Night of Champions (2014)

Night of Champions (2014) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and WWE Network event produced by WWE. It took place on September 21, 2014, at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee,[2] and was the eighth annual Night of Champions event.

Night of Champions (2014)
Promotional poster featuring John Cena and Brock Lesnar with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
PromotionWWE
DateSeptember 21, 2014
CityNashville, Tennessee
VenueBridgestone Arena
Attendance11,000[1]
Buy rate48,000 (excluding WWE Network views)
Tagline(s)Rematch. Resolve. Redemption.
WWE Network event chronology
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Eight matches were contested at the event. Of the five championships contested, three changed hands. The main event saw John Cena defeat Brock Lesnar by disqualification (with Lesnar retaining his WWE World Heavyweight Championship), after it was interfered in by Seth Rollins. The event also saw AJ Lee defeating Paige & Nikki Bella to win her record tying third WWE Divas Championship. This was also the last WWE PPV to date to feature Justin Roberts as a ring announcer as he would be released the following month. The event had 48,000 buys (excluding WWE Network views). The previous year's drew 175,000 buys.[3]

Storylines

The card consisted of eight matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches, with results predetermined by WWE's writers.[4][5] Storylines between the characters played out on WWE's primary television programs, Raw and SmackDown.

At SummerSlam, Brock Lesnar defeated John Cena to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. On the August 19 edition of Main Event, a rematch was scheduled for Night of Champions.[6]

Paige as Divas Champion.

At SummerSlam, Paige won the WWE Divas Championship against AJ Lee. On the September 1 episode of Raw, Stephanie McMahon granted Nikki Bella a title match at Night of Champions, but they were interrupted by AJ, who reminded Stephanie of her rematch.[7] On September 5, Stephanie decided that Paige would defend the title against AJ and Nikki in a Triple threat match.

On same show, Dolph Ziggler, who at SummerSlam had defeated The Miz for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, lost a rematch by countout.[8] On the September 2 episode of Main Event, another title defense against The Miz was scheduled for the event.[9]

On the August 25 episode of Raw, Cesaro by defeated Rob Van Dam and thus became the number one contender for the WWE United States Championship, held by Sheamus.[10]

On the August 18 edition of Raw, Mark Henry attacked Rusev,[8] who retaliated on September 1 of Raw, by attacking Henry during a match pitting Henry and Big Show against Erick Rowan and Luke Harper.[7] On the September 5 edition of SmackDown, Henry challenged Rusev to a match at Night of Champions, with Lana accepting on Rusev's behalf.[11]

On the August 18 episode of Raw, Gold and Stardust defeated WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos in a non-title match.[8] A week later, Goldust and Stardust won a title match by count-out and attacked The Usos after the match.[10] Goldust and Stardust attacked the Usos again after their respective matches against Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso on the following episodes of SmackDown[10] and Raw, resulting in Jey Uso injuring his leg.[7] On September 8, the Usos were scheduled to defend the title against Gold and Stardust at the event.

On the September 1 episode of Raw, Chris Jericho insulted Randy Orton on his Highlight Reel show.[7] A week later, Orton attacked Jericho who was being medically treated after losing to Bray Wyatt in a steel cage match.[12] On September 9, a match between Jericho and Orton was scheduled for the event.

Event
The Bridgestone Arena interior prior to the pay-per-view beginning

On the pre-show, Christian returned to host the "Peep" Show, with Chris Jericho as the show's guest. Analysis was provided by a pre-show panel of Booker T, Alex Riley, Big Show, and Renee Young.

Other on-screen personnel
Role: Name:
English Commentators Michael Cole
Jerry Lawler
John "Bradshaw" Layfield
Tyler Hubbard
Brian Kelley
Spanish commentator Carlos Cabrera
Interviewer Byron Saxton
Ring announcer Lilian Garcia
Justin Roberts
Referee Mike Chioda
Pre-show panel Renee Young
Booker T
Big Show
Alex Riley

Preliminary matches

The actual pay-per-view opened with The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso) defending the WWE Tag Team Championship against Goldust and Stardust. The Usos dominated throughout the match until Jey attempted a Samoan splash on Stardust but landed on Stardust's raised knee. Stardust immediately rolled-up Jey for a pinfall, thus winning the title.

Sheamus defending his United States Championship against Cesaro

Next, Sheamus defended the United States Championship against Cesaro. In the end, Sheamus executed a Brogue Kick to retain the title.

After that, Dolph Ziggler defended the Intercontinental Championship against The Miz. The Miz was accompanied by his "stunt double" Damien Mizdow, while Ziggler was accompanied by his ally R-Ziggler. Miz rolled up Ziggler while holding his tights to win the match and his fourth Intercontinental Championship.

Dean Ambrose being carried out of the arena after attacking Seth Rollins.

The next match on the card was scheduled between Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. The match was cancelled the day before the event, as Reigns was rushed to the hospital for surgery on an incarcerated hernia, and was deemed unable to compete.[13] Rollins walked to the ring to claim a victory against via forfeit. While in the ring, Dean Ambrose attacked Rollins. The Authority emerged from backstage to separate the two and restore order. Security later tied Ambrose's hands behind his back and escorted him out of the arena.

In the fifth match, Rusev faced Mark Henry. During the match, Henry executed The World's Strongest Slam, but couldn't capitalize. In the end, Henry submitted to The Accolade.

In the next match, Randy Orton faced Chris Jericho. In the end, Jericho executed a Codebreaker but Orton kicked out. Jericho dove off the Top Rope but Orton countered into a mid-air RKO and pinned Jericho to win the match.

