|Date: September 15, 2013
|Venue: Joe Louis Arena |City: Detroit, Michigan
|Attendance: 10,500 |Buys: 175,000

|tweet me: @BastionBlogger

Night Of Champions, the one night a year when every title is defended. That’s not the scheduled plan for tonight but who knows what might happen. The WWE Championship is set to be defended as Randy Orton puts the title on the line against Daniel Bryan. Randy beat Bryan for the title when he cashed in his Money In The Bank contract at Summerslam. Bryan might get his rematch tonight but due to Orton’s alliance with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon it has meant Daniel Bryan has had to go through hell to get it. He’s been in a cage match with Wade Barrett, a three on one gauntlet match against The Shield and had to battle The Big Show. Randy has been dubbed the new face of WWE but tonight Daniel Bryan wants to show why he is the best wrestler in the company.

Rob Van Dam has earned himself a World Heavyweight Championship match against Alberto Del Rio. He beat Del Rio in a non-title match which led to Ricardo Rodriguez getting a beat down post-match from his long time friend Alberto Del Rio. A couple of weeks later Ricardo Rodriguez showed up with his new client, Rob Van Dam! Rodriguez was forced into a match with Alberto on Smackdown last week and Del Rio obviously won the match when he locked on the cross-arm breaker. Rob Van Dam made the save for his new friend. AJ Lee will be defending her Divas Championship tonight. She berated the “Total Divas” calling them “expendable” and “interchangeable” and then attacked Brie Bella, Naomi and Natalya as they battled for number one contendership for the Divas Championship. This led to the announcement that AJ will defend her title against all of Naomi, Natalya and Brie Bella in a fatal four way match tonight.

The Shield will also be in action tonight as they defend their respective titles. Dolph Ziggler was given the chance to face Dean Ambrose for the United States Championship if he beat him on Smackdown a couple of weeks ago. With Dolph about to win, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns got involved which led to a disqualification. Despite winning in this way Ziggler has still been given the chance to face Ambrose tonight. Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins will find out their opponents tonight as a gauntlet match on the kick-off show will decide to face the Tag Team Champions on the main show with the titles on the line. The tag teams involved in the gauntlet are The Usos, The Prime Time Players, 3MB, Tons Of Funk and The Real Americans.

CM Punk and Curtis Axel were scheduled to go one on one tonight but with the WWE Universe allowed to vote on a stipulation, it meant that Paul Heyman was added to the match and we have CM Punk against Curtis Axel and Paul Heyman in an elimination handicap match tonight.

On the Night Of Champions kick off show The Prime Time Players beat The Usos, Tons Of Funk, 3MB and The Real Americans to earn a shot at The Shield later on tonight.

A video package kicks us off, first looking at previous champions like Bruno Sammartino, Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels and The Rock. It then focuses on current champions and their challengers like Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan as well as CM Punk and his match with Curtis Axel and Paul Heyman. Michael Cole welcomes us to Detroit.

Justin Roberts introduces the COO of WWE, Triple H. Triple H welcomes everybody to Night Of Champions and says that tonight will be one of the greatest nights in WWE history. He then announces that the WWE Championship match between Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan will have no interference from anybody. He is then interrupted by Paul Heyman and Curtis Axel.  Heyman is looking rough but he’s wearing a suit so presumably his match isn’t kicking things off. Paul wants out of his match with CM Punk especially now the match is no disqualification. Triple H says there shouldn’t be a problem if he believes in Curtis Axel. Heyman doesn’t look like he believes in Curtis Axel. Axel then tells Triple H that Triple H has got it in for him because Axel beat Triple H in a match. Triple H then announces that the Intercontinental Championship will be on the line against the first man Triple H crosses backstage!

Curtis Axel (c) vs. Kofi Kingston – Intercontinental Championship match

This is a first time singles match between these two men on pay per view. Kofi Kingston is 3-2 at Night Of Champions events, Axel makes his debut at this show tonight. There’s a bit of wrestling in the early going as both men jockey for position. Axel applies a headlock which Kofi counters into a wristlock. Kofi sweeps Axel down and covers him but doesn’t even get a one count. Curtis applies a headlock but Kofi fights out of it only to get knocked down. Kofi ducks a clothesline but Axel retreats to the outside. Back in the ring and Axel hits a right hand and then some kicks and right hands in the corner. Kofi hits some kicks of his own and again Curtis Axel retreats. Kofi suplexes Axel back into the ring but Axel lands on his feet. Kofi hits a kick for the first near fall of the night but gets caught with a dropkick. Axel then clotheslines Kofi out of the ring and looks throw Kingston into the stairs but Kofi leaps up on to the apron and then up to the top rope where he hits a cross body.

