By Jason Powell

Dot Net Members are listening to the 81-minute audio review of WWE Night of Champions that Chris Shore and I recorded on Sunday night. They will also be listening to my audio review of WWE Raw later tonight. Join us on the ad-free version of the site via the Dot Net Members' Signup Page.

WWE Night of Champions Hits

Mark Henry vs. Randy Orton: A surprising finish from the standpoint that I really thought they would have Henry rough up Orton in this match and then beat a wounded Orton inside Hell in a Cell. Nevertheless, Henry's win shocked the fans (as evidenced by the stunned fan camera shots that WWE was quick to deliver) and they've done a great job of establishing him as a major league badass. Plus, his post-match promo was fantastic. I just pray that they don't plan on having Orton take the title back at Hell in a Cell two weeks from now. As Chris Shore mentioned in Dot Net Audio last night, it would be awesome if they had Henry hold the title until WrestleMania 28. If they build him up as Goliath, Daniel Bryan can certainly play the underdog David role.

Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne vs. The Miz and R-Truth: A strong opening match that told a good story as it relates to the conspiracy that Miz and Truth keep mentioning. The referee's actions were done in a way that Miz and Truth had an argument, yet they were ambiguous enough that it came across like it could have been coincidental. The tag champs went over as they needed to, and the heels were put in a position where they deserve a rematch. Good creative work, and very good in-ring work from all involved, including the referee.

Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix: I didn't care for the finish of the match, but the in-ring quality was a pleasant surprise. We know Beth Phoenix can work, and this was the best Kelly match that I can remember. The match gets the Hit due to the match quality and it being a rare case of the live crowd caring about a Divas match due to it being held in Beth's hometown. I didn't like the idea of giving Kelly so much offense if she was going over. Beth's character is essentially that she's the dominant Diva. I can live with her dominating Kelly and then losing in a fluky manner like last month, but I just can't buy Kelly going back and forth with Beth, particularly when she was going over in the end.

WWE Night of Champions Misses

Overall show: This was a tough show to rate in terms of whether it warranted a Hit or a Miss. The in-ring product was strong and I was entertained by most of the matches. It was also a newsworthy show thanks to the major title changes. Thus, it has to be a Hit, right? Not so fast. Ultimately, I just can't give a Hit to a show that left me frustrated and questioning the general creative direction of the company.

Triple H vs. C.M. Punk: I expected a clusterf--- finish and WWE didn't disappoint in that regard (not that I was hoping for one). It was TNA level chaos with R-Truth, The Miz, Kevin Nash, and John Laurinaitis all playing parts. They really lost me when they had Truth prevent Punk from winning after they'd already established that they wanted Punk to pin Triple H. I hope they have a good explanation for that one. The match was brawl.

Both guys worked hard, but I didn't take much seriously until the run-ins started. The outcome of the match didn't surprise me, yet I am still left dumbfounded by the fact that Punk was the most talked about pro wrestler in the world at Money in the Bank and even SummerSlam, yet the buzz has died down so much since then. Yes, he took multiple Pedigrees and a Jacknife Powerbomb and was made to look strong while facing Hunter when it was one-on-one, but in the end he still lost the match and he once again looks like a guy who is more bark than bite. He should be the hottest wrestler in the world still, and instead he's losing momentum and matches while working with part-time legends.

John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio: A good outing for both wrestlers. It was definitely a Hit in terms of match quality, but the decision to have Cena win the WWE Championship again left me feeling like nothing really changes in WWE. Do not mistake this as Cena hate. Rather, I think this hurts Cena's value. It doesn't mean anything when he wins and loses the title anymore because it happens so frequently. Meanwhile, Del Rio now looks like the poser champion that Cena said he was. I loved the idea that they had established Cena and Punk as top stars coming out of SummerSlam and put the belt on Del Rio in hopes of moving him into a similar high profile role. Here we are a month later. Punk has cooled off considerably, Del Rio was portrayed as an unworthy champion, and Cena is holding a title belt that he simply doesn't need to be the top star.

Cody Rhodes vs. Ted DiBiase: The crowd didn't get into the match until Ted removed Cody's mask and the finish occurred about five seconds later. The in-ring work was strong, but there's only so much praise I can give a match when the wrestlers involved failed to make a connection with the live crowd. I also question the finish from the standpoint that I didn't think they gave DiBiase enough of an out for losing to set up the need for a rematch.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Jack Swagger vs. John Morrison vs. Alex Riley: Once again, the in-ring work entertained me. However, the Vickie Guerrero triangle isn't holding my interest. In fact, it feels beneath Ziggler, who showed how good he can be in his recent Raw match with Randy Orton. Ziggler should be moving up the ladder and instead it feels like he's stuck in a mid-card feud with Swagger. The announcers did a good job of trying to make Riley seem like a real threat to win the title. Oddly enough, Morrison felt like the odd man out from a character standpoint. They put so much focus on the triangle and Riley's chances that Morrison was just a forgotten character.

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