WWE Night of Champions Recap: September 20, 2015
Guest columnist: Katherine Kelly
Match 1: WWE Intercontinental Championship Ryback (c) vs. Kevin Owens. The two big men lock up and trade early on with Ryback introducing KO to the floor a few times. Ryback throws KO to the outside and then follows him out but KO rams Ryback’s arm straight into the ring post. KO is in control of the match for the next several minutes as he viciously works on the IC champion’s arm. Ryback begins to fight back after minutes of punishment and the effects of KO’s punishment are clear to the audience (KO’s doing an awesome job of playing the heel in this match). Owens counter Ryback’s power bomb attempt and talks smack to his opponent. Ryback doesn’t like that very much as he comes back with a huge spine buster. Owen’s hits a kick only to get a near fall, Owen’s calls for the pop up power bomb but Ryback counters with a huge clothesline. The IC champion attempts to hit shell shock but his shoulder gives out and that’s enough time for Owen’s to regroup and throw his opponent into the ring post, Owen’s locks Ryback in an armbar but he is able to fight out of it and attempts to hit Owen’s with shell shock but the challenger rakes his eyes and rolls up the champion for the three count. I normally don’t like roll up victories especially when they it’s a title match but this seemed perfect for Owen’s character and I really think he’s the man to bring the IC title back to prestige.
Your Winner and New IC Champion Kevin Owens.
Match 2: Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev (w/Summer Rae). Rusev quickly charges his enemy delivering knees to his gut. Ziggler rolls up his opponent for a near fall. Rusev locks his enemy in a headlock which the show off is able to fight out of and attempts to lock his own sleeper hold (going to sleep here) on the Bulgarian Brute but Rusev is able to push Dolph away and hit him with a spin kick. Rusev is in control and nails Ziggler with two body slams. The Crowd begins to chant “We Want Lana” which angers Rusev and distracts him long enough for Ziggler to recover and hit his own slam to Rusev (a little bit impressive). The enemies exchange counters with Rusev getting the upper hand by slamming Ziggler down to the match he gets a near fall. Ziggler gets two roll ups on Rusev that both end as a near fall. Ziggler hits the famous – ER and then goes to the tope rope but the Bulgarian Brute is right there to knock the show off down. Ziggler catches Rusev with a DDT and gets another two count he attempts a super kick but Rusev counters and hits a side kick and pins his opponent for a two count which he mistakes being a three count. He attempts to lock in the accolade but Ziggler slips out and hits a super kick. Summer Rae gets up on the ring apron and yells at the referee Rusev knocks Ziggler right into the ropes and that causes Summer Rae to fall into the ring the referee ejects her from ringside and she argues with him and takes off her shoes (we know where this is going) and throws one at the ramp and the other at the ref but unfortunately for her it missed the ref and hit Rusev allowing Ziggler to hit the Zig Zag for the 1….2…3. I really do hope this is the last match of their feud it’s stale and so uninteresting.
Your Winner Dolph Ziggler
Match 3: WWE Tag Team Championship The New Day (c) vs. The Dudley Boys. Kingston & D-Von begin the match they trade counters with each other before Kofi hits a beautiful dropkick on his opponent and Xavier Woods plays the trombone. Kofi & D-Von go to lock back up and Kofi slaps D-Von right in the back of his head (it sounded really hard), big mistake that angers D-Von who turns around and nails Kofi with a clothesline, Kingston rolls out to regroup. Bubba Ray & Big E tag in respectively and they lock up Big E gets Bubba in a head lock and applies pressure to the sound of “New Day Sucks/Rocks” (whatever side you’re on). The Dudley’s hit a double team elbow drop. Big E goes to the top rope and pays for it as Bubba cuts him off and hits a superplex. (Big E’s landing was nasty!) Bubba hits his trademark back drop to Kofi Kingston but the New Day fights back and has control of the match as they tag in and out (I understand it’s a part of tag team wrestling but sheesh it so boring). Big E hits a huge splash to Bubba off the apron and that sounds off Woods who plays a familiar theme music. Big E & Kofi still have control until Bubba hits the bubba bomb (childhood memories coming back) on Kofi he tags in D-Von who cleans house the Dudley’s hit the 3D and D-Von attempts the pin but Woods runs in and breaks it up causing a DQ finish. After the match the New Day attempted to put Bubba through a table but he & D-Von fought back and instead sent Woods through a table with the 3D! A DQ ending is that even allowed in tag team wrestling? Lame WWE, but Woods going through a table made up for it a bit.
Your Winner by DQ the Dudley Boys.
