WWE Night of Champions 2012 – One Shot Reactions
Ryan Kester (Twitter - @TheRyanKester):
Show Grade: A
- Daniel Bryan and Kane are my favorite thing to come out of 2012. Daniel Bryan is on fire, Kane is amazing with his dry humor, and their tag team finisher is fighting with one another. What more could one person ask for entertainment?
- AJ's look tonight was highly reminiscent of what my female classmates used to wear for their uniforms. I actually like it because it retains her natural sex appeal and differentiates her from Stephanie McMahon without completely losing the business look. Either way, it's better than the pantsuits and her abandoning the persona that got her over in the first place.
- Kane declaring that he's going to Disneyland made my night. Even as I type this sentence I am smiling.
- Punk and Cena came as close as possible to recapturing the magic from last year's Money in the Bank main event. The crowd they had was on fire and they gave them a match worthy of the ovation.
- I enjoyed the ending of the match. It came out of nowhere, ended in a rare-in-wrestling draw to set up the rematch, and it gave Punk a ton of heat because it robbed the Cena fans of their celebration only to have Punk standing tall at the end.
Replay Verdict: I don't often suggest this, but yes. The show was solid and fun from top to bottom and it's one of the few times this year that I was perfectly happy with the money I spent on a PPV product.
Will Pruett (Twitter - @itswilltime):
Show Grade: A-
- We should start with the end. John Cena and C.M. Punk had a fantastic match that belongs in the pantheon of their recent (excluding Raw 1,000) matches. The match ended in a draw, with the champion retaining. This finish worked well for the feud, for the match itself, and of both characters.
- Earlier in the night, in another well-wrestled match "Team Friendship" (Kane and Daniel Bryan) captured the WWE Tag Team Championships and enjoyed a hug with each other. Both of these events were equally important.
- Randy Orton and Dolph Ziggler had a match that could be the main event of any show. These two were given the time and the freedom to show what they were capable of and they did not disappoint.
- The commentary on this show was handled by Michael Cole and John Bradshaw Layfield. Both men recaptured the chemistry they had on Smackdown in 2007 and added to the show. Cole was better than he has been in months and JBL complimented him well. I can't wait to see Jerry Lawler again, but I do believe that Cole and JBL are the better team.
- Back to the main event, it was almost Ring of Honor-esque with the large amount of false finishes. It wasn't excessive, but the story was that neither man could really keep the other down. Could this play into Hell in a Cell next month? The story of both men needing to use the cell to achieve victory could be compelling.
Replay Verdict: This show was everything a big wrestling show should be. It was well-wrestled all the way down the card and delivered satisfying chapters to almost every story. The minus in my grade comes from the repetitiveness of the Del Rio and Sheamus story and Kaitlyn's acting. Everything else worked exceptionally well. didn't see the show on TV, but from the arena, it was fun and newsworthy. This is an easy show to recommend a DVD purchase or replay buy.
Jake Barnett (Twitter - @barnettjake):
Show Grade: A-
- It seems like everything Daniel Bryan is involved in these days becomes a runaway success. Kane's involvement can't be discounted, as both have been very funny, but it amazes me to look back over the last year of Daniel Bryan. The Anger Management story still seems to have legs, and I'm excited to see where they go as the Tag Champs.
- I really enjoyed the match between Randy Orton and Dolph Ziggler. Both guys looked great and they achieved a pace and intensity that was only matched by the main event. I think they've achieved all they can now with Ziggler taking defeats on PPV. He needs a big win, and I think we'll see him get it at Hell in a Cell.
- I really hope tonight is the end of Sheamus vs. Del Rio. I really like both guys and what they are capable of, but this feud is predictable in the worst kind of way and it has run it's course.
- I really like what they are doing with Antonio Cesaro. He's getting great reactions right now, and this will only get better if they are able to build credible and likeable threats to his title.
- Punk vs. Cena was my favorite match of their series. They told a logical story in the ring with neither guy being able to put the other away, and then the finish came when Cena made a mistake and got his shoulders counted along with Punk's in the last German Suplex sequence. It allows Punk to continue to gloat, and also continue to insult Cena for his failure to live up to his promises.
Replay Verdict: If you have an opportunity to pick this show up on DVD, do it. If you DVR Raw and don't watch it until later in the week, this would be worth a replay watch.