Night of Champions Predictions
First of all, I would like to apologize. It's been more than a month since my last post, which is far too long. The reason I haven't posted anything is because I was on a volunteer trip to Tanzania. I should have let all of you know in my last post, but for some reason I didn't. It wasn't fair to you, the readers. Next time anything like this happens (it probably won't), I promise to let you know. That being said, I am committed to publishing at least 1-2 posts a week.
Now then, onto business. The Night of Champions (N.O.C.) pay-per-view starts in less than an hour, and it should be good. There has been an interesting build for most of the feuds and hopefully it pays off. One scheduled match however, was recently cancelled. Roman Reigns, who was scheduled to face former Shield teammate Seth Rollins tonight, was hospitalized. The former tag team champion underwent surgery for an incarcerated hernia, putting him out of action for about six weeks. Here's hoping he recovers soon. There is no word on whether Seth Rollins will face someone else, but rumor has it he will be facing a returning Dean Ambrose. Also, we may see a match on the pre-show, though all that's currently advertised for it is an episode of "The Peep Show", All of the other matches are set to go, and in this article, I will give you my predictions for them. Just looking at the line-up, I know this is going to be tough to call 100% correctly. But hey, my job is to try.
Mark Henry vs. Rusev- The Bulgarian Brute has been unstoppable ever since he debuted. He's torn through opponents such as Jack Swagger, Big E, and Rob Van Dam. His latest obstacle: the former World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry. The World's Strongest Man hasn't had a real feud since his feud with John Cena over the WWE Championship, but he's looked good in this feud. Expect him to lose however, as WWE management is reportedly high on the former NXT talent. Rusev's path of destruction is getting too big to be crushed by a midcarder like Henry, expect a top guy like Reigns or Cena to do it. Winner: Rusev
United States Champion Sheamus vs. Cesaro- This is a rematch from Payback and a lot harder to call than last time. Three months ago, Cesaro was white-hot and positioned to be a future WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Now, he's floundering. This feud hasn't gotten a lot of build-up and feels like an afterthought. It's almost as if the creative team thought "Oh shoot, every title has to be defended at Night of Champions, even the U.S. title. We need a challenger for Sheamus, Um... how 'bout Cesaro? He isn't doing anything." The bright spot: their match at Payback was one of the best of the night, so they could have another great match here. I can see this match going either way: Sheamus picks up the win and adds some momentum to his reign (which has been quite dull the last month) or Cesaro wins and becomes relevant again. I'm going with Cesaro, as I feel at least one title needs to change hands tonight, and this one makes the most sense. That being said, Sheamus could win. Winner: Cesaro
Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz- This feud goes all the way back to July, when Miz threw Dolph Ziggler over the top rope to win the vacant IC title. The next night, Ziggler beat Miz and then beat him again at SummerSlam to win the title. At NOC, Miz looks to cash in on his rematch clause. This feud has been surprisingly good, especially thanks to the addition of Damien Sandow and R-Truth (who will probably be at ringside for the match). Ziggler has been gaining some good momentum in the last few months, so expect him to retain. Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton- Ever since Y2J returned in 2012, he's been putting over stars such as Dolph Ziggler, Fandango, and Bray Wyatt. That 's why it's a little surprising to see him taking on someone like Orton, someone who doesn't need to be put over. The groundwork for this feud started a few weeks ago when Jericho said Orton had everything handed to him. That was enough for Orton, and the two started feuding. Jericho is reportedly leaving the WWE for good after this event, so the WWE might give him the win to try and persuade him to come back eventually. It's more likely however, that Orton will get the win and get some much needed momentum (he's lost his last six PPV matches). Winner: Randy Orton
Divas Champion Paige vs. Nikki Bella vs. AJ Lee- The Paige/AJ feud has been the best Diva rivalry since Kaitlyn/AJ in 2013. Nikki Bella was added to the match by virtue of joining The Authority. This was smart, because it freshens up the AJ/ Paige feud. Instead of seeing them fight for the third PPV in the row, we get something different. Since Brie Bella isn't in the match, expect her to interfere in some way. The quality of the match is hard to predict, but Paige is probably going to win and continue her heel reign. Winner: Paige
WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos vs. Goldust & Stardust- The last month, Goldust and Stardust (especially Stardust) have been doing some amazing character work. Cody Rhodes took a gimmick that many thought would fail and made it one of the most interesting gimmicks in the entire company. Big kudos to him for that. Their heel turn has been nothing short of brilliant. The creative team took a chance on it, but it has paid off quite well so far. These two are the perfect follow-up rivals to the Wyatts for the Usos. Normally, I would pick Goldust & Stardust to win, but I think there is another team who needs the titles more than they do: The Ascension. Konnor and Viktor lost their NXT Tag Team titles recently to the Lucha Dragons, meaning they are now free to move up to the main roster. They are currently in a small feud with Hideo Itami, but should move up once that is done. Once that happens, they should feud with Jimmy and Jey over the titles. It would be the perfect way to get their WWE careers started. Winner: The Usos
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena- Last month, Brock Lesnar gave the most dominating performance in a SummerSlam main event in history. Now, the two of them meet again with Lesnar's title in history. The WWE has promoted this as one of the most-anticipated rematches in WWE history, but that's a little too much. The match should be pretty good, but probably not as good as their match at Extreme Rules 2012. Lesnar should get the win, as giving him the title for a month doesn't help anyone. It's better if he loses the title at 'Mania 31 to a guy like Roman Reigns or Dean Ambrose. Winner: Brock Lesnar
By the time I publish this article, the event will already have started. I haven't watched though, so these predictions are totally valid. I hope the event turns out great, but I also hope all of my predictions come true.