Match 4: WWE Divas Championship Nikki Bella (c) vs. Charlotte. Nikki runs from Charlotte early on and does some push ups on the outside. She eventually gets in the ring and locks up with the challenger. They trade a hard elbow and forearm before Charlotte gets knocked to the floor and looks to have injured her knee. Nikki suplexs Charlotte and her knees hit the ropes. (OUCH!) She yanks Charlotte out of the ring by her bad knee. (Looks like this is going to be a storyline match) Nikki drives her own knees into the back of Charlotte’s knees she locks the challenger in a submission and then drives her knee into the mat several times Charlotte punches Nikki in the face but gets hit with a running kick by the champion. Nikki is in the driver’s seat she targets Charlotte’s knee for much of her offense she locks in a single leg Boston crab on the challenger. She locks in the figure four on the ring post to inflict more pain on the challenger’s knee. (Figure four’s on the ring post never fail to look incredibility painful) Charlotte begins to mount a comeback hitting chops and even a big kick on Nikki but the champ goes after the knee again. Nikki comes off the ropes and eats a huge spear by Charlotte (NICE!) who then locks in the Figure Eight for the victory. She celebrates with PCB and her very proud father Ric Flair. I would’ve liked to see more offensive from Charlotte even though I know it’s a storyline match where the mega baby face overcomes the heel but still I think she deserved to get a bit more offense in anyway at least the Divas Division is on its way up with a knew champion let’s just hope the booking team capitalises!
Your Winner and New Divas Champion Charlotte.
Match 5: The Wyatt Family vs. Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns & Chris Jericho! Ambrose & Reigns partner turned out to be none other than Y2J Chris Jericho! (HECK YES) The match begins and Harper & Ambrose start us off. Ambrose takes control and he & Reigns hit a dropkick clothesline combination on Harper (NICE!). Jericho tags in and hits a flying fist and a cross body from the top rope. He nails an enzuguri on Harper (It’s so good seeing Jericho back in a wrestling ring!) Reigns & Strowman tag in respectively. Ambrose & Reigns charge at him but they’re both knocked down (Strowman’s got that big guy edge to him something that I love as a pro wrestling fan!). Jericho comes off the ropes and gets caught by Strowman who throws him right into his partners. Wyatt tags in and he and Ambrose go at it. Ambrose hits him with a boot and a neck breaker. Reigns & Harper tag in and they go at it Reigns gets a near fall with a power bomb he punches Harper right to the outside. Harper nails a super kick on Reigns and tags Wyatt in who continues the destruction they keep Reigns grounded while they tag in and out (here comes the boring part). Harper hits Reigns with a suicide dive. (Harper is one of the most impressive big guys I’ve seen in a while). Ambrose gets sent into the time keeper area by Strowman. Reigns begins to fight back and makes the hot tag to Jericho. Jericho hits Wyatt with just about every signature move he’s known for. He locks Wyatt in the Walls of Jericho but Harper breaks it up. Jericho tags Ambrose who comes in and clotheslines Wyatt but gets clotheslined by Wyatt at the same time. Reigns & Strowman get the respective tags and Reigns unleashes on Strowman with superman punches and a spear. Ambrose takes out Harper whilst Jericho makes the blind tag and hits the lionsault on Strowman who amazingly kicks out. (HE KICKED OUT) Wyatt sends Reigns into the barricade and Strowman locks on a choke to Jericho which he passes out from the referee calls it a win. Strong and much needed win for the Wyatt’s I’m looking forward to them becoming a dominant faction in WWE they have the tools to be exactly that. I loved how WWE teased a Jericho/Ambrose feud that is one feud I think we all need in our lives.
Your Winner The Wyatt Family
Match 6: WWE United States Championship Seth Rollins (c) vs. John Cena. Cena charges Rollins right off the bat and gets in punches a back elbow and slam Rollins head into the corner. Rollins hits an elbow of his own to stop the Cenation Leader. Rollins hits one beautiful blockbuster before eating an uppercut from the 15x WHC that doesn’t stop Rollins though who locks in a sleeper hold on Cena. (Can we stop with the sleeper holds tonight please?) Rollins hit Cena with a double foot stomp while he is in the old tree of woe position he continues to stomp the former champion (NICE Rollins NICE!). Cena rolls up the champ for a near fall but eats a running forearm from Seth. Rollins attempts the five knuckle shuffle to mock Cena but ends up paying for it as Cena counters. Cena attempts to hit the five knuckle shuffle but eats a kick to the face from Rollins. Cena hits a sunset flip on the champ and then attempts to hit the AA but Rollins grabs the ropes and saves himself. Cena cuts the champ off at the top rope and attempts to hit an AA from the second rope but Rollins escapes and attempts a running power bomb which Cena counter into a BEAUTFIFUL hurricanrana. The two men trade punches and Cena goes for a third AA attempt but Rollins flips out and hits some nice kicks for a close two count (Rollins counters to the AA are always some great stuff to see). The champ knocks the challenger out of the ring and flips over the ropes onto Cena and lands on his feet (nice agility!). Cena avoids a Frog Splash attempt from Rollins and Eddie Guerrero chants fire up from the crowd (<3 <3 <3 <3). Cena hits a tornado DDT and gets a near fall. Rollins cuts off Cena at the top rope and nails an awesome suplex slam combination for a near fall (Rollins is really impressive tonight!). Cena locks the STF on the champ who manages to force a break by getting to the ropes. Cena goes for his fourth AA attempt but Rollins counters and lifts Cena all the way from the mat and gets him on his shoulders to hit a corner power bomb! (The strength it takes to lift Cena from the mat all the way to you shoulders is a lot Rollins strength is much underrated) Rollins continues to mock the challenger by attempting to hit an AA of his own it backfires on him though as Cena reverses it into a nice inverted suplex. Cena hits a top rope leg drop and on his fifth attempt manages to finally hit Rollins with the AA and get the win! Props to both men on an awesome match Rollins is the right guy to be carrying the company he is incredibility talented and continues to prove that and as far as Cena goes you got to respect the guy for how he can pull out amazing matches against just about everyone. I agree on giving the title back to Cena he does a lot more with it and hopefully the US title open challenges can come back.
