Date: 06/24/2007

Location: Houston, TX

Announcers: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, JBL, Joey Styles & Tazz

The Setup 

It’s Night of Champions, so every match is a title match. The draft had just concluded amid a flurry of other WWE big events, so instead of building an opponent for Cena, we have a weird five-way main event where even Mick Foley is working to hopefully add some interest. We also have Batista challenging Edge in a match that was billed as his last title shot, as long as Edge held the title. You can see my thoughts on other 2007 shows to see that I was more than prepared for this program to come to an end. 

The Business 

The show did 255,000 PPV buys, placing it sixth out of fourteen PPVs for the year, and the number two non-big four show. It only trailed No Mercy 2007, where a new WWE champion was guaranteed. It didn’t feel like Foley’s return was made a huge deal for this show, so I’m not quite sure how much he can be credited for the show. However, a dual-brand show with all the titles on the line likely played a part. 

Prowrestlinghistory.com reports an attendance of 15,000 and an impressive gate of $800,000. 

The Results 

World Tag Team Championship Match: Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch (C) def. The Hardys (Matt and Jeff) in 8:55. I enjoyed this match’s simplicity. Matt came in with an injured knee, so the bruising heels did a good job working it over. Jeff came in with the hot tag to do the stuff to make the fans happy. Murdoch broke up a swanton pin attempt, and Cade eventually pinned Jeff with his sit-down rock bottom. ***

WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match: Chavo Guerrero (C) def. Jimmy Wang Yang in 10:16. This was well-worked, but probably not as fast-paced as you’d hope for this title. I’ve heard Prichard bury the WCW cruiserweight division as a car crash, which is fine (even if I disagree), but if you’re going to have the division, the guys should at least work at a much faster pace or do something to stand out. There were some good nearfalls, and the crowd was into Cowboy Yang here, but Chavo put it away with a neat-locking frog splash to the back. **3/4 

ECW World Championship Match (Vacant): Johnny Nitro def. CM Punk in 8:00. Nitro was replacing Chris Benoit because this is THAT show, and there are audible “We Want Benoit” chants to start. I’m not sure if it was the last-minute nature, but these two defintely had better matches. Also, Punk’s strikes don’t look nearly as good as they should for someone who was built as this martial artist of sorts. Nitro won clean with his reverse neckbeeaker deal. **1/4 

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Santino Marella (C) def. Umaga via DQ in 2:34. They barely started, and Umaga was DQ’d for not letting up on Marella in the corner. DUD. Let the record show that Umaga was booked like dog shit in 2007. He laid Marella out after the match. Ugh. 

WWE United States Championship Match: Montel Vontavious Porter (C) def. Ric Flair in 8:43. MVP played heel by getting in the face of Magnum TA before the match, but since his accident was twenty-one years before this, I’m not sure how effective that was. This was incredibly average and lacked the crowd heat you’d think for a Flair match. Flair’s chops looked good, but the match was just sort of there, and another in a string of eight-minute title matches. MVP with an eyepoke and playmaker for the win. **

WWE Tag Team Championship Match: Deuce ‘n Domino (C) def. Jimmy Snuka and Sgt. Slaughter in 6:34. Snuka didn’t look good physically and immediately smoked his famous legdrop spot. Slaughter worked in multiple camel clutches within the six minutes allotted. Domino looked clueless at times. Snuka went for a crossbody off the top, and his son, Deuce, (very safely) caught him and rolled through for the win. Why is this on PPV? 1/2* 

World Heavyweight Championship Last Chance Match: Edge (C) def. Batista via Countout in 16:50. This was the best of their matches that I saw this year, but that’s also damming with faint praise, and this was also an awful finish. Both men worked the arms and shoulders, so it had some decent psychology. They had some good nearfalls that the fans bought into. Edge lowblowed Batsita for a cheap DQ loss, but Teddy Long ordered a restart. Batista gave Edge a powerbomb on the floor and struggled getting Edge back in the ring. Once he rolled Edge in first, the ref counted ten, and Batista was counted out, to guarantee a shit finish. Why?! Way to make your babyface look like a dumbshit. 

WWE Women’s Championship Match: Candice Michelle def. Melina (C) in 4:07. This felt like they just went out and did a bunch of moves in the death spot here without a lot of rhyme or reason, although Melina did take a crazy bump to the floor. Candace badly botched the heel kick finish and just sort of ran her body into Melina’s. Oof. 1/2* 

WWE Championship Five-Pack Challenge Match: John Cena (C) def. Bobby Lashley, King Booker, Mick Foley, and Randy Orton in 10:08. The little amount of time meant this was all action. Lashley did an impressive tope onto all men, but then quickly atean AA through the announce table from Cena. There were a lot of finishers and big moves that were broken up, and Foley ran wild with a chair at one point, including looking like he single-handedly gave Lashley CTE. Cena caught Foley and gave him the AA to end a quick but chaotic main event. ***

Recommendation 

Thumbs down. There were too many matches that either didn’t need to happen or didn’t get time, and with nothing being better than a good match, you can pass right over this show and keep living your life happily.