Kofi rolls Curtis Axel back into the ring and pins him for a two count. Kofi leaps up to the top but Axel crotches him up there before hitting him with clubbing blows and somewhat of a spear. Axel gets his first two count of the night and then applies a chinlock. Kofi fights out of it but Axel hits him with a side suplex for a two count. Axel locks on a cravat but Kofi fights out of it only to be hit with a clothesline. Axel gets a near fall and then stomps all over Kofi before hitting him with knees and a snapmare for a two count. Axel applies a chinlock but Kofi fights out and hits a DDT. Kofi fires up with clotheslines and a dropkick and then a springboard cross body for a near fall. Kingston hits a knee to the face and then the boom drop. Kofi motions for trouble in paradise but Axel ducks and rams Kingston into the corner.

Kofi hits a pendulum kick and then springboards off the top rope but Axel hits him with a dropkick and hooks the leg for a near fall. Axel looks for a side suplex but Kofi counters and rolls up the Intercontinental Champion for a two count. Kofi looks for SOS but axel counters. Kofi then looks for trouble in paradise but Axel ducks. Kofi hits SOS for a near fall and then looks to leapfrog over Axel but Curtis catches him on his shoulders and drops Kofi on the top rope before hitting an inverted neckbreaker for the three! Curtis Axel beats Kofi Kingston tonight in a match with a surprising result. I thought Kofi was definitely winning tonight. That’s not the last time we’ll see Axel in action tonight.

Rating: 4/10

Michael Cole introduces a poll to determine the best ever Intercontinental Champion. The choices are Chris Jericho, Honky Tonk Man, Mr Perfect, Pat Patterson and Rick Rude. The fans voted for Chris Jericho. Patterson was last.

Rob Van Dam is backstage with Ricardo Rodriguez. Rodriguez is banged up after his match with Alberto Del Rio last week. Van Dam asks for “Mr Monday Night” and “Five Star Frog Splash” in Spanish. He then asks for “World Heavyweight Champion” and Rodriguez says “RVD”.

AJ Lee is backstage and bumps into Layla, Alicia Fox and Aksana. AJ asks for back up but the girls are done with AJ. Alicia and Aksana walk off and Layla says she’s going to go and straighten them out.

There’s a poll for the best ever women’s or divas champions. The options are The Fabulous Moolah, Wendi Richter, Trish Stratus, Lita and Michelle McCool. Trish wins with 56%.

we’re shown some footage of AJ berating the girls of Total Divas which led to the match tonight.

AJ Lee (c) vs. Brie Bella vs. Naomi vs. Natalya – WWE Divas Championship match

All of these divas make their Night Of Champions debut tonight. There is no Cameron in Naomi’s corner tonight and no Nikki with Brie. The bell rings and the three Total Divas girls chase AJ out of the ring before rolling her back in. AJ exits the other side of the ring and Natalya throws her into the barricade. Naomi and Brie do the same before Natalya rolls the Divas Champion back into the ring. Brie knees AJ out of the ring and then clothesline Naomi and Natalya down. Brie hits Natalya with a neckbreaker and then a running knee. Brie hits Naomi with a running knee before dropkicking Natalya out of the ring. Naomi dropkicks Brie Bella and hits her with a hurricanrana for a one count. Naomi and Brie collide heads and AJ rolls up Natalya for a two count. AJ and Natalya then slug it out until Naomi hits both girls with the rear view.

Brie sets up Naomi for a superplex but Natalya puts Brie on her shoulders. That amounts to nothing but Natalya does roll up Brie for a two count. Naomi then attempts a cross body but Natalya ducks. AJ throws Naomi out of the ring and then disposes of Natalya. Naomi kicks Brie in the head but AJ drags Naomi off the apron. AJ then kicks AJ to the outside and Brie rolls up Natalya for a two count. Natalya suplexes Brie and powerslam her before clotheslining Naomi to the mat. Natalya then powerslam Brie on top of Naomi and the commentators point out that the referee shoulder be counting a pinfall. He doesn’t because he’s waiting for Natalya to lock a sharpshooter on both girls at the same time. AJ Lee breaks it up and then locks the black widow submission on Natalya! Natalya taps out! AJ retains the Divas Championship tonight. A fun match between these four.

