Night Of Champions 2025
Date: June 28, 2025
Location: Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We’re still in Saudi Arabia and this show is at least mostly about champions, though not all of the title matches will be taking place tonight. We have the King and Queen Of The Ring finals for the Summerslam title shots, plus a few other titles on the line. The big match though is John Cena vs. CM Punk, one last time, for the World Title. Let’s get to it.

The opening video, as narrated by sports reporter Tom Rinaladi, talks about what it means to be champion and for how some people, this is their last time.

King Of The Ring: Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes

They take their time to start, with barely any significant contact in the first two minutes. Orton grabs a headlock and doesn’t get very far so Rhodes comes back with a shot to the face. A bulldog connects for Rhodes so he goes up, where Orton cuts him off. The top rope superplex connects but Orton seems to have jarred his back. Rhodes sees a target and gets in a shot, followed by the Disaster Kick for two.

Orton comes back with his backbreaker but hurts his own back, giving Rhodes a breather. Rhodes bends the back around the post and cranks on a cravate into a chinlock. Orton fights up and tries the hanging DDT but Rhodes gets in a few shots to the back. The Cody Cutter gets two and a top rope version connects for the same. The hanging DDT connects but the RKO is countered into Cross Rhodes for two.

Rhodes takes his time and walks into the RKO for two and they’re both down. Orton is up first and tries the Punt, only to miss and allow Rhodes to grab a Figure Four. They roll over to the ropes for the break and it’s time for the BOO/YAY slugout. Rhodes tries another Cody Cutter, which is countered into the RKO for two more and they’re both down again. Orton goes to grab a chair, which is quickly taken away, so he takes off a turnbuckle pad instead. Rhodes sends him into the buckle and grabs a quick Cross Rhodes for the pin at 20:17.

Rating: B. Somewhat abrupt ending aside, this was a hard hitting and well put together match, with Orton’s back injury playing a fine story. Rhodes getting to control a lot of the match was a weird way to go but they made it work, with Orton going slightly heelish as he got more desperate. Good stuff here, with Rhodes going over as he should have.

We recap Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Rodriguez. They were friends when they first got here (as were every wrestlers ever) and even got matching tattoos. Then Rodriguez joined the Judgment Day and went after Ripley, turning it into an on and off again feud. They got in another fight this week and now Ripley wants a street fight.

Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Rodriguez

Street fight. They fight over a lockup to start and Rodriguez takes over with the power. Ripley fights back but misses a missile dropkick. Rodriguez hammers away and ties her in the ropes, meaning it’s time for some kendo stick shots. A chair is brought in as well but Ripley kicks it back into Rodriguez’s face.

They head outside and fight over a suplex on the announcers’ table, with Ripley being powerbombed through the table’s cover for a big crash. Rodriguez loads up a table in the corner and puts the steps on the apron, only for Ripley to send her into them. Ripley takes her belt off and starts whipping away, followed by a Razor’s Edge back inside. A running boot gives Ripley two and we hit the Prism Trap.

Cue Roxanne Perez from behind for the save but she immediately realizes she’s screwed up. The chase is on but Perez’s spinning DDT on the floor is blocked. Rodriguez uses the distraction to send Ripley into the post and then the steps on the apron. The corkscrew Vader Bomb gets two but the Tejana Bomb through the table is countered into an anklescissors (that was smooth). Rodriguez stops herself from going through the table though and drops Ripley again. Rodriguez puts the table on the top rope and they go up, with Ripley hitting a super Riptide for the win at 14:01.

Rating: B. Another solid match here, with Ripley getting a needed win. She’s still the most popular woman in the company but she has been needing some more focus in recent months. The ending was awesome here as Ripley got to show off her own power against a monster. I’m not sure what is next for Ripley, but she could be put into the title picture rather quickly if need be.

Sami Zayn vs. Karrion Kross

Scarlet is here with Kross. No recap here but Kross has been trying to get Zayn to turn to the dark side, with Zayn refusing and getting sick of Kross bugging him. They take turns backing each other into the corner to start and Kross gets in a few shots. Zayn fights out and clotheslines him to the floor, followed by the springboard flip back into the center.

Back in and Kross hits a Doomsday Saito before taking Zayn up top. Zayn gets tied in the Tree of Woe and stomped down but some right hands give him a breather. Some right hands in the corner and an ax handle rock Kross, who is right back with a Death Valley Driver. The Krosshammer is countered into the Blue Thunder Bomb for two but Kross is back with a German suplex.

Back up and Zayn manages a suplex into the corner, only for the Helluva Kick to be countered into the Krossjacket. That’s good for two arm drops until Zayn fights up and makes the rope. Kross demands Zayn admit he’s a liar and smacks him in the corner…but takes too long and gets Helluva Kicked for the pin at 13:32.

Rating: B-. This was a good Raw match, with Zayn getting the miracle ending for the win. Zayn feels like heis on the way towards his World Title push for the mega feel good moment so there was no way he could lose here. Kross can continue to be the devil’s advocate, though it would be nice to see him actually win for a change.

We recap Solo Sikoa challenging Jacob Fatu for the US Title. Sikoa wants to bring the family back together but Fatu won the US Title and hates the way Sikoa is treating him. Fatu is is ready to fight, with Sikoa wanting to get the title back to the family.

US Title: Solo Sikoa vs. Jacob Fatu

Fatu is defending and starts fast by hammering away, with Sikoa being knocked out to the floor. Sikoa gets knocked outside but blocks the suicide dive and starts talking trash back inside. The running Umaga Attack connects with Fatu in the corner and we hit the chinlock. That’s broken up so Sikoa snaps off a German suplex, with Fatu flipping over and popping back up. Fatu runs him over and hits the Swanton for two, which brings JC Mateo to the apron.

Cue the returning Tama Tonga for a hanging neckbreaker out of the corner but Fatu is up at two again. Fatu knocks them to the floor and beats up Mateo back inside, setting up the moonsault. Hold on though as the referee is with the other Samoans, allowing the debuting (and unnamed0 Hikuleo to pull Fatu outside and chokeslam him onto the announcers’ table. Back in and the Samoan Spike gives Sikoa the pin and the title at 12:03.

Rating: B-. This is the logical way to go, as you can’t have Sikoa lose every big match. At some point he had to win something and that’s what we got here, with Fatu having to deal with four people to take his title. Fatu can either move up to something bigger or mow down the team, possibly with Jimmy Uso by his side. Either way, he certainly doesn’t look bad losing here and it’s the win that Sikoa has been desperately needing.

We recap the Queen Of The Ring finals, which is just a look at the tournament.

Queen Of The Ring: Asuka vs. Jade Cargill

Asuka starts fast by going after the knee, which is wrapped around the ropes to put Cargill in early trouble. Some kicks to the chest have Cargill in more trouble and a kneebar has her screaming. Cargill manages to muscle her up into a German suplex but Asuka gets in another shot of her own. Asuka wins a strike off and hits a Codebreaker but gets caught with a sitout powerbomb for two.

With the strikes only working so well, Asuka switches to a cross armbreaker. That’s broken up as well and but Jaded is countered into the Asuka Lock. Cargill flips over for two but gets rocked with a kick to the head. The Empress Impact is loaded up but Cargill reverses it into Jaded for the pin (while falling backwards in the process) at 8:13.

Rating: C. Cargill continues to not be smooth in the ring and that was on display here. She just looks unsure of herself and like she is having to think through everything she does. That is something that can be fixed in time, but it makes for some rough regular matches on national broadcasts. WWE has decided she’s it though, whether it really works or not.

Post match Cargill talks about not doubting yourself and promises that a storm is coming at Summerslam.

We recap John Cena vs. CM Punk for the former’s World Title. They’ve feuded on and off for years with Punk being the yang to Cena’s yin. Now the roles are reversed for a change and we’re getting to see them do it one more time.

Smackdown World Title: CM Punk vs. John Cena

Cena is defending and they fight over a top wristlock to start as the fans are waving their phones for some reason. Cena’s headlock is broken up and he shoves Punk down as they’re firmly in first gear to start. Another headlock is broken up and Cena runs him over, only to have to escape an early GTS attempt. The AA is countered as well and Punk grabs a Russian legsweep into an armbar.

