Whenever there's a big show coming up, like WWE Night of Champions this weekend, it can be instructive (not to mention fun) to go back and watch some older, related matches in the lead-up to the event. There are as many different ways to watch wrestling as there are individual wrestling fans, but here at Wrestling Inc., we love to cut up and rearrange wrestling history in interesting and unique ways, selecting a variety of matches with some sort of through-line connecting them and placing them side-by-side. This time around, WINC Watchlist invites you on a journey through the history of the Night of Champions event with a special twist.
For this Watchlist, we gave ourselves two rules when it came to selecting matches. First, every match had to be a championship match as befits what has historically been the gimmick of the event and no championship could be re-used. That means only one Intercontinental title match, only one tag title match, etc. Second, we couldn't re-used individual wrestlers; there can be only one John Cena match, only one Sheamus match, etc. This put us in some interesting dilemmas when it came to what to include, and we had to leave some really good matches out, but in the end we were pretty pleased with our Night of Champions supercard, and it should put you in the perfect mindset for this weekend's show!
Night of Champions technically dates back to 2007, but it was "Vengeance: Night of Champions" back then and it's strongly associated with one of the worst things to ever happen in wrestling history, so we're just going to say the first Night of Champions was the first standalone one in 2008! One of the most notable matches that first standalone year pit Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho, a heel who was feuding with Shawn Michaels at the time, against a "mystery opponent," who was revealed to be Kofi Kingston. Kingston had just been picked in WWE.com's supplemental draft to go to "WWE Raw" from "WWE ECW," where he had only just debuted that year. Night of Champions 2008 is when Kingston received his first-ever championship shot and won, defeating Jericho with the Trouble in Paradise to secure the gold.
Jericho came out before their match to showboat around alongside Lance Cade, who had Jericho's back at ringside, though he stood ominously by the time keeper's area throughout the match rather than interfering throughout the bout. Michaels would make an appearance toward the end of the match, though Jericho initially said "The Heartbreak Kid" wouldn't be in attendance, due an eye injury. In the weeks leading up to Night of Champions, Jericho Marty Jannetty'ed Michaels through the Jerichitron 3000 during an episode "The Highlight Reel," Jericho's in-ring talk show.
It was a returning Michaels who would cost Jericho the match when he came through the crowd and delivered a Sweet Chin Music to Cade at ringside. Michaels then jumped up on the apron, distracting Jericho, causing him to break his Walls of Jericho submission on Kingston, who capitalized with the Trouble in Paradise to defeat "Y2J." While Kingston ran off with the gold, Michaels and Jericho would continue their feud and brawl on the entrance ramp.
The Night of Champions match was notable and makes it onto our watchlist, because if there was no Kingston Intercontinental Championship victory, there may never have been Kofi-Mania and the raucous support behind him to get the star to his first WWE Championship years later at WrestleMania 35, or even Kingston becoming part of the most successful trio in WWE history in the New Day.Kingston may have only held the IC title for less than two months, and he lost it in an intergender tag team match at SummerSlam alongside Mickie James against Beth Phoenix and Santino Marella, but his first taste of gold cemented him as an up-and-coming star at the time who would go on to do bigger and better things.
Written byDaisyRuth
Let's be honest: Almost every match involving Sheamus is a guaranteed banger. Mix that with a stream of physicality as well as counter after counter, and you've got a recipe for mega success (and quite frankly, match of the night, even against others with top stars such as Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho and Roman Reigns).
In the case of WWE Night of Champions 2014, Sheamus defended the United States Championship against Cesaro. While Sheamus usually leans into brawler-mode, Cesaro is typically a technician in the ring. Once paired together, those lines blurred, with "The Swiss Superman" laying in several hard hitting strikes, which "The Celtic Warrior" welcomed. In fact, a fired-up Sheamus vocally encouraged Cesaro to hit him with another round of punches. Then, in a move rarely seen, Sheamus burst out of the corner with a Brogue Kick out of nowhere, rather standing in wait.
