Although Night of Champions is synonymous with championship matches, gold actually changing hands has been a rare occurrence in previous years, and both World Heavyweight Champion Kane and Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler will be hoping the tradition continues.
The Big Show Vs. C.M Punk at Night of Champions 2010
This is the only match on the entire card that isn’t for a piece of gold, and comes as somewhat of a surprise as it looked like the feud between the pair was winding down rather than building towards a big climax.
The Big Show is quickly becoming a joke on Smackdown, going from out and out legitimate threat to a silly-hat wearing, impression delivering funny-man who occasionally puts someone on the canvas with a big right hand.
Long time WWE fans may remember a brief period where The Big Show came to the ring dressed in various guises (including a Scotsman and The Immortal Hulk Hogan) which inevitably lead to a lull in his win/loss record.
C.M Punk will be hoping for a similar outcome at Night of Champions, as the Straight Edge Superstar hasn’t had an awful lot of success in taking on the giant up until now.
With Serena’s unceremonious off-screen firing and an injury sidelining Joseph Mercury for the best part of six months, The Straight Edge Society is certainly in it’s most vulnerable position to date, but C.M Punk has shown in the past that he can be wily enough to pull out a win in near-impossible circumstances.
Prediction: C.M Punk has to win this one if the S.E.S is to retain any shred of credibility.
Dolph Ziggler (c) Vs. Kofi Kingston for the Intercontinental Championship at Night of Champions 2010
Finally Dolph Ziggler has managed to not only secure mid-card gold, but hold onto it against all the odds, albeit with the help of his ‘girlfriend’, The Cougar; Vickie Guerrero.
Unfortunately for fellow up-and-comer Kofi Kingston, a lot of his success has come at the expense of the Ghanaian Sensation, and that’s something he will be looking to address at Night of Champions.
For weeks now Ziggler has used every trick in the heel’s playbook to avoid dropping the gold to Kingston, losing first by disqualification, then by count-out when a stipulation was added dictating that the title would change hands if he again lost by DQ.
At Night of Champions the deck has been stacked even further against the New Age Narcissist, with Smackdown General Manager Teddy Long stipulating that a loss of any kind for Ziggler would see the title change hands, be it Pinfall, Submission, Disqualification or Count Out.
Despite the pair meeting numerous times over the past couple of months, this but has real potential to be a show-stealer, provided both guys can keep things fresh.
Prediction: Ziggler to retain the title by hook or by crook. There seems to be a storyline developing between him and Vickie Guerrero’s NXT Rookie, so expect both of them to be at ringside for this one and to more than likely get involved at some point.
Kane (c) Vs. The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship at Night of Champions 2010
When The Undertaker returned at SummerSlam after a seriously long, drawn out reveal, not many WWE fans expected his target to be brother Kane.
Not that Kane hasn’t done things like this before, The Big Red Machine has form when it comes to turning on his allies, but most assumed the WWE Creative Team would be a little more adventurous with the angle.
It turns out they haven’t been, and have instead taken the safe option with yet another Kane/Undertaker feud, although this time with a twist.
In previous years Kane has always been ‘in the shadow’ of his older brother, billed as the weaker of the two and usually ending up on the losing end of their epic duels.
However, since being attacked and left in a ‘vegetative state’ The Undertaker hasn’t been his usual self, displaying signs of weakness not usually associated with The Deadman, one of WWE’s longest-serving veterans.
The other difference is that this time the World Heavyweight Championship (or Holy Grail as both men have recently referred to it as) is currently strapped firmly around the waist of Kane, and judging on recent form, will be rather difficult to remove.
Kane and The Undertaker always work well together, be it as allies or opponents, so this is sure to be a solid bout that progresses the rivalry rather than ending it.
Prediction: Kane has only held the World Championship twice in his entire career, and with this looking like his final big storyline before retirement, it’s a safe bet he’ll keep hold of it a little longer while the angle develops.
Expect Taker to have a moment of weakness and lose after dominating.
Card as of 15/09/2010.
Please note card is subject to change.