Your Winner and New United States Champion John Cena.
Match 7: WWE World Heavyweight Championship Seth Rollins (c) vs. Sting. The Vigilante straight away goes after Rollins with a stinger splash and an attempt at the Scorpion Death Lock. Rollins hits a cross body on Sting who uses his power to roll through and pin the champ for a near fall (Sting showing some strength tonight). Sting sends Rollins over the tope rope and the champ decides he’s had enough he tries to leave but the icon catches him and runs him directly into the steel steps. When they get back into the ring Rollins gets a little offense in before Sting comes back with clotheslines, one knocks Rollins back to the outside where he attempts to grab a monitor but is run right into the barricade by Sting (A bit of Ruthlessness coming from the challenger I like it!). The two men find their way to the announce table where Rollins pushes Sting right into the Spanish announce table which breaks (whoop there it is). Rollins grabs the title and is on his way out until he sees that Sting is not immediately back up causing the champion to go back. Rollins slams Sting onto the pieces of the broken Spanish announce table he gets a near fall (OUCH knowing how old Sting is the effects had to take their toll). Sting gets a couple of punches in but Rollins hits the corner power bomb (I LOVE that move). Rollins tries to springboard into the ring but gets shoved of the tope rope by Sting, Rollins lands near the barricade (The landing was really dangerous looking). Sting is on his way back as he hits his trademark stinger splash twice and then sends the champ back to the outside, Sting climbs to the tope rope and hits a cross body to the champion on the outside (Sting’s offense tonight is great he’s holding nothing back). They make their way back to the ring and Sting hits the scorpion death drop on Rollins who luckily for him has his foot on the ropes. Sting ducks a clothesline from Rollins but collapses to the floor nonetheless he continues the match (When he collapsed I don’t think I’ve ever had a scarier moment I thought he may have died for a second). Rollins goes for the pedigree (does Rollins have to use HHH finisher C’mon WWE let him use his own) but Sting counters into the Scorpion Death Lock! Rollins gets to the ropes and forces the break. Rollins goes for another pedigree (Stop.) but it is again countered by Sting but Rollins counters that counter into a roll up and gets the victory! Okay this roll up victory was lame but I think it might’ve been for the best considering Sting’s condition at that point)
Your Winner and Still WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins.
Personal Thoughts: I give this show a 7/10. Owen’s vs. Ryback was a solid opener definitely one of the more better NOC openers over the years, Owen’s played the heel part to perfection and WWE made the right move in making him IC champion. Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev was one of the lower matches of the night this whole soap opera between them Summer Rae & Lana is uninteresting and very stale I feel as if Ziggler & Rusev could be doing much better things with their time considering how talented they are same goes for Summer Rae she should be in the Divas Division wrestling. The tag team title match was interesting the New Day vs. The Dudley’s hopefully continues to go on as so far it’s made for a great storyline, the DQ ending was lame but at least now there is still a reason to continue the storyline. Nikki Bella vs. Charlotte was good like I said before I wish Charlotte could’ve got in more offense. After her title win I hope to see more divas getting put into actual wrestling matches and storylines WWE has got the chance to make something big of their divas division and I hope they don’t look past it. The Wyatt’s vs. Ambrose/Reigns & Jericho was good in my opinion I like seeing Strowman pull out the win for his team. Jericho coming back was a wonderful surprise and I really hope WWE carries through with this Jericho/Ambrose feud they’re teasing. Cena vs. Rollins couldn’t get any more perfect their styles work very well and almost every time they wrestle it’s a classic, I was questioning the decision to put the belt back on Cena but I realise that it’s far better off with him, these two men deserved to put on the great match they did after the lame stuff WWE pulled with Jon Stewart at Summer Slam. As for the main event I really liked how Sting wasn’t holding back with his offense and how Rollins played his heel part quite well, I would like to see these two men face in the future because they seem to go well together, Sting collapsing was still scary as hell though and I honestly hope he is okay.
— Katherine Kelly