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From The Network – WWE Night of Champions 2014

October 25, 2014 | Posted by Dylan Diot
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From The Network – WWE Night of Champions 2014  

WWE Night of Champions 2014
9-21-14
Nashville, TN

Your hosts are Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and JBL.

WWE Tag Team Championship- The Usos (Jimmy and Jey) © vs. Goldust and Stardust
Goldust and Jey start. Rights by Jey and he hits a back elbow. Tag to Jimmy and he hits a corner forearm. He knocks Goldust down with a chop and Stardust tags in. Slam by Jimmy and he hits the Sliding D for 2. Jimmy presses Stardust into Jey who snaps Stardust’s neck off the rope for 2. Standing arm bar by Jey but Goldust breaks with a cheap shot. Goldust sends Jey hard into the corner and Stardust tags in. He works Jey over and Goldust tags in. Jey starts to fight back and he catches Goldust with an elbow. Tag to Jimmy and he cleans house. Backdrop by Jimmy gets 2 and Goldust bails. Jimmy follows out and he leaps off the barricade onto Stardust. Goldust catches Jimmy with a powerslam on the floor and back in, he covers for 2. Stardust tags in and he works over Jimmy. Tag to Goldust and they wishbone Jimmy for 2. Chinlock by Goldust but Jimmy fights out. He tries to fight out of the opposing corner but Goldust catches him with a spinebuster for 2. Tag to Stardust and he grabs a front facelock. Jimmy tries to fight out so Stardust catches him with a swinging neck breaker for 2. Stardust cheap shots Jey and it allows him and Goldust to double team Jimmy for 2. Tag to Stardust and he grabs a half nelson. Jimmy breaks with a jawbreaker so Stardust catches him with a kick to the head. Stardust charges but misses and hits the post shoulder first. Goldust tags in and prevents the tag but Jimmy catches him with an enzuigiri. Tag to Jey and he cleans house. He crotches Stardust in the ropes and he catches Stardust with a chop block. Jey slams Stardust’s leg off the apron and Jimmy lands a suicide plancha onto Goldust on the floor!!! Jey slams Stardust’s leg off the post and he hits a crossbody off the top for 2. Samoan Drop by Jey and he hits the basement hip check to Stardust. Superkick to Goldust but Stardust catches Jey with Dark Matter for 2!!! Stardust ties Jey in the ropes and he slaps Jey with his star glove a few times. Stardust charges but collides with Jimmy, allowing Jey to roll him up for 2. Summersault senton off the apron by Goldust to Jimmy and Jey hits a suicide plancha to Stardust!!!! Back in, Jey goes for a flying splash but eats knees. Stardust rolls Jey up for 3!!!!
Winners and NEW WWE Tag Team Champions- Goldust and Stardust ***1/2 (Leave it to the Usos to get a PPV off to a hot start. I really enjoyed Goldust and Stardust’s old school heel tag team methods and the match got wild down the stretch with going over the top. We are off to a good start. )

Dolph Ziggler says he may not be a movie star but he has a great stunt double in R-Ziggler. He says he’s going to beat Miz so bad he’ll never work in this town again.

WWE US Championship-Sheamus © vs. Cesaro
They grapple to start and they go into the ropes to end that. Cesaro slaps Sheamus so he knocks Cesaro down. Knee to the midsection by Cesaro and Sheamus comes back with a high knee in the corner. Rolling senton by Sheamus gets 1. Kick to the back by Sheamus and he hits a knee drop. He dumps Cesaro to the apron and Cesaro snaps Sheamus’ neck off the ropes. Second rope double axe handle by Cesaro and Sheamus takes Cesaro down. He hammers away on Cesaro and they tackle each other all the way to the floor. They trade blows and back in, Sheamus hits a slingshot shoulder block for 1. Cesaro charges in the corner but eats boot. Sheamus goes up but Cesaro catches him with an uppercut knocking Sheamus to the floor. Back in, Cesaro hits a snap mare into a knee drop for 2. Chinlock by Cesaro but Sheamus fights off. Sleeper by Cesaro and but Sheamus fights out. They trade counters and Cesaro catches Sheamus with a back suplex. Sheamus cleans house and Cesaro catches him with a clothesline for 2. Corner uppercuts by Cesaro and Sheamus comes back with the Irish Curse. A second one by Sheamus gets 2. IRISH CLUBS~!!!! Cesaro ends that with some forearms and he goes up. Sheamus stops him and he hits Iconoclasm for 2!!! Cesaro counters White Noise and he presses Sheamus into the uppercut for 2!!! Cesaro charges in the corner but eats elbow. Knee lift by Sheamus and he hits the running powerslam for 2. Cesaro counters the Brogue Kick into a roll-up for 2. Butterfly suplex by Cesaro gets 2. Sheamus backdrops out of the Neutralizer but Cesaro lands on his feet!!! Sheamus misses the Brogue Kick and Cesaro hits the Waterslide for 2!!! Cesaro slaps away on Sheamus and they trade blows. Uppercuts by Cesaro and he hits a big boot. Sheamus shoves him away and he WANTS SOME!!! Cesaro answers with a boot to the face but Sheamus comes back with the Brogue Kick for 3!!!
Winner and Still US Champion- Sheamus **** ( This was the stiffest match I’ve seen in WWE in a long time. This was very rugged with both guys just hitting each other as hard as humanly possible. Took some time for the crowd to get into the match since it was totally different from anything you’ll see in WWE but the crowd was into the near falls and stupidly hard strikes by the end. Props to both guys for putting on something new and refreshing and they topped their Payback match in the process.)

