So many questions will be answered tonight. Can the hobbled Usos some how manage to defeat the red-hot tag team of Gold and Stardust? Will Dolph Ziggler prove to Miz that his victory at SummerSlam was no fluke? Will the Sheamus vs. Cesaro US title match steal the show? Will this mark the first time a star of Total Divas will actually hold the Divas title while on the show (let's hope not... But more on that later). And last but definitely not least, can John Cena recapture the WWE world heavyweight championship from the beast incarnate?
Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins
This match was inevitable, but it's a bit surprising it's happening now. Even though the match between Randy Orton and Roman Reigns at SummerSlam started off slow (but finished strong) it's strange that they moved away from the angle so quickly. That said, Rollins could probably bring out the best in Reigns. They know each other so well that assuming they will work together well against each other is a pretty safe bet.
One thing that sticks out here is the fact that in a strange way the WWE is actually booking this angle logically: Rollins damn near killed Dean Ambrose (Hashtag death by cinderblock) so Reigns wants to in turn kill Rollins. So often when a stable breaks up all parties tend to just forget about each other, which is idiotic.
Side note: WWE Creative missed a huge opportunity here to have Ambrose wonder across the county with amnesia after he was carted of the arena on RAW... What? It worked for WCW...
And the winner is:
Seth Rollins via DQ. How does this match not end with a run in from Ambrose?
Mark Henry vs. Rusev
Usually this writer hate when there is a match at Night of Champions that doesn't have a title on the line, but I'll make an exception this time. Henry and Rusev are perfect for each other. Rusev has run rough shot over most of the roster. One of the few superstars that pose a physical threat to Rusev is Henry. Say what you will about Henry, but he is very big and very scary. His world title run ended way too soon.
And the winner is:
Rusev. This was a tough one to call. If anyone could finally beat Rusev it would be Henry. Most of my reasoning for Rusev going over I will get into later, but let's just say Rusev needs to continue to look as strong as possible. Rusev wins clean via submission
United States Champion Sheamus vs. Cesaro
This match has "steal the show potential. Cesaro and Sheamus match up so well together. There isn't much of a story here, other than the fact that Cesaro wants the US title, which is perfectly fine. Every match doesn't have to have a stupid angle attached to it.
And the winner is:
Cesaro. Let's be real, why the hell is Sheamus US champ anyway? Makes no sense. Cesaro has spent the last few months getting beat by Kofi Kingston and pretty much everyone else he faced. Cesaro could use the rub of beating a former world champion. Sheamus has nothing to gain or loose here. Cesaro wins after the Neutralizer.
Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz
The first thing that has to be said here is the Dolph Ziggler/ R-Ziggler bit on Smackdown last week was hilarious.
Not a whole lot to say about this arch other than Ziggler and Miz work extremely well together. Ziggler's energy meshes well with Miz's above average heel skills. Ziggler a above average ability to sell make Miz look like a million bucks every time they match up.
And the winner is:
Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler gets the win with a quick roll up.
Divas Champion Paige vs. Nikki Bella vs. AJ Lee
Leave it to the WWE to take a great (albeit strange) angle between two great competitors and muck it up by adding an unneeded element. Nikki Bella has no business in this match. Please don't misunderstand, Nikki is a fine wrestler, she just adds nothing to this match.
Paige and AJ have managed to develop quite the rivalry over the past few months. The people actually care about their matches and their matches have been pretty good. It seems Nikki and the ghost of Brie are being added to the Divas title picture in the hopes that some of the heat Paige and AJ have will rub off on what had been an extremely underwhelming Bella on Bella feud.
And the winner is:
Nikki Bella. It hurts to say it but it's inevitable. We have seen this story before: an angle they want to push is floundering so they assume adding a belt to it will somehow resurrect it. Well it won't work. The Bella story line is beyond repair. It's a shame AJ and Paige get the short end of the stick because Creative painted themselves into a corner. Nikki's get the win after some kind of screwy finish.
WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos vs. Gold & Stardust
This is going to be a fun match. Say what you will about the Usos personalities but man are they exciting to look. Being in the ring with a veteran like Goldust and a blue chipper like Stardust will only help the Usos in the long run. At this point both Usos are selling leg injuries. It will be interesting to see how much that comes into play during the match.
And the winners are:
The Usos. Even though it seems the Usos have been given an out (they are both injured) they will still come out on top. For a long while now this writer has been predicting the Usos are being built up to get fed to the Ascension. With the Ascension recently loosing the NXT tag titles at Takeover II, their main roster debut seems imminent. The Usos get the win after the Super fly Splash.
Side note: this loss could send us down the inevitable Stardust/Goldust feud as well. Just a thought.
Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton
Raise your hand if you saw this match coming? Yeah didn't think so. Both competitors are great but man talk about a thrown together angle. At least the Cesaro vs. Sheamus match has a belt involved so at least that could be the tie that bind them together. Orton randomly attacked Jericho and boom! Match at Night of Champions. This is obviously not the first time a match was out together in this manner. Personally the whole Jericho spilling coffee on Kane to start a feud was probably this writer’s favorite.
Speculation is running rampant. Jericho has publicly stated he is going away to your with Fozzy, so this may be the last time we see Jericho for a while.
And the winner is:
Chris Jericho. Yes this is contest to what I implied above. What you never heard of the good old bait and switch? Jericho wins with a Code Breaker. After the match, Orton will destroy Jericho.
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena
Is there really a need to go over the background of this one? Lesnar suplexed Cena into oblivion at SummerSlam. Cena destroying the Wyatts a few weeks ago has done nothing to instill any hope that Cena has a snowball’s chance in hell of beating Lesnar.
There has been rumblings that some of the higher-ups are worried that Cena's die hard fans will lose faith in their hero so expect Cena to have a strong showing during the match. That said...
... And the winner is:
Brock Lesnar. There is no bait and switch to this one. It really is just a matter of how he is going to win. That's where things get interesting-
Option one: Lesnar wins via DQ because Cena finally goes crazy and takes a steel chair to Brock.
Option two: Cena gets distracted by the person(s) who he will be feuding with next and Lesnar pins him after an F5.
Now, in option two there would need to be outside interference. Once again there are two options-
Option one: Rusev. See? Told you earlier there would be more on him later. After dispatching Henry, the only logical person to challenge Rusev is John Cena. Well unless Kurt Angle is around.
Option two: Cena gets attacked by the newly formed stable of Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, and Big E. This is clearly a long shot, but the logic behind this option has been successfully applied in the past: new stable destroys top baby face to get over. Less we forget the Nexus and the Shield.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below!