WWE Night Of Champions: 10 Hidden Gem Matches You Must See

5. Johnny Nitro vs. CM Punk (2007)

Originally, CM Punk was supposed to face Chris Benoit for the vacant ECW Title at Vengeance: Night Of Champions. Of course, just a few days after the event, it would become clear why the Canadian grappler didn't show up to the event. Much has been written about the Benoit family tragedy, and it doesn't need re-airing here. Instead, Johnny Nitro would face Punk. The results were excellent, although the match has been over-shadowed badly by the aforementioned Chris Benoit situation. Given that Nitro was a last minute replacement as Punk's opponent, it would have been easy for the pair to simply go through the motions during their title effort. Maybe it was the short notice, but Nitro and Punk excelled together. Later matches on the old ECW TV show would arguably be better. Those bouts were certainly longer, but Night Of Champions 2007 was the starting point. Both men were finding their feet as singles stars in the company, and the match turned out very well. It's a shame that Nitro's ECW Title win is undermined somewhat by a tragic situation, but entirely understandable.