-- 9/19 WWE Night of Champions PPV Reax

Durel Millet of Gramercy, La. (8.5): Best Match: Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz. Worst Match: Divas lumberjill match. Overall, this was a good PPV. Does the confusion of who's the Women's champion or Divas champion or whatever WWE will call it now continue? One of the highlights was Daniel Bryan definitely proving that he could beat the Miz in a one-on-one match. Are we going to see a Miz-Cole alliance? I was surprised during the Six-Pack Challenge when everyone h just stopped to watch Jericho head to the back. I suspect probably the U.S. and Intercontinental Titles will be unified next, then saving the World Titles for WrestleMania. This was a good PPV.

Justin James of Columbia, S.C., IT professional/author (6.5): Best Match: Bryan vs. Miz. Worst Match: Tag Team Turmoil. This was a fairly weak PPV that got a mild thumbs up for giving so much time to wrestlers other than "the usual suspects." The Kingston vs. Ziggler match was a bit longer than it needed to be, and the focus on the Vickie/Dolph relationship could have been saved for Friday. It definitely had the right ending to cement Ziggler as a real threat. Perhaps we’ll see him face Kaval in the near future? Better to see Kaval vs. Ziggler and have it look fair than to have Kaval face the dominating Kane. The U.S. Title match was electric. Daniel Bryan has “it” - not just the in-ring moves, but the ability to sell me on the story. I haven’t felt this involved in a match since HBK’s last match, and I felt very emotional when DB won. The Miz also put the standout match he needed on his resume. ... Big Show-Punk disgusted me, as expected. The Divas match was about what I expected with Melina and Michelle McCool putting on a good match. The lumberjills (other than Natalya) were awful despite their limited roles. The Taker-Kane match was exactly what I hoped for; I am now fairly certain that Undertaker is on a well-deserved and much needed retirement storyline. The match itself was ugly, but who thought it would be good with Undertaker being beat up and the stipulation on the match? ... The tag match was a mess. Meanwhile, we have to wonder why neither The Gatecrashers nor The Dudebusters were involved given their records, which are much better than any of the teams involved in the match. Finally, the Six-Pack Challenge was overbooked as I thought it would be. In retrospect, though, I liked the Six-Pack Challenge because it put all of the big Raw stars in one match instead of having them dominate the PPV like they usually do. The in-ring action was okay, and I guessed the ending before the match started. There were so many heel wins they needed a “go home happy” ending, and that means Randy Orton right now.

Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (7.0): Best: Punk promo; Miz vs. Bryan. Worst: Melina vs. Michelle. I would have liked the PPV more if there were a little less extra booking and lot less Michael Cole. Big Show killed Straight Edge dead, simple as that. Michelle's win soured everyone in our viewing group, since everyone knows her relationship with Undertaker. But I smell a three-way with LayCool and Melina at HIAC. The tag turmoil match was fine for what it was, but it deserved way better build than what was given. I'm not sure where Hart Dynasty can go should McIntyre/Rhodes retain in the re-match. It was the right time for Orton and Bryan to win, which could lead to some intrigue. Am I seeing things? Is Triple H disappearing? I don't see Jericho doing it, though.

Adam Riemer of New York City (5.0) Best: Daniel Bryan-Miz. Worst: The Divas match and Hell in a Cell being two weeks away. This show wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good either. Thankfully I didn't have to pay for it; if I did, I would have given it a 2.0. The night had a few good things about it, with the best being Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz. Both guys told a good story in the ring and actually had my attention throughout. WWE made the right call going with a Bryan win here. Related to that, it's nice to see a dominant finishing submission move again. The LeBell Lock reaction from the crowd reminds me of the ovation that Benoit use to get when he threw on the Crippler Crossface. The Kane-Undertaker match was a decent match as well, mainly because WWE booked it right. This feud is one of, if not the best feud WWE has right now, and having Kane win so decisively over a weakened Undertaker was the right call. Considering we get all of two weeks before the next PPV, I would love to see WWE actually give Kane another big win setting up for Taker to get his powers back in time for Survivor Series, but I'm not holding my breath. Speaking of the Hell in a Cell, how on earth does the WWE think it's a wise decision to hold another PPV in the matter of two weeks? They either thought that the buyrates would be so bad for this PPV that they would try to hook in people who missed out on it into the next one rather quickly, or they have no common sense. Having another PPV in such a short period of time kind of ruined the ending of the PPV for me, meaning that I knew that (a) Miz wouldn't cash in because of such a quick turnaround and no time to build a feud with whomever won the Six-Pack challenge, and (b) we wouldn't be getting a big surprise such as Triple H returning and possibly being the leader of Nexus because there would be no time to build a story. ... Show-Punk did nothing for me. Dolph-Kofi was just so-so and the Tag title match was a joke. Once again, we get two guys who creative doesn't have anything for, so they team them up and give them titles. At least when Jericho and Edge won the belts, there was a back-story on why they were together. Drew and Cody are a team because they just simply are stuck in mid-card purgatory. Now for the final match, it wasn't bad and it had its moments, but for the most part it was really predictable. I wonder if WWE is taking notice that when Cena was pinned by Wade Barrett, of all people, the place popped as if Austin just came out and helped Mankind win the title from The Rock. Jericho eliminated in 90 seconds is either WWE thanking Chris for all he has done and wishing him well in all his future endeavors, or there is a storyline that will come out of this. I am praying for the latter. WWE without Chris Jericho is a WWE I don't want to watch anymore. Orton won the title and then took five minutes posing with it while the announcing team added filler trying to trick the fans into (a) thinking Miz would cash in or (b) not realizing a $45-55 PPV ended 20 minutes early. One last thought: I don't think I have ever seen a movie that has been in theaters hit the DVD shelves faster than "Legendary." It has to be a new record. I wonder if that will become a "WWE Fact" on Raw.

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on this show for a "WWE PPV Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on the PPV, click here.

[Torch photo credit Wade Keller (c) PWTorch.com]

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