Night Of Champions 2012

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 167 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: January 21 2013

The very first WWE DVD to be published by Fremantle Home Entertainment in the United Kingdom, the change-over from Clear/Silver Vision explains the delay in the release of this event, which was staged in September 2012. Was it worth the wait to see it on DVD? Kinda.

After John Bradshaw Layfield returns to provide commentary (replacing Jerry Lawler, who had suffered a heart attack just six days earlier during a live Raw show), NOC 2012 begins with a four-way for the Intercontinental Title between The Miz, Cody Rhodes, Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara which is good, but still feels like a disappointment, perhaps because arguably all four should be higher up the card than they presently are (or were at the time of this card). Next, the dysfunctional team of Kane and Daniel Bryan battle Kofi Kingston and R-Truth for the Tag Team Titles; it's the interaction and the mid-match hug between Kane and Bryan which carry this one, although the best part (of the show, actually) is Kane later screaming that "I'm going to Disneyland!" It's funnier to watch this happen than for me to describe it, obviously.

Antonio Cesaro vs. Zack Ryder is okay; Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler, meanwhile, is a strong battle, if not quite their best to date. Layla vs. Eve is more story than match, as it relates to a pre-match assault on Kaitlyn by a mystery assailant, forcing Eve to replace her (hmm, who could have attacked her?). Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio is decent and thankfully ends their feud, and CM Punk vs. John Cena, from a pure technical standpoint, may be their best match to date, despite the somewhat frustrating finish (and why is Paul Heyman at ringside if he doesn't get involved whatsoever?).

In something of an uneven year on Pay-Per-View for WWE, if I'm being honest, Night Of Champions 2012 is not going to win any Best Card awards despite it boasting two really good matches and either title changes or storyline climaxes in other bouts. But there's all-around entertainment to just about warrant a purchase. If that doesn't do the trick, knowing that this show - as the first non-Silver Vision WWE DVD ever commercially released in the UK - is something of a collector's item to own on DVD probably will.

Overall Rating: 7/10 - Respectable

Night Of Champions 2013

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 182 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: November 11 2013

Between SummerSlam and Night Of Champions, the formation of a new authority heel faction of sorts dominated WWE television, so you would assume that NOC had a big focus on the powers-that-be. But that wasn't the case, and between that and the B-level line-up of matches and largely unmemorable performances, Night Of Champions on DVD is underwhelming.

After a bizarre opening segment that makes the face/heel divide seem very confusing, the show kicks off with a match between Curtis Axel and Kofi Kingston that, admittedly, exceeds expectations. The four-way Divas Title match is just okay, and while Alberto Del Rio vs. Rob Van Dam is alright, it has an annoying finish for a World Title match on Pay-Per-View.

Curtis Axel returns to join Paul Heyman against CM Punk in a Raw-like handicap match, which eventually elads to Punk brutalising Heyman, before some unexpected help swings things in Heyman's favour (and leaves Punk with a nasty cut on his back). Two matches involving The Shield are next: Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler is disappointing considering who was involved, while Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns vs. The Prime Time Players is probably better than expected, again considering the participants on the babyface side. The main event between Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton is good, but the finish (despite the fact that it would be overturned on Raw the next night) appeared to have killed the momentum of the Authority storyline, just one PPV in. The bonus match is the Tag Team Turmoil pre-show bout which determined the challengers for Rollins and Reigns.

Summing this up, perhaps it's the injury-enforced absence of John Cena which causes this show to feel second-rate. Or maybe it's the booking. Or the performances not living up to the reputations set by certain wrestlers. Either way, Night Of Champions is average at best, and while not a terrible event by any means, the show is inconsequential enough that the DVD is entirely skippable.

Overall Rating: 5/10 - Average

Night Of Champions 2014

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 177 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: November 24 2014

The latest Night Of Champions event was promoted as a one-match show, with that bout not exactly getting universal acclaim. Which suggests that one should not bother buying the DVD for the show; however, a few strong bouts further down the card go some way to justifying a purchase.

Case in point: The Usos vs. Stardust and Goldust is another strong WWE Tag Team Title defence by Jimmy and Jey Uso, and has a surprising outcome. Though it had little reason to exist, Sheamus vs. Cesaro is another hard-fought slugfest between the two men; conversely, Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz is overshadowed by the guest commentary of American country group Florida Georgia Line (seriously), making the match feel insignificant.

