Randy Orton v Chris Jericho (Night of Champions 2014)
Sometimes, a championship didn’t need to be on the line for a match to capture the interest of the wrestling world. When Chris Jericho decided to poke fun at Randy Orton, the Viper took it upon himself to attack Y2J. It was a vicious assault, and it wasn’t long before WWE decided to book a match between these two legends at Night of Champions.
Chris Jericho and Randy Orton had the history to kick this match into high gear from the get-go. There was no feeling-out period; both men just started throwing their best shots at one another in the hopes of scoring a quick victory. Too bad that Randy Orton and Chris Jericho weren’t willing to give up the fight that easily.
Seeing these two take up their old issues was a ton of fun. The action was tight and spilled out of the ring, adding another level of intensity to the match. Everything was ramping up perfectly when an RKO out of nowhere sealed the victory for Orton.
The Wyatt Family v Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose & Chris Jericho (Night of Champions 2015)
The Wyatt Family was in sore need of reinforcements when Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose defeated Luke Harper and Bray Wyatt. That came in the form of a monster by the name of Braun Strowman. He helped the Wyatts in their battle against two-thirds of the Shield, forcing Ambrose and Reigns to call in their own backup in the form of Y2J. Chris Jericho had been off for close to 9 months, and the crowd erupted when his entrance music hit.
As far as 6-man tag matches go, this one was a fun watch. Jericho’s return started the fun off, and it continued with 13 minutes of chaos. The tags were furious throughout the match, and 5 of the men did a great job hiding Braun Strowman’s shortcomings.
The world knew he was earmarked for greater things, but there was still plenty of work to be done before he got there. Strowman looked like the monster WWE wanted him to be. All 6 men were booked well here, and in the end, it was the hubris of Chris Jericho that cost his team the win. That was a nice little touch to the storytelling surrounding this match.
Mark Henry v Rusev (Night of Champions 2014)
Rusev was being lauded as WWE’s next big heel. He was a force in NXT, and when he came up to the main roster, a few sacrificial lambs needed to step up. WWE needed some big names to fall at Rusev’s hands, and Mark Henry was first up. He and Rusev were involved in a few altercations on Raw, and when it became too much, Mark Henry challenged the Bulgarian Brute to a match at Night of Champions.
This match was a straight-up display of power. Both men were known for their strength, and that was what they leaned on throughout the match.
There was no wrestling to be seen, just two hosses using every power move in their arsenal. Mark Henry was the veteran who had the experience, but everything he threw at Rusev, including a World’s Strongest Slam, was repelled. Rusev solidified his monster status in WWE by beating one of the strongest men in the world.