Punk grabs something like AJ Lee’s Black Widow but Cena is out with a kick to the head. Cena initiates the finishing sequence and lands the Shuffle. The AA is broken up again and Punk hits a leg lariat into a swinging neckbreaker. The rope rope elbow connects but the GTS is countered into the STF. That’s reversed into the Anaconda Vice, with Cena reversing into the AA for two more. Punk comes back with a DDT for two and grabs this own STF, sending Cena over to the ropes.

The GTS is countered into another AA for another two and they’re both down. Back up and Punk tries a high crossbody, which is reversed into a third AA for two more. With nothing else working, Cena tries the title but the fans tell him no, with Cena actually listening. That lets Punk hit the GTS for a fast two and they’re both down again. The referee gets bumped with a running shoulder so Punk hits another GTS…and here are Seth Rollins and company with the briefcase.

Punk takes them out but gets dropped and powerbombed onto the announcers’ table, only for Cena to cut off the referee from doing the cash in. Cue Penta to take his time getting to the ring as Cena is beaten down as well. Penta brawls with Bron Breakker and here is Sami Zayn to brawl off with most of them. Back in and Punk breaks up the Tsunami, allowing Cena to hit the AA on Reed.

They stare each other down and Punk offers a handshake for Cena helping him against Rollins and company. Cena hugs him and does the look, only for Punk to counter the low blow. Rollins is back in with the briefcase though and a stomp to Punk, allowing Cena to steal the pin and retain at 26:20.

Rating: B. I am out of ways to describe how sick I am of these cash in teases. So many matches are stopped for the sake of teasing the cash in which very well might not happen for months anyway. Cena vs. Punk is a match that can more than carry itself but here is the stupid briefcase stuff anyway. Other than that, it was a good match between two people with incredible chemistry and that’s what it should have been. Punk vs. Cena had to happen one more time and they did it on a big stage, though I could have gone for a bit less insanity in the end.

Cena immediately leaves and tells us to watch the post show to wrap it up.

Overall Rating: B. Rather good show overall with a bunch of stuff taking place throughout. The big thing here was setting up the Summerslam matches, with both title matches being set, plus an all but guaranteed Rollins vs. Punk showdown. That’s a pretty good night of work, and with five weeks to go before the show, they have a lot of the big work done. The only somewhat weak match was Cargill vs. Asuka and even that wasn’t too bad. Good show here, with the really big one coming in August.

Results
Cody Rhodes b. Randy Orton – Cross Rhodes
Rhea Ripley b. Raquel Rodriguez – Super Riptide
Sami Zayn b. Karrion Kross – Helluva Kick
Solo Sikoa b. Jacob Fatu – Samoan Spike
Jade Cargill b. Asuka – Jaded
John Cena b. CM Punk – Stomp from Seth Rollins

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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It’s time for the latest Saudi Arabian offering with something that could be considered a theme show but is really just more of a big pay per view. The main event is John Cena defending the Smackdown World Title against CM Punk for the final time, plus the King and Queen Of The Ring finals. That should be more than enough to deliver a big time show so let’s get to it.

Sami Zayn vs. Karrion Kross

This one has been brewing for a good while now, albeit without Kross actually wrestling. The idea is that Kross wants Zayn to go all evil to finally get what he wants but Zayn is having none of it. Zayn has finally had enough of Kross and decked him, setting up the match earlier this week. That’s more than a good enough setup, with Zayn being crazy over in Saudi Arabia as usual.

There is pretty much no reason for Zayn to lose here so we’ll take him for the feel good moment. Zayn is pretty clearly getting ready to go after his first World Title and he shouldn’t be losing to Kross on the way there. This is Zayn getting to beat someone who has been bothering him about not being what he wants to be and that is a story that can be relatable for everyone.

Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Rodriguez

This is the hoss fight on the show as it’s two women who can use the power stuff and on top of that it’s a street fight, allowing them to be even more violent. What matters here though is Ripley getting a win, as she has somehow gone fairly cold in the last few months. She’s still a huge star and probably the most over woman in the company, but she hasn’t really felt like focal point lately.

I’ll go with Ripley to win here, even if there is a good chance that Roxanne Perez will get involved on Rodriguez’s behalf. That very well may be the long term solution to the Women’s Tag Team Titles in Liv Morgan’s absence but for now, Ripley getting built back up is the more important idea. She’s been all over the place lately, even after being in the awesome Women’s Title match at Wrestlemania. Ripley should win here, mainly because she needs to.

US Title: Jacob Fatu(c) vs. Solo Sikoa

As much as it feels like Fatu should be running through Sikoa here, I can’t help but think Sikoa might need to steal the title here. At the end of the day, Fatu is already being treated as the unstoppable monster, but at some point he’s going to have to lose the title. On the other hand you have Sikoa, who needs a big win to feel even remotely important. Having him steal the title, likely with JC Mateo (or even Jimmy Uso’s) help isn’t a bad idea.

But will they go that way? I’m not sure I can picture it, even though it seems like it might be a smart play at the moment. I’ll reluctantly say Sikoa steals the title here, while calling it my pick most likely to be totally wrong. I could see it happening though, as I’m really not sure how many more losses Sikoa can handle in a big match. While I would be stunned if it actually happens, I’ll take Sikoa to win here.

Queen Of The Ring: Asuka vs. Jade Cargill

So Asuka is back and already wrecking people, which shouldn’t be a surprise as that is what she is known to do. That being said, there is a difference between normal people and Cargill, which could be quite the problem for Asuka’s comeback. Cargill feels like a different kind of star around here though and that’s going to the big issue here.

I’ll take Cargill, who feels all but destined to be the next big thing in WWE, whether she’s ready to do it or not. Cargill vs. Tiffany Stratton sounds like a huge match at Summerslam and it would not surprise me a bit it set up here. Asuka putting Cargill over would be a big moment for Cargill’s career and it isn’t like Asuka is going to lose any status after walking Cargill through a match like this.

King Of The Ring: Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes

Orton is back in the finals against another major star and in this case…yeah he’s probably in trouble again. At the end of the day, Orton is a top guy but Rhodes is still THE top guy. At some point Rhodes is going to get his hands on John Cena again and Summerslam sounds like a very strong possibility. That would mean another awesome match here, and that very well may be what we’re getting.

So yeah, I’ll go with Rhodes winning here, as it sets him back on track for the big rematch from Cena. The good thing is that this should be a heck of a match, as both guys are capable of delivering in the big moments. Rhodes makes more sense at the moment, as we’ve seen Orton vs. Cena earlier this year and it feels wrapped up. Cena vs. Rhodes doesn’t though and that is where we should be going next.

Smackdown World Title: John Cena(c) vs. CM Punk

This is rather similar to the Randy Orton match at Backlash, with Cena getting to face one of his greatest rivals (if not his greatest rival) one more time. Punk vs. Cena is something that had to be done again and the stealing the other’s signature promos was a nice way to make things feel interesting. Punk saying that Cena could never beat him at his best gives it some drama, but that’s where we get to the ending.

As nice as it would be to have Punk be the one to end Cena’s title reign, that isn’t what makes sense here. The point of Cena’s run is that the clock is ticking and that isn’t going to be solved with about six months to go before his final appearance. Odds are this ends with either some kind of interference or another belt shot, but Punk isn’t going to be the one to take the title from Cena.

Overall Thoughts

It really is amazing how much more complete the show feels by bumping it up to six matches. WWE has been needing to tighten their shows up a bit, with the ridiculously long gaps between the matches taking away a lot of their steam. They might not be able to do that with an additional match or two and I could go for the change. The card itself should be the usual quality work, but we’re really just setting the stage for Summerslam in August.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Night of Champions 2008
Date: June 29, 2008
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Attendance: 16,151
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Mike Adamle, Jim Ross, Joey Styles, Tazz, Mick Foley

We’re done with the Draft and this is the final show before we enter the new reality, starting with next week’s TV. Tonight has a pretty stacked card as the focus is on championships, including Edge defending the Smackdown World Title against Batista and John Cena challenging HHH for the Raw World Title. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about how important it is to be a champion, with people promising this will be their night. We get more specific looks at the bigger matches as well.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Miz/John Morrison vs. Hornswoggle/Finlay

Miz and Morrison are defending. Finlay and Morrison start things off with an elbow dropping Morrison for a fast two. Back up and Morrison sends him into the corner and out to the floor, where Morrison and Miz grab Hornswoggle. Back in and Hornswoggle wants to fight but Finlay comes in to do it for him so house can be cleaned. Stereo seated sentons hit the champs but Morrison kicks Finlay in the head to take over.

