Live from the human rights-violating capital of the planet (or close to it), the WWE presented Night of Champions 2023. In years past, the Saudi "Blood Money" shows had little to do with the on-going "canon" storylines of RAW and SmackDown, eschewing the current plots for dream matches featuring semi-retired stars like The Undertaker, Triple H, and Goldberg. More recently, though, these shows have become just like any other WWE Premium Live Event one might see with the biggest difference being the make-up of the crowd and the fireworks budget.
The night kicked off, somewhat surprisingly, with Seth Rollins taking on AJ Styles to decide who would be the inaugural WWE World Heavyweight Champion, a title created of whole cloth to placate the fans (and maybe the USA Network) who were tired of Roman Reigns' dominant 1000-day reign? Whatever the cause, I predict that in a few months time, the fact that this title has no lineage or credibility will be ignored by commentators who will declare it to be one of the top prizes in the history of the sport. AJ Styles hasn't had much of a presence in the WWE over the past year as he was sidelined with injury for the first five months of the year. Rollins, meanwhile, has been undefeated in that time and had a high profile feud with Logan Paul. I've never been a Rollins fan, but I certainly respect his abilities in the only ring. Unfortunately, once again, Rollins did anything and everything he could and executed it all well except make me feel one single emotion about this match. AJ Styles, on the other hand, had me rooting for him wholeheartedly by the end. While Rollins didn't do anything specifically heelish, he dominated whole segments of the match and cut-off AJ multiple times by dropping him face-first or neck-first on the ropes or turnbuckles. Again, none of these types of moves are against the rules, but it did make AJ come across as the guy who had to "find a way" to win, the relative underdog of the two. Even Rollins victory celebration underwhelmed, Rollins' expression coming off a bit impassive and numb. This match will probably get heralded as some sort of classic, but I would have zero interest in watching this again. (3/5)
Next up - Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus. I wonder if this match was put on second so that Rollins and Lynch could fly home sooner than later? Lynch and Stratus got plenty of time, but this didn't get great until the final few minutes when Lynch locked in a Disarmher and Stratus fought out by pulling her hair. There was some notable telegraphing going on and, ultimately, having competitive 10+ minute matches was never Stratus's strength aside from a few rare exceptions. Lynch is an incredible, intense, and consistent worker...but her bravado, swagger, and charisma is what made her transcend the rest of the division, not necessarily the flashiness of her offense like, say, a Sasha Banks, or her impressive arsenal of signature moves like Charlotte Flair. Late interference from Zoey Starks from NXT (now on Raw) was a great touch to lengthen this rivalry, but it certainly wasn't an original spin as we saw very similar "debuts" for people like Damien Priest, IO Skye, Solo Sikoa, and Dakota Kai if I'm not mistaken. The atmosphere and the last few minutes nudged this one above "average" territory, but this wasn't "must see." (3/5)
GUNTHER defended his Intercontinental Championship against Mustafa Ali in the next bout. Ali came in as the crowd favorite underdog. The commentators noted that Gunther is in the midst of a historic run as he has become the longest-running Intercontinental Champion of the past 30+ plus years. This is exactly the kind of wrestling match that I like - the story was simple and despite the ending never really being in question, Ali got to shine by showing his heart and bravery (and bumping like a pinball). I don't foresee Ali ever reaching the heights that many believed were within his grasp 4-5 years ago, but this match definitely reminded me why he was once considered one of the company's best young prospects (and that its a shame they didn't do more with him). Gunther continues to be just too good to take the title off of, though, consistently living up to his reputation as one of the toughest, most versatile workers on the roster. This isn't a "great" match in the traditional sense, but it was efficient and effective and didn't waste a single minute of its runtime. (3/5)
I'm not sure if it was Ali's loss that deflated the crowd or just that Bianca Belair and Asuka were having an off night, but their Raw Women's Championship match was not what I was hoping it would be. I was "higher" on their WrestleMania match than most - in my review I said it was better than the lauded GUNTHER/Sheamus/McIntyre triangle match - so I was expecting this one to be at least in the good territory. Sadly, it just didn't click and I found the finish (which saw Asuka spitting her dreaded poison mist into her own hand and then smearing it on Belair's face) to be a bit too gimmicky. I'm not opposed to Asuka using mist in the tradition of the Great Muta and Tajiri, but I'd prefer it to be just an element of her new character and not the cornerstone of it or her current feud with Belair. I'm guessing Belair will be winning the Money in the Bank Briefcase - its one of the few prizes she hasn't claimed - and will be champion again by the end of the year. (2/5)
