WWE Night of Champions 2015 Results: Biggest Stars of the Night
Going into WWE Night of Champions 2015, the biggest stars in the company theoretically should've been Seth Rollins, Ryback, Nikki Bella and the New Day.
Things aren't quite so simple in the world of professional wrestling, but since this event is the one pay-per-view of the year at which all of the titles are guaranteed to be defended, it's a good one to use as a measuring stick to judge where people are on the hierarchy.
Just because you're a champion doesn't mean that you're the true focal point of a match, nor does it mean you're in a more important segment than one involving no belts whatsoever.
This event had legends of the past, present and future all competing against each other in an attempt to steal as much of that spotlight as possible.
Older stars such as Sting and the Dudley Boyz who have carved their legacies, young folk such as Neville and the Ascension who are in the midst of making names for themselves and everyone in the middle could potentially steal the show, but not everyone will walk away with their heads held high.
Factoring in things such as storyline importance, wins and losses, performance quality and how integral they are going into the next edition of Monday Night Raw, it's time for us to break down what happened at Night of Champions and review the biggest stars of the night.
Honorable Mention: Sting
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Sting didn't have the same luck as the rest of the people on this list, but he needs to be mentioned nonetheless.
All you have to do is take one look at any of the posters for Night of Champions, and you'll see Sting's face plastered on them. He was the selling point of this event much more than the gimmick of all titles being defended.
After spending his entire career away from WWE and finally making his in-ring debut with the company in 2015, he's gone on to lose both of his important matches, but that doesn't discredit the importance of those matches.
This guy is a legend who will undoubtedly go into the WWE Hall of Fame sooner rather than later, no matter what his record in the promotion ends up being. And despite losing at WrestleMania, here he was wrestling for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the main event.
On top of that, the Icon almost won the belt!
Some may even argue he should be in the top five of this list rather than an honorable mention, but the fact he did indeed lose his match is what separates him from the pack.
That being said, if Sting is just an honorable mention, those other five people must have had pretty good nights, correct?
Read on to see who made the cut.
5. Braun Strowman
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One of the biggest questions going into Night of Champions was the identity of the mystery partner who would be teaming up with Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose.
Some fans thought it was a lock that Daniel Bryan would return. Others pointed to the Rock as the best example of true family being incorporated into the angle. Others resigned themselves to the possibility that Erick Rowan would come back from injury and the crowd would go mild.
Chris Jericho being that third man may or may not have been your top choice, but it goes without being said that he was one of the biggest stars of the night as far as booking is concerned.
Not only is Jericho a multiple-time world champion, he's also a future Hall of Famer.
That's all well and good, but guess what happened: He lost.
The easy thing to do would have been to give Jericho the victory and let him celebrate as a legend who came in to save the day, but nope, the monster Braun Strowman was there to stop him.
People will remember Jericho was the mystery partner, but the person who came out of this exchange looking like the priority was actually the new guy.
Strowman needed to be booked strong here, and since he was able to put down such an important Superstar, he looks like gold. Who is going to stop this guy?
4. Kevin Owens
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Kevin Owens started off 2015 with a bang, winning the NXT Championship just two months after making his in-ring debut at Full Sail University.
Since that time, he's gone on to claim victory over John Cena, establish himself on the main roster and, now, win the Intercontinental Championship.
If the title wasn't on the line, defeating Ryback in a standard match wouldn't have amounted to a spot on this list, but the championship implications boost the win considerably.
Poor Ryback has struggled many times in his career, even after winning the title at Elimination Chamber in May. He may have proved some of his doubters wrong as far as his value, but it's hard to argue he should have kept the title here over Owens.
Considering how top-notch his performances have been this year, it's safe to expect big things to come for the Intercontinental Championship now it is in the possession of someone like Owens.
Many months from now, the WWE Universe could be looking back at Night of Champions as the start of one of the best title reigns for this belt in a long, long time.
3. John Cena
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One month after losing his United States Championship, as expected, John Cena is back on top of the division.
It's rare that Cena will appear on a pay-per-view and not be booked in a position to be featured on the list of its biggest stars.
As mentioned before with Kevin Owens and Charlotte, winning a championship tends to be one of the biggest factors when it comes to determining the focal points of the event, and with Cena doing this in the secondary main event, that's all the more reason for him to be included.
There's a good chance Cena's momentum from Night of Champions will carry him into an important match at Hell in a Cell, possibly for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
If that happens, then there's no argument against WWE's Superman being considered a top star for the show, no matter who dislikes it.
2. Charlotte
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For months, it's been painfully obvious that Charlotte is a priority for WWE and would be getting the Divas Championship at some point. Night of Champions 2015 was when the trigger was pulled.
Naturally, winning a championship is almost reason enough to be on this list outright, but an extra bit of justification goes Charlotte's way for the method in which she won.
After she was able to force Nikki Bella to submit via her Figure Eight finisher, despite having a bum leg throughout the match, she celebrated in the ring with Paige, Becky Lynch and Ric Flair.
That post-match celebration and the fact it signaled the end of the longest title reign in Divas Championship history means Charlotte is in the best possible position anyone could be in this division right now.
Whether Charlotte will be able to do well with the Divas Championship is yet to be seen, but she has the lineage behind her, clearly has WWE's support and has the talent to go far.
1. Seth Rollins
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Can you remember the last time someone defended two titles back to back in the main event of the pay-per-view against two of the biggest names in the history of professional wrestling?
Seth Rollins is the heel in this scenario, but let's not just ignore this accomplishment, even though he was unsuccessful in his attempts to retain the United States Championship.
Instead of wrestling John Cena to open the show and then take a break for a few hours before wrestling Sting, Rollins did it one after the other. Then, there was the post-match situation involving Sheamus, Kane and the Money in the Bank contract.
Cena and Sting wrestle two different styles, and there were different stories being told in those two matches, so Rollins had to prepare to do one thing and then shift into an entirely new gear on a dime.
More and more, the former Architect of the Shield is proving the doubters who thought he would be the weak link in favor of Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose never gave him enough credit for being able to do the amazing things he's pulled off this year.
Losing his United States title is a mark against him, but retaining the WWE World Heavyweight Championship counteracts that and was much more important.
Leaving with that belt still in his possession, even though that was more on Kane than anyone else, means Rollins is still the man for the foreseeable future.
Who would you put on this list and how would you rank them? Where would you place people like the New Day, the Dudley Boyz and others who aren't included in this list?
Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below!
Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.
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