WWE 2011 - Night Of Champions 2011

The night where every title in the WWE is on the line, including Mark Henry attempting to erase 15 years of doubt and claim the World Title from Randy Orton and also whether its Alberto Del Rio's destiny to remain the WWE champion as he takes on John Cena.

Live from Buffalo, N.Y. Michael Cole, Booker T and Jerry Lawler welcome us and we start off with the tag team title contest.

-WWE Tag Team Championship Match, Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne (Champions) vs. R-Truth & The Miz: Nice double teaming early on by Kofi and Bourne, even hitting dueling dives off the top to the outside. Soon after Miz and Truth take over wearing down Bourne, stomping him and keeping him on the mat, before Evan makes the tag to Kofi who turns it up hitting the Boom Drop on the Miz. But after the S.O.S. Miz kicks out and he soon hits a modified diamond cutter driving Kofi's head into the mat but he kicks out. Bourne misses Air Bourne, Miz covers and Kofi makes the save, Miz hits the Skull Crushing Finale but the ref is distracted by Truth. Miz pushes the ref and gets his team DQ'd. Good opening match, lousy finish. 6/10. Afterwards Miz pushes the ref then Truth comes to calm him down before hitting the ref.

-Now there's the usual anti-bullying campaign and then a lame Inside Out trailer.

-Backstage with Truth and Miz, Matt Striker interviews both and they say the ref was part of the conspiracy they keep talking about.

-WWE Intercontinental Championship Match, Cody Rhodes (Champion) vs. Ted DiBiase: After months of abuse by Cody, Ted attacked Rhodes at ringside 2 days prior on Smackdown and now we have this match. Ted takes it to Cody early on, with a side headlock and kept trying to remove Rhodes protective mask, then hit a dropkick for two. After a knee to the gut, Cody hits Ted with the mask and makes a cover for two. Rhodes then beats down Ted and trash talks him, Cody locks on an Abdominal Stretch and just wears down Ted before hits a great clothesline and a flying leg attack for two. He then hits an arm drag off the top and finally removes Cody's mask, but he gets rolled up for three and Rhodes retains. 6/10.

-Christian's music hits and he starts talking about how he deserves another shot at the winner of the World Title match tonight. He then knocks the Buffalo Bills for having never won the Super Bowl, but he has and he deserves one more match, then Sheamus' music hits. He cuts a weird promo about his uncle's lucky green..... well anyways, but he then goes on to say if Christian does win he wants the first shot, then hits a big kick and leaves the ring.

-Fatal Four Way Match for the WWE United States Championship, Dolph Ziggler (Champion)w/Vickie Guerrero vs. John Morrison vs. Jack Swagger vs. Alex Riley: The action starts off and Riley hits a splash to the outside but hits the steel steps, Morrison hits a dropkick on Dolph then a splash on Swagger. We now have the expected face/off between Dolph and Swagger, Riley hits a swinging neckbreaker for two, then gets a dropkick from Dolph who then gets a jumping kick from Morrison for two. Nice exchanges as Morrison hits a back suplex from the top on Riley, then Dolph gets nailed with an arm drag from Swagger. Morrison hits moves on each of the guys, then goes for Starship Pain but Riley counters with knees to the gut. After countering the ankle lock, Riley hits a DDT on Swagger for two, Jack hits the powerbomb on Morrison, Dolph knocks him out of the way and makes the cover for three to retain his title. 7/10.

-Josh Matthews is backstage with Mark Henry, who says he'll prove the doubters wrong tonight.

-Matt Striker talks to Vickie who says after Dolph's win everyone in the locker room is buzzing, she then kisses Striker for no reason.

-World Heavyweight Championship Match, Randy Orton (Champion) vs. Mark Henry: Almost 15 years ago to the day, Mark Henry made his WWE debut and honestly injuries had derailed his career up until recently. The crowd is flat in the early going, Orton takes down Henry and kicks at his knee and ankle, Mark comes back hitting a massive clothesline then whips him into the turnbuckles and hits a splash in the corner. Orton goes for a sleeper but Henry counters then knocks Randy over the top rope to the floor, then locks on a stretch against the ringpost working on Orton's back. Mark just beats down and wears on Randy for a few minutes, Orton comes back but is getting booed. Henry goes for the Vader Bomb but misses then Orton knocks him down and hits the DDT off the ropes, but Mark grabs the rope before the 3 count. Henry blocks the RKO, hits the World's Strongest Slam and makes the cover to win the World Title. 9/10. Josh Matthews is in the ring and Henry says he knew he would win the title and he proved the doubters wrong.

-Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo are backstage with John Laurenitis, who wishes Del Rio luck in his match. He also wishes Punk luck who says he doubts John's sincerity.

