Night of Champions was a decent PPV. 6/10
- Kevin Owens vs Ryback was a solid show opener. **½
The finish was kinda a copy-paste of Jay Lethal vs Bobby Fish from ASE, but whatever... I am beyond happy KO is the new IC champ!
Hopefully KO goes on a 6-8 month reign and murders everyone!
- Dolph Ziggler vs Rusev was decent. **
I didn't even care about this feud to begin with, so I am just glad it's over. DZ got the win with a Zig Zag after Summer accidentally hit RuRu with a shoe. Also, props to Rusev for selling that Jumping DDT like he was a freakin' tree!
- The New Day vs The Dudley Boyz was decent for what it was. **
Outside of The New Day antics, the match was nothing special. The Dudley Boyz win by DQ, of course, and that kind of finish begs for a rematch.
Also, the pre-match promo from The New Day was gold... Aaand, Xavier's hair and him playing the Final Fantasy Victory and Rocky theme on a trombone was majestic.
- Charlotte vs Nikki Bella was OK for what it was, but definitely skip-worthy. *½
The match was dull, as Nikki was working the knee of Charlotte for what felt like eternity and Charlotte basically won out of nowhere by channeling her inner John Cena, but I am glad Charlotte is the new Divas champion and Nikki's reign is finally over, nonetheless.
- The Wyatt Family vs Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose & Chris Jericho was rock solid. **¾
I was fine with Y2J being the mystery partner. I still mark for the guy. Plus, they needed someone whose presence wouldn't eclipse Reigns, and also a guy to take the fall and to try and solidify Strowman as a monster.
I'm cool with The Wyatts winning, hopefully the feud is blown off at HIAC. The finishing sequence was interesting, when Reigns was about to hit another Spear on Strowman and Y2J tagged himself in, leading to The Wyatts eventually picking up the win...
Post-match, Reigns and Ambrose checked on Y2J, who then decided to be a dick and shove his way through them and do the shoulder thing on Ambrose. There'll definitely be a change of attitude when it comes to Y2J, so I'm looking forward to that.
- A video package hyping Brock Lesnar's "Go To Hell" tour was good. Brock wrecking Show at MSG could be fun, a podcast with SCSA and a HIAC match with The Undertaker could be fun, too.
- John Cena vs Seth Rollins was very good and MOTN. ***½
Rollins was the ultimate babyface here, having odds stacked heavily against him. Also, that white gear must be a tribute to Tanahashi.
Overall, this was a fun back-and-forth match with no BS. It's exactly what the Title vs Title match at SS should've been.
But, Cena regaining the US title is lame. Not because CENAWINSLOL and not like I'll lose sleep over it, but because this proves that giving Rollins the US title in the first place was unnecessary. Damn, Rollins could've just weaseled a win over Cena, or even an intentional DQ win, thus allowing Cena to destroy him post-match. Hopefully Cena is keeping that US title warm for Sami Zayn, though.
- Seth Rollins vs Sting was a solid ME. **½
Gotta give props to Rollins for being a machine, and also to Sting for holding his own. The man is 56 years old and him throwing caution to the wind by taking a table spot, hitting a crossbody to the floor and then eating a Buckle Bomb is admirable. That Powerbomb may've finished him, as the finish seemed hurried from there, so I hope Sting is okay... And the finish saw another Jay Lethal tribute (from ASE) and Rollins winning with small package. Yay!
Post-match, an underwhelming MITB cash-in was gonna happen when Sheamus came out and Brogue Kicked Rollins, then... MASKED KANE returns to save the day and stop the cash-in... #ThankYouKane
He'd proceed to Chokeslam Rollins, then do the same to Sheamus and ultimately hit a Tombstone on Rollins to close the show.
So, there it is... The obligatory Kane match against the WWE champion that no one wants to see, but WWE never fails to put it each year.
I was actually expecting it, so nevermind, Rollins is still the WWE-WHC and at least they'll get that out of the way, 'cause they've been having a hard-on for Rollins/Kane for a while, so Rollins retains at HIAC and we're good!
