WWE Live Review @ The Odyssey Arena Belfast November 2013

WWE Live Review: The Odyssey Belfast, November 2013

Each year I am  fortunate enough to be able to not only attend the bi-annual live wrestling shows by the WWE, but we also get to review them as well.

This year however we have decided to take a slightly different slant with out review and instead of just giving you our loyal and treasured readers a run down of the matches, our reviewer Phil Allely has opted to critique the whole event instead.

WWE live shows over the last few years especially have seen some of the industry's biggest names grace NI's shores and of course that has led fans to turn out in record numbers to see them. I for one have been fortunate enough to have seen such names as Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker and Kane all enter the ring in the Odyssey Arena. There have also of course been appearances by more modern day heroes such as CM Punk, John Cena and Rey Mysterio, amongst others.

But this November we saw a card that was decidedly big name light and you know what it worked better for it. Irishman Sheamus was injured and we were also missing some heavy hitters like John Cena and Daniel Bryan, but believe it or not that actually made things easier for us fans.

Yes the merchandise stands were still full of Cena T-shirts etc. and the crowds did buy it, but the fun thing here for me was the way the show was laid out.

In the last few years the WWE has been slated for its more family friendly approach to wrestling and a distinct lack of blood, violence and extreme actions. However, one thing I will state is that whilst pay-per-views are of course pre-planned and scripted (due to TV cameras etc. being present), live house shows a re a very different beast.

Here mid-week in November Belfast was treated to a reasonably well-paced collection of matches that showed some of the WWE's mid-card players at their best and a few main eventers prove their worth.

This was a show for the whole family. The matches mostly featured a high level of audience involvement, there were elements of comedy and when the violence did kick in, it was not only believable, but intriguing.

A live WWE show is an amazing thing to witness. This is something that takes in so much more than the card itself. For many fans there are opportunities to perhaps stay or visit the hotel where the wrestlers stay and meet them. There are also a select few VIP events and shop-based meet and greets. One amazing aspect is the fact that fans in their droves will even visit the venue early to purchase merchandise prior to the show as well.

What I witnessed here was a WWE live show that was put together to prove a point. There were many big names missing, but this was the chance for the rest of the on-the-road crew to showcase their wares and they did it very well indeed.

Highlights for me were the wonderful entrance through the crowd by The Shield (which occurred right beside my seat). The long-awaited appearance by Goldust (who looked in amazing shape). The amazingly comedic performance by Santino against Fandango was the perfect opener too.

There were a few wee niggles however, a few matches over-ran and lost their appeal, plus I personally would have put the Rhodes/Big E Vs Shield match as a post-interval match rather than a pre one. One shame was that even though they mentioned him by name (and his family were there) NI wrestling legend Finlay was not there to make a surprise appearance.

All in all this live WWE show ticked all the boxes and yes there were some empty seats, but that is happening everywhere. The talent shone through and that is what counts.

Roll on the next live show in early 2014.

www.wwe.com

By Phil Allely

WWE DVD Review - Randy Orton Evolution of a Predator

WWE DVD Review: Randy Orton – The Evolution of a Predator


By Phil Allely

Now a ten year veteran of the WWE randy Orton has been the centrepiece to a great many of the best feuds of the decade and netted himself a nice collection of gold along the way. This three disc set takes a look at some of his finest matches from 2001-2011 and for the most these matches are well worth repeat viewing.

Taking the same form as most WWE profile releases this is a fine effort and one that does indeed offer up a decent biographical piece on Orton’s life and career to date. Alongside the timeline of The Viper’s rise to the top of the company, we also find a series of (unusually) relevant talking heads to cover key points.

On the match front we get some absolute belters, including ones from OVW and against some of Randy’s finest opponents including Edge, John Cena, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker and Mick Foley. The infamous ‘Legend Killer’ storyline in covered briefly, although the matches against the likes of Hulk Hogan and Dusty Rhodes are poor in quality, they do tell the tale perfectly.

One other nice point to make about this release is that it doesn’t shy away from Orton’s own demons, he freely admits he had personal issues early in his career, his ill-fated military stint is covered also. This DVD set offers a pretty good overview of the man that Randy has become and you can see that his father (WWE legend Bob Orton Jr) and his wife Samantha are fully behind him as he progresses to his biggest challenge yet (Wrestlemania XXVII), his bout against CM Punk.

