Welcome to another edition of Wrestling Inc.'s retro reviews, where we take notable wrestling shows from the past and apply our universally celebrated loved/hated format! This time around, we're venturing into an era of WWE we've never visited before: the strange, strange days of 2012.
For those who weren't there, you have to understand yes,CM Punk was WWE Champion for the entirety of the 2012 calendar year, but it didn't always really feel like he was the champion. Despite the fact that Punk was holding the gold, the show was still relentlessly driven by and focused on John Cena, which is one reason Night of Champions 2012 has such an interesting main event. With Punk wrestling Cena one-on-one on PPV for the first time in more than a year, Punk was finally able to share the spotlight with his strapless rival, resulting in perhaps their most critically acclaimed singles match. It's also the most recent Punk vs. Cena singles match on PPV heading into Night of Champions 2025 the same event, 13 years later and it should be noted that, as a result of the 2012 match's creative finish, Cena has never beaten Punk in a PPV singles match.
Now we can hear you asking didn't you already include Cena vs. Punk from Night of Champions 2012 in your Night of Champions edition of WINC Watchlist? First of all, that's very astute of you, yes we did.But there are other reasons to go back and visit this particular event at this point in history. Not only are two other wrestlers from the 2012 wrestling each other on the 2025 show RandyOrton, in basically the same position he's always been, and Cody Rhodes, in a somewhat higher one but there are other stars relevant to modern wrestling, including R-Truth,Alberto DelRio, and Sin Cara, now known once again as Mistico! There's plenty to revisit and we only have time for our strongest passions, so without further ado, here are three things we hated and three things we loved aboutWWE Night of Champions 2012!
I've always loved a good multi-man match to start out a pay-per-view hot, and Night of Champions 2012 did just that with the fatal four-way match for the Intercontinental Championship. While Ican't say I've always been the biggest fan of The Miz, I realized while watching this match that this iteration of Miz's character is probably my favorite of his, outside of the WrestleMania 33 feud, but that was, let's be real here, more Maryse. I digress, Miz made such a phenomenal Intercontinental Champion back in the day, and this made for a perfect opener for this show.
Before getting to the ring, of course the champion was on the microphone talking his s*** and he brought up a good point. He was the only champion of the night who had to defend in a multi-man match. For that reason, also, I liked its positioning on the card. The mix of talent was great, with Cody Rhodes and Rey Mysterio perfect competitors for Miz at this point in his career. Sin Cara was there too, I believe it was Hunico playing the character at this point, and even he did well in this match and it seemed relatively botch-free, at least from what I could tell.
I really enjoyed the finish of this match, even though it would have been cool to start off Night of Champions with a title change. After Rhodes attempted to unmask Sin Cara, the Luchador pulled out a second mask, in a spot you really don't see too often these days if you see it at all. He attempted to put the mask on Rhodes, but somehow got it on Miz instead. While the spot would have left things wide open for a title change in storyline with the champion distracted and unable to see, Miz went on autopilot and was able to hit a Skull-Crushing Finale from seemingly sheer muscle memory to Rhodes to get the win and retain the title. It was an exciting, pretty cute and unexpected, fun finish to a fast-paced match to kickoff the event.
The match also didn't overstay its welcome on a card that had quite a few matches, and I was still thinking about it toward the end of the show when thinking about things I enjoyed. While the bout may not have been as hyped up before the event as say, Punk versus Cena, it was still, inoffensive a nice addition and a nice way to showcase the IC title.
Written byDaisyRuth
I was always a huge fan of the Team Hell No tandem of Kane and Daniel Bryan, two wrestlers that on paper had no business teaming with one another but when they did produced some unequivocally hilarious moments of goofy yet wholesome fun. Night of Champions 2012 saw their run legitimized with gold, and they would go on to reign for 245 days until finally falling for the rise of The Shield. And while the match itself, defeating Kofi Kingston and R-Truth after eight and a half minutes, was nothing exactly worth writing home about it didn't really matter that the match was good, because the focus was the in-fighting of the tag team challengers.
What stuck out with Team Hell No was the very fact that they never really agreed with one another, but their stubbornness and desire to constantly one-up each other led them to succeed in spite of themselves. The match demonstrated that idea, with Bryan pushing Kane from the top rope to score an incidental pinfall on Kingston, and crowning the pair tag champs even as they inevitably argued about Bryan's action. That further gave way for the iconic "I'm the tag team champions" bickering, flipping and extending the "Can they co-exist?" trope to the extent that they did actually co-exist and thrive for quite some time. Eventually, it played into their downfall too, but it cannot be denied that in the process one of the more iconic tag teams of modern-era WWE was born.
