6 Ups And 4 Downs From WWE Night Of Champions 2023

3. Rollins, Styles Play The Hits

When you saw the match graphic for the World Heavyweight Championship finals, you knew AJ Styles and Seth Rollins were capable of delivering a more-than-watchable battle in their sleep.

What we got at Night of Champions was certainly something a couple notches above that, but it certainly wasn’t a classic or epic struggle that will be remembered for months or years to come.

Rollins and Styles hit all their signature spots throughout the match, with AJ targeting Seth’s knee in the latter half of the contest, which brought about a moment of doubt when Rollins crumpled to the mat in pain while going for a stomp. But he was able to recover moments later and nail the stomp to win his fifth world title.

The match was hindered by a lackluster build that saw Rollins literally phoning it in the past two weeks with a pre-recorded interview spread out over the last two Raws. Without any real build other than a one-week tournament and a match graphic for a new title, the stakes and tension were somewhat muted.

It’s going to be up to Rollins – and WWE on the whole – to elevate what already seems like a secondary world title, but right now, there are few babyfaces hotter than him, so he’s a good call to carry banner and try.