That Orton has become and retained his spot as one of the WWE’s top stars is amazing and with his current attitude and outlook on the business it is well deserved. WWE have put together a very good release here and one that will certainly please his fans no end.

Randy Orton – The Evolution of a Predator is available now from www.silvervision.co.uk and all good retailers.

RRP £29.99 (DVD)/£34.99 (Blu-ray)

Randy Orton Interview Highlights

World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton spoke with Roanoke.com this weekend to promote Tuesday's WWE SmackDown tapings in the city. The interviewer noted that before the session, WWE's handler stressed that Orton is a sports entertainer, not a wrestler.




Here are some highlights:



Q: From your perspective, what's the best and worst part of being a WWE superstar?



A: I'd say the best part of being a WWE superstar is traveling the world, meeting new and different people of all walks of life. I love what I do for a living. One of the things people don't think about -- the travel is good, but at the same time it's very tiring, and you don't have an off season like your regular professional football team. I got buddies of mine out swimming with their families in the pool right now. Yesterday they were barbecuing. I was in La Crosse, Wis., you know? I have a wife and a daughter, and I don't get to see them much.



Q: Your act for the past few years has been being a heel (villain). Do you ever want to be a babyface (hero)?



A: I don't think I'm a true babyface. I've made some slight changes, and the more time that goes by the more changes I'll make. But technically, I guess, you can call me a babyface because I'm facing other heels most of the time, of course, except for Christian right now. As a heel, I acted a certain way. I did certain things and I wasn't afraid of getting dirty. But as a babyface, I don't really want to change too much. Last time I turned in '04, I tried to change 180 degrees and it failed miserably. So this time, I'm trying to take what I thought people were into about my character as a heel and really just slowly fine tune things instead of making any drastic changes.



Q: What was your reaction to "Macho Man" Randy Savage's death recently?



A: It was awful. I would hope everyone's reaction would be somewhere along those lines. Awful, in disbelief, saddened, mortified.



Q: What legacy do you hope to leave behind in WWE?



A: I've won every title there is to win, just about, and I think right now my main goal is in the longevity of my career. I've been around 10 years, but that's not really nothing compared to some guys in our business who have been able to stay on top for a long amount of time -- like Triple H, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair. I want to be one of those handful of guys who are household names, that when people think WWE, or sports entertainment -- whatever the hell they're calling it now -- I want to be at the top of that list. I want to be known worldwide for how good I'm able to perform in that ring.

WWE Wrestlemania Revenge Tour 2011 - Belfast Ireland Review 14/4/2011

Cena Pushes the Truth in Belfast


By Phil Allely

WWE main eventer John Cena graciously allowed the spotlight to shine on R Truth during the second night of the Raw tour in Belfast, Ireland last night.

In front of a pumped up 8000 sell-out crowd Cena took to the mic praising Truth’s assistance in saving him from a post-match beat down by Miz/Alex Riley and the young stars dedication to the business, nicely hyping up their match with Miz at Extreme Rules.

Cena’s main event bout for the WWE Title was a real crowd pleaser too, with action taking place in and out of the ring, the pair gelled well together. Miz’s stooge Riley was the key factor though, running in to cause a DQ finish, the cunning champion retaining his gold.

The rest of the card saw Evan Bourne take flight on numerous occasions, his ‘Air Bourne’ finisher putting Riley down for the three count to open up proceedings in style.

Percy Watson won some new fans with his demolition job on high flyer Tyson Kidd, the up and comer was very over in a quick but well-paced outing.

The Uso’s and Santino Marella (with Tamina) had what appeared to be a handicap match next, fortunately as things looked bleak, the injured Vladimir Kozlov sprinted to the ring to a huge pop and bullied his way through the Samoan pair. A cobra from a rested Marella ending things nicely.

John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler’s heated encounter was an early match of the night contender, both pulling out all of the stops to keep the rabid fans happy. The always impressive Starship Pain giving Morrison the win.

Divas champion Brie Bella (with Nikki) faced off against Eve in a decent Divas brawl, the ever improving Miss Torres however fell short on regaining her belt.

