Night of Champions is only a few days away. Even though the WWE has been serving up plates of garbage on Raw for weeks now, many still have high hopes for this pay-per-view, as every title in the company will be defended.
With that said, here are my predictions for this Sunday’s Night of Champions pay-per-view, which in case you haven’t heard, can be viewed on the WWE Network for only $9.99 (or $12.99 if you’re afraid of commitment).
Nikki Bella vs. Paige (WWE Divas Champion) vs. AJ Lee
I don’t expect it to be a terrible contest, as two of the three competitors are great workers and Nikki isn’t the worst Diva fans have ever seen. In the end, I believe Nikki will capture the title with help from her sister, reuniting the Bella Twins and putting an end to their horrible feud.
Winner: Nikki Bella by pinfall
Sheamus (United States Champion) vs. Cesaro
This should be one of the more exciting contests of the night, but I unfortunately don’t see it being given a ton of time. Although Cesaro will put up a hell of a fight, Sheamus will retain after hitting a Brogue Kick, possibly setting up a feud with Rusev for the United States Championship in the near future.
Randy Orton suffered two cuts during matches at this past weekend’s WWE live events. On the Saturday show in Jackson, “The Viper” suffered a cut on his hand and on his back. The cut on his hand seemed to occur while he was setting up a table for a spot in the match.
During the match the following night, Orton had his hand heavily taped up, however he seemed to be able to work with the injury without any issues.
We are one week away from the WWE’s next pay-per-view, Night of Champions. The card is essentially set and will feature a total of eight matches, with a rematch between John Cena and Brock Lesnar headlining the event.
With every title on the line, the card should provide fans with an exciting event that features a few surprises. Here are five potential Night of Champions shockers.
WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair is being advertised to appear at the WWE SmackDown television taping on Tuesday night in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Flair is in the local advertisements for the event as a special referee for a Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton match, which if it takes place, since advertising of special matches has been hit and miss lately, it will likely be a dark match.
As things stand right now, the only matches officially set for the September 21st WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view in Nashville, Tennessee are Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Sheamus vs. Cesaro for the WWE United States Championship and Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz for the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
According to reports, two additional matches that are all but confirmed are The Usos vs. Goldust and Stardust for the WWE Tag-Team Championships and Mark Henry vs. Rusev.
The plan right now for the WWE Divas Championship match on the card appears to be a four-way with Paige defending against AJ Lee, Nikki Bella and Brie Bella, as all four were linked together on all of WWE’s television shows this week.
Another match likely for the show, although it may not be a pay-per-view match, is Bo Dallas vs. Jack Swagger.
The key Superstars left without matches that are expected on the show are Chris Jericho (in his final match of his current run with WWE), Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, Randy Orton, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns.
It appears WWE is going with a Reigns vs. Rollins match, so they may go with Jericho vs. Orton since the Jericho vs. Wyatt and Reigns vs. Orton matches are set for next week’s RAW to combat the season premiere of Monday Night Football. However, they could either way, with one final Jericho vs. Wyatt “blow-off” match, as well as another Reigns vs. Orton bout.
As noted in the past, the WWE Studios film “Lockdown,” which Dean Ambrose is off filming, is set to wrap up on the Saturday before Night Of Champions, so he could end up on the show if WWE chooses to go that route.
The following are highlights of a new website Q&A update by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On who the best WrestleMania opponent, besides Undertaker, would be for Sting: “[Randy] Orton would work but so would HHH. I think HHH vs. Sting would be interesting and feel that they’d have good chemistry.”
On how he thinks Brock Lesnar could be the face of WWE while working a part-time schedule: “It was mere speculation as it will go one way or another as to who the fans embrace or not. Lesnar’s not working a full time schedule in any role at any time in his future career so it would have to be done creatively but it could be done. The top dog or WWE Champ doesn’t need to be on TV every week whatsoever.”
On whether or not AJ Styles should change his character if he were to sign with WWE: “I don’t think, unfortunately, that it is any thing that we need to discuss because WWE is highly unlikely to ever sign the talented AJ who seems content on what he’s doing now a days. Great talent without question.”
On how TNA and ROH can compete with WWE: “TNA and ROH only need to focus on their brand and eliminate WWE from their mind, by and large. If they commit to their brand, develop new talents, have strong TV outlets, and use logical booking philosophies, they can be more profitable. No one is ever going to threaten WWE’s spot at the top.”
