WWE Night of Champions is the only WWE Pay Per View on the yearly calendar where every title is defended, the incarnation of WWE Vengeance inheriting a rich history.
In 2001 this is the Pay per view that saw Chris Jericho face Stone Cold Steve Austin to unify the WWF and WCW Championships into the Undisputed Championship
More recently last year saw Daniel Bryan win the WWE Championship in a almost 30 minute match.
This is sadly also the event that the Chris Benoit tragedy unfolded from, while this is a sore and soft point in its history, its a great time to reflect on the true in ring technician that Chris Benoit was, he defeated Eddie Guerrero and Triple H at this event to win the US and World Heavyweight Titles respectively.
This is the first Night of Champions to be held in Tennessee. The only states to ever have held Night of Champions/Vengeance more than once is Texas (2007,2008,2011) and Michigan (2002, 2013).
This pay per view has seen 48 title matches and after this one is done, that count will be up to 53!


You can join FNX Network members, staff and associated indie wrestlers for a live chat all throughout the Pay Per view with Twitter and Instagram feeds on the same page and all the usual fun and banter. Links for the chat and international times for the pay per view and chat are below:

LIVE CHAT HERE

New York (U.S.A. – New York) Sunday, 21st September 2014 at 8:00:00 PM
Sydney (Australia – New South Wales) Monday, 22nd September 2014 at 10:00:00 AM
London (United Kingdom – England) Monday, 22nd September 2014 at 1:00:00 AM
Indianapolis (U.S.A. – Indiana) Sunday, 21st September at 8:00:00 PM
Los Angeles (U.S.A. – California) Sunday, 21st September at 5:00:00 PM

 
You can watch WWE Night of Champions via the WWE Network or your local cable provider
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Brock Lesnar (c) with Paul Heyman vs. John Cena

A rematch of the Summerslam beatdown on John Cena, Brock Lesnar is on a warpath to destroy John Cena physically, while the sick minded genius Paul Heyman has made it a weekly ritual to torment the mind of Cena and try to get him to crack, turn heel and his back on the CENATION.
John Cena has only missed one Night of Champions in 7 years (in 2013 he missed out due to injury) but has an amazing track record at this PPV in the main event (2-3-1).
Should i neglect to mention that at Vengeance 2002 Brock Lesnar was beaten by RVD for the Intercontinental Championship? After that night, Lesanr went onto feud the Rock and defeat him at the next PPV of that year Summerslam where he managed to become the youngest WWE Champion in history at 25 years old, a record that is still held today over 12 years later!
Even Paul Heyman has history with Night of Champions, being the first PPV event he managed CM Punk, Cm punk went onto being in the main event against Jeff Hardy in 2009 in Philly where they wrestled to a Night of Champions/Vengeance record crowd of 17,774.
I’m picking Brock Lesnar to walk away with the title and hold onto them for a while, he seems to almost be the new age undertaker, a beast that cannot be slain.

FNX Staff Members Predictions:

Jake (@JacobTheRed) – Worlds Almost Finest Podcast – Lesnar – I think they’ll make Cena get a lot more offence in this time around but will slip up.
David (@DarkSynn337) – fnx.network Veteran – Lesnar – Needs to happen the same way as Summerslam but even more one sided, Cena shouldn’t be on top again once more let alone the 16 title reigns…

Sheamus (c) vs. Cesaro

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Sheamus prides himself on being a fighting Champion, He has held the US title since early May, but what has he done with it since? His only notable title defence has been at Payback in June! The last time we saw Sheamus at Night of Champions was in 2012 where he defended his World Heavyweight Title against Alberto Del Rio.
This is Cesaro’s 3rd Night of Champions in a row since his debut in 2012 and has lost in Tag Team events, but also crushed Zack Ryder to win the US title.
I hope Cesaro brings back the European championship for a laugh, Vengeance 2002 was the second last night of the European Titles history as Jeff Hardy beat William Regal, The next night RVD and Hardy faced off to merge the European and Intercontinental championships where RVD won, After a 12 year absence maybe the Swiss superman can bring back some nostalgia.
I’m gonna back Cesaro to win the title and actually do something with it. If this means more regular title defences or the aforementioned nostalgic dream I just mentioned before, either way the title needs some more prestige to honour its heritage.

FNX Staff Members Predictions:

Ryan (@fxryden) – Co-Owner of FNX Network – Sheamus – I haven’t seen Cesaro wear the FNX hat I gave him on TV yet, So Cesaro, when you read this, wear it and you’ll get your number one fan back 😉
Kenzi (@Kenzi_Alexander)– FNX Network’s Head Female Model – Sheamus – Sheamus will go over Cesaro (confident isn’t she!)

Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. The Miz

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Dolph Ziggler is full of confidence going into this matchup, and its easy to see why – almost every Intercontinental Champion defending their title at Night of Champions has retained.
Ziggler lost last year trying to win back the Intercontinental championship, Zigglers last win at Night of Champions was in 2011 with the help of Vickie Guerrero.
On the other hand, The Miz didn’t make an appearance last year, however successfully defended his Intercontinental championship in 2012 against Sin Cara, Cody Rhodes and Rey Mysterio!
I am going to back Ziggler to retain and go onto a bigger and better feud, The Miz could possibly win this however if they want a strong heel champion as he holds some legitimate heat with some fans. I still would really love to see The Miz bring back Maryse as his manager, they could also be possible contenders for Total Divas cast members.

FNX Staff Members Predictions:

Bob (@Bob_Delph) – Live from the Armory– Ziggler – To be honest I’m not really too excited about this card at all, I’ve heard more NXT talent is moving up and think this is just a filler show apart from the Cena/Lesnar Match.
Josh (@DickieIsOk) – Worlds Almost Finest Podcast – Ziggler – He is my hairstyle idol.


