After a very good run of Pay-Per-Views from World Wrestling Entertainment, the line up for Night Of Champions kind of suggested that we might be taking a little down turn in quality for this one. Sadly, the pre-show fears were somewhat realised with an event that never really got going.
The main event, pitting Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton against each other again was the best thing on the show by a mile. It was a good back and forth effort that was deliberately paced so that it built to a crescendo which had the fans on their feet for the final few minutes. However, as good as it was on the night, the fact that the decision of the match was declared null and void the next night on RAW was a slap in the face to anyone who paid to watch the show…especially when the referee’s fast count wasn’t even acknowledged on the night. The good efforts from both men deserved more than a muddled finish, but it would be unfair to put the blame on either of them.
The other world title bout pitting Alberto Del Rio against Rob Van Dam was a disappointment, not least for the disqualification finish. It was, of course, a blatant device to prolong a feud that hadn’t really caught fire anyway. The minutes leading up to the (non) finish were relatively exciting and made up somewhat for the rather dull opening ten minutes or so but it was left to RVD’s post-match Van Terminator to provide any real excitement.
The undercard was largely inconsequential and uninteresting too, although it did have some highlights. The best bout was probably the opener between Curtis Axel and Kofi Kingston, rather bafflingly booked in an altercation at the start of the show with Triple H. The fact that this proved to be Axel’s true level meant that it was clearer than ever later on when he teamed with Paul Heyman to battle with CM Punk in a handicap match that he is nowhere near the “top” level yet. Punk had little trouble dispatching Axel, only to be pinned by Paul Heyman after the interference of Ryback. Naturally, rather than elevate a full-time wrestler, the WWE put the heat on the out-of-shape non-wrestler to get the pin on Punk to continue the feud which had already been going on far too long.
The four-way women’s match pitting AJ Lee against Natalya, Brie Bella and Naomi was a regression back to the bad old days of Diva competition, as if the stellar battles between AJ and Kaitlyn had never happened. The Shield were in two matches and whilst the pre-show expectations might have been that Dean Ambrose vs Dolph Ziggler would have been the better of the two, it was actually Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns tag team title defence against the Prime Time Players that was the more entertaining bout. For all Ambrose’s obvious talents, he’s yet to really click in the ring as a singles competitor and for a match between him and Ziggler, both looking to be a big part of the future of the company, to be so dull must have been a disappointment all around. As for The Miz vs Fandango…well, when the commentators choose to treat a PPV match as a joke it’s difficult for fans at home to treat it any differently either.
Despite Triple H’s proclamation at the start of the show that “Night of Champions will be one of the greatest nights in WWE history” it never had any chance of coming close to that accolade given the line-up. The execution was uninspiring too. The best match of the night was the main event, but with that result overturned the night after, it left a show where nothing really happened other than feuds being extended whether fans wanted them to be or not. It might have made for a diverting episode of Smackdown, but as a pay-per-view it was a very disappointing night.
Extra’s on the DVD are limited to the Kickoff show Gauntlet match where Prime Time Players earned their tag team title shot by outlasting The Uso’s, Tons of Funk, Real Americans and 3MB. The blu-ray adds some highlights from RAW , including the fantastic AJ Lee “pipe bomb” promo.
– By Matthew Roberts
Thank you to our partners, WWEDVD.co.uk for providing our copy of Night of Champions 2013. Night of Champions 2013 available on DVD and Blu-Ray from 11th November. You can pre-order your copy from WWEDVD.co.uk now by clicking here.