Should These 5 Title Changes Happen at WWE Night of Champions?

Rob Wolkenbrod

WWE.com

At WWE Night of Champions, all the titles will be on the line. Does that mean they should all change hands?

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The gimmick of the WWE Night of Champions pay-per-view is for every title to be up for grabs in a match. It means Nikki Bella, who has barely defended the WWE Divas Championship this summer, has to put her belt on the line. It also means that Seth Rollins, the owner of the WWE United States Championship and WWE World Heavyweight Championship, must wrestle twice in one night.

ALSO ON DAILY DDT: WWE Night of Champions: 10 Best Matches

Check out who they’re scheduled to defend against and what other title matches are scheduled for Sunday:

WWE United States Championship Match
Seth Rollins (c) vs. John Cena

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
Ryback (c) vs. Kevin Owens

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
New Day (c) vs. The Dudley Boyz

WWE Divas Championship Match
Nikki Bella (c) vs. Charlotte

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match
Seth Rollins (c) vs. Sting

With five titles being defended at Night of Champions, it’s likely at least one of these will change hands. The WWE Tag Team Championship and U.S. Title were won by different Superstars (New Day and Rollins, respectively) at WWE SummerSlam. Could they receive new owners once again?

Find out which titles should change hands at Night of Champions by clicking below.

Next: U.S. Title

WWE.com

WWE United States Championship Match
Seth Rollins (c) vs. John Cena

Rollins and Cena will have a rematch for the WWE United States Championship at Night of Champions. Rollins won it during their match at WWE SummerSlam last month in what’s been called a Match of the Year candidate.

ALSO SEE: Possible Night of Champions Spoiler

So far Rollins has not defended the U.S. Title during his three-week reign. This is very much unlike Cena, who put the belt on the line almost every week during his run. It’s due to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship being Rollins’ focus during the storylines, as he will also battle Sting at Night of Champions.

Putting two belts on Rollins created a great moment for the former ROH star. He got put over in a big way at SummerSlam when no one thought he would. However, it’s time for him to drop the title he won from Cena at Night of Champions.

Putting the U.S. Title back on Cena would create an opportunity for another Superstar to enter a title feud. Rollins having the belt limits a spot for someone, especially since it’s been seldom talked about on TV.

So have Cena win the U.S. Title from Rollins, create an opportunity and reestablish the belt that was hot throughout the summer.

Next: IC Title

WWE.com

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
Ryback (c) vs. Kevin Owens

Ryback is set to defend his WWE Intercontinental Championship against Kevin Owens at Night of Champions. Owens has put together a string of wins to insert himself into contention for the belt.

The Big Guy has held the IC Title since he surprisingly won it at WWE Elimination Chamber in May. His run hasn’t been much to note, however. He had been involved with Big Show and The Miz throughout the summer in a feud for the title. It lasted longer than it should have once Ryback went down with a staph infection that caused his triple threat match at WWE Battleground to be postponed.

ALSO SEE: Kevin Owens Should Leave Night of Champions as IC Champion

So heading into Night of Champions, he’s set to face Owens, who will be his toughest opponent yet. Many thought the former NXT Champion would be the current U.S. Champion but he lost his match to John Cena at Battleground for the belt. Now he gets a second chance.

Owens showed in NXT how important he can make a title feud look. His five month feud with Sami Zayn for the NXT Championship was excellent. Owens’ promos and in-ring work made his title matches have a big fight feel. If he can win the IC Title off of Ryback, he will be able to do that again.

Putting the IC Title on Owens would make the belt more relevant than it has been in a long time. Owens is entertaining, talented, and draws a reaction. When he talks, you can’t help but focus on what he’s saying because he articulates his words well. Then he goes into the ring and backs it up with his wrestling. Who wouldn’t want that out of a mid-card belt champion?

Owens winning his first main roster title could be the start of bigger things to come. He has the talent to be a main-eventer, which will be seen since he should beat Ryback for the IC Title.