You can check out more of Jim Ross’ online Q&A at his website, JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
– WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin tweeted the following during the RAW main event on Monday night, which featured Seth Rollins, Kane and Randy Orton vs. John Cena, Roman Reigns and Chris Jericho.
The WWE rolled through midwest tonight, as they set up shop in Des Moines, Iowa. This week’s card featured a total of eight matches, including a life changing six-man tag main event. It’s time to once again take the WWE to school, and I’ll be the one doling out the grades.
As always, matches will be graded based on usual factors such as workrate, in-ring psychology, move variety, crowd reaction, and overall impact on the storyline. Important in-ring promos will also be graded based on factors such as originality, believability, and importance. Without further ado, here is this week’s Raw report card.
Chris Jericho’s Highlight Reel
Tonight’s show started with Chris Jericho’s Highlight Reel, and featured a shitload of guests, including the Authority, John Cena, and Roman Reigns. There was some entertaining banter during the segment, including Triple H and Jericho hurling corny insults at one another as Jericho dissed Triple H’s pink tie, while the Game chose to attack Y2J’s scarf during a hilarious back and forth. Rollins was extremely over during the promo and got the biggest pop of the night in his home state. Cena threatening to sue the company was pretty lame, however, and held the promo back a bit. It was an overall decent segment, it set up the main event, and the crowd seemed to be into it.
Grade: B
Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler vs. Cesaro and the Miz
The first match of the night was a tag team match featuring the United States and Intercontinental Champions. The Miz showed up with his body double Damien Mizdow and a personal stylist, complete with chairs and makeup. Miz and Sandow were hilarious throughout the contest and the ending was solid. Ziggler and Cesaro also worked well together during the opening portion of the match, with Cesaro’s fall away slam into a pinning combination being one of the most impressive spots I’ve seen in a long time. Overall, it was an entertaining contest and was a good way to advance both feuds.
Two big matches were confirmed for next week’s edition of WWE RAW, which emanates from Baltimore, Maryland.
One of the matches scheduled for next week’s show is a steel cage match between Chris Jericho and Bray Wyatt.
Also announced for next week’s show, which like the cage match was announced on this Monday’s RAW, is a SummerSlam rematch between Roman Reigns and Randy Orton.
Tonight is the Labor Day edition of WWE RAW, which takes place live tonight at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa.
Confirmed thus far for tonight’s show is a “Highlight Reel” segment with Chris Jericho and special guest, Randy Orton.
Superstars advertised for tonight’s show in Des Moines include John Cena, Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, Erick Rowan, Kane, Seth Rollins and Triple H.
– What hard-hitting questions will Jericho have for Orton?
– How will Cena respond to Brock Lesnar?
– What is going on between AJ Lee and Paige?
– Will Reigns get his hands on Rollins?
– How will Brie Bella move past her sisters actions last week?
Make sure to join us here tonight for live WWE RAW results coverage.
– The official WWE website is currently running a poll asking fans who they feel will be the next WWE World Heavyweight Champion. The options are Dean Ambrose, John Cena, Roman Reigns, Dolph Ziggler, Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt, Randy Orton and Sheamus. With over 12,000 votes cast, Reigns is in a commanding lead with over 40 percent of the votes. After him are Cena and Ambrose, with the rest falling way behind in the vote.
– Sinn Bodhi posted the following update on Jake “The Snake” Roberts via Twitter:
With @JakeSnakeDDT at hospital, he's more worried about disappointing fans then getting better! We told him 2 shut up &beat this phnemonia!
– The reason that Chris Jericho and Randy Orton were not on this past Monday’s edition of RAW was because WWE gave the two some time off. As noted, both are scheduled to return at next week’s RAW, where Orton will be a guest on Jericho’s “Highlight Reel” segment.
– Zeb Colter has been telling friends that he suffered an injury as a result of the stiff kick he took from Rusev at the SummerSlam pay-per-view. There is also a story making the rounds that claims Colter was injured outside the ring as well.
– It was announced on this week’s edition of WWE RAW that on next week’s RAW, Chris Jericho’s “Highlight Reel” segment will return with special guest, Randy Orton.
– Below is Brock Lesnar’s interview segment from Monday’s RAW.
As noted earlier today, WWE is advertising Daniel Bryan for their upcoming European tour in November.