Big Show asks Mark Henry if he is ready and Henry says he has America behind him. Show tells them there is no surrender and he tells Henry he is not dressed correctly. He gives Henry some tights with the US flag on it. Show tells Henry that he believes in him and tells Henry to tear Rusev’s head off.

Florida Georgia Line comes out to do commentary for the next match and they announce they are performing at Tribute to the Troops this year.

WWE Intercontinental Championship- Dolph Ziggler © w/R-Ziggler vs. The Miz w/Damien Mizdow
Ziggler overpowers Miz to start and he hits a Thesz press. Miz blocks the superkick and Ziggler blocks the Figure-4. Hip toss by Ziggler and he hits some elbow drops. Miz bails to the apron and he snaps Ziggler’s neck off the ropes. Big boot by Miz gets 2. Miz stomps away and he drives his boot into the head of Ziggler for 2. Miz rakes the face of Ziggler and he goes to the chinlock. Ziggler fights out and Miz hits a knee to the midsection to end the comeback. Miz knocks Ziggler down for 1 and he stomps away on Ziggler. Miz charges but Ziggler catches him with a clothesline out of the corner. Ziggler cleans house and he hits a swinging neck breaker. Miz blocks the hurricanrana and Ziggler gets a sunset flip for 2. Ziggler clotheslines Miz to the floor and he sends Miz into the barricade. Mizdow pulls Ziggler off the apron and R-Ziggler confronts him. Mizdown lays out R-Ziggler and he confronts Florida Georgia Line. They leave the announce table and lay out Mizdow!!! R-Ziggler chases Mizdow to the back as Florida Georgia Line return to the announce table. Back in, Ziggler hits a superkick for 2!!! They trade counters and Miz counters a dropkick into the Figure-4. Ziggler eventually fights his way to the ropes to break!!! Fameasser by Ziggler gets 2!!! Mizdow comes back out and Ziggler super kicks Mizdow off the apron. O’Connor roll by Miz with the tights gets 3!!!
Winner and NEW WWE Intercontinental Champion- The Miz **1/2 (Nowhere near as good as their Summerslam match. The focus of the match was on Florida Georgia Line and the stupid stunt double gimmicks which stinks because the in ring stuff with Miz and Ziggler was solid. This match had too many shenanigans that weren’t needed.)

Seth Rollins comes out as he was going to face Roman Reigns but Reigns had emergency hernia surgery a few days prior which will keep Reigns out for a couple of months. Rollins says emergency surgery is no excuse for not showing up. Rollins says in the interest of fairness and justice, he’ll give Reigns 10 seconds to show up or he’ll take the win via forfeit. They ring the bell.

Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns
Reigns never shows up and gets counted out.
Winner by Forfeit- Seth Rollins NR

Seth Rollins orders the ref to raise his hand and he understands everyone wanted to see him compete tonight. He is disappointed that Roman Reigns isn’t half the man he thought he was. Rollins says he is an opportunist and issues an open challenge because that is the kind of competitor he is. He challenges anyone from the back to come out and face him. A taxi shows up and it’s DEAN AMBROSE!!!!!!! Ambrose tackles Rollins and clotheslines him to the floor. Ambrose and Rollins brawl in the crowd and The Authority come out and send security to separate Rollins and Ambrose. AMBROSE JUMPS OFF THE STAGE ONTO SECURITY SO HE CAN GO AFTER ROLLINS AGAIN!!!! They brawl in the crowd again and Ambrose clotheslines Rollins back to ringside. Ambrose goes to use a chair but security and agents take Ambrose down. Triple H hands them tie wraps and they tie up Ambrose. (So in about 15 seconds Dean Ambrose got a cab, got to the arena and accepted Rollins’ open challenge. He is something else. I liked the angle a lot but they literally did this exact same thing at Battleground. Hopefully we get Ambrose/Rollins Hell in the Cell to finally give these two the epic war to put this feud over the top. )

The panel tonight is Renee Young, Alex Riley, Booker T, and Big Show. They discuss the Ambrose stuff and Big Show explains his pep talk to Mark Henry.

