WWE Night of Champions is a night that features the best from the gold wearers of WWE. It’s a night where every strap, from the top level to the mid-card, is defended. Night of Champions is the time of year when WWE puts a spotlight on its champions and lets them rule the evening. Gold drapes everything in the arena, and the world sees the best champions that World Wrestling Entertainment has to offer.
Now, as much as Night of Champions has been about the title holders in WWE, it has not always been about championships. There have been a small number of matches at the PLE with no gold on the line.
Matches that have included some of the best wrestlers in the history of WWE, putting on contests that were just as great as the championship matches that surrounded them. Below is a list of 5 great non-title matches in Night of Champions history.
Randy Orton v Dolph Ziggler (Night of Champions 2012)
Dolph Ziggler and Randy Orton‘s tenures ran parallel to one another, but they never engaged in a big program. Which is a shame because when they were paired up, they produced incredible matches, their Night of Champions tilt in 2012 being the best example. The contest had nothing on the line, other than pride, but that didn’t stop Orton and Ziggler from putting on an incredible match.
This match was hidden on a card full of championship matches, so it deserves a better look than most have given it. Randy Orton and Dolph Ziggler had incredible chemistry, and the wrestling was crisp and furious. Both men kept a fast pace for nearly 20 minutes, with both doing a fantastic job of selling the other’s offense. It’s a shame that this didn’t translate into anything of substance between Ziggler and Orton.
Triple H v CM Punk (Night of Champions 2011)
The Summer of Punk was chugging ahead full steam in 2011. The Second City Saints’ issues with the front office were well documented, and after a bait-and-switch involving Kevin Nash, it was announced that Triple H and CM Punk would battle at Night of Champions.
There was no championship on the line, but there was Triple H’s standing in the company. Had he lost, he would relinquish his control of WWE, and CM Punk would vanquish a big thorn in his side.
The battle for control of WWE’s soul was full of emotion. It was common knowledge that CM Punk and Triple H couldn’t stand one another. There were fundamental differences between the two men, but they were able to come together and produce a fantastic match.
The pace was methodical, but the tension between the two men kept the action compelling. The only thing that kept this match from being considered great was the fact that Triple H went over. It slowed the momentum of CM Punk’s rise to the top.
