9 Ups And 6 Downs From WWE Night Of Champions 2015

Three new champs, a surprising return, and a briefcase... did it get cashed in?

The Burning Questions preview column presented Night of Champions as an opportunity for WWE to turn the page on the past and begin clicking some of the pieces into place. If the right people won their matches Sunday night, it could signal a move in the right direction. While it€™s hard to say that one night can represent a sea change for a company, several of those pieces did fall into place at Night of Champions, as we crowned three new champions, including two first-time champs. A powerful heel team looked dominant while another trio of villains escaped with their hardware intact. And a weaseling world champ buckled down and defeated an icon to salvage his night. In crowning Kevin Owens and Charlotte as first-time champions, WWE handed them the gauntlet to stave off all challengers. Charlotte unseated the face of the old, tired Divas division, and hopefully will usher in a more athletic, competitive spirit in women€™s wrestling. Owens bested Ryback, a man who is far from a bygone relic but just in the wrong place at the wrong time with the Intercontinental Championship. KO has the potential to be dominant, and winning the IC title in his first try is a good indicator. We also saw the New Day hold onto their tag team gold, which John Cena regained his United States Championship. Throw in a dominant performance from the Wyatt Family against an equally game mini-Shield and mystery partner and you€™ve got a pretty good evening of wrestling €“ and that says nothing about the world champion, Seth Rollins. So what got crowned a champ and what got dethroned? Let€™s find out€

Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fortunately became a fan in time for WrestleMania III and came back as a fan after a long high school hiatus before WM XIV. Monday nights in the Carlson household are reserved for viewing Raw -- for better or worse.