WrittenMax Everett
I want to preface this by noting that I mostly enjoyed the matchup of Antonio Cesaro vs. Zack Ryder. My main issues lie within the elements surrounding it.
Firstly, the story heading into this title match was virtually non-existent as Ryder won a number one contenders battle royal less than an hour before their WWE United States Championship match. Considering this marked Cesaro's first televised title defense against someone other than his predecessor, Santino Marella, one would expect there to be at least decent investment heading into it. Due to the quick turnaround between WWE confirming the challenger and the actual challenging, though, Ryder and Cesaro weren't given much of a chance to do anything of substance beforehand. To me, the only investment-worthy factors came from non-story elements Ryder's social media popularity and Cesaro's reliable in-ring prowess.
As for the title match itself, I won't say the time constraints hurt Cesaro and Ryder, but it definitely hindered them from creating something spectacular. Cesaro dominated the first half of the near-seven minute action, with Ryder struggling to find and keep momentum. This helps Cesaro (the heel) look strong while also giving the fans motivation to cheer on Ryder (the babyface), which they kind of did once Ryder planted Cesaro with a facebuster.
With Ryder's following, I envisioned him getting a more vocal response from the live audience in Boston. Perhaps due to the lack of true build-up, however, they weren't as into it as they could have been. Still, Cesaro and Ryder told a solid in-ring story of the latter pushing through the pain to eventually start a comeback that looked like he might dethrone "The Swiss Superman"...until a somewhat rushed ending.
When Ryder lined up his Broski Boot, Cesaro's on-screen girlfriend Aksana pulled him to the outside. The Long Island native then awkwardly skirted around Aksana, only to return to the ring on the receiving end of an uppercut and the Neutralizer. I think this sequence would have been better served by an additional five to ten seconds of Ryder chasing Cesaro around the ring, allowing Cesaro to then use Ryder's momentum to his advantage by sending him flying (and I mean dramatically flying) with his uppercut. This would have Cesaro looking even more powerful before finishing off his opponent with The Neutralizer.
Again, "hate" is a strong word to apply to the substance of the actual United States Championship match, but time restraints around it certainly aren't doing it many favors, and for that, I must give it a thumbs down.
Written byElla Jay
I overall really enjoyed going back to watch this show. I had a lot of fond memories, like the antics of Team Hell No, and in my older age, I had a new appreciation for Eve Torres and her athletic ability. But, there was one thing that stuck out to me on this show that I really didn't care for. Its not due to the match quality, per say, but just its existence on the card. Then-Money in the Bank holder Dolph Ziggler took onRandy Orton in the middle of the show, the show, titled Night of CHAMPIONS, with no title on the line, here. There didn't seem to be much rhyme or reason behind this match, either. Despite Orton being a top babyface and Ziggler a rising heel, there wasn't much heat or a feud behind this match, that I can either remember, or from what any research lead me to.
While I can't remember when the concept of putting the Money in the Bank briefcase on the line outside of just the ladder match came about, obviously after the concept's inception at WrestleMania in 2005, if hadn't happened before this night in 2012, this is where it should have started. Ziggler should have put the briefcase and guaranteed title shot on the line against Orton, though that would mean the match finish would need to have been changed. At this point in time, Orton had been with WWE for a decade, and losing to someone holding the MITB briefcase wouldn't have been the end of the world for his character.
Orton losing, as much as I liked him even back then, honestly, wouldn't really have been a bad thing. This match was seemingly meant to help establish Ziggler as an upper-card player ahead of his cash-in on Alberto del Rio, though that wouldn't happen until six months later. Him defeating "The Legend Killer" on his way to his first World HeavyweightChampionship would be a good stepping stone, even if it might have been a distant memory by the time he cashed in on Del Rio on the "WWE Raw" after WrestleMania 29.
While I'm well aware there are two matches on the 2025 Night of Champions card that don't have titles on the line or are part of the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments, at least there are two singles matches, with one even having a stipulation. Here, Orton and Ziggler were on a card where every other match was for a championship, and it just stuck out to me enough that I wasn't a fan. I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention how much Vickie Guerrero's shrill "Excuse Me!" gimmick still grates on my nerves today, but that was honestly the least of my issues with this match-up. This was a solid in-ring match and the work of both men was solid, but it just wasn't a bout for Night of Champions without a major stipulation.