I particularly appreciated this spot as it set itself apart from the sometimes more methodical, slower pacing of the bout. Of course, there were also some high-speed moments, especially in the flashes of counters. No matter the rhythm, Sheamus and Cesaro kept the intensity high and the chemistry seamless something they've done both as opponents and future tag team partners (five-time tag team champions, to be exact).
The wrestling industry tends to spotlight matches with flashy moves, unconventional elements, or ones simply involving bigger names. Sometimes, simplicity can be as effective, though, because in its simplest form, pro wrestling is two talents beating the hell out of each other. And that's certainly what Sheamus and Cesaro did, only crisper.
Written by Ella Jay
Night of Champions is quickly approaching, and the Queen of the Ring tournament finals are set for Saturday's festivities in Saudi Arabia. While WWE's female roster has been featured at least once on every Night of Champions card since 2008, there is perhaps no women's Night of Champions match more impactful than Nikki Bella's Night of Champions match against Charlotte (now-known as Charlotte Flair). Old and new guard clashed to contest the Divas Championship on the eve of the Women's Evolution, and the match's conclusion has shaped the WWE women's division into what it is today.
Bella and Charlotte's 2015 match began with some classic heel evasion from Bella. When the two women locked up, they did so violently, with the rookie Charlotte swiftly backing Bella into a corner. The veteran managed to toss Charlotte to the outside, where the challenger tweaked her knee upon landing. Charlotte's leg continued to plague her during her match, and the veteran Bella sunk her teeth into the challenger's weak spot. From the beginning, it was a war between veteran and rookie, with Charlotte showing fierce but unsophisticated aggression while Bella displayed her expertise through calculated movements and mind games.
Bella continued to dominate the match, but flashes of ego from the champion allowed for Charlotte use her incredible strength something she would become renowned for in her illustrious career to prepare for a comeback. Things began to look up for Charlotte when the ringside Becky Lynch and Paige attacked the interfering Alicia Fox and Brie Bella. With Bella thrown off her game, the match became a battle of ego and resiliency. Charlotte's kick-outs further frustrated the champion, and her calculated movements fell away to chaos. Bella was ultimately undone after a risky top rope dive was intercepted by a spear from Charlotte. Charlotte wrapped her up in the Figure Four leglock, and Bella was forced to tap out to end an over 300 day Divas' title reign. Charlotte was joined in the ring by Lynch, Paige, and her father Ric Flair as she celebrated what would be the first main roster title of her record-setting 14 world title reigns.
With this match, Bella, who epitomized the Divas Era, officially passed the torch to Charlotte, who, along with the other Four Horsewomen, symbolized the Women's Evolution. Charlotte's Divas title reign served as the transition from the often-criticized Divas Era to the era of female Superstars, as she traded in the butterfly title for the iconic, red WWE Women's Championship in 2016. Now, nearly ten years later, Asuka and Jade Cargill are set to compete in the Queen of the Ring tournament finals a tournament only made possible by the Women's Evolution for a chance at one of now two women's world titles.
There are several moments that marked the progression of WWE's Women's Evolution, but Bella and Charlotte's 2015 Night of Champions match was the predecessor to it all. Such an essential part of WWE history must be on your Night of Champions watchlist.
Written byAngeline Phu
For three years, Roman Reigns was unstoppable. For three years, Reigns had been omnipotent, with an incredible WWE Universal Championship reign that saw him took no pinfall or submission losses. That changed at Night of Champions 2023, when Reigns teamed up with Bloodline member Solo Sikoa to challenge Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens for the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championships. The four men took to ring in Jeddah, and by the time the night ended, Reigns walked out with no tag title, a loss on his record, and cracks in the invulnerability he spent over three years crafting.