The slingshot elbow/backbreaker combination gets two on Finlay but he’s back with an atomic drop. Hornswoggle tags himself in to pick up the pace until Morrison cheap shots him down. A double clothesline cuts off Hornswoggle’s comeback attempt but Miz misses the charge in the corner. Hornswoggle kicks Morrison away and the hot tag brings Finlay back in. Everything breaks down and Finlay hits the Celtic Cross on Morrison, only to have Miz break up the Tadpole Splash. Morrison slams Hornswoggle off the top to retain.

Rating: C+. This could have been so much worse as Hornswoggle and Finlay worked well together as a team and at least it was a fresh set of opponents for Miz and Morrison. While there aren’t a lot of options for challengers, they have more or less cleaned out the division and it was time to find someone new to come after the belts. Finlay and Hornswoggle did well for a one off challenge and it was a pretty nice match as well.

We look at John Cena beating HHH in the main event of Wrestlemania XXII. They really are making the rematch feel like a huge deal and that’s great to see.

US Title: Chavo Guerrero vs. Matt Hardy

Chavo, with Bam Neely, is challenging. They fight over a lockup to start until Matt gets in a quick takedown. Chavo is right back with a headlock takeover, only to get backdropped to put him down again. With the grappling not working, Chavo starts in on the leg and wraps it around the ropes. Neely helps out by wrapping the leg around the post and Chavo cranks away back inside.

Matt avoids something off the middle rope though and hits a quick Side Effect. The middle rope elbow connects for two so Matt goes up again, only to get pulled into a half crab. That’s broken up but so is the Twist of Fate as Chavo gets the half crab again. Matt makes the ropes so Chavo tries the Three Amigos. That’s countered into the Twist of Fate to retain the title.

Rating: C. As you might have expected, these two worked a completely fine match against each other but it wasn’t the most thrilling. Chavo just isn’t someone who feels like he’s going to win that prestigious of a title, even if Matt is about to take it to ECW. Completely fine match, but nothing that stuck out in any meaningful way.

We look at the end of Million Dollar Mania.

ECW Title: Kane vs. Mark Henry vs. Big Show

Kane is defending and Henry was added after beating Kane on ECW. They start fast with Kane hammering away and avoiding a Henry splash in the corner. Henry is knocked outside, leaving Show and Kane to slug it out. Kane’s running DDT gets two but Show knocks him outside again. Show and Henry get their big showdown, with Henry’s running shoulder having almost no effect. A clothesline and slam put Henry down as trainers come out to check on Kane.

Show drops Henry again but it’s too early for a chokeslam. Instead they collide again for a double knockdown, allowing Kane to come back in. Alternating corner clotheslines set up a whip to send Henry into Show’s raised boot. The double chokeslam plants Henry but Show and Kane argue over who gets the cover. Kane hits an enziguri but Show knocks him out of the air for two. Something close to an Angle Slam gives Show two more so he goes up, only to get superplexed back down. Kane is down as well though and Henry hits a splash for the pin and the title.

Rating: C+. They went with the straight up monster mash formula here and as luck would have it, the people involved know exactly how to do that match. This was a perfectly entertaining match with Henry getting the win that he has deserved after the last few weeks of being a monster. Good stuff here with the right result.

Batista is ready to move to Raw with the Smackdown World Title. John Cena comes in to say he’s winning too, but here is CM Punk to say the Money In The Bank briefcase is getting heavy.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Cody Rhodes/Hardcore Holly vs. Ted DiBiase Jr./???

Rhodes and Holly are defending and DiBiase’s mystery partner is….not here yet, so maybe we can wait ten minutes. That won’t happen so we’ll start the match anyway. Cody starts for the team but DiBiase wants Holly….who gets dropped by Cody with a DDT. DiBiase announces Cody as his partner and gives Holly a cobra clutch legsweep for the pin and the titles. That’s certainly the twist and my goodness it’s better than Holly and Cody’s lame team.

JBL, in a luxury box, is upset that he’s not in a match on the show. Todd Grisham suggests it’s because he isn’t a champion so JBL goes into a speech about how he is successful while the American economy is crumbling. With Vince McMahon gone, he is the richest man in WWE (as we have back to back rich villain segments). He’s also more successful than Mark Cuban (Dallas Mavericks owner) because he doesn’t see any championship banners around here.

JBL mocks the Dallas Cowboys and praises HIS New York Giants, the Super Bowl champions. Everyone loves a champion, and that is why he is Texas’ favorite New Yorker. He’ll be getting a title soon enough. This was slow speaking JBL and that’s not exactly an inspiring change of pace.

Intercontinental Title: Chris Jericho vs. ???

Jericho is defending against a surprise opponent, which will NOT be Shawn Michaels. Since Michaels can’t make a thirty minute light, Jericho is here as an honest man to defend his title. Instead, he’s facing….Kofi Kingston, who came over to Raw in the Supplemental Draft. Lance Cade is here with Jericho, who drives Kingston into the face to start. A headlock takeover puts Kingston on the mat but he’s right back up. Jericho knocks him down again and doesn’t seem too worried to start.

Kingston picks up the pace with the rapid fire leapfrogs so Jericho bails outside, only to be taken down by a slingshot dive. Back in and Jericho dumps Kingston over the top for a big crash, followed by the stomping back inside. A suplex puts Kingston down for two more and Jericho bends his back over the knee. The abdominal stretch goes on but Kingston hiptosses his way to freedom.

Jericho’s belly to back superplex is turned into a crossbody for two and Kingston starts striking way. A clothesline into the Boom Drop gets two on Jericho and a hurricanrana gets the same. Jericho is right back with a knockdown into the Lionsault….but here is Shawn Michaels to superkick Cade. Jericho decks Shawn off the apron but the distraction lets Kingston hit Trouble In Paradise for the pin and the title out of nowhere.

Rating: B-. That was a shock and that’s what they seemed to be trying to do. Shawn costing Jericho the title makes all the sense in the world as it gives Jericho a reason to want to get revenge on him despite Shawn not being able to wrestle. Good match too, as Kingston has that unique offense that makes him fun to watch.

Post match Shawn seems pretty banged up so Jericho hits him in the eye again to leave him laying.

Vickie Guerrero wants to talk wedding flowers with Edge when Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder come in. They say it’s too bad about HHH, who had to help Batista on Smackdown. Otherwise he could have helped Edge tonight, an idea that Edge doesn’t like. We hear Edge’s resume and he promises to keep the title tonight.

Women’s Title: Mickie James vs. Katie Lea Burchill

Katie, with Paul Burchill, is challenging and grabs a rollup for a very fast two. They get back up with Mickie pulling her down by the arm and going up, which sends Katie bailing to the floor. Back in and Mickie kicks her down for two but a trip to the floor lets Katie take over. Katie suplexes her onto the arm to put Mickie in trouble and said arm is sent into the buckle. We hit the armbar and a DDT to the arm gives Katie two. Mickie comes out of the corner with a hurricanrana though and some clotheslines get two. Katie grabs a Fujiwara armbar but Mickie fights out again. Another suplex is blocked and a MickieDT retains the title.

Rating: C-. This could have been on any given Raw and it still would have been just as uninteresting. There is only so much to be gotten out of a match with a not so interesting challenger and such a basic story. It’s far from terrible, but they shouldn’t have even bothered if this was all they were allowed to do.

We recap Edge vs. Batista for the Smackdown World Title. Edge won the title at One Night Stand and Batista wants it. Violence has ensued.

Smackdown World Title: Edge vs. Batista

Batista is challenging and wastes no time in powering Edge down. They head to the floor with Edge being sent into the barricade and shouldered down back inside. A Jackhammer gives Batista two and there’s a clothesline back to the floor as it’ all Batista so far. Batista throws him back in but Edge manages a posting for a much needed breather.

Edge Chokes on the ropes and drops an elbow on the apron but Batista slugs his way out of trouble. A swinging neckbreaker puts his right back in trouble though and Edge grabs the chinlock. Back up and Batista gets sent face first into the buckle, followed by a neckbreaker (non-swinging edition). That means we can hit the chinlock again but Batista is back up faster this time.

Edge gets taken down by a hard clothesline and we get a double breather. The spear gives Batista two and a powerslam puts him down again. Edge is right back with a much needed Edgecution but Batista knees the spear away. Batista goes up, only to get dropkicked out of the air to leave them down again.

