Night of Champions 2008 kicks off with the WWE Tag Team Championships on the line - John Morrison and The Miz defending against Finlay and Hornswoggle. Finlay was so good. I wouldn't call this a carry job, but he's clearly leading the dance and was most likely in charge of laying out this match, which is better than it really had any right to be considering how limited Hornswoggle was as a worker and that the champs were still fairly green (Miz moreso than Morrison). Really loved the ruthless physicality that Morrison showed to 'Swoggle, which got great heat from the live crowd. The right finish and the match didn't overstay its welcome. Nothing revolutionary, but good. (3/5)
Next up - the United States Champion, Matt Hardy, defended his championship against Chavo Guerrero. Chavo was seconded by Bam Neely, who went on to absolutely nothing in the wrestling world. The wrestling here was very solid, with both Hardy and Chavo demonstrating their execution and mat technique. The crowd was into this just enough to make it work and, again, it didn't overstay its welcome. (2.5/5)
I'm not sure if it was before this match or the last or whatever, but we do get a recap video of the previous episode of Raw where Vince McMahon's Million Dollar Giveaway ended with the stage collapsing and Vince being taken out on a stretcher. This was a "lighter" version of the Vince McMahon Limo Explosion storyline that the company had attempted a week or so prior to the Chris Benoit Double Murder Suicide. The wildest thing about this storyline might be that it led to absolutely nothing major as, if I'm not mistaken, the original design was to culminate in Ken Kennedy being revealed as Vince McMahon's lovechild...but because Kennedy got in trouble for Wellness issues (and also was disliked by Cena and Orton?), they ended up making it Hornswoggle who was Vince's son.
Back at ringside, the ECW World Championship match was next with Kane defending the title against Big Show and Mark Henry in a triple threat of superheavyweights. Kane suffered a knee injury within the first few minutes of the match and this essentially fell apart, but I'll give credit where its due and say that Show and Henry, after having to call the match on the fly, did eventually get things together and, when Kane re-entered the match (which was a little hard to watch), the action went from understandably poor to much better than expected. Kane hitting a superplex on Big Show was unbelievable and led to an excellent finish. In a weird way, the match almost benefits from Kane's injury early on as it led to a genuine feeling of danger and added some suspense that I'm not sure would've been there without it. (3/5)
After more hype for tonight's two major World Championship matches - going into this show, Raw was without a World Champion, but both Cena and Batista had an opportunity to bring a title home - we got the next segment. I call it a "segment" because it's not much of a match. Ted DiBiase Jr. was making his debut, challenging World Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes and Hardcore Holly with a mystery partner. Most folks called this one from a mile away as DiBiase shows up without a partner and then, as soon as the match starts, Cody turns on Hardcore Holly. There's even a loud fan in the front row telling Holly not to trust Cody right before it all goes down. Still, this was executed well and was a neat way to turn Cody because of all the history between the DiBiase and Rhodes families (though the commentary team undersells that connection). (+1)
Chris Jericho was embroiled in a blood feud with Shawn Michaels and had injured the Heartbreak Kid's eye, but he still had to defend his Intercontinental Championship on this night and his mystery challenger was...Kofi Kingston. Kingston was a relative newcomer to the WWE by this time as I believe he'd only competed on ECW prior to getting drafted to Raw a week or two before this event. Jericho and Kingston get plenty of time and Kingston's offense looks good. Jericho is fine here, but I'm not sure he had totally mastered his new character's in-ring style yet; against Michaels later in the summer and against Rey in 09', Jericho would do even better work. Shawn Michaels eventually shows up to screw Jericho, superkicking Lance Cade on the outside and distracting Y2J, who then eats a Thunder in Paradise before getting pinned. After the match, Michaels is still selling damage to his eye (he'd fallen off the ring apron) and Jericho sucker punches him to further their storyline even more. Not necessarily the star-making performance that some might call it - I mean, Kingston wouldn't really climb up anywhere close to main event level for over a decade - but definitely a strong way to give Kingston an initial push but also add fuel to the Jericho/Michaels fire, which was the much bigger deal. Smartly-booked, good-not-great match. (3/5)
Katie Lea, along with her brother Paul Burchill (whatever happened to these two?), challenged Mickie James for the Women's Championship in the next match. James and Lea traded pin attempts early before Mickie took control. Lea came back with a nice back suplex with James' arm tucked behind her back that I haven't seen before - someone should steal it. Lea continued working on her shoulder, running her into the post and then applying an armbar. Straightforward stuff but it was good and Mickie didn't "forget" about the damage, selling throughout the contest. Mickie came back with an hurricanrana out of the corner and then a series of clotheslines followed by a snap mare and a double axehandle for 2. Mickie went for her big DDT, but Lea applied a nasty looking Disarmher! James flipped her way out of it but Lea continued to go after the shoulder, ramming it into the corner again. Lea went for another move - not sure exactly what it was going to be - but Mickie escaped, hit a boot to the gut, and then landed the DDT to get a hard-fought W. This wasn't spectacular or anything, but it was above-average and action-packed for its entirety. (3/5)
