By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Night of Champions Hits
Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton in the King of the Ring tournament final: The best match of the night. Granted, this was not a memorable show from a match quality standpoint, but both wrestlers worked hard, and they told an interesting story. Orton hesitated when he could have punted Cody, whereas Cody never thought twice about targeting his buddy’s injured lower back. Are they building toward a Cody turn, or is that just something they want viewers to be thinking about?
John Cena vs. CM Punk for the WWE Championship: Well, at least we didn’t get another unsatisfying nut shot or belt shot finish. They lost me with the Pipe Bomb and Punk Life promos. Sure, both had some entertaining moments, but I would have preferred the focus to be on Punk getting his first televised title match since he returned to WWE. It took a bit for both wrestlers to get going, but once they did, the in-ring action exceeded the low expectations I have for Cena matches.
Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Rodriguez in a Street Fight: The expected win for Ripley despite interference from Roxanne Perez. It’s a shame that Rodriguez wasn’t built up to be a bigger threat to Ripley when they ended up on the same roster. Ripley is still one of the most popular wrestlers in WWE, but it’s felt like she’s been spinning her wheels since WrestleMania because the creative forces haven’t built up enough strong heels for her to work with.
Sami Zayn vs. Karrion Kross: A soft Hit for a passable match. Kross’s offense was plodding enough at times that it was tough to stay focused on the match. It will be interesting to see if Kross gets his heat back to extend the feud or what comes next for both wrestlers.
WWE Night of Champions Misses
Jade Cargill vs. Asuka in the Queen of the Ring tournament final: A decent match at best with a finish that felt like it came out of nowhere. I’m not sure what happened, but it just didn’t feel like the wrestlers built to the finish the way that most WWE matches do. Hopefully, Jade and Tiffany Stratton will put in a lot of rehearsal time so that their SummerSlam match exceeds expectations.
Jacob Fatu vs. Solo Sikoa for the U.S. Championship: A minor Miss. The body of the match was solid. The Miss is due to the match being laid out in a way that made the referee look like a moron. I get that there was already a Street Fight on the show, but this match really should have been some type of No DQ match to avoid the silliness of the referee having to act distracted multiple times.
Asuka did her best, but Jade is still green, as her pin attempt proved.
They’re trying to make new stars, to your Rhea point, but Jade is still rough – whereas some of the NXT women could probably be called up. At least Gulia and Stephanie are on the main roster to give the established stars – and fans- some fresh match ups