Since I actually watched a full wrestling pay per view in years, I shall give my review of Night of Champions 2013. I will grade matches on a 5
scale.
Tag Team Turmoil Pre-Show match:
This match was ok, although it was kind of predictable. The group of people I watched the PPV all called the PrimeTime players to win, because they all knew that wrestler guy (Darren Young) came out of the closet. I am sure that has some part of their push, but I still think they are over regardless. The match was a spot fest and it was rushed for time. My major gripe was the two commercial spots, it kind of ruined the pacing. Once the Real Americans eliminated the Uso's, you knew PTP was going to win. One memorable spot was Jey Uso diving over the corner post and landing on top of Jack Swagger.
Grade:
Intercontinental Title Match:
This was an impromptu match put on by Triple H after having a exchange with Paul Heyman and Curtis Axel. Triple basically said he was going to give a title shot to whoever he sees first in the back. My friend cracked a joke about how Kofi Kingston was running toward the stage. They actually used Kofi. I thought this was actually booked really well. It implicated that Heyman has no faith in Axel, and they also used a guy who was notorious for holding mid card titles. There was only a few moments the two were out of sync. Paul Heyman and his distressed expression really amplified this match, and there were a ton of kick outs. Kofi had some cool spots, but I actually began to like Curtis Axel. Some people have written him off, but I think in due time he will be a great wrestler. Axel retained the title with his finisher.
Grade:
Fatal Four Way Divas Match:
This was a decent match. Naomi and AJ took some hard bumps, Natalya had a sweet double sharpshooter, and AJ won with her awesome Black Widow finisher. My only real complaint was Natalya, she can not sell very well. I know she is regarded as one of the more elite females on the roster, but imho she can not sell for shit.
Grade:
World Heavyweight Title Match:
This match was meh. They missed a lot of spots. RVD flew over the ropes and overshot ADR, causing Del Rio to awkwardly fall over trying to sell it. There were a lot of these moments were they were just slightly out of place or off timing. It kind of disrupted the flow of the match. The match ended with Del Rio being disqualified rather suddenly for not releasing a armbar, yet still retains the title. He begins assaulting RVD, and is about to demolish him with a chair when Ricardo Rodriguez makes the save. They set up ADR for the Van Terminator. Van Dam hits it, and Del Rio is knocked out. Naturally this would be the perfect time to have Damian Sandow to cash in his Money in the Bank contract, but no. Nothing happened. It was very disappointing, and I get the feeling the WWE was just fucking with everyone on the ending. This match felt like a waste of time.
Grade:
The Miz vs. Fandango
Why was this match on the card? Was there no one else available? Who cares about this stupid feud. They could have used this time to showcase Sami Zayn and Bo Dallas for the NXT Championship. It would make more sense considering the PPV is called "Night of Champions". Instead they put these two jabronis in the ring. The match itself was not awful, it just was nothing memorable. The real culprit for why I hated this match was the Miz's finisher. He absolutely needs to stop using the figure four. or change his ring name to "Nature Boy" Mike Mizanin. He looks out of place doing it.
Grade:
CM Punk vs. Curtis Axel & Paul Heyman
My hopes to see Paul Heyman do a moonsault were dashed. The bright side was this was a decent match. Axel again had a good in ring performance with Punk. The Punk/Heyman cat and mouse routine worked well into the match. It was not hard to tell that Heyman was wearing padding, but understandably so. Punk unloaded on him with the kendo stick in the end. I predicted what would happen though: Ryback would interfere. It sort of makes sense, but only if Rybacks purpose is fleshed out. My next prediction is Heyman forces Axel to face Ryback for the title and his managing perks tomorrow night.
Grade:
United States Title Match:
This match was pretty good. The crowd seemed kind of dead through the first half of it. I think it picked up when Dolph hit the X-Factor off of the top rope and bounced Dean Ambrose's face off of the canvas. The match ended with a clean pin by Dean Ambrose. No triple powerbomb, no beating afterward. The rest of the Shield just came out and celebrated as Ziggler quietly left the ring. it was kind of anti-climatic. I guess this feud is over? It makes me wonder what they are going to do with Ziggler now.
Grade:
Tag Team Title Match:
This match was good. In fact, it was my favorite match of the whole night. The crowd was into this match, and both teams played their roles well. Seth Rollins was the pestering heel, repeatedly slapping the hulking Titus O'Neil, and then backing off. It was like a hyena picking at a Lion. Darren Young was explosive, and sold a ass kicking. Roman Reigns was solid, and had some big moves. And Seth Rollins, this boy can move. I really think the Prime Time Players are over. It seemed like most of the crowd was doing the PTP shuffle. It did not hurt that they had to work with Rollins and Reigns, who are putting on 5 star matches with everybody. I was disappointed that the PTP lost, but it was one hell of a career defining match for them.
Grade:
MATCH OF THE NIGHT
WWE Title Match:
This match was solid. It had a lot of back and forth. Lots of moves. Orton and Bryan both displayed a lot of aggression and energy. The ending actually surprised me: Daniel Bryan pinned Orton clean and won the title. Again, there was no Big Show, no Shield, no Triple H coming out after the victory. Bryan won, got his title, celebrated and that was it. Or was it? In the middle of the match the ref accidentally got knocked out of the ring. A replacement came in, and after a while, the original referee recovered and resumed his duties. When Bryan got the pin, the 3 count was very fast. It was almost obvious. I am assuming Bryan will have the title stripped for this reason. If not then, yeah. Daniel Bryan won, and everything that has happened since Summerslam is null.
Grade:
PPV Grade Overall:
This PPV was average. There were some good matches, but there was not a lot of storyline development, and the only real plot development was Ryback/Punk and Daniel Bryan winning the title. This Pay per View at least hinted toward the direction some feuds are headed, but it closed the book on a few. Both Money in the Bank and Summerslam had memorable moments, this one was not as memorable or as good as the Pay per Views prior.