Randy Orton and CM Punk then tore the house down with their ‘fans choice’ battle, the street fight was just what the Irish fans wanted and saw some still spots involving a Kendo stick, steel chair, the ring steps and the ring post. Punk saw defeat but as Orton dug deep and hit a surprise RKO.

Mexican newcomer Sin Cara made his Irish debut next, putting on fair showing against Primo, there were plenty of flashy and attention grabbing in-ring moments before the latest masked superstar to join the WWE grabbed the pin.

The penultimate match-up saw Daniel Bryan (with Gail Kim) tackle Ireland’s own Sheamus. The mighty Celt was more than up for the challenge, overcoming the La Bell Lock and other in-ring abuse to nail a big boot assisted pin.

WWE brought their A-Game to Belfast and the tour certainly lived up to its Wrestlemania Revenge moniker. It was nice to see the effort being put into the card and storylines continue through the night, the build up to Extreme Rules and push for R Truth (amongst others) were a very positive aspect as well. Especially in a week where the wrestling world has lost yet another main eventer, as Edge retired due to injury. The pushing of new/young talent as credible main eventers really is key to the WWE’s future success these days.

The tour continues across the UK, Ireland and Europe for the next two weeks.

Kofi Kingston DVD Review - Boom, Boom, Boom, WWE Magazine Freebie 2011

WWE Special DVD Review: Kofi Kingston - Boom, Boom, Boom.

By Phil Allely

As a special bonus for WWE magazine readers this DVD was included in the April edition of the UK version. Featuring a nice snapshot of the  career to date of high-flying young WWE superstar Kofi Kingston, the single disc takes in three of the exciting young grapplers best matches to date.

Match quality wise things are perfectly placed here as Kofi introduces each match and explains the build up to it and its repercussions on his future career. Kicking things off we have a match that came very soon after Kingston’s WWE debut and it is for the Intercontinental Title, this battle with Chris Jericho (at Night of the Champions 2008) is a really great way to start things off and is genuinely enjoyable viewing, it also see’s Kofi raise his first ever WWE title belt

Next up we have a fun and inviting encounter with The Miz at Breaking Point 2009, where Miz and Kingston embark on a nice looking  marathon of near falls, high risk moves and thrilling encounters.

Finally it’s the turn of Randy Orton to face off against Mr Boom Drop. This match from TLC 2009 has it all and you really do side with the fan favourite Kingston throughout. Orton does his bit to make the match a near classic and Orton’s skills ensure that Kingston looks like a star as well.

Kingston makes for an amiable host during this one hour plus special release, he provides the links in a natural and nicely out of character style. It’s nice to see the real Kofi come out and to hear how he feels about his WWE tenure to date and his past in-ring exploits as well.  We get to see some amateur footage of him, hear a few road stories and even see his own home and personal merchandise collection.

This DVD may not be the most in depth profile of a WWE superstar, but It is a perfect example of how to put everything into one clear and concise place when it comes to putting together a character profile concept.  I am sure Mr Kingston will indeed find himself the subject of a more extensive release soon, considering his rapid ascent through the ranks and his talent for picking up titles as well.

WWE magazine with this free DVD is on sale at all good newsagents now.

WWE TLC 2010 DVD Review

WWE DVD Review – TLC Tables Ladders & Chairs 2010


By Phil Allely

TLC 2010 was a thoroughly enjoyable pay-per-view offering from the WWE and one that considering its reliance on gimmick matches could have gone wrong in many ways. The card itself saw a few major lines continue, one being the on-going feud between Nexus leader Wade Barrett and John Cena, others included WWE Champion The Miz defending his recently won title against former champ Randy Orton, Intercontinental champion Dolph Ziggler taking on Jack Swagger and Kofi Kingston and Kane defending his World Heavyweight Championship in a four-way brawl with Edge, Rey Mysterio and Alberto Del Rio.

This DVD of course features the above entertaining TLC battles Cena/Barrett (Chairs), Miz/Orton (Tables) and Kane/Edge/Mysterio/Del Rio (TLC), Ziggler/Kingston/Del Rio (Ladders), plus a nice ladder match between Sheamus and John Morrison, the first ever Divas Tag Team Tables Match between the combos of Natalya/Beth Phoenix and Lay-Cool, plus a WWE tag team Championship bout with Santino Marella and Vladimir taking on Nexus duo Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel.

