WWE Night of Champions 2015 Matches: Best Possible Finish for Each Contest
Aside from the build to any given match, the most important element of a bout is the finish. It is the last thing fans see, leaves the greatest lasting impression and has the greatest impact on the continuation of a feud and the credibility of the wrestlers involved.
On Sunday night at Night of Champions, WWE will present numerous matches that will greatly affect the final quarter of its pay-per-view calendar.
Will Seth Rollins retain both the world heavyweight and United States titles, or will Sting and John Cena ruin the night for the golden boy of The Authority?
How about Nikki Bella's historic Divas Championship reign? Should it end at the hands of Charlotte or continue on for another month?
The New Day's tag title reign is in jeopardy thanks to The Dudley Boyz, while Dolph Ziggler squares off with Rusev and Kevin Owens looks to get back to his winning ways when he meets Ryback for the intercontinental title.
Which finishes best suit each match, and why?
Take a look for yourself.
Neville and The Lucha Dragons vs. Cosmic Wasteland
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The rivalry between Neville and Stardust continues into Sunday's pay-per-view, as they find themselves on opposite sides of a Six-Man Tag Team match on the Night of Champions Kickoff Show.
Neville got the last laugh at SummerSlam when he and television star Stephen Amell defeated Stardust and partner King Barrett, but in the wake of that loss, the most bizarre Superstar in WWE aligned himself with The Ascension in what he refers to as The Cosmic Wasteland.
The Man That Gravity Forgot found himself some backup too, in the form of Sin Cara and Kalisto.
Now, at Night of Champions the latest chapter in the comic book rivalry will be written when the two trios meet in the first match of the night.
Best Finish
SummerSlam saw Neville pick up a big victory in a match that got mainstream media attention. In order for the feud to continue, the villains must earn the win to keep heat on them.
A finish that sees Stardust pin Sin Cara would both accomplish that and not take anything away from Neville, who should remain strong as one of the company's premier midcard talents.
WWE United States Championship Match: John Cena vs. Seth Rollins
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Seth Rollins' victory over John Cena at SummerSlam was anything but clean, with comedian Jon Stewart providing the chair shot that would earn The Architect the United States Championship.
In the weeks since, the golden boy of The Authority has done little to maintain the legitimacy built by Cena, whose open challenges resulted in tremendous matches and bright spots on some otherwise so-so episodes of Raw.
In fact, the U.S. title has become somewhat of an afterthought, only remaining in the spotlight thanks to Cena's invoking his rematch clause for this Sunday's pay-per-view extravaganza.
Will the franchise star wrest the title from Rollins, or will The Architect retain it?
Best Finish
Logic would suggest that Rollins should leave Night of Champions one title lighter than he arrived. Since the likelihood of Sting's winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship is low, all signs point to The Architect's dropping the U.S. title back to Cena.
A finish that sees Cena pin Rollins clean, rattling him and creating doubt in his mind for the heavyweight title bout later in the show, would be a great way to both accomplish the switch and, at the same time, ignite a story that could unfold later in the broadcast.
Intercontinental Championship Match: Ryback vs. Kevin Owens
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Kevin Owens finds himself back in championship contention for the first time since losing the NXT title match to Finn Balor at TakeOver: Brooklyn.
As the new No. 1 contender to the intercontinental title held by Ryback, the attitudinal competitor has vowed to prove that The Big Guy is physically powerful but mentally weak. The champion has done a phenomenal job to this point of carrying the IC title and making the most of his first championship reign.
The biggest question facing the booking team is whether or not it wants the feud to continue past Sunday's show. If the answer is yes, then the best available finish differs drastically from a traditional clean finish.
Best Finish
With nothing else for either guy to do at this point, the likelihood that this program will continue beyond Night of Champions is high. If that is the case, WWE Creative must carefully book the outcome of the match so as not to do any irreparable damage to the heat and credibility of the competitors.
A disqualification finish that sees a desperate Owens catch Ryback with a low blow would give the feud a reason to keep moving.
That scenario would allow Owens to look like a guy who talks big but, when things got even the slightest bit unfavorable, takes the cheap way out to avoid defeat.
Why give away a clean win and hurt one of the two stars from a booking standpoint, when there is an outcome available that would allow them both to retain their heat?
It may not be popular among those fans who think there has to be a clean finish to every match on the card, but for everyone else it is the most effective finish.
WWE Tag Team Championship Match: The Dudley Boyz vs. The New Day
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The return of The Dudley Boyz to World Wrestling Entertainment was a huge surprise, one that both popped the crowd and added instant credibility to the company's tag team division.
The New Day, on the other hand, has developed into one of wrestling's most entertaining acts. Need proof? Look no further than Triple H's taking a moment to dance with the heels on the September 14 episode of Raw.
