Night of Champions Matches with Best Chances to Steal the Show

Chemistry will be key to stealing the show at Night of Champions.

The event boasts three sets of rivals with the kind of in-ring sparks that could craft the night's most memorable match. Brock Lesnar and John Cena will be the names on the marquee, but Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler and The Usos have a great shot at siphoning some of their spotlight.

Pre-match storytelling and a wealth of talent also help boost a contest's chances of doing what The Wyatt Family and The Usos did at Battleground: make following them an unenviable task.

Paige vs. AJ Lee vs. Nikki Bella will be hampered by a story that has been all over the place. Blending the tale of two "frenemies" and the melodrama surrounding The Bella Twins won't make the two narratives any clearer.

Nikki's resume isn't filled with masterpieces either.

The collision of two behemoths in Rusev vs. Mark Henry has potential, but it's hard to bet on Henry in the ring at this point in his career. He was never a top-tier mat-worker. Add age and injuries accumulated over the years, and one's expectations for this match need to be lowered.

Its strength will be its storytelling, the effective us-versus-them, hero-versus-monster dynamic at work.

Other bouts feature rivals whom the audience knows work extremely well together. For one, a slugfest between two Europeans promises to be faster and more explosive than Henry's fight for pride of nation.

The United States Championship Match

WWE has put little effort into building this match, but power, intensity and two skilled brawlers will make up for that.

Sheamus and Cesaro bring out an edge in each other. Each of their previous collisions has had at least flashes of greatness.

Go back to Main Event from June 5, 2013. Cesaro infused grappling with hard, relentless strikes to push The Celtic Warrior.

This bout showed off the two bruisers at their best. 

Less than a year later, they would meet on Main Event again. This time, the result was similarly satisfying.

On May 13 of this year, Sheamus and Cesaro followed up a good match with an even better post-match brawl.

Rarely do you see fire between two foes like that. With little narrative and minimal buildup, they made it feel as if their rivalry was one fans couldn't look away from.

Their last pay-per-view meeting came at Payback in a contest John Canton of Wrestling News Source called, "a very entertaining opener," noting that he would have liked to see it go on for five more minutes. On ProWrestling.net, Jason Powell wrote that the bout "lived up to the expected physicality hype."

Sheamus and Cesaro's rivalry faded soon after that, but WWE has since restarted it. They get another chance to clobber each other and create excellence in the process.

The Intercontinental Championship Match

Ziggler and The Miz are both quick, athletic and adept at showmanship.

At SummerSlam, The Showoff took down The Miz in an exciting opener. They kicked off the event with a fast-paced effort. Writing for Wrestle Enigma, Kevin Berge said that the two men "just click, and it's hard not to sit back and be enthralled."

Credit: WWE.com

That chemistry has been a fun part of their meetings so far. In addition, Night of Champions offers some intriguing subplots.

For one, victory means more than usual for Ziggler. If he loses the IC title so soon, it will feel like a sign that WWE has placed him in the same spot as Kofi Kingston—the replaceable, transitional midcard champ.

If he does win, his recent story of redemption will continue. That is sure to make every near-fall affect fans' heart rates that much more.

Damien Sandow has also been terrific as The Miz's stunt double. He's grabbed hold of the audience's attention whether he's dressing like The Awesome One or waiting in a director's chair for his shot to jump into the fray.

Sandow could certainly add some humor to the action.

Ziggler, on the other hand, will make sure that the bout is plenty dramatic. He's one of the best in the business at making his opponent's offense look devastating.

If WWE doesn't play this mostly for laughs, there's a good chance Night of Champions will become a showcase for both Ziggler and his increasingly grating challenger.

The Tag Team Championship Match

The Usos taking on Gold & Stardust is powered both by chemistry and storyline.

The bizarre brothers' quest to become champions has brought out the snarling beasts inside them. When Stardust licked his lips before smashing Jey Uso's leg with a steel chair, it was hard not to have a chill run up yours arms.

He and Goldust have quickly gone from amusing sideshow acts to a convincingly dangerous duo.

Each time they have met The Usos in singles or tag action as of late, the result has been an attack that floored the twins. They have now left Jey Uso in need of crutches, creating doubt about his health heading into Night of Champions.

Jey's bad wheel and the heart it will take to overcome that will elevate the drama of the match.

The good guys now have reasons aplenty to seek revenge. The heels are closing in on winning the championships, offering The Usos their biggest challenge since Luke Harper and Erick Rowan.

At nearly 200 days as champs, per WWE.com, fans will be curious to see if The Usos will continue to draw closer to Team Hell No as the squad with the longest reign since 2008. Whether they can make history will add to how important their win is.

Both they and Gold & Stardust have already proved they can deliver on a big stage together.

Credit: WWE.com

Back when Stardust was still Cody Rhodes, he and Goldust took on The Usos and The Shield at Hell in a Cell 2013. It was a thriller from bell to bell. Uproxx's Brandon Stroud called it one of his favorite pay-per-view matches of the year.

The tag teams stole the show that night. They are threatening to do it once again.