So just what does this release have to offer the home video collector of WWE events? Well having the thrilling gimmicks on hand to assist and improve/enhance any moves is a bonus for each bout. Many of which of them are indeed heightened by the addition of such prop, each performer also stepped up to the plate to risk their bodies as well. The action throughout has a decent pace in each match. There are also some standout moments too including, some ladder based stunts, a double sharpshooter by Natalya on Lay-Cool, a festive Big Show appearance, Vickie Guerrero precariously hanging off a ladder and some highly inventive use for the tables, ladders and chairs on hand.

TLC proved to be a surprising event in many ways, titles changed hands, feuds ended and some were kick started. Many of the superstars were more than likely pretty sore after the gruelling situation they put themselves in as well. Whilst some PPVs are watch one only events, this one has some durability on that front due to the gimmicks involved, extras wise there is a post-match interview with John Cena only however.

TLC 2010 is available now from www.silvervision.co.uk and all good retailers.

Coming soon from Silver Vision:

The Big Show – A Giant’s World

WWE Tagged Classics - Rebellion 2001/Insurrection 2002

DX – One Last Stand

DVD Review WWE Raw The Best of 2010

DVD Review: WWE Raw - The Best Of 2010




WWE’s flagship TV show Raw is perhaps its best known product and is also recognised as the longest running episodic programme on television (clocking up 900 plus episodes to date). This three disc set contains some of the most exciting, imaginative and entertaining things to have happened on the weekly show during 2010.



Raw like its stable mate Smackdown has featured many pay-per-view quality matches over the past few year sand 2010 was a year where the show itself was essential viewing week in week out.



Broken down into monthly chunks this box set has cherry picked the best bits from Raw and put them all in one place, making this perfect for everyone and of course meaning that we can all finally own and re-watch the great action and in-ring entertainment as it unfolded on TV, for the very first time on DVD.



2010 kicked off in style as WWE legend Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart made a return to promotion after a decade , his triumphant return, hatchet burying with arch rival Shawn Michaels and ex-boss Vince McMahon made for great viewing and led to some nice storylines along the way. Of course this was also the year that we bade farewell to Shawn Michaels after his Wrestlemania re-match with Undertaker saw him fall short in ending the Phenom’s winning streak. Featured here are Shawn’s final Raw match and a his retirement speech, plus a nice match with Triple H as DX.



Elsewhere you can once again see how despised heel Randy Orton moved to the good side and became one of the company’s most liked faces in a short space of time. There is the Miz’s unrivalled rise to champion status and the formation and growth of the Nexus faction, all of which paved the way for many of the events that feature here.



Each month gets a quick rundown of highlights and then we see in full some of the events that transpired and often led into the upcoming PPV or next feud for those concerned.



All in all Raw - Best of 2010 has over 20 made for television bouts and each one is a cracker. Ones to watch out for are D-Generation X taking on CM Punk/Luke Gallows and ShowMiz for the Unified Tag team Titles, WWE Champ Sheamus tackling ECW Title Holder Christian, Chris Jericho against Evan Bourne, the King of the Ring final with Sheamus facing John Morrison and many others. There are also nice video pakcages showcasing the Shawn Michaels/Undertaker feud to date, a Piper’s Pit segment featuring Randy Orton and John Cena and a nice finishing piece looking back at the year that was.



The best thing about this DVD set is that even the most ardent of fan won’t have these matches on disc already and that makes them all the more irresistible to have.



WWE Raw The Best of 2010 is available now from www.silvervision.co.uk and all good retailers.



Upcoming releases from Silvervision include:

WWE Survivor Series 2010

WWE Tagged Classics: Wrestle fest ‘88 & ‘90

WWE Live in the UK (recorded November 2010)

WWE Top 50 Superstars of All Time

Bob Orton Interview Highlights

"Cowboy" Bob Orton isn't ready to ride off into the sunset quite yet.


While no longer a full-time grappler, the 60-year-old Orton is still working sporadically on the independent circuit and making appearances at pro-wrestling conventions like the WrestleReunion event being held from Friday through Sunday in Los Angeles. Orton also has another connection to today's wrestling world: Son Randy is one of World Wrestling Entertainment's biggest stars.

"I get letters every day from people wanting his autograph," a laughing Orton said during a recent telephone interview. "He's kept me in the limelight a little bit, which is nice. I worked about 15 times last year. I certainly don't mind getting the call."

