WWE Night of Champions 2011: Why Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix Stole the Show

The 2011 edition of WWE's Night of Champions pay-per-view event is in the books. On a night where John Cena won another WWE Championship, Mark Henry shocked the wrestling world by winning a much-deserved World Heavyweight Championship and Triple H returned to the ring with a victory over CM Punk in the night's main event, it was the often maligned WWE Divas division that captured fan interest and stole the show.

One of the really underrated moments of this year's SummerSlam event was the best Divas Championship match in quite some time, which saw Kelly Kelly defeat Beth Phoenix, in what many considered a fluke win. The match was an example of "wrestling booking 101," with Kelly serving as the plucky babyface that does just enough to outlast the attack of the much larger, more dominant opponent in Beth. Kelly would win with a fluke roll-up, but most expected the rivalry between her and "the Glamazon" to continue heading into September's Night of Champions.

As last night's event rapidly approached, the build-up for the rematch between champion and challenger was anything but spectacular. The storyline sagged in the month between the matches, and the new, devious duo of Beth and Natalya seemed to be shoved to the side in favor of countless Kelly and Eve versus the Bella Twins tag matches.

Something weird happened as Kelly Kelly entered the ring for the Divas Championship match at Night of Champions. Despite a lack of quality build-up to the contest, there was a notable buzz around the arena. The audience, which had been somewhat lacking in response since the opening tag team title match of the night, was excited. For a Divas title match?

While it appeared as though the fans did not quite know how to react to Kelly as she made her entrance, they quickly pledged their allegiance as Beth Phoenix entered the arena. With her entrance music blaring and the ring announcer introducing her from Buffalo, New York, the crowd erupted for their hometown girl. As she approached the squared circle, one could not help but feel that this was the first time the Divas title had felt like a big deal on a WWE event in quite some time.

Much like the SummerSlam bout, Beth established herself as the dominating female in the contest. She countered nearly all of Kelly's offensive attempts. She used her power to work over the beautiful blond, and even took the time to humiliate and embarrass her, putting Kelly over her knee and spanking her. The Buffalo crowd ate it up, completely buying into the match, the story it told and what seemed like a certainty that Phoenix would celebrate in her hometown as new Divas Champion.

But Kelly refused to go down that quickly. After successfully retaining the Divas title since June, she refused to be beaten just because it was expected. Despite a brutal superplex from Beth that left the 108 pound Kelly Kelly nearly broken, she kicked out and lived to fight on. Just as it appeared Beth was ready to finish her opponent off, just as it appeared as though the Divas of Destruction (or whatever WWE is calling the tandem of Beth and Natalya now) would finally capture the Divas Championship from the "pretty little Barbie doll," Kelly countered a Glam Slam attempt into a sunset flip for the upset, unforeseen victory.

The Buffalo crowd booed Kelly's victory, in shock—as was Beth—that she had once again defeated the much larger, much more powerful and much more decorated Diva. Kelly herself appeared shocked that she was able to counter Phoenix's finishing move into a roll-up for the win. As Kelly and Eve made their way up the ramp, Beth and Natalya were left devastated in the middle of the ring.

The Divas Championship match at Night of Champions stole the show because, for the first time, the division was taken seriously. Despite the piss-poor job the WWE creative team did in building the match, in continuing on a storyline that was fresh and interesting earlier in the summer, the fans in attendance actually were invested in the match that Beth and Kelly had formed. Sure, much of that investment was based solely on the fact that Beth Phoenix was from Buffalo, and so many expected that they would witness her win the title just miles from her childhood home, but that does not diminish the fact that, for one of the few times all night, the fans legitimately cared about what was going in the match.

The match itself continued a streak of matches between the two that have been far better than anyone could have expected. Sure, the credit will go to Beth for holding everything together, as it should. She is one of the great female in-ring workers in the world of professional wrestling. But Kelly Kelly's performance should be applauded as well. In two consecutive pay-per-view matches, she has proven the ability to play her role perfectly, to keep up with Beth in the ring and not mess anything up. Working with Beth will only help Kelly learn and evolve as a worker.

The booking of the contest was spectacular. It was fundamental wrestling story-telling. Kelly was the scrappy underdog that hung in there with the overwhelming favorite. Beth was the established wrestler, the cocky and overconfident heel that was so much better than her opponent that she even had time to toy with her opponent before finishing her off. It is a story that has been told in wrestling before, but one that stands the test of time because it is relatable.

The Triple H-CM Punk showdown was marred by overbooking, the same kind of overbooking TNA is often criticized for featuring in their main events. In the WWE Championship match, SuperCena once again captured the title in a match no more exciting than watching paint dry. Mark Henry capturing the World Championship was a pleasant, unexpected moment that many will likely remember for months, even years, to come. But it was so unexpected that people did not know how to react. Kelly Kelly versus Beth Phoenix was an old-school performance, a match that returned fans to the golden age of wrestling, when story-telling was simple and fans supplied the pure emotion of the match.

The finish has fans calling foul, annoyed by the fact that Beth has yet to capture the title from Kelly. Those fans should relax. Beth was not hurt by the match result. If anything, she looks even better now than she did coming into the event. For the second time in as many months, Kelly was absolutely dominated. She was beaten from bell to bell, but managed to sneak out a fluke win. Beth will win the Divas Championship. It is a given. Rather than criticize the immediate results, sit back, watch and enjoy the entire program. Make your opinion known once the story reaches its conclusion. Only then will you be able to understand exactly what was going on when it was going on.