This Sunday night, it's all about the gold as the WWE presents Night of Champions live from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
10 Best WWE World Heavyweight Champions In History
It will be a busy night for WWE World Heavyweight and United States Champion Seth Rollins. First, he'll battle the face of the WWE John Cena for the midcard title. Then, he'll put the richest prize in the game on the line against former WCW icon and current TNA Hall of Famer Sting, who will be wrestling in just his second match with the organization.
All five of the WWE's prestigious belts will be hanging in the balance at Night of Champions, and we've done our best to try to predict the results and match order of the show, while sprinkling in some rumors and possible spoilers. To view this article in slideshow form, CLICK START at the top right of this page.
Projecting Likelihood Of All Possible Outcomes For Seth Rollins At Night Of Champions
Pre-show Six-Man Tag Team Match: The Cosmic Wasteland (Stardust, Konnor & Viktor) vs. Neville & The Lucha Dragons (Sin Cara & Kalisto)
This match doesn't hold a lot of importance, but it will be a fun way to start the proceedings and should still be a solid bout. The heels are a great team with old school psychology, while the faces present an entertaining high-flying dynamic. Stardust could get the pin on Neville, but it's likely the faces prevail.
The Pick: Neville & The Lucha Dragons
WWE United States Championship: Seth Rollins (c) vs. John Cena
It will be interesting to see how the WWE books "The Architect's" double duty, but it would make sense to bookend the show with both title defenses. We've already gone into detail on the possible outcomes for Rollins at Night of Champions, with it appearing as though the most likely scenario would be for him to lose both belts and become very whiny (or whinier) over the next couple of weeks. Cena opening up a show would also be interesting to see.
This match should be great as the two have already shown they have chemistry together and it wouldn't be entirely bad for the "Cenation" leader to go over. The positive results would be two-fold; Cena would continue to revitalize the midcard, while he would also stay out of the World Championship hunt as he seeks to tie Ric Flair with his 16th reign.
Rollins could win this match to stay in the midcard and drop the World Championship as a way to change the landscape at the top of the company, but it appears with Cena's U.S. Championship T-shirts needing to be sold, he'll win here and return to the open challenge storyline
The Pick: John Cena
Daniel Bryan and The Miz clashed in a memorable U.S. Title Match at this event in 2010:
WWE Tag Team Championships: The New Day (c) (likely Kofi Kingston & Big E) w/ Xavier Woods vs. The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray & Devon)
The WWE shocked the world by having the Dudleys resurface on the RAW following SummerSlam, and now they'll wrestle at their first pay-per-view for the company in over a decade. One could argue their push may have been rushed as less than four weeks after they returned, they are the No. 1 contenders. On the other hand, they are legends and the WWE had them steamroll through the competition to get here.
As far as a winner, it's hard to root against The New Day at this point because they just won the belts back last month and are just so damn entertaining. Their #SaveTheTables angle is amazing. The gimmick has really taken off and the trio has had the time of their lives with it. It's possible TND goes over here via cheating from Woods on the outside to set up a Tables Match next month.
The winner of this match is pretty much inconsequential as the feud is sure to continue, though where that leaves the Prime Time Players is a good question. With the Dudleys returning, they'll likely pick up their 10th tag title with the WWE, while The New Day will be entertaining chasers. This one could go either way.
The Pick: The Dudley Boyz
Team Hell No battled R-Truth and Kofi Kingston for the tag gold in 2012:
Singles Match: Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev w/ Summer Rae
Honestly, this storyline still just hasn't clicked for me. I enjoy both of these Superstars, but nothing interesting has come of it and Lana's injury has seemingly made it stall even further. Ziggler is a legitimate main event-caliber Superstar, but he's been wasted in this midcard relationship drivel. At least there are rumors Rusev and Lana may be put back together soon, where they excel. Rusev will probably win here, with Ziggler getting revenge once Lana returns.
The Pick: Rusev
WWE Intercontinental Championship: Ryback (c) vs. Kevin Owens
This feud was sort of slapped together, but I projected that the WWE should have Owens go for this midcard title when trying to predict the card last month. Initially, Ryback being champion was a nice moment for him, but his boring feud with The Miz and Big Show drained all the positive momentum the WWE was striving for when Daniel Bryan won the gold before having to forfeit it to injury.
