The Dust Brothers def. The Usos(c)(12:49)
Thoughts: I hated how the Usos pretty much got ignored during August, so it's nice to see them get some attention during September during their feud with the Dust Bros. This was a really good match to start off the PPV. One of my favourite moments was
where Jey Uso got revenge for the knee injury and just snapped and started to work over Stardust’s knee like a wild man. It's always nice to see that kind of continuity. Sure, the match started slow and then got into gear with a series of near falls and dives late. Stardust countered the top rope splash with knees, and got a roll up with the tights for the win. Like I said, damn good way to start the show. Not the best work from either team, but it was still a good opener with the Dust Bros. treating the titles like they meant something and the Usos selling
devastation with losing the titles.
Rating: ***1/4
WWE United States Championship
Sheamus(c) def. Cesaro(13:21)
Thoughts: The funny thing is that with guys like this, they don’t need a story.
They are big dudes that like to kick ass; so just book them as wanting
to be the better man and they can do all of the work for you. Plus that
works perfectly as the polar opposite of what they are doing with Miz
and Ziggler. It broke down, in the best way possible, to them just
beating the hell out of each other. Sheamus, who took a ton from Cesaro,
got the desperation brogue kick and retained the title. Overall another
good match here and better than the opener. While Cesaro lost, he loses
nothing from a match like this. I still feel these guys have a better
match in them (not that this was bad) because their styles mesh so well.
Rating: ***3/4
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The Miz def. Dolph Ziggler(c)(9:18)
Thoughts: Well, 1st off, we have Sandow and Truth out here. Next, we have awful commentary. To make matters worse and with Florida Georgia Line it actually got worse. Sandow got involved, and
Florida Georgia Line got involved, leading to Truth chasing him off. Miz
of course works the figure four with no work on the leg, because that’s
what he does. Sandow returned and distracted Ziggler, leading to Miz
regaining the title. The match was generally fine, but the horrible
commentary and extra curricular activities did nothing to help and only
hurt the match. While the booking is questionable, at least the US Title
match felt important. I am pretty sure that the IC Title has never
meant less, especially with Ziggler getting it back on the following Raw
Rating: **
Thoughts: They had Lilian Garcia sing the national anthem, setting the stage and
hopefully getting the crowd deeply invested in Henry’s cause. More of a
brawl than a match early on, which I felt worked well for the feud and
the guys working it. I didn’t want to see a grappling bout between them.
Rusev worked the back of Henry most of the time (after slamming him to
the steps), Henry did manage to hit the world’s strongest slam, but
Rusev would roll to the floor to escape. Rusev went over strong, and
more definitively than I thought, and that’s a good thing. Not a good match, but Rusev’s strong booking is more important in some
ways
Rating: *1/2
Randy Orton def. Chris Jericho(16:15)
Thoughts: WWE finally realized what everyone did, that Jericho and Wyatt weren’t
working well together, so they ended that on Raw and transitioned to
this for the PPV. Hopefully, the two can wrestle again later because they can have a great match. Orton and Jericho went out here and did exactly as I expected them to do. The finish saw Jericho stand on top for 5-minuts or so, and then jumped
into an RKO for the finish. This was an overall good match, they work
very well together, they played to the crowd and they delivered the
right finish, but had a few good teases that made the live crowd believe
that Jericho may win.
Rating: ***1/2
Triple Threat Match: WWE Divas Championship
AJ Lee def. Paige(c) and Nikki Bella(8:45)
Thoughts: I don't understand why people went into this match thinking Nikki would win here. Her feud with doesn't need the Diva's title. Unlike the AJ/Paige feud, which DOES need the title because that's the whole point of the feud. Anyway, this was actually not a bad match, they even worked in a tower of doom spot. What's surprising is that AJ wins here, giving us the fourth title change since April and I have to ask this: why give AJ the title back when Paige only just won it a month prior. I don’t have an issue with the ladies; I have an issue with the booking
because they haven’t done anything to make me care about these two. I
think we had high hopes when Paige and AJ were set to feud, but the
storytelling has just been poor.
Rating: **1/2
Main Event: WWE Championship
John Cena def. Brock Lesnar(c) via DQ(14:15)
Thoughts: Well, it wasn't the complete ass whupping Cena got at Summerslam. They did what I hoped they would do and mirrored the beginning of the
Summerslam match, only with Cena hitting his finish in the first minute. While Cena did get more offense in here, Brock still nailed with an array of suplexes, strikes and the kimura. Cena git Lesnar with 4 AA's in this match and it just when he's about to win, Seth Rollins comes in and whacks Cena with his MITB briefcase, causing the DQ. Then Rollins hits Lesnar with the Curb Stomp and is about to cash in when Cena comes in and stops him from doing so. Much like last month, a very physical and different style than the
average WWE match. What they are doing works so well for Lesnar, as the
guy looks like an absolute beast. I liked the match more than I did their Summerslam match. The finish on the other hand, I
hated that. I have never been and likely never will be a fan of finishes
like that on PPV, especially in the main event. It just took away from
what they did in the ring and needed the night on a sour note.
Rating: ***1/2
Final Rating for Night of Champions 2014
2.86 out of 5
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