Cue the Edgeheads with Vickie Guerrero as Batista hits the spinebuster, meaning Vickie has to make the save. Edge decks the referee so Vickie calls out another referee…and gets Chavo Guerrero (with Bam Neely). Batista grabs Vickie and throws her over the top and onto the pile, but Edge gets in a belt shot. Chavo counts the (actually not fast) pin to retain the title.

Rating: B-. The match was good for the most part, but then the ending was about as lame and uninspired of a choice as they could have had. It was just another La Familia run in ending, with the really slow count from the referee being the only thing missing. Granted almost none of this matters as Batista is on his way to Raw anyway, but I was hoping for more.

Batista gets the big emotional sendoff, which loses some of its impact when you keep in mind that he’ll be back tomorrow night.

HHH is ready to right the wrong of two years ago.

We recap HHH vs. John Cena for the former’s Raw World Title. This is billed as the biggest match Raw can have and goes back to HHH losing to Cena in the main event of Wrestlemania XXII. The build has gone well and it really does feel like a top level match.

Raw World Title: HHH vs. John Cena

Cena is challenging. HHH’s headlock doesn’t get him anywhere to start as Cena runs him over with a shoulder. A hiptoss works better for HHH so Cena grabs a headlock of his own. That works just as well so Cena hits another shoulder and the release fisherman’s suplex gets two. The flying shoulder misses though and Cena crashes out to the floor. Back in and Cena hits a suplex as the pace slows back down.

Cena fight back again and hits the ProtoBomb but the Shuffle is broken up. HHH hits the jumping knee but Cena is right back with the Throwback. Another Shuffle is cut off by another jumping knee but Cena sends him flying over the corner. HHH comes up holding his leg so Cena is right on it, including a wrap around the post. It’s too early for the STFU as HHH makes the ropes so HHH hits a desperation Pedigree for a delayed two.

Cena grabs an FU for the same and they’re both down. Back up and they slug it out until Cena hits another ProtoBomb. The Shuffle is blocked again and HHH tries a Pedigree, only to be reversed into the STFU. HHH goes for the rope so Cena pulls him back, allowing HHH to counter into a Crossface. Cena manages to stand but the FU is countered into the Pedigree for the pin.

Rating: B. This was a strange match as it sent over twenty minutes and definitely felt like a major fight, but it felt like they were only getting started when HHH got the pin. For once this could have gone for another five to ten minutes to really get going. The HHH leg stuff could have been something but it wasn’t really given time to develop. It’s not something that is said very often, but HHH needed more time for a change.

Replays and posing take us out.

Overall Rating: B-. It’s a good show but nothing you really need to go out of your way to see. The main event is the best thing on the show and even then it’s not a match you really need to see. They had an easy theme here with all of the title matches but even then, only the Tag Team Titles and the Intercontinental Title changes felt like moments, and even they were on the lower end of things. Overall, it’s certainly not a bad show, but they hyped it up as this major event and it just wasn’t.

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Night Of Champions 2023
Date: May 27, 2023
Location: Jeddah Super Dome, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re in Saudi Arabia again and this time around the focus is on championships. That should give us some interesting possibilities as more than one title could change hands here. The show features a triple main event, with the new World Heavyweight Champion set to be crowned. Let’s get to it.

The opening video, narrated by HHH, talks about how important it is to be a champion and how it can change your life.

Video on the World Heavyweight Championship, which has been brought back to give Raw its own World Title. Seth Rollins and AJ Styles both want the title and want the other at their best.

World Heavyweight Championship: AJ Styles vs. Seth Rollins

For the inaugural title and they’re starting big here. They take their time to start with Styles sending him to the apron but it’s too early for the Phenomenal Forearm. Styles rolls out of a headlock but Rollins is right back with a kick to the head to take over. Back up and Styles drives him into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs. The chinlock doesn’t last long and Rollins is back with a Downward Spiral into the middle turnbuckle.

Styles is right back with a suplex into the corner and the Phenomenal Blitz. The middle rope moonsault into a reverse DDT plants Rollins again but he’s right back up with a buckle bomb. The frog splash gives Rollins two but the Pedigree is reversed into an enziguri. With nothing else working, Styles loads up the super Styles Clash but Rollins slips out to avoid quite a bit of pain.

Instead, Rollins puts him on top for a reverse superplex into a reverse sitout suplex for two. The Phoenix splash misses and they fight to the apron, where Styles hits a brainbuster to knock Rollins silly. Back in and Styles tries the Phenomenal Forearm (instead of covering) but Rollins breaks it up and sends him back to the floor. The suicide dive hits Styles but Rollins comes up favoring his knee.

Back in again and Styles grabs the Calf Crusher but Rollins grabs a choke for the escape. Styles kicks away until he has to duck the Pele. Rollins’ Pedigree is countered into one from Styles for two as Styles is bleeding a bit from the head. The Phenomenal Forearm is superkicked out of the air but the knee gives out on the Stomp attempt. The knee is fine enough to hit a Pedigree, followed by the Stomp to give Rollins the pin and the title at 20:37.

Rating: B. This was a different kind of match as there was no personal issue and they were just out there fighting for the title. It worked well as the two are both incredibly talented and know how to work the main event style match. The knee injury was a nice way to go and gave the match some drama, but it was hard to imagine Styles having a real chance here. Rather awesome opener though and Rollins is the best choice possible for the first champion.

We recap Trish Stratus vs. Becky Lynch. Stratus turned on Becky as she took issue with her for not being thankful enough. It has turned into something of a battle of the generations, with Trish saying Becky should be grateful to her and Becky saying she has surpassed Trish.

Trish Stratus vs. Becky Lynch

Becky doesn’t wait long and charges at Trish as the fight heads outside. Trish gets in a shot of her own and takes over, including a kick to the ribs back inside. After Trish thanks herself a bit, Trish snaps off a tornado DDT for two. The reverse chinlock goes on for a bit before Trish hammers away. A neckbreaker gives Trish two but Becky fires up and starts striking away.

Becky’s legdrop to the back of the neck gets two but Trish gets in another shot to cut her off. A not so great Stratusphere connects, only to have Stratusfaction broken up. Becky hits Diamond Dust into a middle rope legdrop but Trish breaks up the Manhandle Slam. The Boston crab out of the corner doesn’t work so well and Trish scores with the Chick Kick for two.

The Disarm-Her goes on but Trish is too close to the ropes. Becky manages the Manhandle Slam but those pesky ropes get Trish out of trouble again. Trish sends her outside and cue Zoey Stark of all people with a Z360. Back in and Stratusfaction connects to finish for Trish at 14:48.

Rating: B-. The ending was a smart way to keep the story going, as Becky can now beat up Stark (who gets thrown straight into a big story) before getting to fight Trish again. The match was good too, save for a short stretch where things did not exactly go so well. Trish is still incredibly polished all things considered and it was a completely fine match which should keep the story going for awhile to come.

Video on Mustafa Ali visiting Mecca.

Intercontinental Title: Mustafa Ali vs. Gunther

Gunther, with Imperium, is defending. Ali kicks away at the leg to start but has to fight out of an early sleeper. Some running dropkicks stagger Gunther, who is right back with a slam. The pace slows as Gunther chops and pounds Ali down, setting up the Boston crab. Ali gets out and is sent out to the apron, where Gunther kicks him out to the floor.

Back in and Gunther chops away but Ali fires off some desperation shots of his own. Gunther catches him up top but gets knocked down, setting up a 450 for a near fall. A hard clothesline gives Gunther two so he tells Ali he doesn’t belong. The powerbomb is countered into a kick to the head and the tornado DDT plants Gunther. The 450 misses though and Gunther dropkicks him into the corner. That’s enough to set up the powerbomb to retain at 8:30.

Rating: C+. This was exactly how it should have gone, as Gunther dominated, Ali made a nice comeback and then got beaten down by the force that is Gunther. I’m not sure if anyone believed that Ali had a chance coming in here and that is all it needed to be. Gunther is going to lose the title one day but it is going to be in a huge spot, which wasn’t the case here. Perfectly fine way to go, even if there was no doubt about the result.

Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens recap their issues with the Bloodline. Owens gets all fired up and is ready to go.

WWE did Make A Wish in Saudi Arabia.

