Night of Champions 2014 Preview: Will John Cena Regain The WWE World Heavyweight Championship from Brock Lesnar?
WWE will present Night of Champions from Nashville on Sunday, and you can see it on the WWE Network for just $9.99! Jokes aside, this should be a good show, despite a run of lackluster episodes of Monday Night Raw since SummerSlam.
So without further ado, let's get to the card and break down these matches, and offer some predictions. Which champions will walk out with the titles on Sunday?
The Usos (c) vs. Goldust and Stardust for the WWE Tag Team Championships
The Usos have been the Tag Team Champions since 1967, but they've retained the titles every time it seems like the prime opportunity for them to drop the belts to another team. The Wyatt Family couldn't get the job done, and the Dust Brothers have not been able to secure the belts thus far, either. But the titles have done all they can for the Usos, and a shakeup in the tag division is just what it needs.
Winner: Goldust and Stardust
Sheamus (c) vs. Cesaro for the WWE United States Championship
Sheamus has held onto the United States Championship for a few months, but he's barely defended it since. Part of that was health-relate, but the U.S. title has become so devalued that it's basically just a prop at this point. Personally, I don't think having the belt really helps either man at this point, but Cesaro could use a title win to reestablish some aggression and dominance, as he's been floundering for a few months.
No matter what happens, this should be a solid match because these two guys are just going to beat the tar out of each other for however long WWE has allotted the match to run. Sheamus might be purple by the time this thing is over, but I'll give him the edge in this one.
Winner: Sheamus
Mark Henry vs. Rusev (w/Lana)
I'm sorry, I need to take a small break before I continue with this one. I'm still feeling the surge of American pride from the closing segment of Raw. I think I just a heard a bald eagle cawing behind me.
Like the aforementioned Sheamus-Cesaro match, this one should be a great hoss fight between two enormous human beings. Jack Swagger's matches with Rusev were physical, so this encounter with The World's Strongest Man should be no different. Rusev is an excellent seller, so he'll make the match believable. He couldn't get Henry into the Accolade on Monday, but he'll lock it in this time to continue his undefeated streak.
Winner: Rusev
Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton
This match developed rather quickly, but I for one am glad it did. It started when Y2J said Orton has had everything handed to him and never had to work for anything in his career. Orton didn't take too kindly to that and decided to assault Jericho while a trainer was checking him out for a knee injury he suffered during a cage match with Bray Wyatt two weeks ago on Raw.
Either of these guys could easily be working with a younger talent, but I'm fine with them squaring off on Sunday. Jericho is leaving to go on tour with Fozzy soon, so a win here wouldn't make a whole lot of sense. Orton, on the other hand, has been on the sidelines a bit with regard to the main event picture and could use this win to demand a title shot for the 481st time.
Winner: Randy Orton
Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. The Miz for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
This has become one of the most entertaining feuds on the card thanks to The Miz's fantastic work as a heel. Plenty of people want to see him get punched in the face, and his entire gimmick is that his face is his moneymaker. The addition of Damien Sandow has been a wonderful boost to an already solid program.
Unfortunately, Miz doesn't have much of a chance in this one. It wouldn't do any good for the prestige of the belt to trade it back to Miz so shortly after Ziggler has won it.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins
Let's talk briefly about the response to this match on Monday night. WWE literally booked this exact match with no alterations on Raw, and Reigns pinned Rollins cleanly in the middle of the ring. Fans flew into an outrage that WWE would book this match in this way, partially because they gave it away for free six days before the pay-per-view bout.
But why do we care? We're not Vince McMahon. Why should it matter to us that he took money out of his own pocket, which he probably didn't even do? We got to see a pay-per-view match on free television, and we're complaining?
The other complaint is that Reigns' win means the match shouldn't even happen on Sunday because he's already beaten Rollins. But there's a story here. Rollins has boasted that he can outsmart Reigns, but Reigns did precisely that to his former running buddy on Monday when he dodged the Curb Stomp. But what if Rollins was just using Monday's match as practice? What if he has something much more nefarious planned?
Either way, this should once again be a solid match, and let's keep our fingers crossed for Dean Ambrose's return.
Winner: Seth Rollins by DQ
Paige (c) vs. AJ Lee vs. Nikki Bella for the WWE Divas Championship
The two Divas storylines have blended into one, which is how we got to this Triple Threat Match. Paige and AJ have been going back and forth with some bizarre tension between them, while Nikki has been trying to destroy Brie Bella's life, so naturally Stephanie McMahon rewarded her with a title shot.
This match is poised for Brie to run in and cost her sister the match, but we could wind up with some screwy finish in which she accidentally, or even purposely, helps Nikki win the belt. Paige should retain, but "should" only goes so far in WWE.
Winner: Nikki Bella
Brock Lesnar (c) (w/ Paul Heyman) vs. John Cena for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Brock Lesnar has been Doomsday for much of this year, as he has slaughtered everyone in his path en route to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. His latest victim was John Cena, whom he tore apart at SummerSlam to win the belt.
WWE has spent the last five weeks building Cena back up, but Lesnar couldn't care less. It's likely Cena will actually get in some offense this time and might even gain the advantage in this fight. Anything is possible in WWE after a decade of Cena dominance, but it would be far too soon for Lesnar to drop the belt after the company has spent a year turning him into an unstoppable beast. We could get some kind of interference in this match to set up another feud, but Lesnar will still walk out champion.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
What are your predictions for Night of Champions? Let us know in the comments section.