10 Historically Significant Moments You Didn't Know Happened At WWE Night Of Champions
8. Johnny Nitro Becomes ECW Champion
In his early years with WWE, Johnny Nitro was never given the opportunity to break out as a singles star. He shined in the tag team ranks alongside Joey Mercury, but once their run as a tandem came to an end in 2006, he floundered in the midcard on the Raw brand.
Sure, he had a few Intercontinental Championship reigns to his credit and a handful of impressive outings against Jeff Hardy, but he didn't come out of that program as an established star. His TV time was largely curtailed going into 2007 and he was left off the WrestleMania 23 card.
Thus, his move to the ECW brand as part of the 2007 WWE supplemental draft was the best thing that could have happened to his career. He filled in as Chris Benoit's replacement in the ECW Championship match at Night of Champions 2007 and went on to beat CM Punk for the belt: his first and only "major" title victory in WWE.
It was more than just a title win for Nitro; it was a launching pad to super stardom. It was only a few weeks later that he changed his name to John Morrison and as they say, the rest is history.