Rating: 5.5/10

Michael Cole throws to the kick-off panel consisting of Josh Mathews, Alex Riley, Booker T and Santino. Everyone seems to think Rob Van Dam will be taking the World Heavyweight Championship tonight.

Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. Rob Van Dam – World Heavyweight Championship match

This is a first time pay per view match between these two men. Alberto Del Rio is 0-2 at Night Of Champions events, he’s previously lost to Sheamus and John Cena. Rob Van Dam makes his Night Of Champions debut tonight and is accompanied by his new manager, Ricardo Rodriguez. This is a third PPV title defence for Alberto Del Rio, more than any other champion tonight. Del Rio goes right to work as the bell rings with a kick and a headlock. Van Dam gets out of the headlock but Del Rio takes him down with a shoulder charge. Van Dam hits a spinning heel kick, an Irish whip and then another spinning heel kick. Van Dam hits a monkey flip and a standing moonsault for a two count. Del Rio takes the advantage with a low dropkick but then misses with a guillotine and goes flying to the outside. Van Dam hits a moonsault off the apron and barely hits it. RVD suplexes Del Rio onto the barricade and then flies off the apron with a spinning heel kick.

Van Dam rolls Alberto Del Rio back into the ring and then looks to get back himself but Del Rio drops him on the top rope and then hits him with a suicide dive before throwing his challenger into the barricade. Back in the ring and Del Rio gets a near fall before applying a chinlock. RVD elbows his way out of the chinlock and then hits a sunset flip for a two count. Del Rio hits a suplex and then chokes RVD on the bottom rope. Del Rio hits a snapmare and kicks Van Dam in the back of the head for a two count before applying a chinlock. Van Dam gets out of it but Del Rio hits headbutts and a side suplex causing Van Dam to roll out to the apron. Del Rio hits an enzeguri sending RVD to the outside. Van Dam avoids a suicide dive and then rolls Del Rio back into the ring, hits him with clothesline and kick for a two count. Van Dam hits a springboard thrust kick for a two count and then a legdrop.

Rob Van Dam heads to the top for a five star frog splash but Del Rio gets up so RVD kicks him back down. Van Dam looks for rolling thunder but Del Rio gets up and hits a backstabber for a near fall. Del Rio pops RVD on the top rope and looks for an inverted superplex but Van Dam blocks and elbow Del Rio to the mat. Van Dam hits a rolling standing senton for a two count. The two men get to their feet and slug it out resulting in Del Rio hitting a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and a double stomp to the back for a two count. Del Rio motions for the cross-arm breaker but Van Dam kicks him away and rolls him up for a two count. Van Dam hits a powerslam and a split-legged moonsault for a near fall. Del Rio hits a kick to the face for a two count and then heads to the top rope, blows a kiss and dives off but Van Dam hits him with a heel kick. RVD hits a legdrop and then jumps to the top but as he dives off with a five star frog splash Del Rio gets his knees up! Alberto then locks on the cross-arm breaker! Van Dam gets to the bottom rope but Del Rio won’t break the hold! The referee calls for the bell! Rob Van Dam wins by disqualification but Alberto Del Rio takes home the World Heavyweight Championship tonight.

Del Rio attacks Van Dam after the match and lays in some boots. He then grabs a chair but Ricardo Rodriguez grabs it out of his hands and RVD hits Del Rio with a DDT! RVD then hits the Van Terminator! Doctors check on Del Rio on the outside as RVD celebrates with Alberto’s World Heavyweight Championship belt.

Rating: 6.5/10

Curtis Axel and Paul Heyman are backstage with Axel happy at retaining his Intercontinental Championship earlier. Paul Heyman is more worried at their match with CM Punk. Heyman says that Axel needs Heyman and Heyman will never be here again if he is left alone with CM Punk tonight. Heyman wants Curtis to believe in himself tonight.

We’re shown who the fans voted as best world Heavyweight Champion of all time. Booker T beats Ric Flair, Batista, Edge and Undertaker in the vote.