Next: Tag Team Titles

WWE.com

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
New Day (c) vs. The Dudley Boyz

The New Day will have their second title defense during their second reign as WWE Tag Team Champions against The Dudley Boyz this Sunday at Night of Champions. This will be Bubba Ray and D-Von’s first attempt at a title since returning to WWE last month.

New Day is hotter than ever right now. They’re entertaining, great heels and fantastic champions. However, The Dudley Boyz also have a ton of momentum given they just returned from a ten-year hiatus from WWE.

ALSO SEE: New Day Continues to Own the Internet (Video)

While having Bubba Ray and D-Von win at Night of Champions would provide a great moment, it’s just not time for their latest title reign. New Day is only one month into their latest title win and could hold the belts for a while. They have done nothing to warrant a title change so they could hold the belt another month. WWE also usually has the Tag Team Champions hold the belts for two months at a time, so maybe the Dudleys win next month at WWE Hell in a Cell.

Is it time already for New Day to drop their titles at Night of Champions? Should the Dudleys get a title run for the first time in ten years?

Next: Divas Title

WWE.com

WWE Divas Championship Match
Nikki Bella (c) vs. Charlotte

This one may be the most controversial of them all.

This match between Nikki Bella and Charlotte was originally scheduled for Night of Champions. However, the Nature Girl got The Authority to grant her a title match before Nikki became the longest reigning WWE Divas Champion ever. The match occurred last night on Raw.

ALSO SEE: 30 Greatest Gimmick Matches in WWE

As Nikki looked to be in trouble during the bout, her sister Brie pulled “twin magic” and ran into the ring. Charlotte quickly rolled her up for the win and seemingly won the Divas Championship. Her father, Ric Flair even came out to celebrate.

However, Stephanie McMahon walked out and said she saw this messy finish. She gave Charlotte the win but Nikki got to keep the belt and become the longest reigning Divas Champion ever. This bout would be made once again for Night of Champions.

WWE gave Nikki her reign and erased AJ Lee from the record books (her husband may have something to do with it). This likely means Charlotte will get the real win in her second attempt and become the WWE Divas Champion.

While it will be a great moment for Charlotte, the effect of her win will be diminished. There was a chance to create a memorable moment on Raw by thwarting Nikki’s record attempt but WWE missed an opportunity.

Do you think Charlotte will get the win at Night of Champions?

Next: WWE WHC

WWE.com

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match
Seth Rollins (c) vs. Sting

Sting’s second ever WWE match will come at Night of Champions against Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The Icon’s first bout came against Triple H at WrestleMania 31 in a losing effort.

This match will also be Rollins’ second one of the night, as he will face John Cena for the U.S. Title. We argued already that Rollins should drop that belt to Cena but should he lose both in one night?

ALSO SEE: How Seth Rollins and Sting Can Win at Night of Champions

As fans know, Sting is a part-timer. He’ll get brought in for a show here and there but that’s it. So why would WWE put the top belt on him?

While they did it for Brock Lesnar, having Sting hold it doesn’t make sense.

Lesnar’s part-time reign last year came under fire because the WWE WHC was barely referenced. Sometimes fans would forget that WWE even had someone holding their top belt. Lesnar also went absent from WWE TV for nearly three months from Night of Champions to post-WWE TLC. Under card feuds received more focus but something was missing without the top title around. The same would happen if Sting held the belt.

Then there’s the argument “WWE can’t have Sting lose his first two matches.” Well, WWE backed themselves into a corner by making this feud. They’re either going to have Rollins lose his belt to a part-timer or have Sting’s WWE luster dim by not getting his first win. It’s a lose-lose situation for WWE.

So keep the belt on Rollins and have him get put over by a wrestling icon. It’s the smarter idea of the two options WWE has.

Which title change(s) should happen at Night of Champions? Let us know below.

Next: WrestleMania 32 Match Card Projections 3.0

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Rob Wolkenbrod

Robert is an editor, writer, and video editor. He covers the San Antonio Spurs for Forbes and the Toronto Raptors for Hoops Habit.