Night of Champions Predictions

The next WWE pay-per-view, Night of Champions, happens this Sunday.

Night of Champions is an event where every belt is supposed to be on the line, though this year the Intercontinental and Tag Team Championships aren't acknowledged -- though those belts are rarely acknowledge these days. There are one or two pay-per-views every year that aren't that spectacular, and I believe this one will be a dud, but I'll make my predictions anyway. Although I'd like to talk about CM Punk vs. Curtis Axel and Paul Heyman, I won't go over every match -- just three major championship bouts -- so here we go.

Match 1: Divas' Championship -- Fatal 4-Way -- AJ Lee(c) vs. Natalya vs. Brie Bella vs. Naomi

Natalya, Brie and Naomi are all part of a new WWE reality show called Total Divas. As you might imagine, it's filled with cattiness, relationship drama and some clearly staged moments (Hey, just like pro-wrestling!). So, those three girls will probably end up fighting amongst each other, and other cast members from Total Divas may interfere for some stupid reason to tie the match to the reality show. Fatal 4-Way matches are volatile by nature, and they always break down in some form. AJ will capitalize on the chaos and retain her Divas' Championship, laughing as she skips away.

Winner: AJ Lee (Yes, that is her as Kitana from Mortal Kombat. She's awesome like that.)


Match 2: World Heavyweight Championship -- Alberto Del Rio(c) vs. RVD w/Ricardo Rodriguez

I haven't talked about it yet, but there is a lot of bullying going on in the WWE right now. Triple H is abusing his power to threaten and fire people, Ryback is terrorizing production staff, and not too long ago Alberto Del Rio beat up his former manager, Ricardo Rodriguez, for costing him a match. So now Ricardo is with Rob Van Dam, and if the past is any indication, Ricardo will sway the match outcome. He'll either interfere and help RVD win the title, or he'll interfere and cost him the title. I'm leaning toward winning him the title. There's no telling exactly how long RVD will be with the WWE, so a short title run would be appropriate for the future hall-of-famer, and with all the bullying going on it'd be nice to see someone get their comeuppance. ADR will lose to RVD thanks to RR.

Winner by Interference: Rob Van Dam

Match 3: WWE Championship -- Randy Orton(c) vs. Daniel Bryan

The main event. The hook. The headline. This is the match a lot of WWE fans are talking about. It's bound to be a fantastic match. As I mentioned in my very first post, Daniel Bryan is amazing in the the ring, and while Orton can be somewhat boring on the microphone, he's been electric since he made his heel turn. Orton is awesome as a villain, and people can't get enough of Bryan, so the dynamic here is very compelling. There's little that can go wrong during a match like this.

The problem will likely be the ending.

Triple H has been using a faction called The Shield to enforce his regime, and HHH does not want Daniel Bryan to be WWE champion. Therefore, the match will probably end with interference from The Shield, drawing out the feud for another month or so. Daniel Bryan NEEDS to stay in the title picture, especially since main eventers John Cena and Sheamus are injured, so it makes sense to prolong the rivalry between him and Orton. However, it also makes this pay-per-view somewhat predictable. I expect they will fight in a cage or No DQ match of some sort so the inevitable Shield appearance doesn't automatically end the match, but not until October or November. Still, it will be an incredible match. Look forward to a few "This is awesome!" chants from the crowd in Detroit.

Winner by disqualification, and still WWE Champion: Randy Orton!