Night of Champions 2023 - Recap
The superstars of WWE look to shine on a stacked mega-card featuring a triple main event live from Jeddah Superdome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Opening Contest
Main Event # 1
Seth "Freakin" Rollins vs. AJ Styles - Vacant World Heavyweight Championship
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Two of the top performers WWE has to offer battle for the right to be called the first World Heavyweight Champion exclusive to the RAW brand.
WWE has been promoting Rollins heavily as the face of the RAW brand for the past couple of weeks. However, a loss to The Phenomenal One would be a fantastic bait and switch if they decide to execute that.
Styles, currently a member of the Smackdown brand, would move to RAW with the win seemingly with the entire OC faction (Anderson Gallows, Yim). All signs leading in make sense for Rollins to win versus moving four superstars to the Raw brand. You have to imagine Styles is here to give a AAA quality match to give the eventual win to Rollins look strong. WWE management, we assume, will be looking down the road to reward AJ for the hard work put in here.
Styles opened the contest by attacking Rollins as Rollins soaked in the sold-out crowd serenading him with his theme song. After that, however, the match slowed down as both superstars struggled to maintain a foothold of control. Midway through, Rollins hit a top rope reverse super-plex, only for Styles to retaliate later, dropping Rollins with a stiff brainbuster. Rollins tweaked his knee after hitting a suicide dive, which Styles looked to capitalize on. Styles looked for the tapout with his Calf Crusher submission that Rollins was able to fight off by sneaking in a bulldog choke.
In the end, Rollins would fight through the pain. After his knee buckled, attempting the stomp, Rollins hit Styles with a Pedigree hurting his injured knee some more, unable to pin Styles. AJ would not be able to fully capitalize on the injured Rollins and would eventually hit the stomp in the middle of the ring claiming the victory and becoming the first new World Heavyweight Champion. Triple H entered the ring to present the title to Rollins as fireworks ringed over the Jeddash Superdome.
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A solid opening match with a predictable ending. Rollins has been promoted to be the face of the RAW brand for weeks. It's now up to Seth "Freakin" Rollins to make the title mean something.
Match # 2
Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus
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A generational matchup turned personal rivalry pits WWE Hall of Famer Trish Straus against The Man Becky Lynch.
Trish has been killing it on the mic in recent weeks. Reminding fans and introducing new fans to just how good a heel Trish was back in the day. Becky comes in looking to exact revenge for being the recipient of Trish's heel turn and the attack Trish orchestrated on WWE Hall of Famer Lita.
The ladies had to cover up their bodies as is customary for female performers in Saudi Arabia, but kudos to the WWE wardrobe for still making the ladies shine on stage. Trish came out in her classic purple and black color scheme, while Becky came out rocking a Kill Bill-inspired color scheme looking to slay the woman that betrayed her and attacked her friend.
Trish's in-ring work has not diminished as the living legend continued to work Lynch over, showing no signs of ring rust. Knowing when to pick her spots, when to work the crowd, and when to assault Lynch. For her part, Becky sold the attacks like the AAA talent she is from Stratus, giving them credibility.
Good friends make good rivals, and this is an excellent example of it. Becky and Trish lay into each other. Stratus would send Becky hard into the ring post, only for Becky to repeatedly bash her head into Trish, trying to knock her out.
The end saw Zoey Stark make her presence felt by coming out from underneath the ring, hitting Trish with her version of the GTS, and throwing Becky back into the ring. Allowing Trish to hit Stratusfaction and steal the victory.
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Becky looks like she suffered a busted nose from either the attack from Zoey or Trish's bulldog. I'm happy this is not a one-and-done deal, and we'll see more of this feud, hopefully, all the way to Summerslam. Another solid match from two outstanding performers.
Match # 3
Intercontinental Title Match - Gunther (c) vs. Mustafa Ali
Mustafa Ali gets a long overdue one-on-one singles title match. The Chicago-born native Ali enjoys a unique "hometown" advantage competing in Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately for him, he goes up against the Ring General with the hands of a god in Gunther.
Ali clearly gets the opportunity for the IC as he has been circling the lower-mid card for seemingly forever by competing in Saudi Arabia. It is sad to remember at one time, Ali was poised to threaten Bryan Danielson ( Daniel Bryan in WWE) for the top prize in Smackdown. We even thought he would win Money In The Bank until Brock Lesnar returned in 2019. But an injury slowed his original run, and Brock returned all but ended it.
Ali got to show the athleticism and heart that once put him on the cusp of being a top performer in WWE. Gunther's old school hard-hitting British strong style allowed Ali to hit his opponent as hard as he could, giving the fans belief that the underdog could pull it off.
For new fans of Gunther who have not seen him in the UK or NXT UK, Gunther showed he can work with anyone regardless of their size and put on a quality match. Ali played the underdog role well and gave the fans a reason to believe, but Gunther proved too much and eventually scored the shotgun dropkick-powerbomb combo for the victory.
Gunther has been the most dominant champion in the WWE, not named Roman Reigns. His IC reign is already one of the most prevalent of all time. But, how far can the Ring General take it remains to be seen. Seth Rollins may be the face of RAW going forward, but Gunther is proving he is a main-event man and deserves to be treated as such.
Match # 4
RAW Women's Championship - Bianca Bel Air (c) vs. Asuka
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Bianca has been putting on clinic after clinic in her defense of the RAW Women's championship. She has proven without a shadow of a doubt why she is the face of the RAW women's division. In this stage of her career, Asuka is a consistent threat to the championship but has yet to be a champion for several years.