AJ Lee's victory in a triple threat match earned AJ her record third and final WWE Divas Championship reign

In the penultimate match, Paige defended the Divas Championship in a triple threat match against Nikki Bella and AJ Lee. After leaving Nikki Bella unconscious out of the ring, AJ forced Paige to submit to the Black Widow to win the title. With this win, AJ Lee tied the record for most reigns alongside Eve Torres with three.

Main event

In the main event, Brock Lesnar defended the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against John Cena. Cena executed an AA but Lesnar kicked out at one. Lesnar then applied the Kimura Lock four times, but Cena reached the ropes to break it. Cena later executed a second AA on Lesnar, but Lesnar kicked out at two. Cena later applied the STF, but Lesnar countered the hold. Lesnar then applied a fifth Kimura Lock, but Cena escaped by repeatedly driving Lesnar into the corner. Cena then executed a third AA on Lesnar and applied a second STF, but Lesnar reached the ropes. Cena applied a third STF, but Lesnar again reached the ropes. Cena then locked Lesnar in a fourth STF, but Cena let Lesnar out of the hold when he refused to submit. In the end, Cena executed a fourth AA on Lesnar. As Cena went for the cover, Seth Rollins attacked Cena with the Money in the Bank briefcase, causing a disqualification. Rollins attacked Lesnar with a Curb Stomp and then attempted to cash in his contract but Cena attacked him before the match could actually begin. Lesnar then executed an F-5 on Cena to close the show.

Aftermath

The following night on Raw, The Miz defended his Intercontinental title against Dolph Ziggler in a Night of Champions rematch. Ziggler regained the title after rolling up The Miz with a handful of tights. During his weekly interview with Michael Cole, Triple H scheduled a battle royal for the September 26 episode of SmackDown, with the winner receiving a title match against Ziggler later in the night.[14][15]

Reception

Night of Champions received mostly positive reviews. The Sheamus vs. Cesaro match was highly acclaimed. James Caldwell, from PWTorch, gave the Main Event three 3/4 out of five stars. He called it a "solid title match". However, he complained about the Intercontinental and Divas title changes.[16] Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter called the US Title match and the Orton vs. Jericho "excellent matches." About the US Title match, he said it looked "like a G-1 match with a lot of stiff blows and reversals back-and-forth."[17]

Results
No. Results Stipulations Times[2]
1 Gold and Stardust defeated The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) (c) Tag team match for the WWE Tag Team Championship[18] 12:47
2 Sheamus (c) defeated Cesaro Singles match for the WWE United States Championship[19] 13:06
3 The Miz (with Damien Mizdow) defeated Dolph Ziggler (c) (with R-Truth) Singles match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship[20] 08:25
4 Seth Rollins defeated Roman Reigns by forfeit Singles match N/A
5 Rusev (with Lana) defeated Mark Henry by submission Singles match[21] 07:20
6 Randy Orton defeated Chris Jericho Singles match[22] 16:23
7 AJ Lee defeated Nikki Bella and Paige (c) by submission Triple threat match for the WWE Divas Championship[23] 08:41
8 John Cena defeated Brock Lesnar (c) (with Paul Heyman) by disqualification Singles match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship[24] 14:21
  • (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
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    gollark: I will inform the Queen.
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    gollark: Exactly. This is why oneliners.

    References
    1. "Night of Champions 2014". prowrestlinghistory.com. Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
    2. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/PPVReports/2014/09/22/21956686.html
    3. "Traditional WWE PPV Buys For Battleground, SummerSlam & Night Of Champions". www.wrestlingnewsworld.com. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
    4. Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
    5. "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
    6. Namako, Jason. "WWE Main Event Results – 8/19/14 (Big Show vs. Rowan)". WrestleView. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
    7. Tedesco, Mike. "WWE RAW Results – 9/1/14 (Six Man Tag Team Main Event)". WrestleView. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
    8. Tedesco, Mike. "WWE RAW Results – 8/18/14 (Fallout from SummerSlam)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
    9. Trionfo, Richard. "WWE MAIN EVENT REPORT: CAN YOU HAVE MIZTV WITHOUT MIZ?; GOLDUST AND STARDUST IN ACTION". PWinsider. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
    10. Tedesco, Mike. "WWE RAW Results – 8/25/14 (John Cena returns to action)". WrestleView. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
    11. Namako, Jason. "WWE Smackdown Results – 9/5/14 (10 Man Team Match)". WrestleView. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
    12. Tedesco, Mike. "WWE RAW Results – 9/8/14 (Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns)". WrestleView. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
    13. Martin, Adam. "Roman Reigns undergoes emergency surgery in Nashville". WrestleView. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
    14. "WWE Videos & Video Clips". WWE. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
    15. WWE (September 24, 2014), Triple H on what's "cool" about Dean Ambrose, retrieved November 27, 2017
    16. "CALDWELL'S WWE NOC PPV REPORT 9/21: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live PPV – Lesnar vs. Cena". James Caldwell.
    17. Meltzer, Dave. "WWE Night of Champions live coverage from Nashville". Wrestling Observer.
    18. Clapp, John. "WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos vs. Gold & Stardust". WWE. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
    19. Clapp, John. "United States Champion Sheamus vs. Cesaro". WWE. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
    20. Clapp, John. "Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz". WWE. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
    21. Clapp, John. "Mark Henry vs. Rusev". WWE. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
    22. Clapp, John. "Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton". WWE. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
    23. "Divas Champion Paige vs. Nikki Bella vs. AJ Lee". Retrieved September 5, 2014.
    24. Melok, Bobby. "WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena". WWE. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
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