The Case
Every title is on the line at WWE's Night of Champions 2011, where pro
wrestling's most popular athletes from RAW and Smackdown take over
the ring in the ultimate battle for gold. Six championships are up for grabs at
this year's edition of the pay-per-view, and here's a look at the complete
lineup:
• Air Boom vs. The Miz & R-Truth in a WWE Tag Team
Championship Match
Air Boom's Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne take early
control of the matchup by delivering quick high-risk maneuvers and pulling off a
solid dose of impressive double-team action. Meanwhile, the Miz and R-Truth pick
up some momentum along the way, offering an enjoyable variety of submission
holds and stronger kicks and slams. This tag team battle turns out to be quite a
decent opener until the end, when questionable decisions by the referee lead to
a disappointing finish.
• Cody Rhodes vs. Ted DiBiase in an Intercontinental Championship
Match
Surprisingly enough, this title matchup delivers the goods, with
both Rhodes and DiBiase offering a mostly clean display of standard wrestling
moves and a fair combination of dives, slams and kicks. Clocking in at around 9
minutes, their battle boasts enough entertainment for fans to rejoice. I
wouldn't call it a PPV classic, but it certainly beats a lot of other matches
WWE's been offering us as of late.
• Dolph Ziggler vs. Alex Riley vs. John Morrison vs. Jack Swagger
in a Fatal 4-Way Match for the United States Championship
Four wrestlers
go head to head for a shot at the U.S. title, and much to my surprise, this
Fatal 4-Way manages to keep the action flowing at a steady pace. Each contestant
contributes to the battle accordingly, utilizing their individual skills to keep
their audiences entertained. With four men inside the ring we don't see too many
holds or moves that could slow down the match, leaving instead plenty of time
and room for a series of fast dives, dropkicks, slams, and clotheslines. So far,
so good.
• Randy Orton vs. Mark Henry in a World Heavyweight Championship
Match
Mark Henry is not exactly the kind of guy you would expect to see go
against someone like Orton, but WWE's writers took a risk on this one. Truth be
told, it almost paid off. While Henry's weight certainly limits his ability to
deliver quick maneuvers, he actually does a fairly solid job keeping up with
Orton, who approaches each match like a bullet train. Orton spends a lot of time
focusing on Henry's legs to bring the beast to the ground, but Henry offers a
fair amount of powerful counter actions that keep the pace of the match moving
rather swiftly. Things do slow down after a while as Henry seems to be
struggling with Orton's speed, but the latter throws in some bad acting to give
his opponent some extra time. This match fails to finish on a high note, but all
in all, it's still a relatively decent PPV matchup.
• Beth Phoenix vs. Kelly Kelly in a Divas Championship Match
We've seen a horde of terrible matches from the WWE divas lately, and even
though this little battle is by no means a memorable one, I had to admit Phoenix
and Kelly Kelly engage in some pretty impressive high-risk offensive maneuvers.
Could we finally be in for a small improvement from the divas? Let's hope it
will last.
• Alberto del Rio vs. John Cena in a WWE Championship Match
The first of two main events at Night of Champions 2011 pits Alberto del
Rio against John Cena, and even though their title match comes without any
special stipulations, both wrestlers put on a good show. None of these guys ever
seem to win over the entire crowd, but the fans on location don't shy back from
expressing their enjoyment every time the momentum switches between the two.
Cena is known for being able to deliver clean, traditional wrestling action, and
that's exactly what he brings to the table in this matchup. Del Rio's style tens
to be a bit more aggressive, but in terms of energy and power, he proves he's
got what it takes to play with the big boys.
• CM Punk vs. Triple H in a No Disqualification Match
The
final battle of the night is the only one without a title on the line. Triple H
and CM Punk may not serve up the most technical match of this event, but they
clearly provide fans with the most entertaining act of the show. The no
disqualification feature allows the two athletes to do anything to win, and sure
enough, Triple H and CM Punk soon take the action outside the ring and around
the arena. Even the wrestling action inside the ring boarders on excellent, with
both stars changing things up by switching between strong submission holds and
powerful signature maneuvers. Alas, just like the first match of the event, this
final showdown ends with a bunch of necessary interferences and twists only WWE
writers could come up with (and I mean that in a negative way, of course).
Still, at the end of the day, this one's definitely the most exciting contest of
the entire pay-per-view.
As usual, WWE offers this PPV in widescreen format with decent picture and
crisp audio. The bonus section on the disc includes a 13-minute moment from a
Smackdown taping, during which CM Punk and Triple H waste a lot of time
signing a contract. Trust me when I say the best thing to do with this extra is
to skip it or at least fast-forward it.
Compared to other recent WWE pay-per-view events, Night of Champions
2011 performs pretty well. It won't go down as a classic, but most of the
matches on this card bring enough energy and entertainment to the table. Will it
last? Next up is WWE's Hell in a
Cell, so stay tuned!