An angle involving all of the former Shield members (in some form or fashion) gets a major reaction, and even Rusev vs. Mark Henry draws more interest than one may have expected. Next comes the highlight of the show, a fantastic battle between Randy Orton and Chris Jericho, followed by a skippable three-way between AJ Lee, Paige and Nikki Bella. Lastly, the big Brock Lesnar-John Cena rematch from SummerSlam is somehow both one-sided in Lesnar's favour and designed to promote Cena as something akin to an invincible superhero, who even has Brock virtually beaten before the dodgy finish.

Night Of Champions 2014 exceeds expectations due to the largely-ignored under-card and mid-card putting forth some strong efforts, but realistically the selling point is Lesnar vs. Cena, in which case you would be better off watching the SummerSlam match again instead. This isn't a bad DVD to own, but the card is clearly designed as a set-up event, making it tough to recommend for purchase.

Overall Rating: 6.5/10 - Okay

Night Of Champions 2015

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 178 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: November 16 2015

(To read a full event review of WWE Night Of Champions 2015, click here.)

The 2015 edition of Night Of Champions is now available on DVD. Watching the event a few months down the line provides an interesting insight into how much things have changed for a number of reasons.

The opener between Ryback and Kevin Owens is a decent Intercontinental Title bout, although it's clearly a step down from KO's previous PPV encounters with John Cena and Ryback. The subsequent Dolph Ziggler-Rusev bout continues the love quadrangle storyline which at this point was past its sell-by date, and would soon become known as a calamity when it was abruptly dropped shortly after NOC due to Lana announcing her real-life engagement to RuRu.

The Tag Team Title match between The New Day and The Dudleyz is intriguing to see in hindsight because, at the time, it seemed entirely possible that New Day would lose the straps to the veterans, whereas such a decision nowadays would be a little bit controversial given New Day's popularity. Still, the match is fun to watch (Xavier Woods playing the Rocky tune on his trombone is hilarious), as the rivalry was the most notable tag feud for a while at this point.

Watching the Divas Title scrap between Nikki Bella and Charlotte is less intriguing than it was in September because the impact of the finish is much lower than at the time when Nikki had held the belt since Survivor Series, and upon second viewing, it feels like Charlotte takes a non-stop beating until the finish.

The six-man tag between The Wyatts and the team of Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and mystery partner Chris Jericho is notable for the high-impact action and the big pops for the babyface team (Roman's cheers must have been music to his ears considering the boos which accompanied him since Royal Rumble 2015 and continue to do so today); I didn't realise how huge the reaction was to Jericho's return. It's slightly dampened when watching it again by the fact that the teased Y2J heel turn went nowhere (at least in relation to Dean and Roman), and the expected yet disappointing omission of the fan lining up with the ex-Shield "brothers" beforehand (disappointing because of Bray Wyatt's brilliant ad-lib of "Is that your partner?")

The double main event sees Seth Rollins in action twice, defending the United States and WWE Titles against John Cena and Sting respectively. The match with Cena is really good and, to me, a better match than their SummerSlam encounter, although Rollins looks inferior to Cena in its aftermath. Seth vs. Sting is a match that fans either loved or hated; I personally enjoyed it, but time has proven that the neck injury Sting suffered towards the end could indeed be career-ending, which makes the finish of the match hard to watch.

There are post-match shenanigans involving Sheamus (who got a huge ovation, a one-off in a year of apathy for The Celtic Warrior) and Kane, after which Rollins had took two Attitude Adjustments, a Scorpion Deathdrop, a Brogue Kick, a Chokeslam and a Tombstone Piledriver (which must be some kind of a record). The DVD extras are limited to an interview with an almost-heelish Dudleyz (bear in mind that they were babyfaces at the time) and a fun six-man tag pitting Neville and The Lucha Dragons vs. Stardust and The Ascension, highlighted by an incredible dive by the babyface squad.

Night Of Champions 2015 is definitely not a bad event, but while the final three matches are worth watching, the card as a whole still feels like a B-show. Nevertheless, if you decide to relive this show on DVD, you should find it to be an entertaining viewing.

Overall Rating: 6.5/10 - Okay