At Night of Champions, WWE Creative finds itself in a situation where the Dudleys have a tremendous amount of momentum on their side, but The New Day can hardly afford to lose the titles it just regained a few weeks ago.
Best Finish
As over as The Dudley Boyz are, New Day is that much hotter right now. Taking the titles off it this early into its second reign would open it up to the same questionable booking it endured after dropping the gold to The Prime Time Players over the summer.
A finish that sees Xavier Woods provide a distraction, leading to a cheap roll-up win for Kingston over D-Von, would be a great way to cap off the bout.
The Dudleys could immediately rebound by putting Kingston through a table, giving the fans a satisfying conclusion and implying that the feud is only just beginning.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev
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The rivalry between Dolph Ziggler and Rusev has been a smorgasbord of soap opera, questionable booking and Bulgarian Brutes turned into blubbering emotional teddy bears.
At Night of Champions, the latest chapter of the program will be written without the presence of Lana, who broke her wrist and now finds herself sitting on the sidelines, watching as WWE Creative calls an audible.
The September 14 episode of Raw saw The Showoff appear to be courting Summer Rae, apparently lending credibility to the former ballroom dancer's claims that Ziggler has his eyes on her.
But it could easily be a ruse, a way for the former world champion to drive a wedge between Summer and Rusev.
If so, will it help him secure a victory on September 20?
Best Finish
The seeds have already been planted for Summer and Rusev's split, so why not take advantage of it?
A finish that sees Summer inadvertently cost her charge the match could lead to their breakup and Ziggler's getting the last laugh, especially if he somehow ends up absconding with yet another of his rival's blonde bombshell associates.
That would earn Ziggler the vengeance of Lana, who would return to the side of Rusev and reunite the dangerous duo.
Divas Championship Match: Charlotte vs. Nikki Bella
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The finish of the Charlotte vs. Nikki Bella match on the September 14 edition of Raw not only resulted in Nikki Bella breaking the historic title reign of AJ Lee, but also solidified her as the most hated woman on the roster.
Now she enters Night of Champions preparing to defend her title against the "genetically superior" Diva in what may be her final night as champion.
If it is, fans will be even harsher in their criticisms of WWE for what they believe was a childish attempt to erase CM Punk's wife from the history books.
Will that scenario play out, or will Bella continue her run atop the women's division as its most insufferable villain?
Best Finish
Charlotte will get her run with the title at some point, but Nikki is such a polarizing figure right now, so hated by the fans, that continuing to build her up as this despised heel feels like the right move.
Booking her to the point that fan disdain reaches its fever pitch, then taking the title from her, would lead to an incredible response from the audience and an even greater moment for WWE's so-called Diva Revolution.
Nikki will retain her title cleanly, with the Rack Attack, to prove that she does not need her sister and Alicia Fox every time out.
Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and a Mystery Partner vs. The Wyatt Family
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The biggest question surrounding this weekend's pay-per-view concerns Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns' tag team partner for their war with The Wyatt Family.
Will they be joined by an NXT talent? How about someone not currently slated for a match on Sunday's show, like Cesaro or Big Show? What about an indy talent not currently known to the WWE Universe?
So intrigued are the WWE fans that they have seemingly lost track of the fact that the arrival of Braun Strowman has led to some extraordinary old-school storytelling and the rejuvenation of the Reigns-Wyatt program.
Best Finish
Barring some illogical turn by whomever Reigns and Ambrose find to be their partner, the babyfaces will go over in this match. Who that partner is and how they'll pick up the win is the question.
While most would like some cool debut, WWE Creative will likely take the lazy approach and book someone without a pay-per-view match in that spot.
Whoever it is, expect Reigns to pin Harper off the spear, thus protecting both Wyatt and Strowman while propping up the former juggernaut of The Shield, for which the company still has huge plans.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match: Sting vs. Seth Rollins
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Sting's chances of leaving Night of Champions with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship are nonexistent. His victory over Seth Rollins on Raw virtually assured that.
Thus, the focus shifts from The Vigilante to Sheamus, who has the Money in the Bank briefcase in his possession and has teased cashing it in for the last month.
Will The Celtic Warrior utilize his guaranteed title shot to earn a world title victory for the first time in nearly three years?
Or will Rollins escape another pay-per-view event with his reign atop WWE intact?
Best Finish
A victory for Seth Rollins over Sting, whether clean or not, would add further credibility to his title reign. There is something about beating The Icon that still means something, thanks to the aura that he has built for himself over the course of his career.
As for Sheamus, WWE has done such a fantastic job of casually interjecting Sheamus into backstage segments and a tag team match with Rollins on the most recent episode of SmackDown that it would be too obvious for him to cash in Sunday night.
Rollins should leave a pay-per-view offering with his world title in tow for the last time.
Yes, you read that correctly.
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