WWE Night of Champions 2012 Review

Tonight, we were at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts for this year’s edition of the Night of Champions pay-per-view. So how was it?

Did CM Punk defeat John Cena to continue his 300+ day reign as WWE Champion? Could Sheamus overcome the latest shenanigans by Alberto Del Rio and crew? And was the pay-per-view really worth what you ay have paid for it?

For my answers to all of those questions and more, click the jump link below.

Intercontinental Championship Match:

The Miz (c) vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Sin Cara

Tonight’s curtain jerker was the fatal-four way for the almost reprised Intercontinental title. Needless to say, it was a fairly solid opener.

The match did start with a tag team vibe, seeing Mysterio and Cara team up against Miz and Rhodes. But after some rather athletic sequences, The Miz retained after delivering a Skull-Crushing Finale to Rhodes.

I felt this bout could have lasted a tad longer with all the talent involved. Nonetheless, the right guy picked up the win in a pretty good match.

Grade: B-

Tag Team Championship Match

Kofi Kingston & R-Truth (c) vs. Kane & Daniel Bryan

Here was another fine matchup. Although it wasn’t a classic tag team fight, it was a positive one for the ailing division.

Quite frankly it was all about Kane and Bryan’s hostile relationship. And why not?

We got some funny antics from the two new partners who eventually became new Tag Team Champions. Bryan angrily pushed Kane off the top rope, landing on a weak Kofi Kingston for the three-count.

Bottom line, I was entertained.

Grade: B-

United States Championship Match

Antonio Cesaro (c) vs. Zack Ryder

In order to capture a shot at Cesaro’s U.S. title, Ryder won the pre-show battle royal. Unfortunately, this match wasn’t on the pre-show.

Nothing to write home about here besides the continuing build for the winner and still-champion Antonio Cesaro. Snoozer.

Grade: D+

Divas Championship Match

Layla (c) vs. Eve

Speaking of snoozers…

Eve replaced the injured Kaitlyn for a title shot at Layla’s Divas Championship. Yes, it was as boring as you think it was.

Eve wins, new champion, whatever.

Grade: D

Dolph Ziggler vs. Randy Orton

Even though we’ve seen this match about a dozen times, Ziggler and Orton didn’t fail to impress.

Both men put together some great sequences and exciting moves. Orton finished off Ziggler with an RKO coming out of a reversal from a Ziggler neck-breaker.

The only qualm I have about this match is that the wrong guy won. Why not, with his possession of the Money in the Bank briefcase, did Ziggler pull one out here? It would have made too much sense for Ziggler not to build on his recent success.

Grade: B

World Heavyweight Championship Match

Sheamus (c) vs. Alberto Del Rio

Is this over yet?

How many times must we see this match?

But I will say this match was much better than their previous work together.

Sheamus wins with a sudden Brogue Kick to retain. Hopefully this spells the end for this feud. 

Grade: B-

WWE Championship Match

CM Punk (c) vs. John Cena

Accompanied at ringside by none other than Paul Heyman, WWE Champion CM Punk looked to retain his title against the hometown favorite, John Cena.

And not surprisingly, the two delivered quite a match. Punk and Cena went back and forth, very reminiscant to their Money in the Bank match from a year ago.

A couple of Go-to-Sleeps, Attitude Adjustments and even a Rock Bottom from Punk later, the Straight Edge Superstar retained his gold in a screwy ending. After Cena got the three-count from a top-rope German suplex, the referee reversed the decision after declaring both men’s shoulders were on the mat.

It may have been anti-climatic, but the finish was something different.

Grade: A-

The 2012 Night of Champions pay-per-view was anything special in my mind. It did have a few highlights with the WWE title match, the Tag Team title match and a little gem from Ziggler and Orton.

It did, however, suffer from some very predictable bores on the card.

Overall Grade: B-