The duo, unfortunately, faced the crowd of Jeddah, starting to lose steam for the first time of the night. After several matchups of emotional significance, the crowd seemed more interested in something other than this match. Perhaps it was emotional fatigue. Nor did they seem to care much for Bianca. This would make two PPVs in a row where Bianca has not been the overwhelming fan favorite. Backlash was understandable, with Bel Air taking on Zelina Vega in Puerto Rico. But this felt flat.
Bianca and Asuka have put on better matches against each other in the past. A little disappointed that with these two's familiarity, they didn't experiment with new counters to each other. It was a clean match and not by any means terrible. But nothing truly stood out. This is a shame because fans of both know just how capable they are of putting on a banger.
After missing an attack with the mist, the end saw Asuka spit the substance on her hand to blind Bel Air as she attempted the KOD. Asuka unleashed several kicks to Bianca's head that ultimately led to the dethroning of the longest reign in RAW Women's Championship history. The Empress of Tomorrow is once again atop the division.
This should have been the outcome back at Wrestlemania. Instead, Bianca has run out of opponents to defend the championship against, leaving the last months of her title reign flat. This allows her to fight new opponents, with the title not being the focal point. And with an influx of new talent coming to RAW from the draft, Asuka will have plenty of fresh-faced challengers knocking on her door that would have looked like burials battling Bianca.
Match # 5
Smackdown Women's Championship - Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Natalya
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Rhea Ripley is working on another level right now. An argument could be made there is no one on her level at this time. Natayla deserves all the flowers for a Hall of Fame career.
This was not her night - Rhea made quick work of Natayla, throwing her into the steel steps outside and whacking her with a wicked headbutt before ending it with Rip-Tide. It was all over in less than a minute. Not a good night for the birthday girl from Calgary, Alberta.
There's not much to discuss here, it's The Eradicator's world, and we are just living in it.
Match #6
Main Event # 2
Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
The American Nightmare vs. The Beast Incarnate was advertised as a fight. How much of a battle were we going to get with a hobbled Cody Rhodes entering the ring after a vicious assault by Brock Lesnar on RAW. Leaving Rhodes with a busted arm entering the contest.
Cody looks to put Lesnar behind him to continue his quest for a world championship. Lesnar enters, looking to end Cody in general.
Cody used the "titanium infused "cast on his injured arm to hurt Lesnar. Cody followed up with the Disaster Kick and Cody Cutter, hoping to end the match quickly, even hitting several Cross Rhodes but unable to keep Brock down. Brock countered a Cross Rhodes into a kimura lock, almost winning the math, forcing Cody to pass out.
The two traded finishers to no avail as the fans in Jeddah were vocal, trying to will Cody to victory. We had our first "this is awesome" chant of the night. Brock would not be denied victory, however. Locking in the kimura lock again, forcing Cody to pass out from the pain.
We are now tied at one match, a piece between the two. What hell these two are willing to put each other through in the eventual tie-breaker will be violently magical.
Main Event # 3
Unified Tag Team Championship - Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens (c) vs. Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa
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The Bloodline has been the most intriguing storyline in all of pro wrestling for over two years. The rise has been told, and now we are experiencing the apparent downfall as several cracks have increased. Solo Sikoa enters his first high-profile championship match.
Seeing Sami in Saudi Arabia and getting to soak up the love from the fans is indeed a human experience that garnered real emotion. Even Roman Reigns couldn't hide his happiness for Sami as he went to the ring. Pro Wrestling is a staged environment, and living these real-world moments with Zayn should not be understated or taken for granted.
Roman Reigns walks in as the challenger for the Tag Team Titles while celebrating one thousand days as the top dog in the company. Solo took on most in-ring work in the early going fighting off Owens and Zayn before Roman finally got himself involved, but it was short-lived. After that, Solo returned to taking on most of the offense, leaving Roman mostly to work over the crowd.
The match was worthy of the main event spot as three main eventers carried a solid tag team match. Until all hell broke loose when Reigns accidentally speared the official.
The Usos entered through the crowd and interfered on behalf of their family, but it began to unravel quickly as they missed their super double kick on Zayn, hitting Solo by accident instead. Roman Reigns was furious about the Usos hitting Solo. Mushing Jimmy and Jey's faces. Jimmy Uso has finally had enough of Roman delivering a superkick to the Tribal Chief. Jimmy screamed at Jey, "I did what you should of did." Unleashing a second superkick sending Reigns to the floor. Jimmy grabbed his brother Jey saying, "We gotta go," as Jey looked on, conflicted about what transpired.
Owens hits The Stunner on Solo as Sami followed up with a Helluva Kick, with a second referee sliding in to score the pinfall for the champions to retain. The Usos looked down from the top of the ramp as the best storyline in wrestling took another step forward.
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Friday cannot come soon enough as Roman Reigns' celebration of his epic title reign will undoubtedly be overshadowed by the events of Night of Champions.
Overall this was a sound card with no stinkers. Even with Bianca and Asuka having a low-quality match by their standards, each match was entertaining in its own right and did not give fans a reason to look for the proverbial "bathroom break" match.
The Saudi Arabia PPVs have been proven they are more than just a super house show and are worthy of the PPV lineups every year. Night of Champions delivered and is worthy of a re-watch.
What are your thoughts on WWE Night of Champions 2023?
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