Lets get this right out of the way: No, Sting did not win the WWE World Heavyweight title at Night of Champions, which was probably the right call, considering the practicalities (and the optics) of a 56-year-old man holding the top belt in the business. But he certainly deserved to, after turning back the clock and putting his body on the line in a thriller against Seth Rollins. The result wasnt a surprise especially given the comments Stingmade last week to Rolling Stone but the quality of the match was.
Much like the Undertakers surprisingly strong showing against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam, Sting may have benefitted from lowered expectations last night, but Ill be damned if he didnt seem determined to prove he can still hang with the current generation of stars. He took everything Rollins dished out a seriously painful looking spot through an announcers table, sit-out suplexes and turnbuckle powerbombs and threw himself off the top rope to catch Rollins with a cross-body outside. There was a moment when he seemed to be genuinely dazed (to the point where a ringside medic had to intervene) and he still nearly got the WWE champion to tap, again, to his Scorpion Deathlock. But in the end, it was Rollins who retainedwhich, like I said, was probably the correct decision.
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You can debate whether the same can be said about everything that happened immediately afterward. Sheamus, finally free of his feud with Randy Orton, made good on his numerous threats to cash in hisMoney in the Bankbriefcase, Brogue Kicking Rollins and preparing to pin him only to be interrupted by the returning Kane, in his old red-and-black Demon getup (and his old hair, too), who chokeslammed Rollins, did the same to Sheamus, then Tombstoned the champ for good measure. Are you excited bythe prospects of no-longer Corporate Kane feuding with Rollins? What if they do it with the constant threat of a twice-thwarted Sheamus looming? It makes sense, given the Big Red Machines seemingly endless storyline with Seth, but it seems like a snooze. Then again, we were all thinking the same thing about this Sting match more proof that, whether you despise him or not, Rollins remains a premiere talent inside the ring, the kind capable of coaxing show-stoppers out of 56 year olds.
It should be mentioned that the Sting match came after Rollins put his U.S. Championship on the line against John Cena another older star who still seems motivated to compete. Hell get to do it once again via his U.S. Open Challenges, as the 38-year-old stalwart took back his belt from Rollins in another standout match between the two. Its clear Cena and Seth have great chemistry, but they pushed it to the limits once again, and the work the Face That Runs the Place puts in (last night, his spots included a version of the Canadian Destroyer, a Hurricanrana reversal, a nasty looking tree-of-woe that ended with him getting double boots tothe face and a superplex-rollover courtesy of Rollins) continues to impress. Seth pinballed all over the ring, even with the knowledge hed be working the last hour of the show, but ultimately ate an A.A. to give up the strap. Its better around Cenas waist anyway. This one wasnt as good as their bout at SummerSlam, but considering it ended without any shenanigans, it was probably a better match.
The rest of Night of Champions was a bit of a blur, to be honest. The revealing of Chris Jericho as Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns mystery partner against the Wyatt Family was a dud, in part because Y2J never really seems to leave the WWE Universe, but also because there really was no one they could have put in his place. The Rock was rumored, but that seemed like wishful thinking, as was Daniel Bryan, though apparently he still cant receive full medical clearance. The returning Erick Rowan? NXTs Baron Corbin? Cesaro? One of them made sense, but all would have felt like a letdown. Hey, at least it wasnt Mark Henry. And its good to see Bray Wyatt and his flock continue to be built as monster heels, especially Braun Strowman, whose strength is staggering.
Charlotte ended Nikki Bellas 301-day reign as Divas Champ in a match that was solid, if unspectacular, especially considering it was built almost exclusively around the psychology of Bella repeatedly hammering at Charlottes injured leg/knee which she sold well but concluded with the former NXT champ apparently forgetting about her grievous injury long enough to lock in her Figure Eight submission, a move that depends on lower-body strength. Theres also something to be said about WWE continuing to build on the actual heel heat Bella got on Raw by having her keep the belt here (it certainly seemed like the first bit of intrigue theyve managed to create in the so-called Divas Revolution), but they decided to give Charlotte her shot. Perhaps this serves as the beginning of a wide-open division where talents like Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks get their crack at the champ now thats a way to generate fan interest.
New Day were amazing as always Big Es rhythmic headlock and Xavier Woods everything (trombone playing, constant chatter and brave decision to do his hairlike Rufio) were the highlights last night but they lost to the Dudley Boyz via DQ. Still, they kept their Tag Team titles, and then got to play dastardly heels in a postmatch beatdown that saw them go back on their Save the Tables campaignby breaking out the lumber. Of course, their plans went awry, and it was Woods who ate a 3-D through the table, which made the folks in Houston happy and sets the stage for a totally bonkers rematch between these teams at next months Hell in a Cell. The build should be great; fans love the nostalgia of the Dudley Boyz, andits becoming increasingly apparent that Kofi, Woods and E are the future of this division.
Just like your new Intercontinental Champion, Kevin Owens, who took the belt from Ryback via a heelish eye-rake and proved that its possible to survive a stint in post-Cena purgatory. Conventional wisdom had WWE extending this feud since its only been brewing for a few weeks but it was the right call to put the IC strap on KO last night. Perhaps he can pick up where the injured Bryan left off, turning it into a prestige title again by working his butt off night after night. Like the path of destruction he left in his wake at NXT, there are already challengers lined up (Cesaro, Orton, perhaps even Rusev oh, yeah, he took on Dolph Ziggler atNOC, but who cares?) now its simply a matter of setting him loose. Will WWE make the right call? The track record isnt great, but as they showed last night, sometimes, theyre capable of choosing wisely.