Orton knows firsthand about being a second-generation wrestler. His father, Bob Orton Sr., was a headliner nationwide from the 1950s through the '70s.

"Cowboy" Bob broke into the business teaming with his father in Florida during the early '70s. He also was a top performer in regional territories before signing with WWE in '84. That's when Orton enjoyed the greatest success of his career. He was given a second nickname ("Ace") as the de facto enforcer for "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, the company's top heel performer. Orton also was part of the first "Wrestlemania," in '85, serving as the ringside second to Piper and "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff in their headline match against Hulk Hogan and Mr. T.

"Wrestlemania" entrenched WWE as the dominant U.S. promotion. But it was outstanding veteran hands raided from regional groups, like Orton, Piper and Hogan, that comprised the backbone of WWE's national expansion.

"A lot of things fell into place," Orton said. "We had the best talent and, of course, (WWE owner) Vince McMahon had the novel idea of going nationwide. When Hogan came in, he was so hot that it just clicked. And then we got stars from other areas like Cyndi Lauper, Mr. T, Liberace and Muhammad Ali involved. People loved to watch it."

They also loved to hate Orton, who would rile fans by using a cast on his forearm as a weapon against baby-face opponents. Orton was never really injured, but still donned the plaster for well over a year.

While his role at "Wrestlemania I" was more prominent, Orton said his most memorable wrestling moment came in an undercard tag-team match with Don Muraco against the Can-Am Connection (Rick Martel and Tom Zenk) at "Wrestlemania III" in 1987.

"'Wrestlemania I' had all the hype, but I didn't actually wrestle," said Orton, who cost Piper and Orton their match by accidentally whacking the latter with his cast. "I was involved in the main event, but I didn't get to do what I enjoy doing best. Plus at 'Wrestlemania III,' there were 90,000-plus people (in attendance). It was just awesome."

Although he was only 38, Orton began winding down his career in 1988 after leaving WWE. Orton was burned out by travel that he said consisted of stretches where he would work 90 to 100 consecutive days without time off. Orton would sometimes return to his home in St. Louis for a few hours to see his family -- Randy Orton was in elementary school at the time -- before turning right back around and hitting the road.

"As I started getting older," he said, "when I took time off, it seemed like all the little bone chips I had got embedded. My body just couldn't do a whole lot, especially after the (substance) abuse I put it through. ... "

But while Orton was branching away from pro wrestling -- he later became a used-car salesman -- his son was beginning to follow in his footsteps. Orton, though, didn't realize it at the time.

"He started to wrestle at 9 years old and had a pretty good amateur career," Orton said. "He was going to go away to (college), but he didn't know exactly what he wanted to major in, so he decided to join the Marines. That didn't work out, so we went down and talked to (WWE road agents) Jack Lanza and Tony Garea. They brought Randy up and had a look at him. The rest is history."

Randy quickly rose through the ranks of a WWE developmental territory (Ohio Valley Wrestling) before making his debut on the main talent roster in 2002. Randy would send tapes of his OVW matches and interviews to his father and seek his advice.

"I think in the beginning I helped him out a lot," Orton said. "I showed him a lot of stuff and introduced him to a lot of people. But I also told him to listen and learn up there. That's what he did. He developed pretty darn quick."

Orton said he realized that his son was destined for stardom the first time he attended a live OVW event in 2001. In the past nine years, Randy has enjoyed seven different WWE world-title reigns and will begin an eighth if he defeats Mike "The Miz" Mizanin on Sunday night's "Royal Rumble" pay-per-view show.

Randy's success led to an opportunity for his father's WWE return in 2005. Bob teamed with his son and also served as a ringside second.

"I had forgotten how taxing that travel is on you," said Orton, who was released by WWE because of medical reasons in February 2006. "I was mentally tired, but I had a great time."

Now retired from the work force, Orton has plenty of time to watch his son on WWE programming. Not only is Randy a potential headliner at "Wrestlemania 27" in April, Bob also believes his son is just beginning to reach his full potential.

"What's scary is, he's starting to get healthy again," said Bob, referring to Randy's extensive history of shoulder and neck injuries. "His (in-ring) psychology is really falling into place. He can really handle the crowd while also handling the match. He should continue to improve as long as he stays devoted, which he seems to be doing pretty good at."

