Views From The Turnbuckle: WWE Night Of Champions Preview

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While the shows leading into Night of Champions have been less-than-spectacular, the build up for the show has been demonstrably better than most other "B" PPVs for WWE. There have been some questionable booking decisions, sure, but overall, there seems to be at least 6 matches or show that have legitimate effort put into constructing the feuds, which is much better than the typical WWE PPV that may have 2-4 matches with a decent build, and then the rest of the card is filler.

At the top of the card is John Cena vs Brock Lesnar, in a rematch from Lesnar's systematic dissection of Cena back at Summserslam. There is still potential in this feud for something special, but right now it is really looking like WWE dropped the ball.

Lesnar defeated Cena in a way that we have never seen before. One of the reasons it was exciting, for me at least, was because if Cena was defeated in such a different way than he normally loses, that maybe we would see Cena react in a way different than he normally does. Unfortunately, WWE made the decision to book Cena in the way he always is, mainly just beating up everyone he sees, meaning that currently from an entertainment standpoint, there was no reason for Cena to lose in such a unique fashion back at Summerslam, because the fallout ended up being the same as it always is. Cena might as well have lost via a low-blow by Brock, because Cena has reacted the same way he always does after a PPV loss.

Right now, the scuttlebutt going around is that Brock Lesnar is set to hold the world title all the way to Wrestlemania, where he will lose it to Roman Reigns. On paper, that makes perfect sense, after all, Brock won the title in such a dominating fashion at Summserslam, so he deserves a lengthy title reign. However, none of the booking leading up to the rematch against Cena at Night of Champions has followed the logic of Lesnar winning so emphatically, so why is it unlikely that WWE just decides to give the title back to Cena? At this point, I'm not surprised by anything WWE does when it comes to Cena and his invulnerability.

The main event is bolstered by some interesting upper mid-card matches. Randy Orton vs Chris Jericho was kind of thrown together at the last minute, but considering the short time they have had to build the feud, it has some pretty solid juice going into it. Randy did a really nice job on Raw, explaining why he attacked Jericho, saying "It's not my fault Chris has had to work twice as hard to accomplish half as much." Not every feud needs a huge, in-depth storyline to end up being entertaining. The simple stuff can work better than what some would think it would in 2014.

With Rollins eliminating Ambrose from current competition, he is moving on to his other former cohort, Roman Reigns. What is interesting for this match is that you would think WWE would want to keep both guys strong, since Reigns is has not-so-subtlety been tagged as the next golden boy of the company, while Rollins is the current MITB holder. What was even more interesting was the strange decision for these guys to wrestle each other on the Raw before NOC, and to have Reigns go over in a very clean match. Using simple logic, one could deduce that Reigns is clearly superior to Rollins. Why would you ask fans to pay for a match that they just saw six days ago for free? I think the likely scenario is that Ambrose shows up at the show, disrupts Rollins and causes him to lose. It keeps Reigns strong, and it adds more spice to Ambrose vs Rollins.

The Intercontinental Championship is actually getting a decent feud. Hollywood Miz is a wonderfully narcissistic gimmick, and putting up against Ziggler is a smart move. Fans legitimately like rooting for Ziggler, and they naturally dislike The Miz, so the fans should be invested in the match. Pairing Miz up with the versatile Sandow was also a wise move, and so far R-Truth pretending to be Ziggler's double has been entertaining. If the IC title is ever going to reach the prominence that it experienced in years past, it needs more feuds like this current one.

The United States Championship match contains Sheamus taking on Cesaro, two guys that are probably not at the level that they would thought they would be at by mid-2014. Cesaro has wandered around in no-man's land since parting ways with Heyman, but a feud against Sheamus is a step up for him. Sheamus continues to be a colorless face, not generating a pop beyond anything that any standard face gets. Whatever potential he has left, it isn't being fulfilled in his current character.

Something I am starting to get excited about is the pairing of Goldust with Stardust. While I think Cody Rhodes could be a top face in the company, it is truly amazing to watch him nail every role that is thrown his way. Stardust is like nothing he has ever done before, yet he is somehow better at being weird than even his brother. Whenever he enters the arena by backwards shuffling to the weird piano music it is just such a perfect moment of absurdist humor. When they were first debuting it seemed like their characters lacked true direction, but now that they are heels, everything seems to make a lot more sense. I think a lot can be gained by having them dethrone the Usos.

The feud between AJ and Paige was starting go well, with AJ and Paige really starting to develop good chemistry on the mic with each other. However, the inclusion of the Bella feud with this feud has taken a lot of the wind out of the sails for the Diva's Championship. The Bella feud has completely fallen off the rails in recent weeks. Who exactly is the heel and who is the face anymore? Who is actually gaining something out of the feud? Is Stephanie McMahon still involved or no?

The last match is Rusev vs Mark Henry, which inexplicably closed Raw on Monday. Rusev and Lana have potential together, but it is now time for them to sink or swim. First they feuded with Big E over America, than Jack Swagger who represented America, and now Mark Henry, who also represents America. Is there a real difference with these feuds? Not really, and I don't really see them being very beneficial for Rusev. If Rusev is going to reach that next level, it is going to have to be soon. A rumored feud with John Cena after Night of Champions would satisfy that need, even if it would likely spell the end for Rusev as a future main eventer.

Night of Champions has the potential to be a very exciting PPV, and with a solid build for most of the matches, the show could be entertaining from bell to bell. Some of the storylines need a little bit of work, but overall WWE should feel pretty confident about this PPV going into the show.

Make sure to check back here this Sunday for our live WWE Night of Champions coverage, as well as the latest breaking news leading to the show.