Written by DaisyRuth
The main event of Night of Champions 2012 saw the third and, at the time of writing albeit not for much longer, most recent one-on-one WWE Championship match between John Cena and CM Punk. Cena had previously been foiled by the "Voice of the Voiceless" first and most famously at Money in the Bank the year earlier, followed up by another title loss as Punk was crowned the Undisputed WWE Champion at SummerSlam. It would not be until Night of Champions the next year that Cena got his next and what wound up being the closest opportunity to wrest the title from Punk.
The bout itself was very entertaining if typically straddled with the weight of expectation that comes with a trilogy; thus ensued an eventual finisher-fest and clusters of near-falls and "could he tap?" moments, which can be very take it or leave it for some while I personally swing to the former. But the story remained consistent at the very least, that being that Cena could not legitimately defeat Punk on his best day. This was the time that Cena had Punk beaten, and yet he was denied by mere circumstance. Having failed to put him away with the patented "5 Moves of Doom" it was an Avalanche Suplex that kept his opponent down. But Cena hadn't been able to sustain a bridge for the cover, ensuring that in actuality he had also been kept down for the count of three.
Even as Cena had the championship in his hands celebrating, he had failed against the champion's advantage-blessed Punk, and had it ripped away from him to be handed back to his nemesis. But aside from the story and the way that had been told, it was a legitimate shock to the system for the consecutive beats of a crashing maneuver, quick and decisive pinfall, celebrating a new champion, and then the revelation that it had all been for nothing. It's fun when wrestling experiments with the different avenues that the rule set offers, and it also helps that the match had done well to build to the moment.
Written by Max Everett
Wrestling fandom is not a monolith, and I'm sure there are a lot of you out there who have fond memories of watching the WWE product in 2012. I suspect, however, that there are even more of you out there for whom the absolute best thing you can say about this particular year in WWE history is that CM Punk was WWE Champion the entire time and that reign is most notable for being terribly booked and making both title and champion feel less important by the time it was over. While we focus a lot on Punk's reign being bad, however, we shouldn't lose focus on the fact that pretty much everything happening around him in 2012 was as bad, if not worse.
You don't even have to watch the whole show to learn this (though I did). Just scan the Wikipedia page. An Alberto Del Rio match; a Zack Ryder match; a Layla vs. Eve Torres match. Supporting performers at ringside included David Otunga, Aksana, and Vickie Guerrero. A pre-show battle royal, won by Ryder, included the following participants: Michael McGillicutty, Ted DiBiase Jr., Primo, Epico, Justin Gabriel, Tyson Kidd, Brodus Clay, Heath Slater, JTG, Drew McIntyre, Jinder Mahal, Santino Marella, Titus O'Neil, Darren Young, and Tensai. That's bleak, man. The WWE roster was so stagnant in September 2012 that we're about six months away from fans embracing Fandango, of all people, because at least he wasdifferent.
We've done a decent number of these retro loved/hated columns at this point, and while we've covered a decent number of shows from the late 1990s, and from the mid-2000s, and from 2014, we've largely avoided this period of WWE, and we have done that, by and large, because it sucks. This show demanded our attention thanks to it featuring a really good Punk vs. John Cena match at Night of Champions, but beyond that, it's primarily a reminder of just how barren the landscape was before the roster got a massive refresh over a multi-year period starting in 2013. This is before the Four Horsewomen, before the Wyatt Family, even before the Shield. Kofi Kingston is out here teaming with R-Truth because the New Day didn't exist yet; Daniel Bryan is just beginning his tag team act with Kane instead of winning world titles; Antonio Cesaro has yet to feud with Sami Zayn because "NXT" as we know it has only been around for a few months and Zayn hasn't even debuted there yet. Mistico leaves WWE in 2014, Rey Mysterio in 2015, and Cody Rhodes in 2016; the battle royal is a parade of ex-WWE stars, plus Drew McIntyre, who also left before coming back. And as usual for this era, the less said about the women's division, the better. It's unreal the degree of turnover this version of the roster was forced to undergo, but it was also entirely necessary as anyone who has sat through Night of Champions 2012 can tell you.
Written by Miles Schneiderman
