By Jake Barnett

2011 WWE Night of Champions Preview and Predictions

These are my guesses for the PPV tonight based on nothing other than my own analysis of WWE storylines. Anything I guess correctly is merely a coincidence.

Alberto Del Rio vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship: Well, I can't see this one not going on until Survivor Series, so I think we see Alberto Del Rio get a win here in some kind of heel fashion. They just haven't built this feud or the title back up enough to go with a title change here. Despite the rather disappointing storyline surrounding this match, I think these two guys can deliver a very good match in the ring and I look forward to it.

Prediction: Alberto Del Rio wins by way of serious shenanigans, possibly with the help of Triple H.

Randy Orton vs. Mark Henry for the World Heavyweight Championship: What a month for these two, especially Mark Henry. What we've seen from these two is exactly how I would have built a feud where a strong babyface champion is left to question whether or not he can survive the onslaught of a monster on a roll in Mark Henry. If I were making the call, I'd put Henry over here and get a few extra months out of this feud. Babyfaces like Orton are much better when they are chasing down a monster, and there is no one better at that right now than Henry. Plus, at this point, Henry deserves the belt for the past few months of work he's put in. It's been a complete transformation for him.

Prediction: Mark Henry defeats Randy Orton to win the World Heavyweight Championship.

C.M. Punk vs. Triple H in a No Disqualification Match: Well, the more I think about this match the more clear the outcome gets to me. It's pretty absurd that Triple H is putting his COO title on the line this early in his run, and it would be the terrible hotshot booking if they have Punk go over right now when there are 1000 excuses you can build in here to keep this feud going forward. I see Kevin Nash and Triple H revealing their new faction tonight and Punk taking the loss.

Prediction: Triple H wins via pinfall after some surprises.

Cody Rhodes vs. Ted Dibiase for the Intercontinental Championship: This match does have a storyline, although you'd have to rewind back through a few months of television to find it. Rhodes has been cutting promos talking about how he plans to add legitimacy back to the IC Title, and I think he's got the skills to do it. So I look forward to him retaining here and this feud continuing on Television for at least another few weeks to a month.

Prediction: Cody Rhodes wins and retains the Intercontinental Title.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Jack Swagger vs. John Morrison vs. Alex Riley for the United States Championship: I have liked the way that WWE has built up the Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler story. The backstage segments have been interesting and the dynamic between both men and Vickie Guerrero is great. I think we see Swagger winning the US Title by pinning one of the other wrestlers not named Dolph Ziggler. That will add another wrinkle to this story and hopefully lead further down the road toward Ziggler becoming his own man.

Prediction: Jack Swagger wins the United States Championship.

Air Boom vs. The Miz & R-Truth for the WWE Tag Team Championships: The Tag division is blooming in WWE, and it's been fun to watch. R-Truth and Miz defeated both Kofi and Bourne this week in singles matches, which is normally an indication that the babyfaces are going to squeak out a win at the PPV and continue this feud for another month.

Prediction: Air Boom gets a surprise win and retains the Tag Titles.

Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix for the WWE Divas Championship: I have had some fun with this storyline. I like the Pin-up vs Princess story they have been telling, and I think it plays on a lot of the criticisms of the Divas and WWE's practice of hiring fitness models and hoping they turn out to be good wrestlers. I have a lot of respect for all of the women, as they do work very hard, but I prefer Wrestlers that happen to be Beautiful Women and not the other way around. I hope to see Beth win here and begin hopefully a long and productive reign as Divas Champion.

Prediction: Beth Phoenix defeats Kelly Kelly and wins the Divas Championship.

Be sure to join Jason Powell and Chris Shore for their live coverage reviews of the PPV starting at 7:00p.m. CT. Then, stick around afterwards for their Dot Net Member's Exclusive Audio Review of the show. If you are not a Dot Net Member, you can sign up for as little as $5.50 a month by visiting the Dot Net Members Sign-up Page.

Questions, comments, or concerns? Please contact me via e-mail at barnett.jake@gmail.com or on twitter @barnettjake.

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