WWE Night of Champions 2014: Full Predictions for Each Champion at Event
WWE's Night of Champions pay-per-view is the one night a year where all of the titles are on the line and given the spotlight that they deserve.
Our batch of champions for the 2014 event are an impressive bunch, but nobody can hold onto their title forever.
The greatest of the greats eventually lose to someone, and on any given night, it could be time to put a belt on someone new.
Brock Lesnar, Paige, The Usos, Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler have some tough tests ahead of them when they face off against their opponents.
Can John Cena defy the odds and conquer The Beast Incarnate?
Will Paige be able to handle not only AJ Lee but Nikki Bella as well?
Are the midcard titles staying with The Showoff and The Celtic Warrior?
Is it time for the stars to align and a new tag team to hold the cosmic key?
Let's break down some predictions for where each championship is going to end up by the time Night of Champions goes off the air.
Dolph Ziggler and the Intercontinental Championship
1 of 5
The Intercontinental Championship used to truly be the second-most important prize in the company, but that was a long time ago.
Dolph Ziggler and The Miz have gone on record many times in saying that they not only respect the heritage of this title but that they are trying to make it their goal to reestablish that importance once more.
So far, both Superstars have made some nice strides toward accomplishing this goal, and Night of Champions should be another step forward.
The Showoff will not want to be outdone, and The Miz is just as hungry to prove himself in comparison, so this match should be a great contest to watch.
Since The Miz has been the driving force behind this feud, it's easy to assume that he'll win the title back and use it to play up his Hollywood persona.
However, that is exactly why Ziggler is going to retain.
The Miz doesn't need the belt to fulfill the same requirements in creating his next feud, and if the Intercontinental Championship was added, it could get lost in the shuffle.
Ziggler, on the other hand, can use that title as the catalyst for his next feud, as he'll always be looking for new opponents to challenge him.
The past few weeks seem to be leading up to a fun segment between these two that ends with Ziggler getting the best of The Miz, much to the chagrin of of the moneymaker and his stunt double.
Sheamus and the United States Championship
2 of 5
When Dean Ambrose won the United States Championship, many fans rejoiced. After all, the title was going on a featured player who had nowhere but up to go. That would definitely help bring more prestige back to the title, right?
Months later, when Ambrose had barely defended it, people were clamoring for a new champion.
Those people got their wish when Sheamus won the title in May during a Battle Royal, last eliminating Ambrose himself.
Finally, the title was going to gain some of that credibility back now that it was around the waist of a former world champion. But Sheamus is in a similar boat. He hasn't defended the title all that much and hasn't been in any noteworthy feuds for a while.
In a mercy killing of this title reign, it's time for Cesaro to get the strap back at Night of Champions.
Not only will this end a lackluster run for Sheamus, but it would also give a little bit of a boost back to the King of Swing, who has lost his way since WrestleMania XXX.
With a babyface holding the Intercontinental Championship, it makes sense to give the United States title to a heel to balance things out.
The Swiss Superman will win through some dubious method that will prevent The Celtic Warrior from looking like a complete loser, leaving the burden of the belt on Cesaro's shoulder.
The Usos and the WWE Tag Team Championship
3 of 5
The Usos may not be as hot as they were a few months ago, but the crowd hasn't given up on them entirely.
They are still receiving a decent reaction and pulling off some of the better matches of each show they participate in.
That being said, they have held the titles for quite some time—and that time may be up.
Goldust and Stardust are struggling a bit to get back on their feet after WWE dropped the ball with their debut.
It wasn't a strong showing to cart out this new duo with nothing but a few weird backstage promos and a multitude of matches against RybAxel.
Now that they have turned heel, there is a renewed vigor in the Rhodes brothers, which may be just enough to secure a title victory for them. If you look at the current roster of teams in WWE, there aren't many other people who can take the titles away from The Usos.
Mark Henry and Big Show are a babyface team busying themselves with other people.
Los Matadores are essentially jobbers and stand no chance at becoming the next champions.
Luke Harper and Erick Rowan had their opportunities and came up short, so they can be excluded from this list.
It seems as though WWE does not yet want to commit to the new stable consisting of Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Big E.
Short of bringing up The Ascension, there aren't any alternatives other than several more months of The Usos as champs or a title change here. Considering how much momentum will be lost if they come up short, it's imperative for Goldust and Stardust to win the belts here if anything useful is to come from them.
Paige and the WWE Divas Championship
4 of 5
Although she has only been a member of the main roster for a few months, Paige is already a two-time WWE Divas champion.
Her first title reign did not go down in history as one of the best ever, but her second one is fresh and has a lot of potential. There are two problems standing in the way of reaching that potential, though.
The first obstacle is the popularity that AJ Lee brings to the table, as she is quite obviously one of the biggest fan favorites in the division.
The second, and even more detrimental to Paige's title reign, is the intensity with which WWE has been pushing the feud between the Bella Twins.
Many fans are expecting Nikki Bella to win the Divas Championship at this event, and they would not be making a foolish bet. The likelihood that Nikki walks out as champion is far greater than anyone else, including even Paige, to an extent.
WWE always loves to hammer home the point that Paige does not need to be pinned or forced to submit in order to lose her title in this scenario. Triple Threat matches lend themselves to screwy finishes, which is what is going to happen here—but to Paige's benefit.
Since Brie Bella has not been included into this match, it's safe to say that she will interfere at some point. There is just no way that this match will go down without Brie making an appearance of some kind, and it certainly won't be to help Nikki win the title.
If the story is that Brie got screwed out of her match with Stephanie because of Nikki, then logic dictates that Brie must screw Nikki out of her match here to even the odds.
Seeing as how AJ Lee just traded the belt back to Paige, she is most likely not going to be the one to capitalize on Brie's actions.
It makes more sense for the heel to take the easy win, which is what Paige will do here, retaining her championship for a little while longer.
Brock Lesnar and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
5 of 5
Let's state a cold, hard fact as blunt as possible right off the bat: There is no way Brock Lesnar is losing this match.
Regardless if you are a fan of him, Lesnar is a big star WWE feels is worth every penny it is giving him. It is beyond illogical for the company to have renegotiated his contract to allow for more appearances, according to F4WOnline.com (h/t Wrestle Zone), if it is going to have him drop the title one month after winning it.
Lesnar is going to win, plain and simple, and it isn't because he's facing John Cena, either.
Barring some kind of weird circumstance such as an injury or backstage problems, Lesnar is here to stay for a while and will be defeating absolutely anybody he goes up against.
If WWE wants to make the most out of Lesnar and his title reign, it needs to go uninterrupted until WrestleMania XXX, at which point he can relinquish it to the Royal Rumble winner. That person can be Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan, Cesaro, Dean Ambrose or anyone else for that matter, but whoever it is will be made golden if they are the one to dethrone The Conqueror months from now.
Until then, Lesnar needs to—and will—retain the title at every pay-per-view, starting here at Night of Champions.
Who are you hoping to see leave with the belts? Is it time for any new champions?
Tell us your predictions in the comments below!
Anthony Mango is the owner-operator of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment as well as the host of its podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.
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