Another disappointment match followed as Rhea Ripley destroyed Natalya in under 3 minutes or so. What was the point of this match? Dominik distracted Nattie before the bell which allowed Ripley to attack and it was over quickly from there. I wasn't expecting a different outcome, but I also wasn't expecting a total squash. Though its hard to rate a match like this, there are a such thing as good, memorable, fun squashes...and this wasn't that. Nattie's bumping looked awkward and stiff (the replays didn't help) and while its usually fun to see Ripley ragdoll someone, Nattie was miscast in the role. (1.5/5)
After a video package, Cody Rhodes took on Brock Lesnar. Rhodes was selling a broken arm which, if real, one would surely believe would make him ineligible to compete. Lesnar hit Rhodes with a pair of belly-to-belly suplexes early, dropping him onto his injured arm. A "Suplex City" chant started up as Lesnar tossed Rhodes again. Rhodes fought back, though, hitting Lesnar with a series of cast-assisted forearms (on commentary, they noted that the cast was partially made of titanium). Rhodes hit a Cody Cutter but only got 2 and then hit him with a pair of CrossRhodes. When Cody went for a third, though, Lesnar caught him in an armbar! Cody tried to fight his way out and even attempted to get a pinfall out of the situation, but Lesnar wouldn't fall for the same trick that cost him their match at Backlash. Rhodes selling was really good and I loved how he literally tried to claw his way out by scratching Lesnar's back. I was expecting him to "pass out" from the pain, but Rhodes eventually reached the ropes to a huge pop. Lesnar attempted an F5, but Rhodes countered it into a Crossroads for another nearfall! Rhodes bashed Lesnar's head with another series of blows, but Lesnar caught him with an F5...and Cody kicked out! For a "video game" match comprising of mostly finishers and Cody's cast-backed strikes, I'll give them credit for throwing in some curveballs. Lesnar locked in the Armbar again and this time Rhodes did "pass out" from the pain, conveniently waking up a second after the bell rang. I think a more simple ref stoppage should've been the way this ended with Rhodes stuck in the armbar in the center of the ring, but whatever. Any which way, this was a good "next chapter" in their feud but far from a definitive ending and certainly didn't match the "big fight feel" of their match a month ago. Inessential match. (3/5)
Main event time - Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens defending their RAW and Smackdown Tag Team Championships against Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa of the Bloodline. The story coming into this match was that there had been some "cracks" in the Bloodline as the Usos were somewhat upset about Roman and Solo going after "their" championships. Zayn came out to a massive pop, rivaling even the crowd response he got in Montreal in terms of emotion. They spent several minutes just milking the crowd heat before Solo and Sami actually started working. There were some cool moments in this, but this match benefitted greatly from a very hot crowd that was fully behind the babyfaces. I'm not sure any particularly sequence was super innovative or creative - with 3-out-of-4 of these guys having multiple signature maneuvers to build matches around, they didn't need to bust out anything special to keep the crowd with them or tell a story - but even if there were, this match will always be remembered for the Usos' involvement and Jimmy Uso superkicking Roman Reigns not once but twice following a (very well-executed) ref bump. The angle got a huge reaction (as anyone would've suspected) and gave this storyline some much-needed progression after not all that much happening as far as big plot points following WrestleMania. The final moments saw Solo fall prey to a barrage of finishing moves, giving the crowd a feel-good ending. I wouldn't necessarily call this a "must see" match, but it was darn close thanks to the Usos angle and the hot crowd. (3.5/5)
With a Kwang Score of 2.71-out-of-5, Night of Champions 2023 was a good-not-great show featuring particularly strong performances from the Bloodline and GUNTHER, but slightly underwhelming matches in AJ/Seth, Becky/Trish, and Asuka/Bianca, all of which never quite hit that "second gear" that would've helped them stand out as truly special.
FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote in Hand
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