WWE Night of Champions Results: What’s Next for Five Losers

At WWE Night of Champions, we saw four titles switch hands.

An American Dragon was truly awesome, LayCool showed that they were indeed still cool, the tag team division met at a Cross Rhodes, and a Viper struck a Celtic Warrior.

But what about the wrestlers who left Night of Champions with no gold around their waists?

Let’s take a look at what lies ahead for the WWE stars who are experiencing the bitter taste of defeat.

Kofi Kingston

The feud that looked like it would go on until eternity may have finally ended.

Dolph Ziggler beat Kofi Kingston with the Zig Zag to retain the Intercontinental Championship in the opening match of Night of Champions.

For Ziggler, the win solidifies his status as the resident “cougar hunter” on Smackdown. OK, not really, but it does help establish him as a top mid-carder.

But what’s it mean for Kofi?

If the WWE creative team has any idea what it’s doing—which I highly doubt—Kofi will say so long to the midcard.

Kofi has been in the Intercontinental/United States Championship for far too long, and the WWE has the perfect opportunity to move Kofi into Smackdown’s main event picture.

He is as over with the crowd as any face on Smackdown not named The Undertaker, who ironically enough might be the main reason why Kofi won’t be instantly catapulted into the World Heavyweight Championship picture.

The Undertaker-Kane feud that we’ve seen 43,586 times will continue at least through Hell in a Cell, which leads me to believe that Kofi will reside in midcard hell for a while.

So Kofi will need a main event caliber feud that should involve the World Heavyweight Championship, but won’t. Cue the Straight Edge Savior.

With the blowoff to the Punk-Big Show feud also happening tonight, the terribly booked Punk needs a fresh feud himself.

Who better to put in a feud with Smackdown’s favorite superstar than arguably the most hated heel on the WWE roster?

Melina

So I guess the WWE teasing friction between LayCool on Smackdown was just that: a tease.

Layla acted like she won the lottery when Michelle McCool beat Melina to unify the Divas and Women’s Championships.

Um, you do realize that MICHELLE is the champion, right Layla?  

Anyway, I was surprised that Melina didn’t win at Night of Champions, but I guess this is the WWE’s way of keeping the LayCool act together a bit longer.

I don’t mind that. Sure, they’re annoying. They act like they’re 12. But they’re also the only remotely entertaining thing in the divas division.

I would expect Melina and Mrs. Undertaker (that’s Michelle) to have a rematch somewhere down the road.

Will it be on pay-per-view? I doubt it. It’ll probably be on a random Raw or Smackdown within the next month or so.

The unification match was nothing more than a figurative bathroom break and got all of six minutes, so I wouldn’t expect the rematch to be a match of the year candidate. And I wouldn’t expect Melina to win.

I think Michelle will retain before the WWE pulls the trigger on a LayCool breakup and officially ruins the most interesting thing going on in a division that lacks any real intrigue.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see Layla get pissed that Michelle is champ, and turn on her to ignite the feud.

Bonus Slide: Quick Picks

The Miz

After The Miz lost the United States Championship to Daniel Bryan, I would have bet all I have that he would cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase if Orton won the WWE Championship Match.

Good thing I didn’t make that bet.

I’ll take The Miz not cashing in as a sign his feud with Bryan will continue. Fine by me.

Edge

Welcome back to Smackdown.

John Cena

Holy crap! Did Cena just put a younger worker over?

Yes, he did. But after he was eliminated, he cost Wade Barrett the title.

Write it in stone. The Barrett-Cena feud will continue.

Wade Barrett

Will he pin John Cena again?

Yeah right. But I’d expect a match between the two at Hell in a Cell.

Sheamus

Did anybody else realize Hell in a Cell is two weeks away?

And Vince McMahon wonders why pay-per-view buys are down.

Anyway, local commercials have been advertising Sheamus vs. Randy Orton. I’d expect that to see that match and have it be the blowoff match of their feud.

The Undertaker

Kane won, and he’s still the World Heavyweight Champion, so that should mean we’ll get a new No. 1 contender.

But I wouldn’t count on it.

The WWE put forth a lot of “effort” into the vegetative state storyline over the past few months, and a loss by The Undertaker won’t end the feud. Vince McMahon thinks a rivalry between a 43-year-old and his 45-year-old “brother” is a huge moneymaker.

I politely disagree with that reasoning, but I’m just a guy writing on the Internet and he’s a billionaire.

Anyway, like I said, I don’t see the WWE ending the Undertaker-Kane feud after just one pay-per-view match.

Logical booking says the contender who loses a championship match shouldn’t just get handed a rematch, but this is the WWE we’re talking about. Throw logic out the window.

The next pay-per-view is Hell in a Cell. The Undertaker pretty much defines that match. He’ll be on the card, and he’ll be wrestling Kane for the World Heavyweight Championship.

The Hart Dynasty

Today was not a good day for me.

I lost two separate parlay bets on the NFL, and my Week 2 fantasy football chances look about as good as Matt Hardy’s WWE future.

But nothing infuriated me more than the booking of the WWE Tag Team Championship at Night of Champions.

Why on Earth would you book that type of match? Why the hell would you have The Hart Dynasty be the first eliminated?

Why would a comedy team like Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov eliminate an up-and-coming team like the Usos?

Why wouldn’t you just have a match between The Hart Dynasty and Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes?

Most importantly, will The Hart Dynasty get a rematch against the new champs?

They were the first team to be eliminated, and they weren’t even in the match at the end. I’m guessing they will get a rematch at some point (probably not on pay-per-view), but I honestly don’t think it matters.

The WWE showed at Night of Champions why its tag team division has disappointed fans more than the Dallas Cowboys. You can’t just throw a bunch of random teams in a match, and expect fans not to ask questions.

A potential lengthy feud between Rhodes/McIntyre and The Hart Dynasty could have been pretty entertaining. Now, we’ll probably see The Hart Dynasty get buried and split up before the end of the year.

Didn’t Vince learn anything from Cryme Tyme?

Chris Jericho

Having Chris Jericho eliminated about two minutes into the match was my “WTF?” moment of the night.

Can it be true? Is Jericho really leaving the WWE?

I can’t help but think that Y2J is at least taking a leave of absence from the company. If he isn’t, the WWE will certainly have my attention when trying to explain why Jericho is staying.

I honestly hope Jericho isn’t going anywhere. I don’t want to see him leave even it’s only for a few months.

He truly is a rare breed in the WWE, a guy who can cut a 5-star promo before putting on a 5-star match.

My guy still tells me that Jericho re-signed with the company, and the WWE will come up with some type of excuse to explain it.

A move to Smackdown before it goes to SyFy or a surprise return at the Royal Rumble, maybe?

I’m certainly no psychic and I can’t tell you what Jericho will do, but I think I speak for us all when I say: “Please don’t go, Jericho.”

What do the fans at Bleacher Report think? Is this the last we’ll see of Chris Jericho?