Current WWE advertisements list Bryan for one-half of the tour, which begins on November 6th in Cardiff, Wales and also includes Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt as the key Superstars.
Additionally, Bad News Barrett, who is also currently on the sidelines with an injury, is advertised to return during the tour. Barrett is currently advertised for the other half of the tour, which begins on November 5th in London, England and also features John Cena.
– The official WWE website is currently running a poll asking fans which WWE Superstar they would most like to see in a WWE Studios film. The options are Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Chris Jericho, Sheamus and Stardust. Leading the pack with a considerable amount of the vote is Undertaker, followed by Reigns and Wyatt. You can vote in the poll today at WWE.com.
– Although he has yet to be cleared to return, Daniel Bryan is being advertised for the WWE European tour in November. Matches advertised for the tour include Big Show vs. Rusev and John Cena vs. Seth Rollins on one side, with the other set featuring Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton and Dean Ambrose vs. Kane.
On Monday’s post-SummerSlam edition of WWE RAW, many announcements were made regarding matches and segments on several of WWE’s upcoming television shows.
First up, on WWE Main Event, which airs live on the WWE Network on Tuesday night, Big Show vs. Erick Rowan is the featured match.
On Friday’s edition of SmackDown on SyFy, which will be taped on Tuesday night, Randy Orton vs. Rob Van Dam is one of the featured matches.
Finally, on next week’s edition of RAW, John Cena will “address the WWE Universe” for the first time since losing his WWE World Heavyweight Championship to Brock Lesnar at the SummerSlam pay-per-view on Sunday night in Los Angeles, California.
– Apparently both Stephanie McMahon and Brie Bella have spent a lot of time practicing their match over the last week or so. It is being said that the two will be given a decent amount of time for their match tonight, and many expect a lot of bells and whistles to help ensure that the match comes off well on the pay-per-view.
– Following tonight’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view in Los Angeles, Brock Lesnar is scheduled to appear on tomorrow night’s WWE RAW follow-up show, which is advertising a main event (likely a dark match) of Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose & Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton & Seth Rollins & Bray Wyatt.
The following are highlights from the latest Jim Ross blog, which features the WWE Hall Of Famer giving his predictions for tonight’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view.
On John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar: “If you’ve listened to my Ross Report Podcast on podcastone.com and iTunes you know that I’ve been saying for months that I thought Lesnar would win the WWE Title at Sumer Slam even before Cena regained the championship. I will stay with my prediction as I feel that WWE is grooming Roman Reigns for the to spot and that Reigns beating Lesnar next year at WM31 would be a big money match if properly built. Yes, one can build it ‘properly’ even if Lesnar isn’t a ‘full time’ talent. It’s called smart booking. It was done for decades with the traveling, NWA Champion.”
On The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler: “Timing is every thing in the wrestling biz and Ziggler has had too many false starts to endure many more w/o being looked upon by many frustrated fans negatively. I’d put Ziggler over and take a positive step in restoring the shine to the IC Title and what it has meant in years past in WWE…the in ring, work horse champ.”
On AJ Lee vs. Paige: “As I have said many times, AJ is WWE’s top in ring Diva while Paige has the ability to put herself firmly in that conversation. Although neither lady may find themselves ever on ‘Totally Divas,’ and they both may not care, I feel that AJ will retain her title Sunday.”
On Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton: ” ‘The Roman Empire’ begins its build in earnest with a quality win over a proven, top talent at a major PPV. WWE is doing a nice job building Reigns who is a work in progress but, as I’ve said, he has until April 2015 to be truly ready for ‘the spot.’ Funny how some fans of today’s generation are already having issues with Reigns which, based on their own reasoning, is embarrassing in my opinion.”
On Rusev vs. Jack Swagger: “It is hard to logically fathom seeing the Russian Flag prevail over the American flag in a match where capturing the flag determines the winner. I’m going with my fellow Oklahoman Jack Swagger who will always be the 2nd toughest wrestling from Perry, Oklahoma (Next to Dan Hodge) Sunday in LA in this traditional, nationalistic story line. A loss in this type of match won’t hurt Rusev in the least as he is still a work in progress too. The more personality Swagger demonstrates the better chance he has to contribute in a more significant way in WWE.”
