Night of Champions Predictions
Sunday, July 26 in Philadelphia. Every Title is on the Line!
Divas Championship: Maryse (c) vs. Mickie James
Prediction: Maryse by pinfall
Maryse is the arrogant, yet lovely, face of Raw's women's division. Mickie has some time to go as a challenger before she's able to finally win her first Divas title. It won't be clean, and it won't be pretty. Okay, it WILL be pretty. Maryse will do whatever it takes to win, and it might involve some distraction from her new boyfriend, United States champion, The Miz.
ECW Championship: Tommy Dreamer (c) vs. Christian
Winner: Christian pins Dreamer, following the Killswitch
Dreamer's only World Title reign in the original ECW started and ended on the same night. This run has lasted a little longer and given old school EC-dub fans something to smile about. But the fates never intended for the "Innovator of Violence" to have an epic ECW Championship reign. Dreamer and Christian will shake hands following a brief, but competitive bout. Dreamer will soon return to facing whichever young ECW villains try to make names for themselves at his expense. Tommy will gladly give them lessons in hard knocks the same way he's been doing for years. For his part, Christian will be the face of ECW and the decisive "man to beat" on that brand. What happens next on Tuesday nights, besides that, is anyone's guess.
WWE Unified Tag Team Titles: Chris Jericho and ??? vs. Legacy
Winners: Jericho and The Big Show reign atop the scraps of the tag division
For tag team purists, the above prediction may not have been what you'd wanted to read. Unfortunately for you, Chris Jericho is going to pick the most dominant man - in terms of size, strength, and star power - to be his interim tag team partner. Show hasn't really been discussed as a possible partner, and this may be due to his involvement in the U.S. title match. He will come up short in that situation, but he will not have too much trouble with Legacy - especially with Jericho in his corner.
Big Show and Jericho don't have much experience teaming together, but both are former multi-time tag team champions. Couple that with their seemingly countless singles titles, as well as their experience in the wrestling business. Jericho and Big Show together have a combined 34 years ring time, while Dibiase and Rhodes have logged only three years each. Legacy has the passion of youth, but neither Jericho nor Big Show have shown any signs of slowing down. Barring a pair of giant Acme brand anvils crushing both Jericho and Show, this leaves the challengers virtually no chance of recapturing the gold.
WWE Championship: Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena vs. Triple H
Winner: John Cena by submission
The past few months of John Cena feuding with the Big Show and The Miz were a change of pace for fans. Really, though, Cena was just biding him time. He's the face of Raw...nay, of WWE. Orton has had a strong run on Raw as of late, but Night of Champions will be a huge setback for him and Legacy. He'll have the disadvantage of having to chase Cena once again. Of course, he'll also have to contend with Triple H, who's not too fond of him right now.
The match itself will have a grudge match feel to it. Triple H will let his frustrations get the best of him, costing him several chances at regaining the WWE Championship. In the end, Orton will sideline Triple H long enough to allow Cena to gain the ultimate upperhand. Cena will isolate Orton, tripping out his leg and locking in the STF(U). Legacy, still licking their wounds from earlier in the evening, won't get to ringside to make the save. Orton taps, and The Champ is here, once again.
World Heavyweight Championship: CM Punk (c) vs. Jeff Hardy
Winner: CM Punk
Punk has made a huge mistake by calling out Jeff Hardy on his substance abuse issues. Hardy lives to defy his critics and overcome adversity, and this will bring out the best in Jeff. Perhaps, though, this is exactly what Punk wants. He has been accused of merely being an opportunist champ, and his victories since the beginning of this latest reign have done little to disprove that. Defeating an energetic and motivated Jeff Hardy could be a career highlight for him.
On the other hand, Punk has been winning at whatever cost lately. Hardy could very well suffer an eye injury, not unlike the one Punk did before. The champ would then exploit Jeff's temporary lack of sight, viciously attacking the challenger and incapacitating him. Punk would win a proper singles match against the "Charismatic Enigma," nailing him with the Go to Sleep before scoring the pinfall. On the other hand, this would more or less turn the remainder of the crowd against Punk, thereby sealing his fate as Smackdown's top villain.
Whatever the case, this should be a terrific match between two wrestlers who - despite personal tensions - have a great deal of respect for each other's abilities.
Final Verdict for Night of Champions in Philly
Out of WWE's eight championships, five will change hands. The other three matches will serve to better establish those titleholders. The implications for upcoming months are strong, and there will be plenty of important action going on this Sunday.
This is part 2 of Night of Champions predictions. Click here for part 1.
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