The match started with former Bloodline member Sami Zayn stepping into a ring in Saudi Arabia for the first time since 2014. Jeddah was electric as Zayn and Reigns exchanged some heated dialogue before "The Tribal Chief" tagged Sikoa in to lock up with Zayn. Zayn and Sikoa traded blows before Owens was brought in to break up their stalemate, effectively marking Owens' first time participating in a Saudi match since 2018.
Where Zayn and Owens split their in-ring time evenly in the match, Reigns left Sikoa to be the legal man while he ran interference on the outside, only tagging himself opportunistically. The Bloodline tried their best to isolate Zayn towards the match's halfway point, but an irate Owens was not to be stopped as he sunk his teeth into Reigns during the match's second act. Both men showed incredible resolve as they traded signatures, and Reigns' carefully constructed cool continued to crack with every kick-out.
A wild spear from an exasperated and frazzled Reigns to the referee opened the door for Zayn to rock Reigns with a Superman Punch. Reigns responded with one of his own, only to be pummeled by a raging Owens. A brawl to the outside allowed for Jimmy and Jey Uso to run interference in favor of their Tribal Chief. Unfortunately, the Usos' presence led to Bloodline ruin, as a collection of Superkicks rocked Sikoa and Reigns enough for Owens and Zayn to capitalize with a Stunner and Helluva Kick combo to retain the titles in a historic end to Night of Champions.
While Solo took the pinfall, this loss dealt a serious blow to Reigns' and the Bloodline's stability. Reigns now had a new pinfall loss on his record after years of indestructibility, and the Usos shattered the Bloodline with their betrayal. This match immediately led into Money in the Bank 2023, where Reigns teamed up with Sikoa again to take on The Usos in the Bloodline Civil War. There, Reigns' empire continued to crumble, as Jey gave Reigns his first official pinfall loss in three years.
Reigns' downfall is a saga in itself, but this Night of Champions match result can be marked as the beginning of the end of a historic era. Ripples of Zayn and Owens' title retention can still be felt today, two years after that fateful night, and this piece of WWE history deserves a spot on your Night of Champions watchlist.
Written byAngeline Phu
It looks as though this weekend in Riyadh will be playing host to the final showdown between the iconic rivals John Cena and CM Punk, with Punk challenging Cena for the WWE Championship as time ticks down on the "Greatest of All Time's" in-ring wrestling career. Throughout the years, they have shared the ring on countless occasions, exchanging victories until their last singles match over 12 years ago saw Cena go on to challenge The Rock at WrestleMania 29 for the title. But thinning down the back catalog to purely one-on-one matches on pay-per-view reflects just three bouts, all of which with the WWE title on the line and neither of them a victorious endeavor for Cena.
The first and perhaps the more famous of the three was Punk's career-defining title win at Money in the Bank 2011, running through the crowd as his contract expired in storyline and returning to set up their Undisputed WWE Championship match at SummerSlam 2011 refereed by Paul "Triple H" Levesque. Once more, Punk emerged the winner of that match even if he didn't walk away with the title after being cashed in on afterward.
But it feels apt that heading into Night of Champions 2025, probably the last WWE title match between them, their most recent singles bout on PPV came at the same event in 2012. Especially considering this was the closest that Cena had come to wresting the title away from Punk one-on-one and he still didn't manage it; exhausting all five moves of doom, Cena got what appeared to be the winning pinfall with an avalanche German suplex, bridging for the cover. Alas, he had failed to keep his own shoulders off the mat and the contest was ruled a double-pin draw, thus ensuring Punk kept his title. It was perhaps the best way of driving home the idea that Punk was Cena's ultimate foil, as even when he thought he had done enough it simply turned out not to be. And in many respects, it's a result that directly justifies why Punk has the opportunity lined up. As he said in the build-up to this weekend's match, even on his best day, Cena couldn't get one over on him.
Now Cena has to either do what he has never done before and best Punk in singles action with the title on the line, or maybe since he finally has the champion's advantage he could adopt some of what undercut him previously. Either way, Night of Champions 2012 is worth a re-watch on the path to the sequel 13 years in the making.
Written by Max Everett