Similar to Ryback's reign, Owens' run in the WWE has grown a bit stagnant as of late as he's toiled around in the midcard since his amazing series with Cena earlier this year. The WWE can solve both these problems simultaneously by having Owens go over here and run roughshod over the midcard, which is likely what they'll do.
The Pick: Kevin Owens
Rey Mysterio and Dolph Ziggler stole the show in a bout for the IC Title in 2008:
Six-Man Tag Team Match: The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper & Braun Strowman) vs. Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose & ???
This feud took an interesting turn when the hulking Strowman made his debut last month, and the outcome of this match will likely depend on who the mystery partner is. We've already tried to guess who the man is question is, with the most notable name being Reigns' cousin, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. While it's unknown whether or not The Rock will be there, if he is, it automatically would give the babyfaces the edge.
The odds are that the WWE will book Strowman to look strong in the match. The Wyatt's could afford a win and if it ends up being someone like Randy Orton teaming with the former Shield members, the heels should go over. However, if it's a big name like The Rock, it's hard to see the WWE bring him back just to lose.
The Pick: The Rock is the partner, Reigns and Ambrose win.
WWE Divas Championship: Nikki Bella (c) vs. Charlotte
Now that Bella eclipsed Paige's record for longest reign with the championship ever, it's time for the WWE to kick-start the Divas Revolution by making a title change. The company pulled off the ultimate bait-and-switch on RAW this past week, but it was predictable that Bella would surpass the departed Lee and get to 300 days atop the division.
With Charlotte, Ric Flair's daughter, being great in the ring and reportedly the WWE's choice for next champion, it would be logical for the title to change hands here. Charlotte should be earmarked for a future program with Team B.A.D. member Sasha Banks as the Real Divas Revolution began when Banks and Bayley wrestled over the NXT Women's Championship, so a feud between Banks and the PCB members could truly revitalize the division.
Now that Bella surpassed Lee, there is a list of reasons why Charlotte should win the gold.
The Pick: Charlotte.
Bella, Paige and AJ lee wrestled a Triple Threat Match for the title last year:
WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins (c) vs. Sting
Before we get into this one, it's worth noting how ridiculous the WWE's standards for No. 1 contender are. Yes, Sting is a legend and six-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion and four-time TNA Heavyweight Champion, but should that count toward his standing in the WWE?
I'm a fan of Sting and I think it's awesome that he's in the main event, but I'm also torn on whether or not he should be in this position. Sting's only match in the WWE is a loss at the biggest event of the year, as he fell to Triple H at WrestleMania 31. There are reasons why Sting deserves to win and reasons why Rollins should retain, but overall the fact that he's even the No. 1 contender is very questionable.
If all it takes to get a title shot is to make an enemy out of Triple H and then ambush the champion, what are Adam Rose and Zack Ryder waiting for? The psychology of contenders in wrestling is very skewed this day and age.
Nitpicking aside, this will be a surreal moment as Sting tries to win the biggest prize in wrestling for the first time and end an up-and-down reign for Rollins that has been ongoing since WrestleMania. Rollins hasn't been a bad champion, he's put on tremendous matches as the WWE's No. 1 man, but he's been given terrible storylines (see: complaining about a statue) and has been booked to lose cleanly on several occasions in non-title situations and to get saved by others when his title is in peril.
I'm one for being an old school heel, but Rollins has been booked so weakly as champion it's hard to take him seriously despite his in-ring prowess. A win over Sting would go a long way in changing this, but that would mean "The Vigilante" would fall to 0-for-2 in his WWE career.
Picking a winner is tough in this case, but I think the WWE will reward Sting for finally coming over to the company, even if the win is short-lived. That would give Rollins grounds to complain for being booked to wrestle twice and losing everything, and cap off Sting's career with the ultimate achievement.
The Pick: Sting
Arguably the best World Championship bout in Night of Champions history was the Six Pack Challenge in 2010:
WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Sting (c) vs. Sheamus
I've held off on picking Sheamus to cash-in during my predictions ever since he won the MITB in June, but I think this could be the moment he finally strikes. Sting is in his 50's and the WWE likely doesn't plan on keeping him on top for a while. After he receives his crowning moment to add the WWE World Heavyweight Championship to his resume, it's likely an attack of some sort will occur, leading to a cash-in by "The Celtic Warrior." Not crazy about a Sheamus title run, but it's inevitable.
The Pick: Sheamus
It should be a crazy ride when the WWE honors all of its gold this Sunday at Night of Champions.
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