Triple H is on the phone when Randy Orton turns up. Orton isn’t happy that Triple H has banned The Big Show and The Shield from ringside tonight. Triple H tells Randy that he just wants to make sure he chose the right guy as the face of the WWE. Orton tells him that he did.

The Miz vs. Fandango

This is a first time PPV match between these two men. The Miz is 2-2 at Night Of Champions PPV’s, Fandango makes his debut at the event tonight. Fandango is joined by his dance partner Summer Rae. Fandango dances in the early going. He then kicks The Miz and applies a headlock but The Miz gets out of it. Fandango hits a shoulder charge and The Miz then hits a backbreaker but Fandango counters the neckbreaker. Miz rolls Fandango up for a one count and then hits a hiptoss. Miz then does some dance moves before hitting his trademark clothesline in the corner. Miz heads to the top but Summer Rae berates him which is a distraction and allows Fandango to knock him off the top. Fandango hits a knee to the middle section as we’re told that Stephanie McMahon has invited Dusty Rhodes to Raw tomorrow. Fandango hits a sternum first Irish whip for a two count and then locks on a body scissors.

The Miz gets out of the body scissors and then counters a side suplex and sends Fandango out of the ring. Miz hits a baseball slide and then jumps off the apron but Fandango kicks him in the middle section. Fandango rolls The Miz back into the ring and pins him for a two count. Fandango then applies a waist lock before breaking it and getting hit with two clotheslines. Miz follows up the attack with an inverted atomic drop. Miz then hits a running dropkick and looks to lock on the figure four but Fandango kicks him away. Miz hits a low DDT for a near fall and then motions for the skull-crushing finale but Fandango counters and hits a floatover sit-out suplex for a near fall. They keep reminding us that Summer Rae is at ringside which I’m sure is no accident. Fandango whips Miz into the ringpost and then kicks him in the face. Fandango heads to the top and hits a legdrop whilst Miz is tied up in the ropes which gets him a near fall.

Fandango heads to the top but Miz gets out of the way of the legdrop. Miz then covers Fandango for a two count. Miz locks on the figure four! Fandango taps out! The finish came out of nowhere but this one goes down as a win for The Miz.

Rating: 3.75/10

There’s a VT showing the WWE’s partnership with the National Guard.

CM Punk vs. Curtis Axel & Paul Heyman – 2 on 1 no disqualification handicap elimination match

CM Punk is 1-4 at Night Of Champions events, Curtis Axel is 1-0 following his victory earlier. Paul Heyman actually has a 2-0 undefeated record on pay per view. Only Roman Reigns (4), Seth Rollins (4) and Max Mini (3) have wrestled more PPV matches and won them all. CM Punk walks out with a kendo stick. Curtis Axel also grabs a kendo stick as the bell rings. Paul Heyman waits on the outside. Axel gets the first shot in but CM Punk hits him with a kendo stick three times. Punk then chokes Axel with the kendo stick before diving out and hitting Paul Heyman with a suicide dive. Punk rolls Heyman into the ring and picks up the kendo stick but Curtis Axel hits CM Punk with a low blow. Heyman darts back out of the ring. Axel lays in some right hands and then hits Punk with the kendo stick two times. Axel hooks the leg to get the first two count of the night. Axel grabs a chair but CM Punk hits him with kicks and right hands.

CM Punk picks up the chair but Axel hits him with a dropkick for a two count. Axel sets up a chair in the corner and then drops Punk with a clothesline for a two count. Axel then pulls a table out from under the ring and rolls it into the ring. Axel lays the table in the corner and then sets CM Punk up for a suplex but Punk counters and tries to suplex Axel through the table but Axel blocks and suplexes Punk into the middle of the ring for a two count. Axel goes up to the middle rope and hits a knee drop for a two count before applying a chinlock. Axel breaks the chinlock and looks for another kneedrop but CM Punk rolls out of the way. Punk then throws Axel into the chair set up in the corner which sends him to the outside. Axel rolls back into the ring but CM Punk hits him with a dropkick, clothesline and a neckbreaker. Punk hits a running knee on Axel and then a clothesline before heading to the top for an elbow drop but axel rolls out of the ring.

