Night of Champions 2010: A Stronger Card Built on Actual Payoffs

Dolph Ziggler and Kofi Kingston finally receive the straightforward championship match their SummerSlam interruption had denied them. The stipulation that Ziggler can lose the title by count-out or disqualification gives the champion a reason to wrestle carefully rather than rely on Vickie Guerrero to create an escape. Kingston pushes the pace with quick counters and repeated attempts to land Trouble in Paradise, while Ziggler keeps finding ways to survive long enough to reset. The finish is clean when Kingston gets tangled in the ropes and Ziggler immediately hits the Zig Zag for the pin. That result gives the rivalry an actual pay-per-view conclusion and helps the champion more than another protected finish would have. It is a solid opener with useful stakes.

Big Show versus CM Punk is the only non-title match on a card built around every active WWE championship, and it feels like the least essential bout as a result. Punk's character work keeps the segment from becoming completely flat, but the match is brief and structurally simple. Big Show absorbs most of Punk's offense, catches a springboard clothesline with a spear, then finishes with the knockout punch. The decisive win pays off Show's summer conflict with the Straight Edge Society, yet it also leaves Punk with little competitive credibility in the moment. The crowd gets a clean result and the feud receives closure. The wrestling never develops enough depth or suspense to feel worthy of the event's championship-heavy setting.

Daniel Bryan and The Miz turn their NXT history into the undercard's clearest wrestling success. Miz works from the position of a champion who believes Bryan does not belong at his level, while Bryan's technical offense gives the match a sharper identity than the surrounding card. Alex Riley creates the expected ringside threat without determining the outcome, allowing the championship change to feel earned. Bryan survives Miz's counters, repeatedly returns to the arm and finally forces the champion to submit to the LeBell Lock. The finish is decisive and emotionally satisfying because Bryan had returned only one month earlier at SummerSlam. Winning the United States Championship immediately validates that comeback and gives the feud a meaningful payoff rather than another continuation.

Michelle McCool and Melina are carrying more historical weight than the six-minute runtime can comfortably support. The match is supposed to unify WWE's two women's championships, yet the Lumberjill stipulation adds bodies around ringside without giving the wrestlers more room to build drama. Melina gets a few credible bursts, but Layla's interference starts a wider brawl among the lumberjills and shifts attention away from the champions. McCool capitalizes with a big boot and wins the unification match. The finish accomplishes the administrative goal of ending the original Women's Championship lineage, but it feels rushed for such a consequential change. The segment matters historically much more than it succeeds as a standalone match.

Kane and The Undertaker finally turn the summer mystery into a full championship fight, and the No Holds Barred stipulation gives their familiar rivalry more physical freedom. The match begins on the entrance ramp and moves through the ringside area before settling into a slower heavyweight structure. Undertaker's offense still carries the expectation that he will eventually regain control, which makes the finish more effective. He attempts the Tombstone, Kane reverses it and hits his own Tombstone for the clean pin. That result matters because Kane defeats Undertaker decisively rather than surviving through interference or a technicality. The pace is deliberate and not every exchange is sharp, but the championship story receives a rare clear victory for Kane.

The Tag Team Turmoil match turns a thin championship division into a fast sequence of short pairings rather than asking one matchup to carry eleven minutes. The Hart Dynasty begin as champions and are eliminated by The Usos, immediately guaranteeing a title change. Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov provide the lightest section, while Evan Bourne and Mark Henry give the match a different athletic-power combination. Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre enter last and capitalize on the accumulated damage, with Rhodes pinning Bourne after Cross Rhodes to win the championship. The structure is more functional than dramatic, but it refreshes the titles and keeps several teams involved. The new champions feel opportunistic without needing a cheap finish.

The six-pack elimination main event gives Night of Champions the scale and unpredictability the card needs after several smaller title matches. Chris Jericho is eliminated almost immediately, creating a surprising tone before the match settles into a longer sequence involving Cena, Edge, Barrett, Sheamus and Orton. The Nexus helps Barrett eliminate Cena, but Cena later returns with a chair to prevent the faction from controlling the finish. Orton then eliminates Barrett and survives Sheamus's Brogue Kick before countering the High Cross into an RKO for the championship. The elimination format keeps the match moving and allows several rivalries to coexist without becoming chaotic. Orton's final victory feels decisive, and contemporary reviews correctly identify this as the strongest match on the event.