Vengeance: Night of Champions (2007): Every Belt Was Here, but the Great Matches Were Not

Cade and Murdoch against the Hardy Boyz is a solid opener that benefits from familiarity without finding a new ceiling. The Hardys control enough of the early match to keep the crowd engaged, while the champions settle into quick tags and opportunistic counters rather than trying to out-athlete their challengers. Jeff Hardy's offense creates the expected bursts, and Matt's involvement keeps the final minutes moving. The finish is the strongest booking beat: Murdoch shoves Jeff from the top rope while the referee is occupied, allowing Cade to hit the sit-out powerbomb and retain. It is credible heel tag wrestling, but under nine minutes prevents the rivalry from producing the richer match it had shown elsewhere.

Chavo Guerrero and Jimmy Wang Yang wrestle a technically clean cruiserweight match that never fully convinces Houston that a title change is possible. Yang supplies most of the athletic bursts, while Chavo repeatedly slows him with counters and positioning that fit the experienced champion role. The crowd responds when Yang creates space for aerial offense, but the match lacks a deeper rivalry to turn those moments into genuine suspense. Chavo crotching Yang on the top rope is the decisive opening, and the Frog Splash to the back gives the champion a clean finish. Nine minutes is enough for a coherent match, yet the presentation feels closer to a strong television defense than a centerpiece on an all-championship pay-per-view.

Johnny Nitro versus CM Punk is impossible to judge like a normally planned championship match because Nitro is a same-day replacement for the absent Chris Benoit. The wrestlers still produce a functional eight minutes, with Punk using kicks and quick combinations while Nitro targets the arm and looks for shortcuts. The audience chants for the advertised wrestler, creating an atmosphere neither competitor can control. The closing stretch is the best portion, especially Punk's near falls and Nitro's counter out of the Go to Sleep. Nitro's middle-rope corkscrew neckbreaker wins the vacant title cleanly enough. The match is competent under extraordinary circumstances, but it understandably lacks the preparation and emotional structure of a planned world-title bout.

Santino Marella versus Umaga is barely a championship match before it turns into an angle. Umaga overwhelms the champion immediately, blocks Santino's brief attempts at resistance, and settles into a vice grip before trapping him in the corner. The referee counts to five as Umaga keeps punching, producing a disqualification after roughly two and a half minutes. That protects Santino's title while allowing Umaga to continue destroying him afterward, but the crowd receives almost no competitive wrestling. The post-match splash and Samoan Spike actually carry more force than the official match. On an event built around championship defenses, this is one of the clearest examples of the theme being treated as an obligation rather than an attraction.

MVP against Ric Flair works because the champion treats Flair's reputation as something to survive rather than something to parody. Flair controls early with chops and the Figure Four threat, forcing MVP to wrestle defensively and wait for an opening. The pace is simple, but the crowd understands Flair's offense and reacts to each attempt to trap the younger champion. MVP eventually uses a low blow out of the referee's view and follows with the Playmaker for the pin. The cheating is appropriate because it lets MVP retain while still treating Flair as dangerous. Eight minutes limits the ceiling, yet the result adds another useful name to MVP's developing championship résumé.

The WWE Tag Team Championship open challenge becomes nostalgia at the expense of match quality. Jimmy Snuka and Sgt. Slaughter receive warm recognition, and the father-son connection between Snuka and Deuce gives the pairing a small story hook. Once the bell rings, the limitations are obvious. The champions slow everything down to accommodate the legends, the crowd loses energy, and there is little believable sense that the titles might change hands. Snuka's late crossbody creates the one useful near fall before Deuce rolls through and pins his father. Tony Garea and Rick Martel making the post-match save adds another nostalgia beat, but none of it rescues the championship match from feeling badly misplaced.

Edge and Batista deliver the card's best sustained match by turning Batista's Last Chance stipulation into constant pressure. Their familiarity helps because every escape, Spear, and Batista Bomb attempt feels connected to the previous two pay-per-view matches rather than starting from zero. The first finish, a disqualification after Edge's low blow, is restarted with the added rule that another disqualification will cost Edge the title. That creates a strong final stretch in which Edge survives a Spear near fall and Batista gains control outside the ring. The countout finish is frustrating but clever: Batista powerbombs Edge on the floor, rolls him inside, and fails to beat the count himself. Edge survives through opportunism again.

Melina and Candice Michelle are given barely four minutes to execute a championship change, which makes the match feel rushed before either wrestler has a chance to establish control. Candice has improved enough to handle the basic exchanges, while Melina remains the smoother wrestler, but the structure is a sprint without the athletic explosiveness that would make brevity an advantage. A few sequences look loose, and the crowd is waiting more for the expected result than for the wrestling to develop. Candice's spinning heel kick produces the pin and her first Women's Championship, creating a genuine career moment after the bell. The celebration matters more than the match, and the title change deserved considerably more room.

The Five-Pack Challenge succeeds by refusing to pretend ten minutes can support a slow five-man main event. Everyone moves immediately, alliances last seconds, and the match rotates between compact pairings and large collision spots. Bobby Lashley's dive over the top rope is the athletic highlight, while Randy Orton catching Cena with the RKO off the ropes creates the strongest near fall. Cena putting Lashley through the announce table removes the most obvious physical threat long enough for the champion to find a path. Foley taking the final Attitude Adjustment and pin is the sensible protective finish because he is the part-time wrestler in the field. The match ends before it peaks, but the sprint is genuinely fun.