-WWE Diva's Championship Match, Kelly Kelly (Champion) w/Eve vs. Beth Phoenix w/Natalya: The crowd pops big for Beth as Buffalo is her hometown, and Kelly tries to work on Beth's head but she gets knocked down by the stronger woman. Beth just beats up Kelly, choking her against the rope, goes for the cover for two. Kelly counters and hits a facebuster, Eve attacks Natalya on the outside but Beth breaks it up and almost gets caught in a roll-up for two. Beth hits a clothesline for two and the crowd cheers big for Beth, who hits a big supersplex and both are down, Beth crawls to the cover but Kelly kicks out at 2. Beth attempts a Glam-Slam but gets rolled up for three and Kelly retains and the crowd boos big time. 7/10. Side Note: I personally feel that was a mistake as Beth should've won in her hometown.

-WWE Championship Match, Alberto Del Rio (Champion) vs. John Cena: Del Rio comes down without his car and wonders where it is, then of course Cena comes out in the car to a decent reaction. We get the usual intro from Ricardo for Del Rio, then Cena introduces himself in typical cheesy fashion. Early on Ricardo grabs Cena's leg, the ref sees it and throws him out, Del Rio comes back with a kick to the ribs and takes it to the outside. Back in the ring Alberto hits a double axe handle off the top and makes the cover for two, then locks on a neck vice. Cena comes back hitting his usual moves including a fisherman's buster out of the corner. Cena comes back but eats a clothesline for two. Now we have Cena's comeback and the usual "You Can't See Me", but Del Rio counters the AA for two and hits a kick to the back. Alberto hits a high kick off the ropes on Cena but only for two, Del Rio hits a backbreaker but he misses a shoulder block and goes shoulder first into the ring post and there's a nasty popping sound. After a bit more action Del Rio locks on the cross arm breaker, but Cena lifts him from the mat in a powerbomb move. He locks on the STF and Del Rio taps out, we have a new champ. 8/10.

-No DQ Match, Triple H vs. CM Punk, If Triple H loses he must resign as COO: Punk comes out to a big reaction and is wearing a new shirt with an ice cream bar that has his picture on it, Triple H also gets a good reaction and does his usual posing before the match, but Punk attacks him from behind and throws him over the barricade. Punk counters a pedigree attempt and hits shoulder blocks in the corner but misses a high knee and goes over the rope to the outside. Trips takes advantage and slams Punk's knee into the ring post. The match spills into the crowd and into the entrance way, both men battle through the entrance way and back to the ring and the crowd is on Punk's side. After a spinbuster Trips works on Punk's leg more slamming it into the ring post and hitting it with a chair. Punk goes for a Macho Man elbow from the top and drives Trips through the announce table. Miz and R-Truth run down and beat up both guys, but put Punk on Trips the ref counts but only for 2. Miz and Truth beat up the ref for not counting to three, then John Laurenitis comes down, Trips hits the pedigree on Punk, another ref comes down and John stops him. Punk hits the GTS but Truth breaks up the pinfall. Punk kicks out of a pedigree, Kevin Nash comes through the crowd and nails both men, Punk goes after Nash but gets the Jacknife powerbomb. Trips hits Nash with a sledgehammer on the outside, then back in the ring hits the pedigree and makes the cover to win. 10/10.

Pretty good PPV here, all the matches ended with the expected winners, though I must admit I thought Beth would win. Its worth buying on DVD.

The PPV started off very well with the Tag Team Championship Match between Air Boom and The Awesome Truth but it ended in DQ, so not a very good ending. Cody Rhodes vs The Million Dollar Man's Son for the Intercontinental Championship was pretty good but not great because it didn't have enough build up. The Fatal Four Way for the US Championship was alright but poor Jomo continues getting buried. My man Mark Henry wins his first Major Title by defeating Randy Orton and does it with a clean victory so that was Great. Beth Phoenix should have won the Divas Title, I mean it was her hometown, this kinda upset me but Hey the WWE is gonna keep their top Diva on top. John Cena is now a 10 Time WWE Champion ,What else is New? Now, the match that saved the PPV Triple H VS CM Punk (No DQ Match) very good match it felt like an Attitude Era Match, which I miss so deeply. Overall, I gave the PPV 6/10 but I'm hoping Hell in a Cell in two weeks would be better.

WWE Tag Team Champions Air Boom vs. Awesome Truth - Before the match, Truth came out with a remixed version of his old "What's Up" theme under the new name "U SUCK!" Kofi & Bourne were in control early by keeping a fresh man in with quick tags while using double team moves like stereo top rope dives onto Truth & Miz on the outside. Miz & Truth were able to regain control & did "classic tag team wrestling 101" by keeping him away from Kofi & grounding him taking away his high flying offense. The bigger story here was when things broke down with the referee missing calls that ended up working in favor of Air Boom causing Miz & Truth to take matters into their own hands. This was a good opening match but was more about the story behind Miz & Truth's "conspiracy."

Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes vs. Ted Dibiase - Former Legacy members against each other here with Dibiase coming out very aggressive & more focused on brawling than wrestling with his intense punches & even kicking Cody in the face at one point. Cody tried to slow down the pace with various holds & stretches but resorted to using the mask as a weapon which caused Ted to try to beat Cody at his own game towards the end in what was a solid match.

United States Champion Dolph Ziggler vs. John Morrison vs. Alex Riley vs. Jack Swagger - As you expect from a fatal four way match, this was non-stop action with everyone getting their various moments & stories told. From Swagger & Dolph competing for Vickie Guerrero's attention, Morrison delivering a dropkick on one person & landing on another in a pinfall position all in one move, Morrison's unique counter of Swagger's attempted slam, and when Swagger & Dolph had their submission holds on at the same time. One moment to look out for was when where Dolph & Morrison were fighting on the top rope with Morrison falling into the tree of woe position with his head striking the mat on the way down before Riley leaped over Morrison onto the top rope with Ziggler only for Morrison to pull himself up & back suplex Riley off the top followed by Swagger leaping to the top rope & hip tossed Dolph off. As I said, non-stop action while continuing the story between both Swagger & Dolph fight over Vickie Guerrero.

World Champion Randy Orton vs. Mark Henry - After Henry showed his power advantage early, Orton was able to knock Henry off his feet & focused on his knees & ankle while also showing his speed advantage by side stepping Henry causing him to fall to the outside. However Henry's power advantage was showcased such as wrapping Orton around the ringpost & a big splash while Orton continued to try to chop Henry down with clotheslines, dropkicks, and even able to do the hanging DDT. This match did it's job in putting Henry over as a big strong monster heel but the match itself was as well worked as you would expect since Henry is very limited & but a step down from his previous series against Sheamus.

Divas Champion Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix - This was the same setup as their previous match at SummerSlam with Eve & Natayla being in their partner's corners with the major difference being that this was in Beth's hometown so the crowd was heavily on her side. Kelly had the advantage with her quickness & athleticism but Beth clearly showcased her power when she caught Kelly in mid air & spanked her in the ring before choking her in the ropes. Eve & Natayla ended up getting into a fight on the outside while Beth continued to dominate including a superplex off the top rope before Kelly was able to pull out a quick roll through to the surprise win. This was almost the exact same match as their previous one at SummerSlam which may sound bad but it was still better than the usual divas matches we are used to seeing.

WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio vs. John Cena - We had some comedic moments before the match in regards to the entrance of both men from Del Rio's car to Cena being a "fighting Fruity Pebble." The crowd being split for both men here & Ricardo ending up being sent to the back early making this a one on one match. Both men traded momentum early with Del Rio wearing down Cena with chinlocks & knees into the ribs but Cena was able to regain momentum when Del Rio missed a dropkick that caused him to slip right through the ropes to the floor. Cena attempted the A.A. but Rio was able to counter with a backstabber followed by his sidekick while Cena was on the top rope but Cena was able to hurt Del Rio's shoulder when he missed a shoulderblock & hit the ringpost. Both men from here took it to the air was Del Rio came off the top rope to land backfirst onto Cena while Cena also hit his legdrop from the top. This was a very good match as Cena brought his A game here & didn't do his "stereotypical" performance of walking through his match while this was also Del Rio's best PPV performance in months since moving to RAW earlier this year.

No Disqualification Match: Triple H vs. C.M. Punk - The PPV called "Night Of Champions" is main evented by a non-title match (how funny is that) but Triple H's position as Chief Operating Officer is on the line. A few side notes here before the match is that this is Triple H's first match since WrestleMania, Michael Cole at this point in the show lost his voice so it's just Booker & Lawler commentating the match, and you'll get a chuckle out of the new C.M. Punk t-shirt that he wears to the ring. Punk kick started the match right away by jumping Triple H during his entrance & threw him over the ringside barrier with Triple H bouncing back & throwing Punk over the announce table. Both men took back in to the ring & brawled with ramming Punk's knee into the pole twice before both men taking the fight through the crowd onto the stage & back in to the ring. Punk used a chair into the ring before wedging it in a corner only for it to work against him when Triple H whipped him through the chair onto the outside. Triple H continued to work on Punk's leg using the ringpost & a chair before Punk countered by sending Triple H into the steps at ringside & delivering an impact move that the announcers described as "SAVAGE!" we saw various people get involved from Miz & Truth coming in only to attack BOTH men, Johnny Ace (V.P. of Talent Relations) & his actions looking like that he was biased towards one competitor in the match, and Kevin Nash again having his issues with both men. This was the match of the night as they played to the "No DQ" rule & buildup very well as this was more of a fight than wrestling match while continuing the various storylines involving everyone involved here.

In the end, this PPV did it's job as far as furthering storylines while giving up some good matches that ranged from solid & very well done as I don't consider this PPV to have a bad unwatchable match on here so it's one worth checking out.