Intercontinental Championship (2008)
Kofi Kingston entered Night of Champions 2008 in an interesting spot. He was still being presented as a rising name, had just moved to RAW, and was set to face Chris Jericho, who was already one of the most complete wrestlers in the company at that point.
His Intercontinental Championship win came with some help from the chaos caused by Shawn Michaels, who showed up to attack Lance Cade, Jericho’s ally. Even so, the result served an important purpose: Kingston walked out with his first title in WWE.
What made the win even more interesting was how well it fit the moment. Kofi was not yet the name who would later lead KofiMania, but he was already showing charisma, athleticism, and an easy connection with the audience. Beating Jericho in his first major step on Raw was an effective way to present him as someone capable of doing more than quick midcard appearances.
The reign was not the greatest in the title’s history, but it opened the door to an extremely successful career. Kingston would go on to become a Tag Team Champion, United States Champion, world champion, and one of the most consistent names in modern WWE.
4 – Daniel Bryan – United States Championship (2010)
Daniel Bryan’s win at Night of Champions 2010 is one of those victories that may look small if judged only by the title involved, but carries more weight when viewed in context.
Bryan had gone through the original version of NXT, where he was positioned as The Miz’s rookie. The dynamic between the two was always built on distrust, provocation, and a clash of styles. Miz was the TV-ready character. Bryan was the technical wrestler many fans already knew from outside WWE, but he still needed to be validated within that system.
At Night of Champions, that validation happened. Bryan defeated The Miz and won the United States Championship, his first title in the company. More than that, he became the first name from that NXT generation to win a championship in WWE.
The win mattered because it showed Bryan could work within the company’s structure. He did not need to completely abandon what made him different. His technique, submissions, and intensity were exactly what made the victory feel earned.
Years later, Bryan would have much bigger moments, including his historic win at WrestleMania 30. Even so, his first real step in WWE happened there, in Chicago, against the same rival who represented the first major barrier of his WWE run.
3 – Kevin Owens – Intercontinental Championship (2015)
Kevin Owens arrived on WWE’s main roster with a different kind of aura. He had already defeated John Cena in his PLE debut while still NXT Champion, and he looked like someone ready to move up immediately. The problem was that, after the rivalry with Cena, WWE needed to turn that strong first impression into something concrete.
Night of Champions 2015 solved part of that. Owens defeated Ryback to win the Intercontinental Championship, his first WWE title as a main roster performer. The win was necessary because the Prizefighter character needed a tangible reward to back up everything he was saying.
Owens was not just someone who talked about money, titles, and opportunities. He needed to win for all of that to carry weight. The victory over Ryback did exactly that, putting a championship around his waist and showing that his main roster arrival would not be treated as a short-term experiment.
The Intercontinental Championship was also the right title for him at that point. Owens could have strong matches, talk well, antagonize the crowd, and elevate rivalries that may have gone unnoticed with other names. It was a logical choice by WWE at a time when the midcard needed wrestlers with stronger personalities.
2 – Charlotte Flair – Divas Championship (2015)
Charlotte Flair’s win over Nikki Bella, also at Night of Champions 2015, marked the real beginning of her run as a champion on the main roster.
Up to that point, Charlotte already had credibility because of what she had done in NXT. Getting to the main roster and establishing herself, however, was another matter. WWE’s women’s division was in a transitional phase, with the company trying to change how it presented its women’s wrestlers, even though many habits from the Divas era were still present.
Beating Nikki Bella carried weight for two reasons. First, Nikki was coming off a long and protected title reign. Second, Charlotte needed a strong win to move beyond being seen only as “Ric Flair’s daughter” or “one of the NXT call-ups” and start being treated as the centerpiece of the division.
Winning the Divas Championship was the first major step toward that. From there, Charlotte became a central figure on WWE programming, stacking up titles and high-profile rivalries over the following years.
Her later run has obviously sparked debate, mainly because of the number of title reigns she has had and the way WWE has consistently kept her at the top. Still, looking back at 2015, her Night of Champions win was the right call. The company needed a new female standard-bearer, and Charlotte was the clearest bet at that moment.
1 – Mark Henry – World Heavyweight Championship (2011)
Mark Henry’s win over Randy Orton at Night of Champions 2011 may be the strongest coronation on this list.
Henry had already been in WWE for 15 years. For a long time, he had been used in different ways, some good and others highly questionable. Despite his strength, physical presence, and athletic credibility, it took far too long for him to be presented in a way that matched all of that.
The Hall of Pain phase changed his career. Henry stopped being just the dangerous giant who showed up at certain points and started being treated as a real threat. WWE built his rise in a simple and effective way: he injured opponents, destroyed major names, and made it clear he was tired of being underestimated.
When he defeated Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship, the win felt like an old debt finally being paid. Orton was an established champion, one of the strongest names in the company, and someone who rarely seemed vulnerable. Henry beating him clean gave the moment the force it needed.
The title reign also worked because it did not feel like an artificial attempt to make up for the past. Henry was hot, his character made sense, and the audience bought into his dominance. It was the crowning of a veteran at the right time, against the right opponent, at the right event.
If Night of Champions truly needs to be remembered as a night of coronations, Mark Henry in 2011 is the best example. Few wins in the event’s history carried such a strong sense of sporting justice within WWE’s own narrative.