Punk looks for a suicide dive on Axel but the Intercontinental Champion hits him with a chair. Back in the ring and Axel gets a two count before hitting a neckbreaker for a near fall. Axel then lays into Punk with a kendo stick multiple times and pins him for a two count. Axel looks for an inverted neckbreaker but Punk counters and sets up for a go to sleep but axel manages to get out of it. Punk hits Axel with the kendo stick and then hits the go to sleep! Punk locks on the anaconda vice and Curtis Axel taps out! Curtis Axel has been eliminated. Punk keeps the hold applied to stop Axel from getting involved in the next fall. Paul Heyman runs to the back but CM Punk chases him through the crowd and back to the ringside area and into the ring. Punk catches Heyman and toys with him to begin with. Heyman hugs Punk who pushes him away and then hits him with a kendo stick five times.

CM Punk motions for a go to sleep but then thinks otherwise. Punk pulls handcuffs out of his boot and then handcuffs Heymans hands behind his back. Punk grabs the kendo stick and smashes Paul Heymans ankle with it twice and then his arm. Punk continues the attack with the kendo stick but from nowhere comes Ryback who spears CM Punk through the table! Ryback pulls Punk to the middle of the ring and places Heyman on top of him. The referee counts the three! Paul Heyman wins the match! Heyman goes 3-0 on PPV.

Rating: 7/10

We go back to the kick-off panel. Alex Riley is surprised at Triple H’s decision to not allow anyone at ringside for the WWE Championship match. Riley is also surprised at Booker T winning the World Heavyweight Championship poll. Booker T can’t believe what happened with Rob Van Dam and Santino can’t believe Ryback got involved in the previous match.

Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler – United States Championship match

This is a first time PPV match between these two men. Ambrose walks alone to the ring. Dolph Ziggler is 2-2 at Night Of Champions events, Ambrose makes his debut at the event tonight. Dolph takes down Ambrose in the early going but Ambrose manages to create some separation. Ambrose takes down Ziggler and applies a hammerlock and then a headlock before taking down Dolph with a shoulder charge. There’s a stand-off between the two men until Ziggler takes down the United States Champion with a dropkick. Ziggler hits a snapmare and then ten elbow drops for a one count. Ziggler then clotheslines Ambrose out of the ring, going over with him. Ziggler rolls Ambrose back into the ring and hits some right hands but Ambrose hits some chops and rams Ziggler off the top turnbuckle. Dolph hits some chops of his own but Ambrose catches him with an Alabama slam. Ambrose hits an elbow drop and covers for a one count before rubbing Zigglers face into the mat.

Dean Ambrose applies a chinlock but Dolph gets out of it and hits a sunset flip for a two count. The two men then exchange pinfalls. Ziggler counters a suplex and goes to the top but Ambrose goes up with him and hits a double underhook superplex for a near fall. Dean Ambrose heads to the top but Dolph goes up with him and hits a facebuster for a two count. Ziggler sends Ambrose into the middle turnbuckle and then hits a big splash. Dolph hits lefts and rights and then a clothesline for as near fall. Dolph then locks on. sleeper but Ambrose hits a side suplex to get out of it. Ambrose gets a two count and then hits some right hands. Ambrose looks for a dropkick but Ziggler counters and rolls Ambrose up for a two count. Ambrose then counters a fame-asser and rolls Ambrose u p for a two count. Ziggler then hits the fame-asser but Ambrose is too close to the ropes and grabs them to stop the pinfall. Ambrose exits the ring but Ziggler rolls him back in. Ambrose then kicks Ziggler as he re-enters the ring and looks for the inverted DDT but Dolph counters. Ambrose then hits the inverted DDT for the three! Dean Ambrose wins the match and retains the United States Championship.

Rating: 5.5/10

We see the poll results for the best ever United States Champion. Sting beats Bobo Brazil, Harley Race, Ricky Steamboat and Sgt Slaughter.

The Shield (Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns) (c) vs. The Prime Time Players (Darren Young & Titus O’Neil) – WWE Tag Team Championship match

This is a first time PPV match between these two teams. It’s a Night Of Champions debut for all four men. Titus O’Neil and Seth Rollins start the match with Seth getting in the first few shots. Seth ducks a couple of clotheslines and looks for a cross body but Titus catches him and then tosses him to the mat. Titus hits a powerslam and a legdrop before tagging in Darren Young. Young hits a headlock takeover but Rollins gets out of the headlock. Young knocks down Rollins with a shoulder charge and then hits a powerslam for a two count. Rollins forces Young into the Shield corner and then tags in Roman Reigns who beats down Darren Young. Reigns tags in Rollins. Young low-bridges Reigns sending him to the outside and then hits Rollins with a forearm for a two count. Darren Young tags in Titus O’Neil who lays in the boots to Rollins whilst blowing his whistle.

