WWE Night of Champions 2014: Breaking Down Biggest Matches on the Card

Despite Monday Night Raw going through something of a middling stretch at the moment, the card that has been assembled for Night of Champions seems like it could be a worthy follow-up to last month's excellent SummerSlam.

Previous editions of the pay-per-view have sometimes suffered from the continued lack to attention given to midcard belts, with title programs being given little television time to develop and engage their audience in the build to the event.

The concept of Night of Champions is centred around every title being defended, but sometimes, that has felt like a limitation that's caused a mad rush to find challengers rather than an opportunity to build a strong card from top to bottom.

This year, however, things are rather different. Although WWE programming has seen its fair share of nonsense in recent weeks, there's also been an admirable effort to build to some of the night's biggest matches. The result of that is a card that has several exciting contests that are, at this point, rather unpredictable.

Sheamus vs. Cesaro for the United States Championship

These two have met time after time in recent months, but it's difficult to get tired of a pairing that can so consistently produce great matches. Given a good amount of time, this is a definite contender for the best bout on the show.

There's little doubt that this will be an enjoyable match, but who comes out on top is more of a pressing question. Sheamus has been relatively untested in his championship reign thus far; since retaining his title against Cesaro at Payback, he's been mostly concerned with challenging for other titles.

Given that he hasn't had much opportunity to defend his title, his tenure as champion has been rather understated. However, his recent feud with Cesaro has given both men something to sink their teeth into. Friction between the two men has been growing in recent weeks, further hyping a bout that will definitely deliver in the ring.

Cesaro seems like the favourite to win, with the title perhaps doing him more good by giving him some sense of direction, something he's been without since his split from Paul Heyman. On the other hand, a strong defence for Sheamus could set him up for a feud over the title with Rusev, tying into the Bulgarian's targeting of the United States.

All this being said, there's the lingering possibility of a truly memorable occurrence in this bout. A rare double turn would make for a great story on the night and a renewed focus for each competitor. These two are very capable of telling a story like this in the ring; it's an outside chance at this point but something that could be of great benefit to both men.

Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship

On paper, this feud might not have seemed like it would be all too engrossing, but it has been elevated by the sheer vigour of Dolph Ziggler as champion and The Miz's entertaining Hollywood character, as well as the recent interjection of Damien Sandow.

The fact that Ziggler only won the belt at SummerSlam last month would suggest that he will make a successful defence, but there's a definite possibility that The Miz might be able to snatch back the strap.

What it really comes down to is the looming presence of Bad News Barrett. Having been forced to vacate the title earlier in the year due to injury, it seems clear that Barrett will be looking to reclaim his belt upon his return; and based on a recent tweet, that might be sooner rather than later.

The winner of this match has Bad News on their horizon, so it could well be a question of who poses the best foil for Barrett as to who comes out on top. Seeing a newly crowned Miz receive a Bull Hammer would certainly be a strong return for the bare-knuckle fighter, but a series of matches against Ziggler would undoubtedly make for a strong feud to showcase the title.

Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

In a rematch following the drubbing that John Cena received at SummerSlam, Brock Lesnar is in a make-or-break position for his title reign. At present, it could go either way; his decisive win made him look like the monster that he can be, but the very real prospect of him losing the title so soon would be a disappointing step back towards the norm.

Cena has been rebuilt as a worthy competitor in recent weeks, and it could well be that the lengthy run for Lesnar that many fans are looking forward to is scrapped in favour of a feel-good story that sees Cena overcome the odds and regain the title.

While the threat of WWE's true monster heel, John Cena, resuming his reign of terror is very real, you would have to hope that Lesnar will manage to come out on top on Sunday. Having Lesnar confirm his dominance over Cena would set him up for a host of new matchups, whereas a Cena win would simply put the main event scene back to its status quo.

Credit: WWE.com

A Seth Rollins cash-in would certainly be a shake-up, but it seems ill-timed unless there's a clear endgame in mind. A Lesnar win is vital to the back end of 2014 having a compelling main event scene, and with regular Lesnar defences against a new crop of challengers, it certainly looks set to be an interesting time.

The decision to have Cena look strong following his SummerSlam defeat, perhaps at the cost of opponents like Bray Wyatt, has been criticized by many. However, it's certainly made the most of what might be the core of the John Cena character—the way he splits the audience.

For all intents and purposes, Cena fulfils the dual role of a fan favourite and the biggest villain on the roster for separate segments of the audience. The shred of hope given to his fans by recent wins on Raw also acts as a shred of doubt for Lesnar fans who were delighted to see each and every one of those 16 German suplexes last month.

Lesnar will likely walk out of Night of Champions, but like most matches on the card, it's anything but a certainty. In recent months, we've seen WWE regain something that seemed lost, only to be brought out for special occasions like Money in the Bank 2011 or SummerSlam 2014—a real sense of unpredictability when it comes to a pay-per-view.

What are your predictions for Night of Champions? Have you got a hunch on a shocking twist to take place next Sunday? Let your thoughts be known in the comments section below.