We recap the Raw Women’s Title match with Bianca Belair defending against Asuka. Belair survived Asuka going all evil and misting her at Wrestlemania, so now we’re doing it again.

Raw Women’s Title: Bianca Belair vs. Asuka

Belair is defending and gets taken down to start. Asuka hammers away but Belair reverses and slugs right back. Some stomps to the face keep Belair in trouble but a dropkick puts Asuka on the apron. The handspring kick to the head sends Asuka outside, where she sends Belair into the steps. Back in and Asuka kicks her in the face before driving a boot into Belair’s head.

More stomping has Belair in trouble and Asuka grabs an armbar to mixed it up a bit. Belair fights back up and hits a running Blockbuster for a double knockdown. The comeback is on including the standing moonsault but Asuka kicks her off the top. A missile dropkick gives Asuka two and we hit the Fujiwara armbar. With that broken up, Belair plants her with a spinebuster for two.

The Asuka Lock is broken up and they trade rollups for two each. They head outside with Asuka being sent into the steps, allowing Belair to hammer away back inside. The KOD is countered into a cross armbreaker but Belair rolls out and powerbombs her down. Asuka bails to the ropes and sprays the mist on her own fingers. Back in and Asuka rubs the mist in Belair’s face, setting up the kick to the head to make Asuka champion at 14:50.

Rating: C+. They had to do this one as there was nothing left for Belair to accomplish. She had been champion for over a year and had cleaned out the division, so it was time for some kind of a change. If nothing else, you don’t have Asuka built up as this new heel and then beat her twice, so she more or less had to win here. The title scene needed some fresh blood and Asuka certainly applies.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley vs. Natalya

Ripley, with Dominik Mysterio, is defending. An early Dominik distraction lets Ripley jump her to start and they’re quickly on the floor. Ripley sends her face first into the announcers’ table and then the steps as the beating is on early. Riptide retains the title at 1:04. Ok that worked, as Ripley running over Natalya is a much better fit than having them go fifteen minutes.

Seth Rollins is very pleased with his win and is ready for whatever is next.

We recap Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes. Lesnar attacked Rhodes for still unexplained reasons (him being Brock Lesnar might have something to do with it) and laid him out. Rhodes then beat Lesnar at Backlash so Lesnar broke Rhodes’ arm before their rematch here.

Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar

Cody is coming in with a broken arm. They go a bit tentative to start until Lesnar starts snapping off the belly to belly suplexes. Cody manages to knock him outside though and there’s the suicide dive. Back in and a top rope ax handle hits Lesnar, followed by a pair of Cross Rhodes. A third is countered into the Kimura though and Rhodes is in big trouble. Rhodes stacks him up for two but can’t get out.

Lesnar rolls him over and is sitting on Rhodes, who can’t make the rope. The referee raises Cody’s arm but he’s still in, only to have Lesnar pull him closer to the middle. Somehow Cody turns it around and makes the rope, leaving Lesnar stunned. Another Cross Rhodes gets another two and they’re both spent. Cody hits him with the cast but gets pulled into the F5 for two. The Kimura goes on again and Cody passes out at 9:36.

Rating: B. This was all about storytelling and it worked very well as a result. What mattered here was keeping Cody strong but not going too far. There was almost no way you could have him survive again here as he came in injured against a ticked off Lesnar. Cody looked strong in defeat (and didn’t tap), but he had to lose here. The trilogy match should be good, especially if one of them is champion by the time it rolls around.

We recap Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns/Solo Sikoa for the Tag Team Titles. Owens and Zayn are defending, but more than that they are trying to take the Bloodline apart once and for all. The Bloodline is starting to crumble and the Usos are not happy that they aren’t getting this shot. Instead Reigns is trying to show them how it is done and that should make for an interesting match.

Tag Team Titles: Roman Reigns/Solo Sikoa vs. Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens

Zayn/Owens are defending and Paul Heyman/Sami (the latter in Arabic) handle the introductions. Owens and Reigns start but it’s off to Zayn before anything happens. More staring ensues as the fans are very hyped for all of this. Reigns tags Sikoa in and we get our first contact about three minutes in. Zayn sends him into the corner and hits a few chops, which doesn’t leave Reigns pleased.

An elbow to the face is more to Reigns’ liking so it’s off to Owens. Some chops rock Sikoa but it’s back to Zayn off the blind tag for a drop toehold. Reigns comes in for a cheap shot to Owens ad then quickly heads back to the floor. Back in and Sikoa drops a headbutt on Zayn before it’s back to Reigns as the pace slows. Zayn chops away but gets dropped with a single shot. Reigns: “You think you’re the Nature Boy now?”

After Owens chases off an invading Sikoa, Reigns slowly pounds Zayn down again. Sikoa comes back in and we hit the nerve hold. They head outside again with Sikoa getting taken down but being fine enough to cut Zayn off before the tag. A tornado DDT is enough to drop Sikoa, allowing the double tag to Owens and Reigns. Owens cleans house and knocks Reigns outside for a backsplash but Sikoa cuts him off again.

Reigns hits a clothesline but walks into a sitout powerbomb. Owens’ frog splash hits for two but he can’t follow up. The Stunner is broken up and the Superman Punch gives Reigns two. Another Stunner connects but Reigns bounces off the ropes and hits a spear before falling down. The double tag brings in Zayn to hammer on Sikoa, setting up the big flip dive to drops Sikoa on the floor. The Blue Thunder Bomb gets two back inside but the Helluva Kick is cut off with a superkick.

Zayn is fine enough to suplex him into the corner so the Helluva Kick can connect, with Reigns making the save. Reigns hammers away and loads up the spear but takes the referee out by mistake. Owens is back in to jump Reigns and they head outside for a whip into the steps. Cue the Usos (not supposed to be here) go jump Owens and a pair of superkicks rock Zayn….but the double superkick hits Sikoa.

Reigns sees what happened and is REALLY not pleased. Reigns yells at the Usos….and Jimmy finally superkicks him. Jey screams at Jimmy, who superkicks Reigns again. Jimmy says that it’s him and Jey now, leaving Jey looking very perplexed. Jey goes towards Reigns but Jimmy gets him out before he can do anything. Sikoa is back up but it’s a Stunner into the Helluva Kick for three (from a second referee) to retain the titles at 26:27.

Rating: B+. This was an interesting mix as it was a very good match but the storytelling was glorious. Jimmy FINALLY snapping and turning on Reigns after the months of abuse takes things in a new direction and we could be in for something very good in the near future. I’ve heard people talk about how Jey should be the one to take the title from Reigns. I’m not there yet, but it’s not sounding as crazy these days, which is one of the most impressive things I’ve seen in a good while. Awesome main event here, and things are going to get bigger as we keep going.

Reigns doesn’t know what to do to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. The middle portion is a big weak, but the three main events were one hit after another. What matters here is they have set the stage for some big stuff going forward and now we get to see where things go as we head into the summer. The Bloodline is imploding, Rollins is champion, and Lesnar vs. Rhodes III is likely on the horizon. Another rather good show here, as WWE is on quite the roll at the moment.

Results
Seth Rollins b. AJ Styles – Stomp
Trish Stratus b. Becky Lynch – Stratusfaction
Gunther b. Mustafa Ali – Powerbomb
Asuka b. Bianca Belair – Kick to the head
Rhea Ripley b. Natalya – Riptide
Brock Lesnar b. Cody Rhodes via referee stoppage

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Reigns keeps his title but gets drafted to one show and one show only.  The new champion is determined in a match with details to be decided.

IMG Credit: WWE

That certainly opens up a bunch of doors and now there are a lot of questions to be answered. WWE can go with the safe and easy picks or take the chance to make someone new, which could be a lot of fun. Either way, this is something that WWE probably should have done a bit ago, but having Reigns as the sole World Champion is only so interesting for so long. For now though, the have options and I’m curious to see where it goes so they have my interest. The smaller title is going to take some getting used to, but I do like it so far.

Thoughts overall?

So here’s the thing: it’s pretty clear to me that there’s no point in doing one of these things for every Raw. Far more often than not on the TV shows I’ll have to stretch to come up with something to talk about and I can’t stand it when someone writes just to fill in space. I don’t want that to be the case here and I’m not going to do a Reviewing the Review for each week of Raw.