On Stephanie McMahon vs. Brie Bella: “I like this storyline, although I wasn’t crazy about the physical therapist component added last week implicating Brie’s husband Daniel Bryan having an affair with the physical therapist, and think that WWE can easily get more mileage out of this pairing. By hook or crook, I’d get Steph over and continue the rivalry in a very personal way which may include Nikki Bella. Steph has been a star in this presentation thus far. For a mother of three who has multiple full time jobs Mrs. HHH looks great and will represent well in the ring.”
On Bray Wyatt vs. Chris Jericho: “Wyatt needs to win here and if he doesn’t I’d suggest counseling for all involved in the decision making process. There’s no reason that these two couldn’t have the match of the night or damn close to it.”
On Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose: “I’d like to see Rollins win a close one here and am curious to see how the Lumberjack Stipulation creatively plays into the match. I’d start the show with this match and feel that these two will tear down the Staples Center if provided the time so that they don’t have to rush the process.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
Based on several online betting sites that are currently running odds for tonight’s WWE SummerSlam, below are the current favorites and underdogs for tonight’s big show.
– Brock Lesnar over John Cena
– Stephanie McMahon over Brie Bella
– Roman Reigns over Randy Orton
– AJ Lee over Paige
– Seth Rollins over Dean Ambrose
– The Miz over Dolph Ziggler
– Jack Swagger over Rusev
– Bray Wyatt over Chris Jericho
Make sure to visit the website tonight for the best WWE SummerSlam live results coverage on the web!
The following are highlights of a new Crave Online interview with Roman Reigns:
CraveOnline: You’re from the famous Anoa’i wrestling family. What were family get togethers like? Do you guys just talk wrestling all the time or is business just business and family time is just family time?
Roman Reigns: It’s a little bit of both. It just depends on who’s there. If I’m with my dad, yeah, he’s going to talk a good bit about the business. He just kind of mentors me and tells me what he’s thinking about my stuff. But growing up and all that, family barbecues, it was all family, man, ya know? You have to picture it. We always had so many kids in our family, running around the yard, sweaty little kids jumping in and out of the pool, the front door and back doors swinging open and shut, all of the parents getting pissed off telling us to stay outside. Always coolers and coolers of beers and soda and chicken being barbecued, burgers being barbecued, it was a good time. It brings me back, actually.
CraveOnline: What is your dream match? If you could face any wrestler from any era, whom is Roman Reigns taking on?
Roman Reigns: Oh, that’s an easy one. I’d have to go with Taker, man. It’s such an easy choice. I imagine just about everybody would say that. If you hear all the stories of him, man, he’s like a godfather or something. You know what I mean? You hear all of these really cool things about him out in the ring, in the back, and just with the boys and stuff. He legitimately doesn’t get enough credit for being a cornerstone of this business. That would be a dream come true to be in the ring with him.
CraveOnline: Any desire to have a triple threat match with your former Shield members, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins?
Roman Reigns: Right now, I’m biding my time. I promised Dean that he would have first crack at Seth. He told me he’d leave a little for me. The main part for me is Randy Orton has just been a pain in my ass. Even from when, that night we [The Shield] broke up, that piece of crap, Seth, handed him the chair and he wore me out with it. So I’m gonna take out Randy just by principle. I’m going to clean up the outside of the house first. I’m going to do some yard work and then I’m going to Seth and clean up the house. It’s an ‘in house’ situation.
CraveOnline: What can we expect from your match with Randy Orton at Summer Slam?
Roman Reigns: A lot of heavy hitting. The plan is to hit hard and more often and just to tear the house down. You can say a lot about Randy Orton but he’s a multi-time champion and one hell of a performer. When he’s on; he’s on. When The Viper is in the ring, you got to be careful cause he can strike. But let him strike first, I’ll be the one to strike last.
CraveOnline: How much influence do you have in deciding your wrestling gear?
Roman Reigns: As long as I don’t go crazy, its all me. What I’m wearing for Summer Slam, I’m pretty excited about. Its kind of the same template of vest. It’s just a different set up. Probably by Wrestlemania, I’ll debut a whole different type of vest. It’s really cool to have cool gear.
CraveOnline: Yeah, I’d say you have the coolest gear in the ring. Its not jean shorts… or underwear.
Roman Reigns: No offense to [John] Cena. To be honest, the cool thing about Cena is he’s just in his gear all the time. He doesn’t have to get dressed. He comes off his bus and he’s it. All he has to do is pull up his kneepads. You know who is kind of a new Cena is Ambrose. Ambrose can show up in his gear like he just changes his boots. He puts on a different set of combat boots and he’s ready to go. I always joke with him that he’s the new Cena as far as gear.
