Thursday, March 28, 2024
Editorial5 Greatest Night of Champions Matches

5 Greatest Night of Champions Matches

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Night of Champions, which was introduced in 2007 under the moniker Vengeance, isn’t exactly a popular PPV, but a lot of interesting events took place at this PPV. This was site of Jeff Hardy’s last win on a WWE PPV, Mark Henry’s first World Title reign and the PPV where we were supposed to get CM Punk and Chris Benoit before, well, you know the rest, right? Anyways, with that said, I believe some reminiscing is in order. So here are my five favorite matches from the history of Night of Champions.

First, here are some honorable mentions:

2012 – Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler

2013 – Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan

2011 – John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio

2008 – Edge vs. Batista

2010 – The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan

5. Randy Orton vs. Sheamus vs. John Cena vs. Edge vs. Wade Barrett vs. Chris Jericho – WWE Championship (Six Pack Elimination Challenge)

Now I’m a fan of multi-man matches if it is done in the right way, and the last time we had a match in this fashion was back in 1999 as I recall. I believe Triple H won a similar six pack challenge for the WWE Title. Someone can correct me on that if I’m wrong. Anyways, this was a hot crowd, especially for Orton and the action was non-stop. Jericho’s early elimination wasn’t exactly sitting well with me, but his reaction after was golden. After Edge and Cena were subsequently eliminated, we were left with Orton, Barrett and Sheamus. Orton then was able to dispatch Barrett and his interfering Nexus with RKOs for everyone and finally concluding with putting away Sheamus and winning his 7th WWE Championship. While it certainly didn’t have the action you’d expect in something such as the Elimination Chamber, this was a fun, little main event. Sorry, but Orton just doesn’t look right bald.

4. 2008:

Triple H vs. John Cena – WWE Championship

Triple H and John Cena had quite the rivalry in the late 2000’s. It all started at WrestleMania 22, when the King of Kings submitted to John Cena in the main event and since that time he was itching for a chance to get even. When Cena defeated Jeff Hardy in a number one contender’s match for Triple H’s title, he claimed Triple H wasn’t the man until he beat him. Then Triple H ambushed him from behind and someone with a low quality camera recorded the debacle and someone else yelled “WorldStar”. Well, that didn’t really happened, but they didn’t like each other. So this was Triple H’s chance at redemption, and he got it in a back and forth match where the finish could have came at any time. With good selling from both men, you’ll find some tremendous back and forth here.

3. 2009

CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy – World Heavyweight Championship

The program between CM Punk and Jeff Hardy was one of my favorites. Punk’s straight edge character was a direct contrast to Jeff Hardy’s dare-devil like behavior and it was apropos that Punk brought up his issues with drug abuse and discipline with WWE outside the ring. It wasn’t just the promos that was entertaining, their matches were pretty darn good too. As I mentioned before, this was Hardy’s last PPV win during his WWE tenure, and I believed he left a mark here. These two had some great chemistry and there was never a dull moment here. Jeff Hardy took this bout between them before CM Punk took his title back at Summerslam in a classic TLC match the next month.


2. 2014

Sheamus vs. Cesaro – United States Championship

This is what we refer to as a hidden gem. I don’t know about you guys, but I can watch Sheamus and Cesaro wrestle all day, everyday. These two wrestlers are the definition of the term “workhorse”. These two worked well together because they are both physical and hard hitting and you can tell in this match they weren’t holding anything back. For the second match on this card, this was your march of the night. The chemistry was impeccable and Cesaro’s constant reversals from Sheamus’ moves makes you appreciate not only his power, but his athleticism as well. While Sheamus did come out victorious, even if you weren’t rooting for him, both men deserved a standing ovation for this match. If you can get past Jerry Lawler’s obnoxious commentary after the match, this was a near perfect wrestling experience. There is just one more match in the history of Night of Champions that topped it, and I’d say it’s a worthy one.


1. 2012

CM Punk vs. John Cena – WWE Championship

We all know CM Punk and John Cena always tear the house down when they are wrestling each other. They had a five star classic at Money In The Bank in 2011 and another near perfect match on an episode of RAW in 2013. This was probably their third greatest match together, and while it wasn’t like the ones before, this certainly would be pleasing to the eyes. CM Punk was still WWE Champion and Cena wanted to end Punk’s tough talk. In Cena’s home state, he was booed and Punk was cheered, but you can tell Punk was trying very hard not to receive applause as he came out in wrestling attire with a color scheme resembling Boston’s arch rivals in baseball, the New York Yankees. What makes this amazing is that Punk blatantly carried this match. You won’t see Cena sell a lot, if any, of Punk’s moves in the ring. Yet, they still both put on a classic. When each finisher hit, you felt like the official can make the three count, but both men withstood each other’s best shot. While this match ended with a Dusty Finish, hardcore wrestling fans would gain satisfaction in what they had just saw. Ladies and gentlemen, the best Night of Champions match ever, in my opinion.

Did I miss any? Wish I’d jump off the Empire State building? Let me know. Until next time.

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