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WWE Night of Champions 2015: Reactions & Review

Here’s our final review of WWE Night of Champions 2015!


Neville and The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara) vs. The Cosmic Wasteland (Stardust and The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor) (6-Man Tag Team Match)


Reactions: This was a strange mix of opponents, but it all turned out to be a decent pre-show 6-man tag. Neville’s high-flying antics and the amazing offense seen from his Lucha Dragon partners were fun to witness. The strange bedfellows known as The Cosmic Wasteland seemed to show off some great chemistry as well. The Ascension looked more entertaining than usual, thankfully. The closing moments of this bout were what made this contest better than usual pre-show bouts. The shock of seeing the heels win means we might see this feud get something extra added to it on the next go-round. This was short, sweet and a definite crowd pleaser. But nothing more amazing than that.

Rating: 2 & a Half out of 5 Stars


Ryback (c) vs. Kevin Owens (WWE Intercontinental Championship)


Reactions: The crowd was certainly in favor of Owens this evening. Owens used his smart limb-based offense to work over Ryback. Ryback responded with his usual array of powerful slams and strikes. The more entertaining moments of this match came when Owens applied all types of moves that further tore down Ryback’s injured limb. Ryback’s comeback offense led to Owens escaping his finishers at the last minute on two occasions. Owens shocked the world tonight by winning his 1st major championship on the main WWE roster. The surprising finish to this match gave this title bout the extra half a star. An OK bout made all the more better due to Owens coming out on top in a shocking turn of events.

Rating: 2 & a Half out of 5 Stars


Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev (with Summer Rae)

Reactions: Wow. We had no clue that both these men would turn out to be the ones to get this PPV truly rolling. Ziggler and Rusev made the most of their lame soap opera storyline with a solid back and forth contest. Rusev was his usual overpowering self and Ziggler pulled out all the stops to keep his foe off his game. As the match got past the midway point, both men went back and forth with some big moves that resulted in some great near-falls. This match got the crowd a little bit louder and more excited thanks to the crazy comeback from both Superstars. The ending wasn’t a blight on this match whatsoever. Cheers to these guys for salvaging their dumb feud with a good bout.

Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars


The New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E, and/or Xavier Woods) (c) vs. The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) (WWE Tag Team Championship)


Reactions: Man, this match just started improving before Woods got involved! The New Day’s hilarious antics were as entertaining as ever. The Dudley Boyz were just as fun to watch as they even threw in a Texas shoutout with a double tag team elbow. This tag team title contest was your typical back and forth war that turned up to another level once D-Von got the hot tag. We found ourselves getting more and more into this match, but our enthusiasm as lost once Xavier broke up the winning Dudley Boyz pin. Woods getting smashed through a table with a 3D couldn’t even wipe away our disappointment in this match…

Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars

Nikki Bella (c) vs. Charlotte (WWE Divas Championship; If Nikki gets counted out or disqualified, she will lose the title)


Reactions: This was a serviceable title match between both ladies. Nikki’s leg work was far from exciting, but it made her title defense different from her previous ones. However, this match dragged on and on due to Nikki’s somewhat boring maneuvers. We began to care once Charlotte finally made a comeback. This bout was capped off by the satisfying finish that saw Charlotte block out the pain of her weakened knee and make Nikki tap out to the Figure Eight Leglock. This title match was pretty weak, to be honest with everyone out there. But it’s awesome to see a new Diva walking around with the title. Three cheers for Charlotte! WOOOOOOOOOO!

Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars


Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and TBA vs. The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, and Braun Strowman) (6-Man Tag Team Match)


Reactions: So it turns out Y27 himself was the 3rd man that aided Ambrose and Reigns. Jericho hasn’t lost a step (no surprise there) as he used his usual array of high-flying moves. This 6-man tag started of good and improved the further it went along. Strowman looked impressive due to his formidable strength. This wasn’t as jaw dropping as the old wars between The Shield and the original Wyatt Family, but it was fun to witness nonetheless. The better parts of this match occurred when Ambrose, Reigns and Y2J did a a number on Strowman. The Wyatt Family needed this win to keep their new mean streak intact. This was an average 6-man war overall that featured a so-so surprise that many could have seen coming.

Rating: 2 & a Half out of 5 Stars


Seth Rollins (c) vs. John Cena (WWE United States Championship)


Reactions: In the standout bout of the night, Cena and Rollins put on another great championship rematch. To freshen things up, Cena and Rollins threw in some amazing counters that we didn’t witness in their SummerSlam 2015 title unification match. Rollins ruled this match for the opening and mid moments, but Cena pulled out a ton of cool maneuvers over time. This was a bit slower paced than their super intense, balls-to-the-wall SummerSlam 2015 contest. The near falls here were just as nail biting as their other matches, but Cena ended up getting his United States championship back after a massive AA. The back and forth action here was a joy to see on display. We could watch both men go at it at until the year comes to a close.

Rating: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars


Seth Rollins (c) vs. Sting (WWE World Heavyweight Championship)

Reactions: No rest for the wicked, correct? Exactly! After Rollins put on another entertaining affair with Cena, he had to get prepared for his challenge from “The Icon” Sting. Sting clearly hasn’t lost a step. He didn’t move like a senior citizen out there as he used his signature moves to catch Rollins at several occasions. Rollins still willed himself to cut off his opponent, but Sting was the main one owning this main event. There were scary moment throughout, such as Sting landing back first on the Spanish Announce Table and him getting checked on by the ringside doctor. This was better than expected. The match, the outcome and the surprise epilogue all equaled up to a satisfying ending.

Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars


Match of the Night

Seth Rollins vs. John Cena!


Final Verdict


This year’s championship themed event was far from an incredible show, but it was a more than passable one. You’ll be shocked to know that Rusev and Ziggler had one of the better bouts of the night. Other than that surprise, you should seek out Rollins’ double title defenses. He proved his worth as the WWE’s best Superstar who can be called upon in big match situations on any night. In the end though, WWE Night of Champions 2015 is truly a 2-match show. Watch the two main events (and maybe Ziggler/Rusev), but nothing more.


Final Score: 2 & a Half out of 5 stars

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So were Seth Rollins' two title matches a treat or a bore? Find out with our review of WWE Night of Champions 2015.