-- 7/26 WWE Night of Champions PPV Reax

A.A. Norman of Tulsa, Okla. (7.0): Best: Six-man U.S. Title. Worst: Triple-threat WWE Championship match. A tale of two PPVs - the first half that was exciting, the second half killed the crowd. Perhaps Triple H thought surrounding his match with the women's title matches would fool fans into thinking the WWE Championship match was not every other match we've seen with these guys for the past year. When you're at the top of the business, fans should expect more out of these guys and it just didn't happen, making it the biggest disappointment of the night with a joke of a finish. However, a hearty congrats to the six competitors for the U.S. Title. You made a mid-card title belt worth fighting for and I hope this program continues. Also, congrats to Big Show and Jericho. As a reward for a good opening match, Big Show should never have to wear that ugly outfit ever again.

Ben Sheffield of Atlanta, Ga. (5.0): Best Match (tie): Hardy vs. Punk, Melina vs. McCool. Worst Match: Maryse vs. Mickie James. First, the good: the two "best matches" were both very good matches, in my view. Hardy vs. Punk told a fantastic story (though I still cannot wrap my head around booing a guy who encourages people not to drink, smoke, use drugs, or get divorces). Melina vs. McCool, in my opinion, was the surprise of the night from the opening spot (Michelle dropkicking her off the ring apron as she was going into her split) to the finish. There were a lot of high impact moves in that match, and the more I watch Michelle, the more impressed I am with her. She seems to naturally have "it" as much as any female wrestler I've seen yet, from her facial expressions to her in-ring style. Two big thumbs up to McCool if she's sneaking a read of the Torch to gauge fan feedback. In terms of the rest of the card, though, it was pretty "meh." I was watching it in a crowded restaurant that usually goes nuts for all the wrestlers -- they even sing theme songs of the guys, word for word, which is something that I couldn't do because I don't know the words but wouldn't do in public regardless -- but we were pretty much sitting on our hands for much of the card. The Big Show's announcement as Jericho's tag team partner was pretty deflating, though I did giggle a little once I figured out Jericho's "EVIL" clue on Twitter in the aftermath of that announcement. The match itself wasn't bad, though. The bulk of the Orton-Cena-Hunter triple threat match, in my opinion, was rather boring and difficult to watch, though the ending was very well done. I was disappointed in the Ziggler-Mysterio match, as well. Maryse and Mickie tried, but I'm just generally not into the women's matches all that much to begin with, though I will say that Maryse is probably the most beautiful diva ever, and I do like the dynamic she has going with Miz right now. The U.S. Championship match and Dreamer and Christian were what they were. ... My overall feeling right now is that WWE is in their natural post-WrestleMania holding pattern. I'm looking forward to Shawn Michaels's return and hope he gets a run at the top sometime in the next calendar year, as well as some storyline resets. WWE is putting up a generally stale product right now, and they need some of the younger talent to pick up the ball and run with it, in my opinion. Time will tell...

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