Big Matt’s Night of Champions Review 2015
First match on the card was
the Intercontinental title match between Ryback the reigning champion vs Kevin Owens
. Kevin Owens comes out first to a good pop from the crowd, I don’t know about anyone else but it was surprising and refreshing to hear someone being referred to as a ‘wrestler’. Ryback comes out second, for me he’s like a modern day Ultimate Warrior. This was a good match between the two, not quite at the level that John Cena and Kevin Owens delivered earlier in the year but still a good match. The bulk of the match was Kevin Owens attacking the arm of Ryback. The way Owens targeted the arm and the arsenal of moves he showed to damage the arm was great, at a key point Michael Cole made the point that the Kevin Owens offence would take the power game away from Ryback, which helped reinforce Kevin Owens’ offence and help tell the story to the viewers. I though Ryback did ok in this match, he could have sold the arm more when out of holds, I didn’t get the sense he was in a tremendous amount of pain. However I did enjoy the finish, Kevin Owens rake of the eyes to get out of Rybacks’ finishing manoeuvre and set up the win really suits his character. A good opening match in my opinion, nice to see an opening match that isn’t Randy Orton vs Sheamus.
Grade: C+
The second match on the card was
Rusev vs Dolph Ziggler
. I thought this was a great match. Dolph Ziggler in his new ring attire combined with his entrance reminds me of 90’s Shawn Michaels. There is nobody in WWE today that waves a flag like Rusev, he does some mighty fine flag waving. The match had the usual high calibre selling from Dolph Ziggler, when he slammed Rusev to the mat it was clear to every one that it took it out of him and really hurt the previously damaged back (take note Ryback). Also I enjoyed the intensity of Dolph Zigglers’ attack, especially his clotheslines, he was practically launching himself at Rusev in order to knock the Bulgarian brute down. Rusev was very good in this match also, he played his part of being the explosive big guy with dumb tendencies well. He was believable when he thought he had won the match following a near fall. The acting from Dolph Ziggler was great here to, it looks like he went to the Bret Hart school of playing possum. The finish wasn’t brilliant, I’m not sure why Summer Rae had to be thrown out but even more strange was the response from Summer Rae. Has anybody got so mad that they’ve thrown away their shoes? I’d love to know. However this gave Dolph Ziggler the opening he needed when one of Summer Raes’ shoes hit Rusev stunning him so Dolph could hit the Zig-Zag for the win. On a side note the crowd weren’t into this match at all which was a shame, they were flat through out, not even the incredible DDT Ziggler hit on Rusev could stir any emotion, both wrestlers deserved more from the crowd.
Grade: B
The third match on the card was the
The New Day vs The Dudley Boyz for the WWE Tag Team Titles
. I was looking forward to this match purely because I wanted to see what The New Day were going to do next. New Day come out and cut a promo on their way to the ring. For me it wasn’t their greatest mic work, the crowd didn’t seem in to it either. On the plus side every time I see New Day I can’t help but think what a star Big E is. Of all the matches on this pay-per-view, I recorded the least amount of notes for this match. The tag-team match it self was, everybody worked hard and put together a decent match. Xavier Woods was annoying as hell on the trombone doing his best to get heat. The match ends in disqualification when Xavier Woods enters the ring, breaking up a three count following a 3D. Following their disqualification New Day ironically got a table and set it up in the ring. As Xavier Woods has his back turned playing to the crowd, The Dudley Boyz quickly enter the ring, getting rid of Kofi and Big E then deliver a 3D through the table on an unsuspecting Xavier Woods.
Grade: C
The fourth match was between
Nikki Bella and Charlotte for the Divas title
. The words ‘Divas Revolution’ had been used quite a lot as of late but personally I didn’t feel that the revolution would truly start until one of the stars that came up from NXT won the title. In this match I thought Nikki Bella stepped up and performed her best match in WWE to date. Nikki attacked Charlottes knee which got injured early in the match showing good psychology. I particularly liked how Nikki used the ring as a weapon such as when she snap-suplexed Charlotte purposely causing the injured knee to catch the ring ropes. Charlotte proved in this match that she is star quality and a true champion in waiting. The way she was able to sell her knee injury but stay alive at the same time was brilliant. I’m not sure on the finish though. Charlotte won via the figure eight submission move. I understand why she used it but Nikki shouldn’t have tapped out here. The knee should of been too badly damaged for the figure eight to be as effective as it usually is. Nikki should of attacked the knee to get out and then the finish could of been a roll up for the win. Nevertheless Nikki tapped and Charlotte is the new Divas champion, I for one am looking forward to seeing how her title reign goes. The scenes after the match were lovely between the legendary Ric Flair and Charlotte.