If there’s a major point or two that I don’t touch on in the weekly column I’ll do a separate post for it, but I’m not going to waste my own or far more importantly your time with stuff like “Rusev and Ziggler did this to build to their next match. It’s not great but I’ve seen worse,” seven times a week with one or two in depth topics. I’ll do one for every pay per view and major Raw’s (like this week’s) but it’s stupid to sit around typing and not saying anything if there’s nothing important.

As for Night of Champions, the show was built up very well given what they had to work with. Sting vs. Rollins was destined to be a mess instead a coherent match and that’s best for everyone involved. Other than that we have Cena vs. Rollins, which will be good but nothing we haven’t seen before. That being said, this looked good on paper and that’s more than you can say about most B shows.

The pre-show match was a six man tag where Stardust/Ascension beat Neville/Lucha Dragons in a totally standard match that did nothing for me. Neville and the Dragons did their dives and high spots but Neville tried one too many and got taken out by the Queen’s Crossbow. The match didn’t advance the story but they did a rematch the next night (another reason not to do these things every week: so many rematches without anything significantly changing).

Kevin Owens won the Intercontinental Title from Ryback by raking the eyes. This sets up a nice story going forward as Ryback knows he can beat Owens in a straight up fight but Kevin spends weeks ducking him. Well as many weeks as there are until we get to Hell in a Cell because WWE doesn’t get the idea that you can have another match in between title matches and not everything has to be linear. It’s cool to see Owens getting something after his feud with Cena ended and this is better than nothing. They’ll screw up his reign of course but you have to expect that in WWE.

Ziggler and Rusev had a long match that ended when Summer threw a shoe and hit Rusev by mistake, setting up the Zig Zag for the pin. These two had a good story going but then Lana’s wrist injury crippled whatever they had going. Now it’s just the two of them running around in circles having lame matches without Lana being around to make things more interesting. People complain about Lana being weaker without Rusev, but could it have anything to do with her being a side player to Ziggler’s repetitive antics. I’m sure the solution is to put her back with Rusev so it can start all over again right?

New Day retained the Tag Team Titles over the Dudleyz via DQ in a hilariously entertaining match. This was all about Xavier Woods at ringside being the most annoying pest he could doing whatever things came to his mind. This is how comedy acts are supposed to go. Notice how much more entertaining Woods has been because he mixes things up.

That’s what got on my nerves about people like Santino and Eric Young: they would do the exact same stuff over and over again and almost never added anything new. Woods is doing the trombone thing every week but he changes what he plays and shouts enough different stuff to keep it from getting boring. New Day is an absolute blast and I haven’t had this much fun with an act in a long time.

Charlotte finally won the Divas Title from Nikki Bella in a rather strange match. Charlotte tweaked her knee early on and didn’t get in any offense until the very end when she hit a spear and hoked the Figure Eight for the win. Now this can be looked in a few different ways. First of all, there’s the idea that Nikki had to keep the pressure on Charlotte but as soon as Charlotte got in a single shot she had Nikki beat. On the other hand, it might have been a way to keep Nikki from having to do any actual wrestling and to just let her do stuff to Charlotte’s leg.

On the third hand, maybe it was a legitimate injury and Nikki had to carry things. Either way, it was an entertaining match and Charlotte took the title after Nikki got the all important record. By all important I mean important to WWE alone but I’m sure they think the fans are thrilled. You know, all 800,000 of them that watch Total Divas, none of whom watch WWE already and all of whom I’m sure worship Nikki Bella. Either way, this might actually lead somewhere with the Divas Revolution, even though it died a month ago. Also of note: Ric Flair came out to celebrate and looked happier than he has in years. That’s nice to see.

The Shield boys’ mystery partner was Chris Jericho. This is the ham sandwich of choices: it’s fine, but nothing that is going to blow the roof off the place. The live crowd seemed to like it though and that’s always a big help. It’s pretty clear that this feud is likely going on for a long time until Ambrose and Reigns realize the only way to stop the Wyatts is to do the unthinkable and reunite the Shield. That’s fine for an idea and the response when it finally happens, even if it’s clear where they’re going, is going to be incredible.

The match itself was fine as Jericho, though older now, is at least still able to work a one off match like this. Strowman looked like a monster out there and that’s all he needed to be. Notice that Reigns and Ambrose got to stagger him and even knock him off his feet but not much more. Eventually Strowman is going to lose and most of his character will change, but they’re taking their time getting there to make it feel like a big deal.

John Cena got the US Title back from Rollins with a clean pin in easily the match of the night. These two work well together but like so many other things in WWE, the match has been run into the ground so badly that it’s almost impossible to get fired up for it again. They did the trading big shots formula by skipping the buildup part, which made for a much more entertaining match. I don’t need to see it again, which is why we saw it again the following night on Raw. I’m also not wild on the World Champion losing a clean fall, but that’s apparently par for the course these days.

Cena gave Rollins an AA on the floor before Sting came out to make things a bit more realistic. Yeah the deck was stacked against Rollins, but at the end of the day there’s almost no way you can have Sting beat Rollins when he’s nearly thirty years older and barely ever wrestles. Sting did everything he could here and pulled off an entertaining match which is all you can ask for. The story here was Sting’s neck/spine getting jacked up by the buckle bomb, which hopefully doesn’t end his career. Rollins retained with a rollup and that’s about as good as they were going to be able to do. Fun match and as good as they could do it.

Sheamus tried to cash in but was foiled by the returning Demon Kane, which we’ll get more into later. I knew they weren’t doing the real cash-in here because this was the annual cash-in tease that doesn’t go anywhere at this time of year because the briefcase has only been hanging over our heads for three months now.

Night of Champions was quite the entertaining show with almost nothing bad and a really fun match between Rollins and Cena. They’ve got some momentum heading into Hell in a Cell with Undertaker vs. Lesnar being a good choice to headline a B level show. Unfortunately no one is going to be watching because of Monday Night Football but at least the people who are sticking around are getting some good shows.

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Night of Champions 2015
Date: September 20, 2015
Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

This is the definition of a B level pay per view but there are some interesting stories to bolster things up between Summerslam and Survivor Series. The big story tonight is Seth Rollins defending both the United States and WWE World Titles against John Cena and Sting respectfully. Other than that we’ll get to find out who Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose’s partner is against the Wyatt Family. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Stardust/Ascension vs. Lucha Dragons/Neville

Stardust and Neville have been feuding for a few weeks now and the teams were brought in to make the battle even bigger. Konor easily counters Cara’s sunset flip with some choking but Cara comes back with a spinning cross….headbutt to the arm. Off to Stardust vs. Kalisto with Konor getting in a cheap shot to help his partner. With the announcers debating whether the Ascension are Stardust’s henchmen, Kalisto headscissors Stardust down and all six come in for a standoff. The bad guys are sent to the floor with the Dragons hitting stereo suicide dives and Neville adding an Asai moonsault as we take an early break.

Back with Viktor shouldering Kalisto into the corner to take over. Stardust comes in and works on the arm before it’s back to Viktor, who puts Kalisto on top. You don’t put a luchador on the top rope though as he hits a great looking hurricanrana and makes the tag off to Neville. We hit the series of kicks and a middle rope Phoenix splash gets two. Stardust’s Disaster Kick misses and Neville goes up top, only to have Stardust shove Viktor into the corner. Neville staggers into the Queen’s Crossbow for the pin at 9:46.

Rating: C-. Fine enough match here as Neville got to come in and clean house while the feud gets to keep going for another month or so. They’re letting this one fly under the radar a bit and it’s giving everyone involved something to do. Above all else it lets them do something unique instead of wasting time on a nowhere feud.

Opening video: “Tonight is a night of champions.” Dang you mean they canceled Jackpot Bowling with Milton Berle? The main people on the roster tonight talk about how big the show is before going into a video on Rollins’ two challengers.

Intercontinental Title: Ryback vs. Kevin Owens

Ryback is defending and this could go either way. Owens just decided he wanted the title one night and has been messing with Ryback ever since. The champion comes out second which never sits well with me. Ryback starts fast and wants Owens to bring it on. Kevin charges at him but gets gorilla pressed out to the floor. Back up and Owens sends Ryback arm first into the post, which takes away a lot of Ryback’s power game. Owens, the big crowd favorite here, slowly pounds Ryback down before sending the bad arm into the buckle again.