Roman Reigns gets involved but The Prime Time Players clothesline him out of the ring. Seth Rollins then exits the ring and Darren young chases him back into the ring. Rollins drops Darren Young on the top rope and then tags in Roman Reigns. Reigns lays in the boots and then launches Young out of the ring. Reigns rolls Young back in and pins him for a two count. Roman then tags in Rollins who hits a snapmare and applies a chinlock. Young elbows his way out of the chinlock but Rollins knocks him down with a clothesline. young ducks a second clothesline and hits a belly to belly suplex! Rollins tags in Reigns who stops Darren Young from making a tag. young avoids a clothesline in the corner and then kicks Reigns away. Reigns tags in Rollins but Darren back body drops him and tags in Titus O’Neil. Titus hits a big clothesline on Rollins for a two count. Titus then takes down both tag team champions.

O’Neil hits a fallaway slam on Rollins but Seth lands on his feet and kicks Titus in the face. Titus hits clash of the Titus on Rollins but Reigns breaks up the cover. Darren Young disposes of Reigns but Roman takes him out and then spears Titus in the ring! Rollins covers O’Neil and gets the three! Every title so far has been retained.

Rating: 5.75/10

We’re shown a replay from CM Punk eliminating Curtis Axel earlier before getting attacked by Ryback.

There’s a poll for the best ever tag team champions. DX beat The Wild Samoans, Legion Of Doom, The British Bulldogs and The Hart Foundation.

Randy Orton (c) vs. Daniel Bryan – WWE Championship match

This is the first proper PPV match we’ve seen between these two men but Orton did beat Daniel Bryan last month at Summerslam to win the WWE Championship. Randy Orton is 3-2 at Night Of Champions events, Daniel Bryan is 2-1. This is Daniel Bryan’s 21st PPV in a row, the longest streak ever is 43 PPV’s and that record is held by Randy Orton. We’re shown that winner of the greatest WWE Champion poll is Hulk Hogan who beats Triple H, CM Punk, John Cena and Stone Cold Steve Austin. The two men start the match with a back and forth collar and elbow tie-up. That gets broken in the corner as a “Yes” chant breaks out. Daniel Bryan applies an armbar but Orton gets out of that with a headbutt. Randy then applies a headlock before knocking down Bryan with a shoulder charge and posing. Bryan fires back with a knee and then kicks. Bryan targets the left arm and shoulder of the WWE Champion.

Daniel Bryan hits Randy Orton with right hands and kicks but Orton hits a big backbreaker. Orton hits a clothesline in the corner and then a headbutt. Orton hits another clothesline in the corner and then covers for a two count. Orton stomps on the left hand of his challenger and then his ankle. The two men exchange right hands until Orton suplexes Bryan onto the top rope. Orton gets a two count and then applies a chinlock. Bryan fights out of the chinlock, ducks a clothesline and then takes down Orton and hits him with right hands. Randy hits a clothesline and pins Bryan for a two count. Orton then stomps away at Bryan and pins him for a two count. Orton hits 13 big right hands in the corner. They looks stiff. Orton then hits a headbutt and an Irish whip but Bryan flips over Orton and then hits a clothesline. Bryan hits two running dropkicks in the corner and then some kicks. He pops Orton on the top rope and hits a big hurricanrana. Orton hits the mat and then rolls out of the ring but Bryan hits him with a suicide dive.

Daniel Bryan rolls Orton back into the ring and then heads to the top and hits a missile dropkick which again sends Orton out of the ring and against Daniel Bryan hits a suicide dive. Bryan rolls Orton back into the ring ring but Orton rolls right back out. Bryan goes for another suicide dive but Randy hits him with a right hand. Orton hits a hangmans DDT off the ring apron to the outside. Bryan just beats the count back into the ring and Orton motions for an RKO. Bryan pushes him away and then dropkicks Orton into the referee! Referee Scott Armstrong takes a bump to the outside and Bryan wrestles Orton to the mat to try and lock on the yes lock but out comes another referee. Orton hits Bryan with a powerslam for a two count. I have a feeling that two referees in the mix will have a significant impact on the finish. Orton looks for a hangmans DDT but Bryan counters and locks on the Yes Lock! Orton gets to the bottom rope to break the hold. Bryan hits some kicks and then looks for a running dropkick but Orton evades it and Bryan hits the corner.