Grade: B+
The fifth match match on the card was
the Wyatt Family vs Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Mystery Partner
. This was the match I was most most looking forward to, I’m a fan of the guys in this match and I was intrigued as to who would be revealed as the mystery partner. The Wyatt Family came out first, they have the coolest entrance in the WWE right now, the ‘fireflies’ are amazing. Dean Ambrose is next followed by Roman Reigns through the crowd. Then came the mystery partner … Y2J Chris Jericho! I was so excited that it was Chris Jericho for two reasons. Reason number one is because it’s Chris Jericho! Reason number two, it wasn’t Randy Orton. The crowd finally wake up for Y2J and even start a chant of ‘you’ve still got it!’ He never lost it Baby! There were some cool moments in this match, one being when Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman had their stare down in the ring. Roman is a big guy but Braun Strowmans’ sheer bulk is insane. I thought this was a great match and I’m really pleased with the positive reaction Roman Reigns was receiving because he has earned it. As we are getting close to the finish Roman Reigns finally brought Braun Strowman down to the mat although he had to hit two superman punches in the process. It appears that Roman Reigns is getting ready to hit his spear but Chris Jericho has other ideas and tags himself in, hitting the lionsault on Braun Strowman which only received a two count and a huge kick out from Braun. Braun Strowman then proceeds to man handle Chris Jericho ultimately choking him out with his impressive submissions move, earning the Wyatt Family the win. After the match Dean, Roman and Chris are in the ring. As Chris gets to his feet, he exits the ring purposefully bumping into his tag-team partners on the way out.
Grade: B+
The sixth match was
John Cena vs Seth Rollins for the United States championship
. I was pleasantly surprised to see John Cena come to the ring first, he gets a mixed reaction from the crowd as always. Seth Rollins is out next wearing his white and gold ring attire. Seth Rollins has done a great job with his character, with his actions and his movements, you believe that he thinks he is the man. I enjoyed the spot where Seth points his finger at the crowd, turns clockwise and the crowd respond by doing a Mexican wave, that was brilliant. I thought this match was better than the their previous encounter at Summerslam. There were some great moves from each person, where the hell did that hurricarana that John Cena pulled off come from? As the match went on Seth Rollins was getting more cheers from the crowd. It was nice to hear an ‘Eddie’ chant from the crowd following the frog splash from Seth Rollins. The strength Seth Rollins showed to lift John Cena and turn it into a buckle bomb was super human. I liked the finish of this match where John Cena did his leg drop from the top rope then hit the AA for the win. It was good to see John using only one AA in order to put his opponent away. There was a great moment where John Cena goes to a young fan in the crowd to celebrate with. For me this was the best match on the card. It’s tough to name a top quality match this year without John Cena being in it.
Grade A-
The final match on the Card is
Sting vs Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
. Before Sting came out, Seth Rollins attempted to leave with his WWE World Heavyweight title but John Cena cuts him off, delivering an AA to the floor and then rolls him in the ring. Stings’ music then hits and out comes the icon. What I found strange was why didn’t Sting come charging to the ring like a pumped Ultimate Warrior when he can see Seth Rollins selling the effects of the AA in the ring. I know Sting is a babyface and sprinting to the ring may come across as a bit heelish but he’s there to win the biggest prize in the game and there is an opportunity to do so right from the start. The match does eventually get underway with Sting on top controlling the tempo which is noticeably slower than the previous match. Seth and Sting eventually end up on top of the announce table where it appears Sting is about to deliver a devastating move but Seth cuts him off and pushes Sting through the Spanish announce table. Sting clearly hits his head on the TV monitor which looked painful. Seth Rollins makes another attempt to leave but changed his mind when seeing a hurt Sting. After the medic checks Sting the match is able to continue. The match carries on with the same tempo as before, Seth Rollins does a great job of selling fatigue. There are a couple of big spots that get a ‘holy shit!’ chant from the crowd. Seth manages to survive the Scorpion death lock and gets a roll up on Sting for the win. This was an ok match, I thought the end of this match would be better, the slow tempo and build lead me to believe we were in for a great finish but it didn’t quite deliver. After the match Sheamus attempts a cash in of his money in the bank briefcase, he hits a brogue kick on Seth Rollins but before the bell rings a masked Kane makes his return and choke slams a defenceless Seth Rollins. Sheamus encourages Kane to give Seth another one but Kane chooses to choke slam Sheamus instead.
Grade: C+
Night of Champions overall grade: B