Mark Henry vs. Rusev w/Lana
Lillian Garcia sings the National Anthem before the match, in case you didn’t know this match was about America and stuff. I’ll give to Henry though, him crying during the anthem helps this match come across as a big deal. They slug it out and Rusev quickly bails. Back in, they club each other and once again, Rusev bails. Back in, Henry tosses Rusev aside and he falls to the floor this time. Henry follows out and Rusev rams him into the steps. Back in, Rusev hits a hip check in the corner and he hits some dropping head butts. Rusev stomps away and he grabs a half nelson. Henry starts to fight out so Rusev throws some knees and hits a side Russian leg sweep. Rusev goes back to the half nelson but Henry is able to fight out. Henry cleans house and he hits an avalanche in the corner. Rusev blocks a slam and Rusev hits the spinning heel kick. Rusev goes for the Accolade but Henry blocks. World’s Strongest Slam by Henry and Rusev rolls out of the ring to prevent the cover. Super kick from the floor by Rusev and back in, he hits another super kick. Accolade by Rusev and Henry gives.
Winner- Rusev *1/2 (Mark Henry was moving very, very slow, even slower than he usually goes. It caused the match to drag a lot and it was probably the weakest Rusev match in a while. The Henry hope spots made things worthwhile so this was terrible but it didn’t make Rusev look like the monster he’s been booked to be lately.)

Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton
Forearms by Jericho but Orton fires back with uppercuts. Chops by Jericho and he hits a dropkick. Jericho clotheslines Orton to the floor and he hits a baseball slide. He sends Orton into the steps and back in, Orton kicks Jericho as he enters the ring. Corner clothesline by Orton and Jericho fights back with chops. Orton charges in the corner but eats boot and Jericho goes up. Orton crotches Jericho and he follows up. Superplex by Orton and he covers for 2. Chin lock by Orton but Jericho fights out. He charges in the corner but misses and falls all the way to the floor. Orton follows out and he hits a back suplex onto the barricade. Back in, Orton covers for 2. Orton dumps Jericho to the floor and he hits a back suplex onto the announce table. Back in, Orton covers for 2 and he goes back to the chinlock. Jericho fights out and he chops away on Orton again. Jericho cleans house and he hits a sleeper slam for 2. Powerslam by Orton gets 2. Orton misses a knee drop and Jericho hits a basement dropkick. Jericho goes up and hits an axe handle off the top. Bulldog by Jericho and he misses the Lionsault. Orton back breaker and Jericho blocks the RKO. Lionsault by Jericho gets 2!!! Jericho misses the springboard dropkick and Orton goes for the hanging DDT but Jericho blocks. He goes for the Walls of Jericho but Orton blocks. Orton sends Jericho shoulder first into the post and he goes for the punt but misses. Jericho rolls him up for 2 and he grabs the Walls of Jericho. Orton is able to roll onto his back and push Jericho to the floor to break the hold. Hanging DDT by Orton and Jericho catches him with the Codebreaker for 2!!! Jericho goes up and leaps but Orton catches him in the RKO for 3!!!
Winner- Randy Orton ***1/4 ( This was a good match and the way the match was laid out this should have been better. The problem is Orton drags things out for way too long. He works the back of Jericho but resorts to long chinlocks and because of that you could hear a pin drop in the crowd for the first portion of the match. They had cool counter exchanges during the finish but Orton killed time again by doing his poses and manurisms for long periods of time so you could see the counters coming a mile way. A bad performance from Orton and this should have been better than it was.)

Video package for Paige/AJ/Nikki Bella airs.

Brie Bella says she has been biting her tongue but she says Nikki should not be the Diva’s Championship. AJ and Paige have a chance to do things to Nikki that she hasn’t had the chance to do yet. She compares Nikki to karma because she is a bitch.