Randy gets a near fall and then pops Daniel Bryan on the top rope. Bryan counters a superplex attempt, ties Orton up in a tree of woe and lays in some kicks. Bryan hits a running dropkick and then looks for a side superplex but Orton elbows him to the mat. Bryan gets back up to his feet and hits a superplex, hanging on to the top rope and then standing up and hitting a flying headbutt for a near fall. The original referee Scott Armstrong is now back in the ring. Daniel Bryan hits some kicks but Orton blocks on and hits a t-bone suplex. Orton looks to set up for an RKO but Bryan hits a backslide and then a running knee! He hooks the leg and the referee counts the three! Daniel Bryan wins the match and the WWE Championship! On the replay it looks like a fast count form the referee.

Rating: 7/10

And that was Night Of Champions 2013. It felt like a pretty average pay per view. It wasn’t spectacular. The opener was a prime example of this. I’m not behind the Curtis Axel push but they’re persisting with it. He actually wrestled twice tonight. The first match with Kofi Kingston is far from memorable. Axel won cleanly and it felt like they only added this match to the card because they felt that they had to have every title defended tonight. Kofi is always solid but even he couldn’t turn this match into classic. Axel successfully defends his title tonight. AJ Lee then won a fatal four way match to retain her Divas Championship. I wouldn’t have been too surprised to see one of the total divas girls win the match, it would’ve been good publicity for the show. But AJ wins in an ok match. It feels like the Divas division is heating up now following some good promos from AJ. I’m actually interesting to see where this is going.

Rob Van Dam beat Alberto Del Rio in a decent match but only by disqualification which must mean that this feud continues. I can definitely see a rematch between the two men at Battleground in a few weeks and probably a gimmick match at that. I don’t totally trust Ricardo Rodriguez but he has taken a few beatings from Del Rio so maybe they’re not plotting to get back together. The Miz then beat Fandango in a short match that I didn’t even realise was happening. They have been feuding for a long time though so it deserved a blow-off on PPV. This just wasn’t great. The two men can now move on to new things.

Paul Heyman pinned CM Punk to win the match for his team. This was after interference from Ryback which was surprising. I guess Ryback is a Paul Heyman guy! It was an unexpected finish and it means Paul Heyman is undefeated from 3 PPV matches now. This was a good match and it told a good story. You can only think that this is leading to another CM Punk vs. Ryback match. Dean Ambrose beat Dolph Ziggler to retain the United States Championship. This was ok, again pretty average really. It was a clean win for Ambrose which suggests that this feud is over. I expected more from this match but maybe we’ll get a rematch in the future.

The Shield beat The Prime Time Players in a routine title defence. It’s nice for Titus O’Neil and Darren Young to get on pay per view. There are a few good teams at the moment like The Prime Time Players, The Usos, Tons Of Funk and the impending debut of Los Matadores. But Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns are a cut above. This match was nothing spectacular but it did the job. The Shield looked strong coming out of this. In the main event Daniel Bryan beat Randy Orton to become a two time WWE Champion. I was surprised by this result. But if this was always the goal then it has made Bryan look like a main eventer in the process. He’s the most over guy in the company. I don’t think this feud is over by a long way yet. Orton is entitled to his rematch and I’m sure we’ll get a gimmick match at Battleground next month. This was a good match though between two main eventers.

Overall Rating: 56.25/100 (ranked 184th out of 293)

Match Of The Night: Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan / CM Punk vs. Curtis Axel & Paul Heyman
Worst Match Of The Night: The Miz vs. Fandango
Surprise Of The Night: Daniel Bryan wins the WWE Championship
Worst Booking Of The Night: N/A
Superstar Of The Night: Daniel Bryan
Night Of Champions 2013 Will Be Remembered For: Daniel Bryan winning the WWE Championship and Paul Heyman pinning CM Punk