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Paige (c) vs. AJ Lee vs. Nikki Bella

In 2010 at Night of Champions WWE unified the Women’s and Diva’s Titles where Michelle McCool walked out champion, Tonight Paige defends her championship against AJ Lee, who defended the WWE Divas championship at last years event and Nikki Bella, who’s sister was involved in the divas matchup last year but failed to bring home the gold.
Let’s see if Paige has the same grit as Trish Stratus did in 2001 to retain her title, or will Nikki Bella snatch her first title in WWE history in her very first title match?
Various news sources have cited that WWE is actively trying to increase the sexual tension between Paige and AJ. All i know is that this storyline is selling and seems to have momentum and some future.
Rumours are circulating however that AJ Lee could be done with WWE for good once this PPV is over. Let’s see how accurate those rumours are!
I’m going to predict Nikki walks away from this one with her very first title, I’m sure she has a great spot to display it inside John Cena’s house.

FNX Staff Members Predictions:

Mark (@OfficialVandy) – Independent Wrestling Sensation – Lesnar – Because Lesnar will kill everyone. (Mark responded with this to every match prediction.)
Ant aint on twitter (@404ant) – FNX IT Assistant– No Response – Ant was uncontactable after mentioning a “diva’s 3 way”
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Mark Henry vs. Rusev with Lana

Mark Henry didn’t debut on a Night of Champions or Vengeance PPV until 2008 where he defeated Big Show and Kane to win the ECW Championship. His last appearance on this PPV was in 2011 where he defeated Randy Orton to win the World Heavyweight Title.
Rusev has been on an unstoppable roll since debuting on the WWE main roster at Royal Rumble in January, walking over opponents in his path and stirring a lot of anti american propaganda, inciting major legitimate heat from fans, especially after mentioning the Ukrainian conflict via Lana’s promo.
I’m going to predict Rusev inches away with a win and this feud continues on, Perhaps lining up an angle opening for a Kurt Angle return, whose last appearance at a WWE PPV was Vengeance 2006, and two months later was released from the company “a shell of a man”

FNX Staff Members Predictions:

Sandy (@SandyP4025) – Regular Monday Night Live Member – Rusev – Not really excited by this PPV, seems kind of thrown together!
Tentacles (@CalcifersCastle)– FNX Network’s Head of Gaming – Rusev– Because all hail Putin.

The Usos (c) vs. Golddust and Stardust

Goldust is a veteran of this PPV, He was in a dark match against Stevie Richards in 2002 which was broadcast on Sunday Night Heat prior to the PPV being aired. His brother Cody Rhodes AKA Stardust has been wrestling in WWE since mid 2006 and recently has evolved into the Stardust character which debuted on June 16 2014. The Rhodes have the most obvious heritage in all of wrestling being the sons of the son of a plumber, Dusty Rhodes.
The Usos have been around for a good 4 years now debuting in 2010, but still feel like a very new Tag Team in some ways. Jimmy Uso’s exposure on Total Diva’s has increased the awareness of many fans as to the legacy the Usos are defending, being the sons of the great Rikishi and cousins of The Rock, Roman Reigns and Yokozuna.
While these two teams have great heritage and legacy to defend, I feel as though Goldust and Stardust are shining right now, both are in great shape, are performing well week after week and will elevate the tag team titles.

FNX Staff Members Predictions:

Kane (@Kaneosaurus)– Co-Owner of FNX Network – Goldust and Stardust – I hope The Dust Brothers, I love their characters and they are very entertaining.
Jake (@JacobTheRed) – Worlds Almost Finest Podcast – Usos – They have the Ascension on the horizon.


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Chris Jericho (c) vs. Randy Orton

As mentioned before, Chris Jericho’s history at Night of Champions is stellar, Winning the Undisputed Championship at Vengence 2001, but has not appeared at this event since 2010 where Sheamus, Wade Barrett, John Cena, Edge and himself were all defeated by Randy Orton for the WWE Championship.
While Randy Orton won the last time these two butted heads, Randy Orton lost his WWE Championship to Daniel Bryan last year at Night of Champions, however then went on to defeat Daniel Bryan in a Hell in a Cell match for the vacant title with Shawn Michaels serving as the special guest referee. On December 15, 2013 at the TLC pay-per-view, Orton defeated John Cena to unify the World Heavyweight Championship into his WWE Championship. The title is now known as the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
If you aren’t in the know, Jericho has just released a new album with his band Fozzy and have an extensive world tour booked which means you can probably expect Randy Orton to bring back the “legend killer” gimmick and put Jericho on the shelf for a while.

FNX Staff Members Predictions:

Kane (@Kaneosaurus)– Co-Owner of FNX Network – Orton – Orton needs a push and hopefully it comes with a new direction, beating Jericho could give him and edge, but this match could go either way.
Mark (@OfficialVandy) – Independent Wrestling Sensation – Lesnar – Because Lesnar will kill everyone. (Mark responded with this to every match prediction.)

Roman Reigns Injury Update

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Roman Reigns was set to face Seth Rollins in a singles match, which would have been only the 5th non title match in the history of the PPV. However yesterday it was announced Reigns would not be able to compete as he had been rushed for emergency surgery for a incarcerated hernia performed by Dr Chris Amann. The surgery was confirmed as successful by WWE later via a twitter update. Basic research indicated a recovery time of about 2 weeks from surgery, but due to Reign’s line of work being so physical you can probably expect to double or triple that to be on the safe side.