We hit the armbar on the champ for a bit before he fights up with a powerslam. A spinebuster gets two for Ryback and he scores with the Meathook, which Cole identifies as a regular clothesline. Well to be fair it was off the ropes instead of from the corner. The Shell Shock doesn’t work as the arm gives out and Ryback goes arm first into the post again. Owens’ armbar doesn’t work as Ryback powers him up into the Shell Shock again, only to have Kevin rake the eyes and roll him up for the pin and the title at 9:30.

Rating: C+. Set the injury up, pay the injury off in the ending, give a young guy a title. I have no complaints off this one and the match was fun in the process. Owens winning with an old school cheating tactic makes it even better. This was more fun than I was expecting and I’m very pleased with the result.

Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar is announced for Hell in a Cell. Well that’s quite the main event.

We recap Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev.  These two had been feuding along with Lana and Summer Rae respectfully, but now that Lana is on the shelf, Ziggler bought Summer some earrings and wasn’t clear on what his intentions were.

Rusev is livid at Summer.

Rusev vs. Dolph Ziggler

Dolph has long tights now. Ziggler scores with a quick dropkick to knock Rusev to the floor but he comes back in for a shot to the ribs and a chinlock. As this is going on, we get a nice discussion of the Divas keeping diaries. Ziggler’s sleeper doesn’t work as Rusev throws him outside for a ram into the apron. An ugly small package gets two for Dolph but Rusev slams him back down, followed by a chinlock.

A WE WANT LANA chant fires Dolph up and he’s able to avoid a charge, sending Rusev into the buckle. Ziggler’s Fameasser attempt doesn’t work and Rusev’s swinging Rock Bottom gets two. Rusev’s knee hits the buckle as well, setting up the Fameasser for two more. A kick to the head has Ziggler in even more trouble but he comes back with the sleeper as this match just keeps going.

Now the superkick gets two for Rusev and he can’t believe it was just a near fall. The Accolade doesn’t work and Ziggler comes up with a mostly missed superkick for two of his own. Summer gets on the apron and is accidentally knocked into the ring, earning her an ejection. She throws in a shoe and hits Rusev by mistake, setting up the Zig Zag for the pin at 13:38.

Rating: D+. WAY too long here and I lost interest about halfway through at best. This feud is all about the drama and not the in ring action because we were supposed to have the mixed tag until Lana’s wrist injury screwed everything up. Rusev getting pinned used to be a huge deal and now it’s happened twice in a week.

Summer looks terrified.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Dudley Boyz

New Day is defending and already lost to the Dudleyz in a non-title match. Before the match, New Day declares that our furniture is in danger. After praising their mentor (Jake from State Farm) it’s time for a SAVE…THE TABLES chant until the Dudleyz cut them off. I love the Dudleyz but I could watch New Day for hours. D-Von and Kofi get things going as Woods starts a trombone recital.

The Dudleyz scare the champs out to the floor until it’s time for Bubba vs. Big E., the latter of whom tells the old man to go home. Big E. takes over and goes up top, only to get superplexed down for two. Woods: “BUBBA! DO NOT DO THIS!” The distraction works as Kofi is able to dropkick Bubba in the back to take over. We hit the rotating stomps (complete with more tromboning), followed by a splash on the apron to give E. two.

New Day starts some double teaming with Kofi firing off rights and lefts, meaning Woods plays Gonna Fly Now (theme from Rocky). I haven’t been this entertained in a long time. Kofi springboards into a Bubba Bomb, setting up the hot tag to D-Von. House is quickly cleaned and the reverse 3D drops Big E. The regular 3D looks to finish Kofi but Woods comes in for the DQ at 10:16.

Rating: B. The wrestling may not have been the best in the world but Xavier Woods and that trombone is as pure gold as anything I’ve seen around this company in YEARS. The entire group is one of the funniest ideas in a long time and goes to show you what can happen when you find a hot act. Great stuff here and the rematch should be fun.

Post match Big E. loads up a table, only to have the Dudleyz fight back and 3D Woods through the table. JBL: “It’s the night the music died.”

We recap Nikki Bella’s title reign and breaking the record on Monday.

Divas Title: Nikki Bella vs. Charlotte

Nikki is defending and can lose the title via DQ or countout. Charlotte takes her into the corner to start but a shoulder to the ribs puts Charlotte on the floor. She tweaks her knee on the landing though and Nikki has a target. A kick to the knee staggers Charlotte again and Nikki powerbombs her off the apron for a big thud. Back in and Nikki puts on a leg lock as the announcers thankfully acknowledge that the Women’s Title and the Divas Title are two different titles with two different lineages.

A snap suplex sends the knee into the ropes again and Nikki does some pushups. Nikki slams the knee into the mat a few more times for two each and wraps it around the post. Brie and Alicia try to help on a half crab but Nikki yells at them for almost getting her disqualified. Makes sense. Charlotte comes back with a neckbreaker but the knee gives out again. There’s a spear though and the Figure Eight ends Nikki’s reign at 13:42.

Rating: B-. Uh well um ok then. They were getting somewhere with that knee and then Charlotte just popped up and won the title. I’m glad the title reign is finally over but it was such a strange way to get to the ending. Still though, really good match here and the best WWE Divas match in a very long time.

Ric Flair comes out to cry his eyes out over the title win.

Owens denies cheating and is happy to finally have a prize. It’s no secret how great he really is. Nice line there.

The kickoff panel chats for a bit.

Team PCB asks Ric if he knows a place to party in Houston. You know, he just might. Ric looks so genuinely proud here and it’s really cool to see.

We recap the Wyatt Family vs. Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose. These teams have been fighting on and off for over a year and now the Wyatts have the monster Braun Strowman with them. Reigns and Ambrose have a mystery partner to help fight Strowman.

Wyatt Family vs. Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose/???

A fan tries to run in and Wyatt asks if that’s their guy. The mystery partner is……CHRIS JERICHO. Well it’s not Rowan or Kane so this is totally acceptable. Ambrose and Harper get things going with the good guy taking over before it’s off to Jericho for the required YOU STILL GOT IT chant. Reigns and Ambrose come in to try their luck on Strowman but he shoulders both of them down.

Jericho tries to dive onto Braun but the glorified cruiserweight is caught and thrown out to the floor for his efforts. Strowman throws Ambrose in for a beating before tagging off to Bray. This works a bit better for Dean as he grabs a neckbreaker, allowing for the tag off to Reigns. Harper comes in with his right hands and sitout powerbomb, only to have Roman fire off his corner clotheslines. Strowman offers a distraction though and Harper scores with a superkick for two.

The Wyatts take turns on Roman with Bray sending him to the floor for a suicide dive. Reigns finally gets in an elbow to the jaw, allowing the tag off to Jericho. Chris dropkicks Braun off the apron in a smart move and slaps the Walls on Bray until Harper makes the save. Dean comes in and both Dirty Deeds and Sister Abigail are countered.

A double clothesline puts both guys down and it’s off to Reigns vs. Strowman with the Superman Punch FINALLY connecting. It takes three of them to stagger Braun but Dean’s top rope elbow puts him down. Jericho tags himself in for a Lionsault for two with Braun launching him off the cover. Everyone else brawls at ringside so it’s that spinning Big Ending from Strowman, followed by the choke to knock Jericho out at 13:36.

Rating: C+. This felt like a way to keep the feud going and there’s nothing wrong with that. I love the idea of two teams feuding because that’s what they do no matter what. Jericho coming in there to lose is fine and it’s a cool idea to build up to Roman finally knocking off the giant. Good stuff here and a fun match.

Jericho intentionally bumps into Ambrose as he leaves. Dean seems pleased with Jericho’s moxie.

The Authority gives Rollins a pep talk. Sheamus comes in and says he’s ready too.

We recap Seth Rollins’ road to tonight, starting with winning the World Title at Wrestlemania (in case you haven’t had that beaten into your head enough yet), being the Authority’s attention starved child, and then winning a second title from John Cena at Summerslam. Oh and his statue was destroyed in a very novel move.

US Title: John Cena vs. Seth Rollins

Seth is defending of course. We get the big match intros here and Rollins is in the white attire again. The fans are all over Cena to start and things get even worse with Rollins charging into an elbow for two. Rollins comes back with a kick to the ribs and some trash talk as he seems to be trying to conserve energy.