CraveOnline: How far in advance are you made aware of a wrestling angle or the direction creative is taking you?
Roman Reigns: It varies. Due to how brutal our jobs are, you just never know. If Daniel Bryan doesn’t go down, I may not have the opportunity that I have now. You just never know when an opportunity is going to change everything and completely derail what the timeline was. Sometimes you know but you can never stick to that. You’re only as good as your last performance so you just have to be on your toes.
CraveOnline: What’s the process you go through before a match to get amped up?
Roman Reigns: My process is walking down to the locker room, laying everything out to how I like it. I’m very particular about setting up my bags and my dressing situation. I love to pull out that portable speaker and blare music even if nobody else likes it. To me, its just keeping everything the same every single night.
WWE has finally announced a SummerSlam “Kickoff Show” match for this Sunday, as Rob Van Dam will take on Cesaro during the 30-minute pre-show that airs prior to SummerSlam on the WWE Network.
With that now known, below is a look at the finalized card for this Sunday night.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
– John Cena (c) vs. Brock Lesnar
WWE Divas Championship
– AJ Lee (c) vs. Paige
WWE Intercontinental Championship
– The Miz (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler
Lumberjack Match
– Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose
Flag Match
– Rusev vs. Jack Swagger
Harper & Rowan Banned From Ringside – Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt
– Stephanie McMahon vs. Brie Bella
– Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns
Kickoff Show Match
– Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro
Make sure to join us here on the website this Sunday night for the best WWE SummerSlam live results coverage on the web!
The following are highlights of a new IGN interview with Roman Reigns:
IGN: And how about heading into your first-ever singles SummerSlam match?
Reigns: I’m excited, man. It’s a great opportunity to me. I have a really strong opponent in Randy Orton. A former multi-time world champion. He’s held just about every title under the sun. And he’s done it all in a major way. He’s basically wreaked havoc and ran roughshod over the WWE for quite some time. Some people might forget that. Not the Viper part, but that for many years he was running the show. The biggest bad guy in town. So I couldn’t have a better platform and a bigger stepping stone than I have at SummerSlam.
IGN: Over the past couple Pay-Per-Views, you’ve had world title opportunities. Some people say you’re not ready yet while others think you are. What do you have to say about that?
Reigns: Everyone has an opinion. That’s just a crazy part of this world now. You can type things on the internet. You can have no credentials in any area and just get on your smart phone and write whatever you want. For me, I know me. I know who I am. I know where I come from and where I want to go. I know I’m 100% ready.
Everyone else seems to have an opinion, and claim to know, whether I am or I’m not. I would love to see all the people who run their mouths try and do what I do. Because they can’t. I’m special and then men that I work with are extremely special. We were built, and I was born, to handle situations the way I do. I’ve always been the type who can be thrown in the fire and make it out. So I was ready six months ago. I was ready a year ago. Any time I’m given an opportunity, I feel I’m ready.
IGN: Your run with The Shield is done now, but you still have the Shield music and the entrance that takes you down through the crowd. Rollins and Ambrose got new theme music. Did you want a new track and a new entrance?
Reigns: No, I enjoy walking through the crowd. I think that’s a cool part of the show. And I think it’s become a bit of a signature trademark of the show. I would think now too that after my whole run with The Shield that the value of those seats have gone up. Before they were just seats. Now you can actually interact. When we would all walk down the steps, there were three guys there right up close. You could touch us. You could smell us. You know what I mean? We were right there. It’s not a common opportunity.
If there’s a certain Superstar who doesn’t want to touch hands, he can just walked down the middle of the entrance ramp and nobody’s close to him. When I’m walking down through the crowd, I have no choice. People are going to grab me. They’ll get a sense of me up close and my real size. So it’s a whole different experience. I’m very grateful to have kept that part. And for me it was an obvious choice. Because if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
– On Saturday night, WWE will hold one of their biggest live events in a while, as the crew heads to San Jose, California for a show that features both Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair. Also scheduled for the show is John Cena, Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, Dean Ambrose and Chris Jericho.
– In addition to Triple H, who we posted about earlier today, CM Punk also took part in the “Ice Bucket Challenge.” You can check out a video of Punk getting a cold bucket of ice water splashed on himself below.