Bob is scheduled to sign autographs and participate in a legends battle royale at WrestleReunion. For more information, visit www.wrestlereunion.com.

Cena/Orton Trivia

Here's an interesting stat. John Cena and/or Randy Orton have been in a WWE Title or World Heavyweight Title match at every WWE pay-per-view for over two years now. The last show that didn't have either of them in a top title match was WWE's Cyber Sunday 2008 where the main events were Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy for the WWE Title and Chris Jericho vs. Batista for the World Title.

WWE Night of the Champions 2010 Review

WWE Night of the Champions 2010 Review

By Phil Allely

The Night of the Champions PPV is a relatively new one to the WWE event schedule, it is a welcome one indeed. The idea behind this PPV is that every title in the company will be defended and thus we are pretty well guaranteed at least one title change.

Tings kicked off well with Dolph Ziggler defending his Intercontinental belt against fan favourite Kofi Kingston. Vicky Guererro and her NXT rookie Kaitlyn both gave Dolph the assist where they could in a decent opening match that saw a harder edge to Kofi’s character. There were plenty of reversals, near falls and signature moves before Ziggler capitalised on a Kingston botched move to retain his gold.

CM Punk was working in front of his hometown Chicago crowd and of course he played up to that fact in his battle against Big Show. Punk certainly got the crowd fired up here, berating the city, its people and anyone else he could think of. The match itself was fun, but Shows strength put Punk’s speed and agility down with relative ease. A KO punch stopping the Straight Edge Society leader in his tracks.

United States Champion The Miz may have been a worthy winner of the Money in the Bank case, but he was always going to fall short in his battle with Daniel Bryan, the former Nexus man has a point to prove to not only the WWE hierarchy, but the entire fan base. The bout itself was well laid out, each getting the chance to show their skills and repertoire, Miz certainly is a well polished performer these days. Bryan nailed the win and raised his first US title after locking on his LaBell lock submission move.

The WWE women’s division has been a bone of content with fans for a long time now, the quality of the matches and in-ring skills are of course a problem that we all know f and yet WWE seem loathe to solve them. The WWE Women’s and Diva Title unification match between Michelle McCool and Melina was a case in point.

McCool and Melina did try to pull a decent match out of the situation, but really it wasn’t going to set the screen or arena alight and they knew it. McCool winning both belts after some brawling and hair pulling. The fact that the belts are now deemed obsolete by the WWE shows how far the division has fallen of late.

The many months of hype, storyline building and well crafted segments finally paid off as World Heavyweight Champion Kane defended his treasured belt against his brother Undertaker. Undertaker’s recent injury induced hiatus seems to have given him some in-ring fire and determination and his latest feud with his storyline brother are certs to be the feud we all want to see when the promotion tours these shores in November. The match itself was a hard fought and wearing battle of the big men, both trading stiff shots, outside assaults and some great selling by both men. Kane reversing a Tombstone Piledriver attempt into one of his own for the win.

Putting a tag team turmoil stipulation on the World Tag team bout added something to the Hart Dynasty’s title defence. The pairings subsequent loss early into the match meaning that we were guaranteed new champs no matter what. The remaining teams of The Uso’s, Kozlov/Marello, Henry/Bourne and Rhodes/McIntyre all played their parts well here. Each putting in the work to keep the crowd warm after the previous match. McIntyre and Rhodes proving to be the better team as they put away Bourne and Henry for the win.

The shows finale was a great way to round of a very good event. The Six Pack elimination challenge for Sheamus’ WWE Title certainly had its fair share of memorable moments and set-pieces. Chris Jericho was the first to be knocked out of the match (much to his and the rest of his opponents apparent shock), he’ll now concentrate on his band Fozzy for a while.

Randy Orton, Wade Barrett, Edge, John Cena and Sheamus all worked hard to emphasise just how important the title is to them, many dropping to pinfalls though. The finale saw Nexus lay waste to Orton and face off against Cena, Orton was able withstand the assault though and hit an RKO on fellow survivor Sheamus to get the pin and well deserved belt.

Night of the champions was a far better effort from the WWE than expected, there are sill qualms about the PG emphasis and lack of blood or violence, but in-ring and storyline wise the company proved they can do it if they need to.