There’s a WWE pay-per-view/Network Special/whatever they call those now tomorrow. Since we haven’t done so in a while, lets predict it.
Night Of Champions is one of the more interesting shows to come along in several months. And when I say interesting, I mean hard to call, not my god I must see this show now and would you please take my money immediately, WWE? Don’t get me wrong, I am looking forward to watching it. But that feeling is helped tremendously by it only costing me a fraction of my $11.99 monthly Network subscription fee.
WWE World Championship Match: Brock Lesnar versus John Cena
Thoughts: This match has me scared. Scared that WWE will pull a 2012 and job Brock out to Cena again. But at the same time, things seem somewhat better now than they were then, with what’s right prevailing more often than it used to. Lesnar losing now would make even less sense at this point than it did a few years ago, what with the absolute demolition of Cena by Lesnar last month at Summerslam and WWE having given him one of the only things in wrestling that still means jack shit, the Undertaker’s 21 year Wrestlemania unbeaten streak. Brock losing after all of that would amount to a gigantic fuck you to not only the fans but also to the Undertaker, who has given everything he has and then some to the wrestling business. Cena doesn’t need the title, and there are many more interesting match-ups for Lesnar as champion than there are for him. Barring a major catastrophe, there’s absolutely no good reason for Cena to win…wait, what’s this? Ahh fuck, a major catastrophe! That’s just great!
At 2:31 PM Eastern, WWE ran a “Breaking News” update with Scott Stanford at WWE Headquarters on the WWE Network, cutting into “Slam City.”
Stanford announced that Roman Reigns’ surgery was a success and that Reigns is in recovery. Reigns will remain overnight in the hospital in Nashville, TN but has been pulled from the WWE Night of Champions PPV.
Stanford asked what brought on the hernia. Dr. Amann said that it wasn’t something that happened in the ring but something that Reigns had been dealing with. This morning in his hotel, Reigns woke with bad abdominal pain that was getting worse, so reached out to the WWE medical staff.
Reigns was told to go to the hospital and learned it was an incarcerated hernia, which means a loop of intestine had wrapped around it. Obviously, that required immediate emergency surgery.
Reigns will be out of the ring at least 4-6 weeks but possibly as long as three months.
It’s a good thing WWE has built up as many babyfaces to slide into that up and coming star spot as they have…goddammit! Please WWE, don’t panic and put the belt back on Cena. I know that Reigns was an important part of future plans, but that does not under any circumstances mean that Cena is a suitable replacement. Faith Steve, you must have faith.
Winner: Lesnar.
Intercontinental Title Match: Dolph Ziggler versus Miz
Thoughts: I respect what Miz has accomplished and the hard work he’s clearly put in to do so. He’s gotten further than I ever imagined he would when I first saw him. He should be proud. But seriously. Ziggler has so much more upside. No matter how hard WWE tries to bury him, the fans still care. He has something. Run with it, for Christ’s sake.
Winner: Ziggler.
United States Title Match: Sheamus versus Cesaro
Thoughts: This is one of those ones I’m having trouble with. WWE has done less than nothing with Sheamus since he won the U.S. Title. But on the other hand, WWE has done less than nothing with Cesaro since he won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at Wrestlemania, aside from pair him up with Paul Heyman before dropping that story for literally no reason. But Cesaro is a guy that the fans want to cheer, especially if they start letting him do the swing again. I say give him the belt and see what happens.
Winner: Cesaro.
Tag Title Match: The Usos versus Stardust and Goldust
Thoughts: I don’t get the whole Stardust thing, but it seems to be working and unlike a lot of internet fans, I understand that this isn’t all about me. If there’s a plan for this weird ass cosmic key stuff, I’m game for seeing what it is. the Usos have been established as good champions, but if they’re going to pay this new weirdness off, it’s time for them to lose.
Winner: The Dusts.
Divas Title Match: Paige versus AJ Lee versus Nikki Bella
Thoughts: This Bellas family drama storyline. I mean, Jesus fuck. It’s awful. I get what they’re going for and I appreciate the effort, but just…holy ghost on a piece of toast it’s not working. Similar high drama family strife angles have worked in the past, but it helps if the principles can…what’s the word I’m looking for? Act. Yeah, that’s it. The Bellas just aren’t capable of conjuring up the emotion it takes to pull this off. Their promos are like somebody reading off a piece of paper complete with instructions on where to put the emphasis and then not being able to follow them. So, so terrible.
As for the match itself, the Paige and AJ stuff, while not my favourite, is orders of magnitude more interesting to me than this Bella junk. Hopefully the family drama will keep Nikki away from the title and let the other 2 continue a storyline with honest to god potential.
Winner: Paige.
Mark Henry versus Rusev
Thoughts: I like what they’re doing with the American heroes trying to stop the evil Russian. It’s easy heat and there’s nothing wrong with that. But now is not the time to beat the evil Russian.
Winner: Rusev.
Chris Jericho versus Randy Orton
Thoughts: Word is that Jericho will be leaving either after this PPV or the next night’s Raw, which makes this one fun. Conventional wisdom would suggest that Jericho loses, possibly getting injured by Orton to write him out while making the guy who’s staying look stronger. But WWE has been known to swerve us when we think we know what’s up, so my guess is Jericho wins, only to be taken out after the fact, either right after the match or the next night.
Winner: Jericho.
There you have it, all of the matches.
I’ll be interested to see what they decide to do with Seth Rollins now that Roman Reigns is sidelined. I hate to see anyone legit in distress, but it adds a dimension of mystery to the night that it didn’t have before, which is fun.
Enjoy the show tomorrow. I may or may not be back to run down how I did and offer some thoughts on the action sometime next week.