10 Historically Significant Moments You Didn't Know Happened At WWE Night Of Champions

4. Kofi Kingston Upsets Chris Jericho

Mark Henry Randy Orton
WWE.com

Following his explosive heel turn in June 2008, it was almost a guarantee that Chris Jericho would defend his Intercontinental Championship against Shawn Michaels at Night Champions. However, due to Michaels still being sidelined with an (kayfabe) eye injury, Jericho's title defense at the event was left in question.

With it being required that every champion must defend their title at the pay-per-view, Jericho was forced to put his gold up for grabs after all against a mystery opponent. Kofi Kingston was perhaps the last person on peoples' minds considering he had been with the company less than six months.

Despite that, Kingston held his own against the inaugural Undisputed champion and took the fight to him. It was only after a distraction from Shawn Michaels at ringside that Kingston was able to find an opening, allowing him to capitalize and pin Y2J for his first Intercontinental title.

It was much more than just the biggest upset in the history of Night of Champions. It was the beginning of a career for one of WWE's most decorated competitors today, having gone on to capture another eleven more titles.

Contributor
Contributor

Since 2008, Graham has been a diehard pro wrestling fan and, in 2010, he combined his passions for WWE and writing when he joined Bleacher Report. Equipped with a master's in journalism, Graham has contributed to WhatCulture, FanSided's Daily DDT, Sports Betting Dime, and GateHouse Media. Along the way, he has conducted interviews with wrestling superstars like Chris Jericho, Edge, Goldberg, Christian, Diamond Dallas Page, Jim Ross, Adam Cole, Tessa Blanchard, Ryback, and Nick Aldis among others.