‘WWE: Night of Champions 2014’ Blu-ray Review
Night of Champions is a pay per view concept that should, really, make it one of the biggest WWE shows of the year. A show where, on paper, every WWE championship is defended, is something that should be promoted as a huge deal, but sadly this didn’t feel so big. The lead up to the show was mediocre, and many of the matches were rematches from previous events, so it wasn’t an event that was going to cause a massive amount of excitement, but, regardless, the show itself turned out to be okay, with some very good matches, and some not-so-good ones too.
I’ll start with the negatives of this event. The Mark Henry vs. Rusev match was tedious and bland, and though there have been much worse Henry matches, it just didn’t interest me. Rusev as the anti-American heel is over, he gets heat, but it’s been done so many times that I find myself wishing they had a more creative role for him and Lana. The AJ Lee vs. Paige vs. Nikki Bella match for the Divas Title wasn’t hideous, but it wasn’t too great either. A rushed and fairly uneventful match, it highlighted how little effort is put into building character in the Divas division these days, something that harms the product and causes the fans to sit on their hands during women’s matches.
The positive aspects of the event were much more prevalent in this PPV though, because there is plenty to like about Night of Champions 2014. The Uso’s vs. Goldust & Stardust is an enjoyable match, though it felt like the type of tag matches we see on RAW each week. It was entertaining though.
Sheamus vs. Cesaro, fighting over the US Title, presented a hard-hitting and physical match that, in my view, was the best of the show. They put their all into proving themselves here, and regardless of the lack of momentum their characters are experiencing in WWE currently, they showed a passion for their in-ring work, and the full-on action provided a fantastic contest.
Ziggler and The Miz’s match for the I-C strap was also a fair match, and though it didn’t hold a candle to the US Title match, it was still enjoyable, and Ziggler still gets a nice pop from the crowds. Seth Rollins’ brawl with Ambrose was a popular and very enjoyable moment in the show too, possibly eliciting the biggest reaction of the night.
The main event for the WWE World Title, between Brock Lesnar and John Cena wasn’t great and wasn’t anywhere near as interesting as their previous PPV encounter, but the heat was good and the fans were into it. This main event could have fallen into both the positive and negative column here, but I thought I’d be more optimistic. The ending of the match was a cheap and forgettable one, and ended the show with an anti-climactic shrug of shoulders from many viewers.
It was one of those b-shows that should have been better but just failed to live up to what it should have been. An event that undoubtedly should be on par with the likes of SummerSlam, Night of Champions remains a show like TLC and Hell in a Cell, just another event that continues storylines and feuds but doesn’t really do anything big.
The Blu-ray release of Night of Champions 2014 also features four matches from episodes of RAW and SmackDown, and the DVD has some interviews with the likes of Chris Jericho, AJ Lee and Goldust. It’s the usual bag of tricks from WWE that we see on their PPV releases. A fine show with some good matches and some poor ones, this is one for collectors of WWE PPV’s, but offers very little in terms of re-watchability for non-superfans.
WWE Night of Champions 2014 will be out on November 24th on DVD and Blu-ray, from Freemantle Media