WWE Diva’s Championship- Paige © vs. AJ Lee vs. Nikki Bella
Nikki and Paige charge at AJ to start but they eat boot. Tilt-a-whirl headscissors to Nikki and AJ gets a wheelbarrow roll for 1. Sleeper by Nikki and she swings AJ around while in the hold. AJ breaks with a jawbreaker and Nikki catches Paige with a springboard enzuigiri for 2. Cross arm breaker by Nikki but Paige counters into a roll-up for 1. AJ pulls Paige to the floor and she tosses Paige into the barricade. She does the same to Nikki and back in, AJ hits a spin kick for 2. AJ goes up but Nikki shoves her off the top for 2. Nikki slams AJ’s head off the mat a few times but Paige dumps her to the floor to end that. Super kick by Paige and she throws some head butts for 2. Paige throws knees to the midsection from the apron and Nikki knocks Paige off the apron. Roll-up by AJ gets 2 and Nikki hits a facebuster for 2. Hammerlock powerslam by Nikki gets 2. AJ leaps off the second rope but gets caught. AJ ends up catching Nikki with the Black Widow but Paige super kicks both to end that. She gets some near falls on both and Paige puts AJ on top. Nikki catches both in the TOWER OF DOOM~!!!!! Rack Attack by Nikki on Paige gets 2 as AJ saves. AJ TOSSES NIKKI OFF THE APRON BY HER HAIR!!!! Back in, AJ grabs Black Widow on Paige and Paige taps!!!
Winner and NEW WWE Diva’s Champion- AJ Lee **1/2 (This was surprisingly good, with consistent action and nothing looked sloppy or unrealistic. Props to the girls, this was one of the better Diva’s efforts I’ve seen outside of NXT in some time.)

They highlight some cool stats from the Cena/Lesnar Summerslam match and this is something I’d like to see them do more going forward. It showcases the “sport” aspect of the WWE which they’ve lost touch of.

Video package for Lesnar/Cena airs.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship- Brock Lesnar © w/Paul Heyman vs. John Cena
Lesnar rams Cena to the corner to start and he throws some shoulders to the gut of Cena. Cena blocks the German suplex and he comes back with a clothesline. AA by Cena gets 2!!! Lesnar catches Cena in the Kimura but Cena makes the ropes to break. Lesnar hammers away on Cena and he hits a Release German suplex. Cena fires back but Lesnar stops that by going for the arm. Cena gets into the ropes to end that but Lesnar again catches Cena in the Kimura. Cena makes the ropes again and he hits some rights. Lesnar catches him with a second Release German suplex for 2. Three Amigos by Lesnar and he cradles Cena for 2. Shoulders to the gut in the corner by Lesnar but Cena fires back. Clothesline by Lesnar ends the comeback and he continues to work over Cena. Overhead belly to belly suplex by Lesnar gets 2. Cena fires back again and Lesnar throws some shoulders to the gut in the corner. Lesnar charges in the corner but eats elbow and Cena fires back again. Release German suplex by Lesnar and he throws more shoulders to the gut in the corner. Cena catches Lesnar in the AA again for 2!!! Cena counters the F-5 into the STF!!! Lesnar rolls out into the Kimura!!! Cena POWERS his way up and rams Lesnar into the corner to break the hold. Cena hits the AA again and he grabs the STF!!! Cena pulls him away from the ropes twice and Lesnar still won’t quit!!! AA by Cena gets 1 as Seth Rollins breaks it up for the DQ!!!
Winner by DQ- John Cena ***1/2 (A much more competitive match than Summerslam but less memorable. I liked the story of Cena being aware of what Lesnar was going to do and choice to react quickly when he saw is opening, knowing he needed to knock out Lesnar quick in order to conquer him. A pretty good main event but man was that finish crappy and it was a super weak copout.)

After the match, Rollins nails Cena with the briefcase and knocks him out of the ring. Rollins looks at Lesnar and he almost cashes in but he sees Lesnar is getting up. Curb Stomp by Rollins to Lesnar!!! Rollins says he is cashing in!!!! Rollins goes to start the match but Cena stops him. Rollins bails and the bell never rang, so Rollins still has the briefcase. Lesnar catches Cena with the F-5 to end the show.

7.0
The final score: review Good
The 411
This was a surprisingly solid show, one of the better efforts that the WWE has put on in a few months. Everyone seemed to have their working boots on and the result was a collection of rock solid matches. The booking in a lot of places wasn't very good and that is sadly becoming a theme on these WWE PPVs as of late. The DQ finish in the main event was incredibly stupid having seen the following up in recent weeks (There wasn't much) and I wasn't a fan of reusing the Rollins/Ambrose angle from Battleground even though the execution was solid. This is one of those PPVs that will fly under the radar but won't be remembered for much, but it was one of those shows where the hard work of the roster helped it exceed expectations. This show is worth a look if you have some free time and most certainly go out of your way to see Sheamus/Cesaro.
legend