WWE Night Of Champions: 12 Major Talking Points

When it was announced that Ryback would defend his Intercontinental Championship against Kevin Owens, it sounded like a great idea. Owens has been red-hot since his debut back in May, and has had exciting matches on a consistent basis. Unfortunately, that pattern hit a combo breaker when Owens had to face off against Ryback.

Credit is due for Owens trying to tell a story by focusing almost exclusively on Ryback’s arm for the majority of the match, which showed that he’s a smart wrestler and a technician, despite some reservations among some of WWE’s backstage power-brokers. 

Speaking of power, that was pretty much all Ryback was capable of doing in this match, because while Owens was doing well as a wrestler, Ryback simply didn’t do well at all, unless he was lifting Owens.

Then there was the finish, which consisted of nothing more than a roll-up, which made the match fall flat and deflated any excitement that had developed during this contest.

This is one of those matches that could’ve been better with more time, as the audience was slowly getting into it by the end, and they clearly loved Owens far more than Ryback. All in all, it was a disappointing contest that, at the very least, had the correct winner.

With Owens as Intercontinental Champion, the ‘prizefighter’ actually has a prize worth protecting.