By Tony Donofrio, PWTorch specialist

-- 9/19 WWE Night of Champions PPV Hits & Misses

WWE PPV HITS

Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston (Intercontinental Title): WWE continues to use guys that deliver an up-tempo type of match to kick off their PPVs. As they as they keep doing that, it'll keep getting a "hit." I don't know how much longer this feud can be dragged out, but it's been fun while it lasted. Kingston should be just about ready for the main event scene on Smackdown. His in-ring work speaks for itself and he still is over with the crowd big enough that he should be ready to start pushing that upper tier. However, with the short turnaround time between this PPV and the Hell in a Cell PPV, we might get one last re-match between the two.

The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan (U.S. Title): This match provided the most fun, in my opinion. First of all, (and I know I sound like a broken record saying this) Miz continues to get better and better in the ring. Granted, I expected him to look good in this match while going up against someone like Bryan. But, from start to finish, it was all up-tempo and I think these two could have done it for another ten minutes or so, if given the chance. I'm hoping now that Bryan has his first WWE title that WWE will actually start to treat the title like it means something. In back-to-back hits, this was a good showing for both mid-card titles at NOC. Fans like these types of matches and a strong mid-card would go a long way to producing more of them.

Six-Pack Challenge individual backstage interviews: All six wrestlers were given time to say their piece about the title match. While this is a "hit," it probably should have happened this past Monday on Raw to help sell this PPV, not on the PPV itself. While Randy Orton's "no" was easily the best and funniest interview of the night, all six guys did their best to put over the title match, even if it was six days too late.

Kane vs. The Undertaker (World Heavyweight Title): I must admit, I didn't think that this match would go over 12 minutes and it went nearly 18. With that said, it wasn't bad for a match-up that we've seen many times over. The right booking decision was made here and Kane should continue his run with the title. Now, I'm hoping that this run will continue beyond the HIAC PPV. This feud has exceeded my expectations so far considering, again, we've seen it many times over now. I actually liked seeing Taker in the underdog role before, during, and after this match, but I still have no desire to see him as World Champion again.

Six-Pack Challenge (WWE Title): Overall, this match delivered and was pretty well booked. The first 90 seconds really rubbed me the wrong way, but more on that later. Having Randy Orton walk out as champ was probably the best choice. He already has a built-in feud with Sheamus and that figures to be the rematch in a few weeks at HIAC. It appears as though John Cena will also continue his feud with the Nexus. The interference, his retaliation, and the built-in feud also points to that. This match itself saw some pretty good action, but I am definitely all worn out on elimination matches at this point from WWE and TNA. Vince McMahon stated in early 2010 that the Survivor Series concept was dead. Well, I suppose if you deliver enough elimination matches the last two months to last an entire year, that holds true. Regardless, a strong ending to what turned out to be an above-average PPV.

WWE PPV MISSES

C.M. Punk vs. The Big Show: This was the only non-title match on the PPV and they really could have done without it. I would have been happy with C.M. Punk simply making an appearance and cutting a promo in his hometown. The match was very forgettable aside from the spot with Punk doing a senton over the top rope onto a prone Big Show on the floor. I hope Punk can now move onto something bigger and better. He is too good in the ring and on the mic to be saddled in a mid-card feud that is past its expiration date.

Melina vs. Michelle McCool (Lumberjill match for Unified Women's/Divas Title): Honestly, this match wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. However, the division is still such a mess and I don't agree with the booking situation. I really believe that the best thing for the division is the break up of LayCool and having those two feud. Don't get me wrong, that's not the cure, but it would be a nice, yet small, step in the right direction. Now, we will see McCool and Layla parading around with both titles, which almost certainly will lead to a feud anyways to unify the already unified titles. Confused? Don't be. I wouldn't be surprised to see that play out. I was surprised to see Natalya play more of a role in this match. However, I hope she gets back to the business of actually wrestling. I believe WWE's three best women wrestlers are Nattie, Beth Phoenix, and Gail Kim. Phoenix is injured and the other two barely get a look in the ring these days. I'm really hoping WWE will start to utilize these three women more. But, I won't be holding my breath.

Tag Team Turmoil (WWE World Tag Team Titles): This was just dreadful. First of all, the match went pretty much unannounced. Second, having The Hart Dynasty lose right off the bat was just hard to watch. They were two of the better workers in the match and they were eliminated first. Third, the comedy bit between Tamina and Santino has hit a wall so fast that it's nearly unwatchable. Fourth, how did Evan Bourne & Mark Henry get in this match as a team? I think two Nexus members would have fit more in this match than anything. Finally, I guess I don't mind Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre winning the titles because I think both have a solid future, but now the already weak tag division has champions that are not a "real" tag team.

Chris Jericho eliminated in less than two minutes: Let me start by saying that if Jericho isn't gone from WWE, this could work into an angle. However, I worry that this was potentially Jericho's exit from WWE for at least a few years. What makes this a "miss" is that even the announcers seemed to be confused all night as to whether Jericho was now officially gone from WWE. The way his elimination was handled, it seems as though this was supposed to be a big deal. Let's just hope that this is all part of an angle where Jericho is not leaving the company.

ANALYSIS/OVERALL GRADE

This was a solid effort from WWE, so the Night of Champions PPV this year gets a solid "B." I wasn't overly blown away by any of the matches and, other than the Tag Turmoil, the other two "Miss" matches were tolerable. I really think this PPV has the potential to be one of the Big 4 once Survivor Series officially goes the way of the dodo bird presumably next year. This should be a premier event with all the titles being on the line and there shouldn't be any non-title matches at this event.

Moving forward with only a few weeks until HIAC, there isn't much that will probably change. I'm looking at Orton-Sheamus for the WWE Title and another mix of Cena vs. The Nexus in some form. I wouldn't be surprised if the card for HIAC is very similar to that of NOC. They could do without the three matches that I listed as "misses," though. I could see a Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio match potentially stealing the show. I'd also like to see Miz and Bryan go at it again and be given another five-to-seven minutes to work with. Regardless, I really think the next few weeks will be WWE in "re-match" mode and setting those up for HIAC. I haven't been a fan of the "theme PPVs" as a whole since their inception last year. Now, only having only a few weeks to lead into another of them probably won't help the buyrate.

Tony Donofrio is a Specialist for the Torch covering WWE PPVs monthly, the weekly ROH TV on HDNet, and contributes to the Torch Roundtable Reviews on a weekly basis. You can contact Tony at PWTorchTD@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TonyDonofrio..

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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