We hit an early sleeper on Cena before Cena is put in the Tree of Woe for a top rope double stomp in an awesome looking spot. Cena’s rollup gets two and he sidesteps a splash (which looked very Stingy) in the corner. He takes too long setting up the Shuffle, allowing Rollins to try a kick to the head, only to have Cena pull him to his feet into a sunset bomb for two. The AA is countered but Cena hurricanranas his way out of the buckle bomb to send Seth into the corner instead.

Seth flips out of the AA again and the low superkick gets two for the champ. They’ve skipped the opening part of the match here and have went straight to the back and forth bombs. Seth misses the frog splash and the Eddie chants pipe up, even though it was more like a Five Star Frog Splash. Cena comes back with the tornado DDT for two and goes up top, only to have Rollins run the ropes into a superplex.

That’s not enough though as he floats over into a regular suplex for two, leaving both guys spent. Another AA is countered into a rollup but Seth muscles Cena up into a buckle bomb for two. Back up and Rollins rolls through a cross body to try an AA on Cena. Thankfully they only tease the finisher stealing as Cena counters into a reverse suplex, followed by the AA for the pin and the title at 15:43.

Rating: A-. As repetitive as these two have become, this was one of their better matches because they just went straight for the big spot trading instead of trying to do anything slow paced. Rollins wanting to end it fast made the most sense and it was a better match as a result. Cena getting the US Title back makes the most sense and we might even get the Open Challenge back as a result. Good stuff.

Rollins tries to bail but Cena gives him another AA on the floor and here’s Sting.

WWE World Heavyweight Title: Sting vs. Seth Rollins

Sting goes right after him to start and quickly sends the champ out to the floor. They’re pretty clearly going for the brawl here as Sting sends him into the barricade. Rollins tries to get away over the barricade but sting pulls him back to the table. Seth gets in his first offense by shoving Sting through the table before grabbing his title. He changes his mind about leaving though and comes back to slam Sting onto the broken table.

Back in and a falcon’s arrow gets two on Sting and Seth is starting to get frustrated. There’s a buckle bomb for two. The Pedigree is countered and Sting breaks up a springboard by shoving Seth into the barricade for the second time. Two Stinger Splashes crush Rollins so he heads outside, only to have Sting dive off the top with a cross body. Back in and the Death Drop gets two out of nowhere with Rollins having to put his foot on the bottom rope.

Another Stinger Splash sets up right hands in the corner but Seth counters into another buckle bomb. Seth tries a clothesline but Sting collapses to the mat. The doctor checks on Sting as he gets back up and it’s going to continue. Sting counters the Pedigree into a weak Deathlock. Thankfully Seth is quickly in the ropes and comes back with an enziguri to the bald spot. The Pedigree is countered into another Scorpion attempt but Seth rolls him up to retain at 15:13.

Rating: B+. This was WAY better than it had any right to be with the ending making enough sense. I really didn’t need to have Sting as the World Champion because, whether WWE wants to admit it or not, he’s one of the biggest stars ever and doesn’t need this title to validate himself. Good match though as Sting pulls another rabbit out of his hat. Though hopefully not by the ears because that’s just cruel.

Sheamus comes out immediately and it’s on! Rollins misses a belt shot and Sheamus hits the Brogue Kick but here’s Kane in the mask to chokeslam Rollins. Sheamus wants Kane to give him one more but Kane chokeslams Sheamus instead. A tombstone to Rollins ends the show. Yes seriously, it ends with Kane standing tall and likely setting up the title match inside the Cell.

Overall Rating: A. Well that worked. This was another show that completely overachieved and had no business being nearly as good as it was. This goes up another notch if they somehow got rid of that stupid briefcase and weren’t setting up Kane inside the Cell for the title, but that match had to happen at some point. Rollins is ready to be the star of tomorrow and it’s going to happen one day soon. Really fun show here with only the Rusev vs. Ziggler match not being good to awesome.

Results

Kevin Owens b. Ryback – Rollup

Dolph Ziggler b. Rusev – Zig Zag

Dudley Boyz b. New Day via DQ when Xavier Woods interfered

Charlotte b. Nikki Bella – Figure Eight

Wyatt Family b. Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose/Chris Jericho – Choke to Jericho

John Cena b. Seth Rollins – Attitude Adjustment

Seth Rollins b. Sting – Small package

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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Someone.Named Chris Jericho.  That’s not Rowan or Kane so I’m happy.

Officially announced at Night of Champions.  I REALLY like this idea instead of doing it at Wrestlemania.  This opens up some doors and instantly has my attention.  Lesnar will also be on the Steve Austin Show on October 19.

I’ve been very impressed by this year’s build. Night of Champions is one of those shows that I don’t care about most of the time but this year they’ve managed to make me want to see where it’s going. I don’t think it’s going to be a classic or anything but it’s better than most of the stuff this show has done in the last few years. Let’s get to it.

As usual we’ll start on the pre-show where I’ll take Neville/Lucha Dragons over Ascension/Stardust. Since this isn’t Smackdown, WWE will have to do everything they can to destroy the Ascension, who they keep giving pushes to, only to snatch them back away. It should be a fun match and I’m always a fan of throwing a six man tag on a show, especially when it makes sense like this one does. It’s a solid choice for an opener and this should be fun.

Now we get to the main draw of the show with Seth Rollins defending two titles in one night. This is another interesting idea and Rollins is the kind of guy who could pull off something like this. By something like this, I mean dancing around like the Authority’s puppet while they talk about their charities and try to be fun parents for the fans because it’s another month, meaning they’ve turned face again without ever actually doing anything to make us like them.

First up we’ll look at the big main event with Sting challenging for the World Title. For the life of me I can’t imagine him taking the belt here. When you consider that just six months ago, this same company was jobbing Sting in a one night rehash of the Monday Night Wars, I can’t imagine that they’re going to put the title on him here, even if it’s for a month or even five minutes before Sheamus cashes in. Rollins retains here.

And no cash-in. We get this teasing of a cash-in every fall and then it normally happens in the winter/spring. It’s the same repetitive idea that they do every year and if this company is one thing, it’s not likely to change an idea that they like.

As for the other title, I’m thinking Cena takes it back. There’s no real reason to keep both belts on Rollins and it opens the door for the Authority to look down on him because that’s how they treat everyone. This should be their usual classic, and by usual I mean it’s their ninth TV/PPV match since last summer. Oh and if Cena wins here, we could have a rematch! But yeah Cena gets the belt back, softening Seth up for Sting’s failed World Title attempt.

I’ll take the Dudleyz to win the titles for one last nostalgia run, only to lose them back by TLC at the latest, probably in a tables match. This has been a great feud so far with the SAVE THE TABLES stuff being hysterical. It should be a fun match but I think Bubba and D-Von get number 10 in WWE and number like 384 or whatever it is now.

Ziggler over Rusev, likely with Summer helping him. Now if they wanted to do something smart, they would have Ziggler dump Summer as soon as she tries to side with him. However, I doubt they’re that clever and we probably get Ziggler’s latest hot girlfriend, which fits him SO much better than being Lana’s knight in shining trunks.

Nikki retains the title. Why? Because that makes the least sense. Nikki has already gotten everything there is to get, so now it’s time to let her keep it even longer because she’s a STAR. Like, she’s on THREE shows a week instead of the rest of WWE who are only on two. Well except for the people who are still in NXT but why worry about them when we can see the Bellas as Kardashian wannabes? Oh and the rest of the cast being horrible people and such too. There’s always that.

I’m split on this so I’ll flip a coin to decide Ryback vs. Owens. Then I’ll flip it again because I forgot to pick heads or tails for either side. I’ll take Ryback to win the title but this really could go either way. Owens is starting to pick up steam again but Ryback has been the best champion in a LONG time. I could see this going either way but I’ll say Ryback retains. This definitely isn’t over with just one match though.

Finally, Kane is the mystery partner and the Wyatts win anyway. It’s been too long since we’ve seen Kane in the ring and that means it’s time for him to come back for another run where he gets the spot that could go to someone who actually needs a rub. Having Kane under the mask again would work well enough but it’s going to feel like a letdown if/when it’s him all over again.

Overall I’m cautiously excited for this show, which looked like nothing coming in but has turned into a pretty solid card. I’m not seeing a masterpiece coming or anything but I’ll take a totally watchable show over some of the drek WWE is capable of producing. Rollins is in an interesting spot and there are a few combinations that could come out of this for him, making this all the more interesting. This should be fun, which is almost all you can ask for out of a B PPV.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6