WWE Night of Champions 2014 Review: Biggest Stars of the Night

WWE's 2014 Night of Champions pay-per-view is meant to be the showcase of the best performers on the roster today.

After all, the champions in WWE are supposed to be the top of the food chain, and the challengers are the next in line to take that spot away from them.

But as with every event, not all of the performers are meant to shine as bright as the main stars.

Each match is going to have a winner and a loser, and each show is going to have its highlights that stand out as the most important and entertaining of the night in comparison to one another.

With some big names like Brock Lesnar, John Cena and Chris Jericho on the card while others went missing this time around, this was a different landscape than SummerSlam last month.

Now that the show is in the bag, which entertainers have left a lasting impression for the audience?

Who ended up stealing the most amount of spotlight by walking away with championship gold or making themselves a talking point for the next few weeks?

It's time once again to break down the biggest stars of the night.

5. Stardust and Goldust

Credit: WWE.com

On an event as lackluster as this, there aren't many stars to pick from, and even so, the people on this list are going to be really stretching.

As such, Goldust and Stardust qualify for a spot here simply because they won their match and are now the new champions for the tag team division.

This was less of an enthusiastic victory and more of a whimper of a defeat for The Usos, as a roll-up isn't exactly the most energetic or emphatic way to win.

Nevertheless, it is indeed a victory that ushers in new champions, so the Rhodes brothers deserve at least some credit for knocking off the top of the division.

4. The Miz

Credit: WWE.com

Although WWE cared more about Florida Georgia Line during this segment than The Miz or Dolph Ziggler, as mentioned before, it's a struggle to find people to be on this list, so The Miz gets a spot by default.

Just like with Goldust and Stardust, The Miz is entirely placed on this article due to his victory being for a championship rather than his performance or anything else.

In fact, just like the new tag team champions, The Miz won with a weak roll-up, too!

None of this is going to matter come next week when this event is forgotten about and fans look toward Hell in a Cell with hopes that it will be better.

For now, though, The Miz accomplished something decent enough to find himself ranked higher than many others on the pay-per-view.

3. AJ Lee

Credit: WWE.com

There were three women in the Divas Championship match, but only two of them were really getting any attention going into this match.

Paige was naturally someone who had her share of the spotlight, seeing as she went in as the champion.

Nikki Bella was undoubtedly the true focal point and could have easily walked away with the title here.

This left AJ Lee in the dust as a background person for the most part, yet she has now been crowned the champion for the third time in her career.

In one of the better matches of the night, AJ Lee pulled the upset victory and followed a nice performance up with some gold around her waist.

If Goldust, Stardust and The Miz make this list purely for winning titles, AJ Lee cannot be ignored, nor should she rank lower than them after putting on arguably a better performance overall.

2. Dean Ambrose

Credit: WWE.com

Dean Ambrose wasn't advertised for this event, nor did he wrestle, let alone win a match, but he still made a bigger impression than almost anyone else.

With Roman Reigns missing the show due to his surgery, fans were denied the match between him and Seth Rollins.

This would have been nothing but a disappointment if WWE did not replace it with something worthwhile, and thankfully, Ambrose was able to deliver.

Savvy fans saw this coming from a mile away, but a good portion of the crowd still popped regardless.

Even still, if you weren't surprised, you still probably woke up during this segment of the night just due to the energy behind it.

Ambrose and Rollins have had one of the best feuds of the year, and if Ambrose keeps this up, the next few months will treat him very well.

1. John Cena

Credit: WWE.com

The way John Cena took the fight to Brock Lesnar usurps his position on the list even though the championship is still around his waist.

In fact, this match was predominantly built around showing that Cena did have what it takes to defeat Lesnar and making him look stronger to compensate for his loss at SummerSlam.

Cena basically had the championship won until Seth Rollins interfered, illustrating the point that Cena's spot at the top of the roster has not wavered in the slightest bit.

At the end of the day, this is still Cena's house, like it or not, and everyone else can only hope for second place.

How would you rank the performers from Night of Champions? Tell us your thoughts 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.