This Sunday's WWE Night of Champions pay-per-view will feature every champion putting their gold up for grabs as well as a handful of nontitle matches. Having been the theme of the event dating back to 2007, it has hosted a handful of monumental moments through the years, including Daniel Bryan's first championship match in 2010 and John Cena's 10th WWE championship win in 2011.
This year's installment looks to be no different, presenting a stacked card from top to bottom. Among the matches will be Sting contending for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for the first time in his career along with John Cena vying for the United States title against Seth Rollins.
When all is said and done, which matches from the annual event have the most at stake and will stand the test of time?
The New Day vs. The Dudley Boyz
After 10 long years, The Dudley Boyz returned to WWE on the August 24 edition of Raw with only one goal on their mind: reclaiming the WWE Tag Team Championship.
Upon their arrival, they immediately set their sights on The New Day, who were fresh off regaining the gold the night prior at SummerSlam. As the Brooklyn crowd came unglued, Bubba Ray and D-Von proceeded to dismantle the obnoxious trio by putting group member Xavier Woods through a table.
The subsequent week on Raw, The Dudley Boyz earned themselves a shot at the WWE Tag Team Championship at Night of Champions by beating The New Day in nontitle action. The match was made official this past week following New Day's successful title defense against the former champs, The Prime Time Players.
The seasoned veterans are undoubtedly the most decorated duo in professional wrestling history with 23 tag title reigns to their credit, and as we've seen recently on Raw, they've shown no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
If they are to win, they'll add yet another championship to their long list of accolades. It would also mark their first title reign of any kind in WWE since 2004, when they held the title for a mere three-week period.
Of course, that means it's up The New Day to thwart their rivals and ensure the twin titles stay out of their reach.
Nikki Bella vs. Charlotte
Over the past year, Nikki Bella has proved her detractors wrong by embarking on the longest Divas championship reign of all time. As of this week on Raw, the record has been broken, but now the question turns to who will be the one to finally put an end to her dominant reign.
AJ Lee, Paige and Naomi all fell short of taking the title from Nikki this year, but Charlotte has been a different type of challenge for the former Diva Search contestant as of late. After winning a Beat the Clock Challenge, she received a shot at the strap this week on Raw, and while she won the match by disqualification, she couldn't capture the championship.
However, due to the extenuating circumstances of the contest, Stephanie McMahon granted Charlotte another title opportunity this Sunday at Night of Champions.
Say what you will about Nikki's stunning lack of televised title defenses, but to hold any title for such a lengthy period of time is no small feat. She looks to resume her reign going forward, but Charlotte isn't one to be taken lightly.
If she can knock off Nikki at the event, she'll cut the reign short at 301 days while simultaneously becoming only the second NXT women's alum to taste championship gold on the main roster.
That said, the pressure is on for the second-generation star. It's time for a change in the Divas division, and if there's anyone who can lead that charge, it's Charlotte.
Seth Rollins vs. Sting
Had someone told you two or three years ago that a 56-year-old Sting would be contending for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of a WWE pay-per-view in 2015, you likely wouldn't have believed them.
Well, you better believe it, because come Night of Champions, Sting will be headlining for the company's most prestigious prize. But his opponent his no pushover; it's Seth Rollins, the man who has held the title hostage since WrestleMania 31.
Sting has successfully gotten into Rollins' head in recent weeks, going so far as to destroy his precious statue on the Sept. 7 Raw. Additionally, he forced the champ to tap out in his in-ring debut on Raw this week only six days short of their epic encounter.
Sting has long been regarded as one of the greatest performers of all time to have never held the WWE title. That could finally become a reality at Night of Champions if he's able to outlast The Architect.
In doing so, he would etch his name in the record books as the oldest WWE champion in history at 56. Despite his old age, The Vigilante proved he could hang with the most elite competition on Raw, so Rollins will certainly have his work cut out for him.
At the same time, with Sting being his biggest challenge to date, Rollins would cement himself as one of the greats if he can defeat him and maintain his possession of the strap. As the most anticipated championship main event in some time, it's virtually a guarantee fans will be watching history unfold at Night of Champions.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is a journalism major at Endicott College. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling, and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.
via http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2566230-wwe-night-of-champions-2015-matches-with-most-historical-implications
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