The World Heavyweight Championship was on the line next as Edge defended his title against Batista. If I'm not mistaken, the stipulation here was that if Batista won the title by DQ, he would win the title. Batista was mega over here and Edge had a ton of heat. Batista uses his strength early, dominating the match and going for some early covers. Bats clotheslines edge to the outside and then rolls him back in, allowing the Rated R Superstar to catch him with a kick and then send him into the post on the apron. Edge connects with a dropkick to Batista on the floor and Batista flies onto and over the announce table! Great effort there by Batista. The Animal has to rush to get back into the ring to break the count and he gets stomped and then hung over the middle rope. Edge continues to take it to him with a swinging neckbreaker for 2. Edge applies a choke, but Batista backs him into the corner. Drop toe hold by Edge that brings Batista's face into the turnbuckle. Edge and Batista trade some strikes but Edge maintains control with another neckbreaker. Edge applies a headlock and it looks like we're heading towards a dreadful slog but, to their credit, they actually speed things up and we get some good counters, a sunset flip out of Edge, and then a big clothesline from the Animal. Edge goes for a flying clothesline of his own but Batista catches him with a Bossman Slam. Moments later we get a spear from Batista but he only gets 2! Batista calls for the Batista Bomb but Edge escapes. Edge comes off the ropes but Batista catches him with a powerslam and calls for the Batista Bomb again. He makes an attempt but Edge escapes and hits an Impaler DDT for 2. Edge is known for really only shining in matches involving tables, ladders, or chairs, but he's brought his A-game to this match. Edge goes to the corner to try to hit a Spear of his own, but Batista caught him with a boot to the face. Batista went to the top rope - uncharacteristically - but Edge countered whatever he was going for with a dropkick. Vickie Guerrero made her way down the aisle with the Edgeheads. Edge went for a Spear but Edge leapfrogged him and then caught him with a huge spinebuster. Batista had it sewn up but Vickie stopped the count at 2. Edge went for yet another spear, but Batista side-stepped him and Edge hit the post. As the referee counted him out, Edge pulled him out from under the bottom rope and Edge slugged him. Vickie called for a new referee and out came Chavo, in a ref shirt, with Bam Neely at his side. Batista pulled Vickie into the ring and the crowd went wild. He then press-slammed her onto La Familia on the outside, but back in the ring, Edge caught him with the World Championship belt! Chavo slid into the ring as Edge made the cover and the champion retained in a pretty overbooked, screwy fashion. They took multiple steps to protect Batista here but it got really convoluted by the end. (3/5)
Main event time - Triple H defending the WWE Championship against John Cena. The crowd was solidly behind Triple H, or at least the older, louder voices were. Definite "big match" feel to this and good back-and-forth action to start with neither man gaining a clear advantage in the early going. The story coming into this was that Triple H had been drafted to SmackDown so, with Edge winning earlier in the evening, the Blue Brand now had possession of both World Championships. Triple H took control a few minutes in and whipped Cena into the corner repeatedly before beating him down with right hands. Cena came back swinging, though, and nearly landed a 5 Knuckle Shuffle. Triple H went for a Pedigree early but Cena countered with his flipping neckbreaker things. Cena went up top and hit the legdrop, busting out moves from his earlier days, but wasn't able to lock in the STFU. Cena went for another 5 Knuckle Shuffle but Triple H caught him with a knee and then a spinebuster. After a few minutes of brawling, this has become nothing but trademark moves. Triple H went for a Pedigree but Cena sent him into the corner and The Game went flying over the top rope. Triple H sold the damage to his knee on the outside and John Cena, in a rare display of pseudo-heelishness, went right after it, chop-blocking him and then using the post to add further damage to the knee. Back in the ring, Cena continued to go after Triple H's knee but struggled to apply the STFU as Triple H clung to the ropes. Cena went for the FU but Triple H countered with a Pedigree...and only got 2! Cena came back quick though and hit the FU...but only got 2 himself. Both guys sold exhaustion at this point, but it just didn't feel earned and we had seen nothing but trademark move/signature move spamming rather than an actual back-and-forth with a real story. Back on their feet, Triple H and Cena traded blows as the crowd cheered/booed with Cena wrapping things up with a back suplex and then a 5 Knuckle Shuffle. Cena went for another FU, but Triple H grabbed the top rope to escape. The Game went for a Pedigree, but Cena somehow turned it into an STFU in the middle of the ring. Triple H refused to tap, though, and was able to grab the ropes. Cena pulled him back into the center of the ring and reapplied the hold, though, and Triple H managed to counter it into a crossface of his own! John Cena looked to be fading but was able to get to a vertical base, lifting Triple H off the mat and nearly hitting him with an STFU...but Triple H escaped and hit the Pedigree to win clean. This was not the "epic" that they were building it up as because they didn't really build to the finisher spamming, they just went right for it after like 2-3 minutes of preliminary nonsense. Not a fan of this one. (2.5/5)
Night of Champions was a show that peaked at "good" but didn't surpass it at any point. There's no "must watch" match here. It is consistently fine, but unremarkable. Katie Lea/Mickie James might be the match of the night only because its the only match that really exceeds expectations. The ECW Title match is the most interesting match not because of the work but because it goes off the rails early and there's an unpredictability to it that no other match really offers. Despite its very respectable Kwang Rating of 3-out-of-5, this show feels inessential and only earns a...
FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver
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