Now then, onto business. The Night of Champions (N.O.C.) pay-per-view starts in less than an hour, and it should be good. There has been an interesting build for most of the feuds and hopefully it pays off. One scheduled match however, was recently cancelled. Roman Reigns, who was scheduled to face former Shield teammate Seth Rollins tonight, was hospitalized. The former tag team champion underwent surgery for an incarcerated hernia, putting him out of action for about six weeks. Here's hoping he recovers soon. There is no word on whether Seth Rollins will face someone else, but rumor has it he will be facing a returning Dean Ambrose. Also, we may see a match on the pre-show, though all that's currently advertised for it is an episode of "The Peep Show", All of the other matches are set to go, and in this article, I will give you my predictions for them. Just looking at the line-up, I know this is going to be tough to call 100% correctly. But hey, my job is to try.
Mark Henry vs. Rusev- The Bulgarian Brute has been unstoppable ever since he debuted. He's torn through opponents such as Jack Swagger, Big E, and Rob Van Dam. His latest obstacle: the former World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry. The World's Strongest Man hasn't had a real feud since his feud with John Cena over the WWE Championship, but he's looked good in this feud. Expect him to lose however, as WWE management is reportedly high on the former NXT talent. Rusev's path of destruction is getting too big to be crushed by a midcarder like Henry, expect a top guy like Reigns or Cena to do it. Winner: Rusev
United States Champion Sheamus vs. Cesaro- This is a rematch from Payback and a lot harder to call than last time. Three months ago, Cesaro was white-hot and positioned to be a future WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Now, he's floundering. This feud hasn't gotten a lot of build-up and feels like an afterthought. It's almost as if the creative team thought "Oh shoot, every title has to be defended at Night of Champions, even the U.S. title. We need a challenger for Sheamus, Um... how 'bout Cesaro? He isn't doing anything." The bright spot: their match at Payback was one of the best of the night, so they could have another great match here. I can see this match going either way: Sheamus picks up the win and adds some momentum to his reign (which has been quite dull the last month) or Cesaro wins and becomes relevant again. I'm going with Cesaro, as I feel at least one title needs to change hands tonight, and this one makes the most sense. That being said, Sheamus could win. Winner: Cesaro
Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz- This feud goes all the way back to July, when Miz threw Dolph Ziggler over the top rope to win the vacant IC title. The next night, Ziggler beat Miz and then beat him again at SummerSlam to win the title. At NOC, Miz looks to cash in on his rematch clause. This feud has been surprisingly good, especially thanks to the addition of Damien Sandow and R-Truth (who will probably be at ringside for the match). Ziggler has been gaining some good momentum in the last few months, so expect him to retain. Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton- Ever since Y2J returned in 2012, he's been putting over stars such as Dolph Ziggler, Fandango, and Bray Wyatt. That 's why it's a little surprising to see him taking on someone like Orton, someone who doesn't need to be put over. The groundwork for this feud started a few weeks ago when Jericho said Orton had everything handed to him. That was enough for Orton, and the two started feuding. Jericho is reportedly leaving the WWE for good after this event, so the WWE might give him the win to try and persuade him to come back eventually. It's more likely however, that Orton will get the win and get some much needed momentum (he's lost his last six PPV matches). Winner: Randy Orton
Divas Champion Paige vs. Nikki Bella vs. AJ Lee- The Paige/AJ feud has been the best Diva rivalry since Kaitlyn/AJ in 2013. Nikki Bella was added to the match by virtue of joining The Authority. This was smart, because it freshens up the AJ/ Paige feud. Instead of seeing them fight for the third PPV in the row, we get something different. Since Brie Bella isn't in the match, expect her to interfere in some way. The quality of the match is hard to predict, but Paige is probably going to win and continue her heel reign. Winner: Paige
WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos vs. Goldust & Stardust- The last month, Goldust and Stardust (especially Stardust) have been doing some amazing character work. Cody Rhodes took a gimmick that many thought would fail and made it one of the most interesting gimmicks in the entire company. Big kudos to him for that. Their heel turn has been nothing short of brilliant. The creative team took a chance on it, but it has paid off quite well so far. These two are the perfect follow-up rivals to the Wyatts for the Usos. Normally, I would pick Goldust & Stardust to win, but I think there is another team who needs the titles more than they do: The Ascension. Konnor and Viktor lost their NXT Tag Team titles recently to the Lucha Dragons, meaning they are now free to move up to the main roster. They are currently in a small feud with Hideo Itami, but should move up once that is done. Once that happens, they should feud with Jimmy and Jey over the titles. It would be the perfect way to get their WWE careers started. Winner: The Usos
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena- Last month, Brock Lesnar gave the most dominating performance in a SummerSlam main event in history. Now, the two of them meet again with Lesnar's title in history. The WWE has promoted this as one of the most-anticipated rematches in WWE history, but that's a little too much. The match should be pretty good, but probably not as good as their match at Extreme Rules 2012. Lesnar should get the win, as giving him the title for a month doesn't help anyone. It's better if he loses the title at 'Mania 31 to a guy like Roman Reigns or Dean Ambrose. Winner: Brock Lesnar
By the time I publish this article, the event will already have started. I haven't watched though, so these predictions are totally valid. I hope the event turns out great, but I also hope all of my predictions come true.
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