| Night of Champions | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuringKofi Kingston hoisting theIntercontinental Championship. | |||
| Promotion | WWE | ||
| Date | September 15, 2013 | ||
| City | Detroit,Michigan | ||
| Venue | Joe Louis Arena | ||
| Attendance | 10,500[1] | ||
| Buy rate | 175,000[2] | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| Night of Champions chronology | |||
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The 2013Night of Champions was aprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV)event produced byWWE. It was the seventh annualNight of Champions and took place on September 15, 2013, at theJoe Louis Arena inDetroit,Michigan. This was WWE's last pay-per-view event to take place at the Joe Louis Arena before its closure in 2017 with future WWE events in Detroit held at theLittle Caesars Arena. The theme of the event was that every championship promoted on WWE's main roster at the time was defended. The event received 175,000 buys, down fromthe last year's event of 189,000.
Nine matches were contested at the event, including one on the Kickoff pre-show. In the main event,Daniel Bryan defeatedRandy Orton to win theWWE Championship. In other prominent matches,Rob Van Dam defeatedWorld Heavyweight ChampionAlberto Del Rio viadisqualification thus Del Rio retained, andCurtis Axel andPaul Heyman defeatedCM Punk in aNo DisqualificationHandicapElimination match.
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Night of Champions was an annualpay-per-view (PPV) event produced byWWE since2007.[3] The 2013 event was the seventh Night of Champions and was held on September 15, 2013, at theJoe Louis Arena inDetroit,Michigan. As per the theme of the event, every championship promoted on WWE's main roster at the time was defended. These included theWWE Championship, theWorld Heavyweight Championship, theIntercontinental Championship, theUnited States Championship, theWWE Tag Team Championship, and theWWE Divas Championship.[4]
The card consisted of nine matches, including one on the Kickoff pre-show, that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers, whilestorylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows,Raw andSmackDown.[5][6]
Following his win overJohn Cena atSummerSlam,Daniel Bryan lost theWWE Championship whenspecial guest referee andchief operating officerTriple H attacked Bryan, allowingRandy Orton to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase to win the championship.[7] Triple H and the McMahons stated that it was "best for business" because Bryan did not "fit the mold" to be WWE Champion. Naming Orton the new "face of WWE", they also formed an alliance withThe Shield.[8] Leading up to Night of Champions, Bryan was forced to compete in several challenging matches, including aSteel Cage match againstWade Barrett,[9] agauntlet match against all three members of The Shield,[10] and a match withBig Show.[11] After defeatingDean Ambrose on the September 9 episode ofRaw, Bryan was again assaulted by The Shield and Orton.[12]
On the August 26 episode ofRaw,AJ Lee interrupted the celebration overBrie Bella's victory in a SummerSlam rematch againstNatalya, berating the cast ofTotal Divas, calling them "interchangeable" and "expendable" and stating that they were not good enough to be wrestlers, so they went intoreality TV.[10] On the September 2 episode ofRaw, AJ Lee interfered in a triple threat match between Natalya,Naomi, and Brie Bella, which was to determine the number one contender for her Divas Championship. As a result,Stephanie McMahon scheduled AJ to defend her Divas Championship in afatal four-way match against Natalya, Naomi, and Brie Bella at Night of Champions.[11]
On the August 5 episode ofRaw,Rob Van Dam defeatedWorld Heavyweight ChampionAlberto Del Rio in a non-title match afterRicardo Rodriguez's interference backfired. After the match, Del Rio attacked Rodriguez for his actions.[13] Two weeks later, Rodriguez returned to inform Del Rio that he was now representing Van Dam. Van Dam continued to attack Del Rio, both onRaw[8] andSmackDown,[9] and on the August 26 episode ofRaw, Van Dam won another non-title match over Del Rio due to a distraction by Rodriguez, earning Van Dam a World Heavyweight Championship match against Del Rio at Night of Champions.[10] On the September 6 episode ofSmackDown, Del Rio cost Van Dam a non-title match against Randy Orton, and attacked him after the match. The following week,Vickie Guerrero forced Rodriguez to face Del Rio. After winning the match, Del Rio put Rodriguez in thecross armbreaker until Van Dam made the save.[14]
After being defeated byBrock Lesnar at SummerSlam,[7]CM Punk continued his feud with Paul Heyman, thus starting another one withIntercontinental ChampionCurtis Axel by attacking him the next night onRaw.[8] Four days later onSmackDown, Axel challenged Punk to a match, which Punk accepted.[9] On the August 26 episode ofRaw, Punk defeated Axel and by vote of the WWE Universe, Heyman was forced to face Punk in the ring, but Axel interfered and helped Heyman attack Punk.Brad Maddox granted Punk's wish of facing Heyman by giving him aNo DisqualificationHandicapElimination match at Night of Champions against Axel and Heyman.[10]
On the September 9 episode ofRaw, atag team turmoil match was scheduled for the Night of Champions Kickoff pre-show, with the winners challengingThe Shield (Roman Reigns andSeth Rollins) for theWWE Tag Team Championship later in the night.[12]
On the September 13 episode ofSmackDown,Dolph Ziggler facedDean Ambrose for an opportunity at the United States Championship at Night of Champions. Although Reigns and Rollins interfered when Ziggler was about to win, he was still given the championship match.[15]
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| EnglishCommentators | Michael Cole |
| Jerry Lawler | |
| John "Bradshaw" Layfield | |
| Spanish Commentators | Marcelo Rodriguez |
| Carlos Cabrera | |
| Interviewer | Tony Dawson |
| Ring announcers | Lilian Garcia |
| Justin Roberts | |
| Referees | Charles Robinson |
| Mike Chioda | |
| John Cone | |
| Marc Harris | |
| Rod Zapata | |
| Chad Patton | |
| Scott Armstrong | |
| Pre-show Panel | Josh Mathews |
| Alex Riley | |
| Booker T | |
| Santino Marella |
During the Night of Champions Kickoff pre-show, a tag team turmoil match was held, whichThe Prime Time Players (Darren Young andTitus O'Neil) won by last eliminating The Real Americans (Antonio Cesaro andJack Swagger) to become the number one contenders for theWWE Tag Team Championship later at the event.[4]
The pay-per-view started withTriple H promising that there would be no interference in theWWE Championship match. He was interrupted byPaul Heyman and theIntercontinental Champion,Curtis Axel, who requested that their handicap match againstCM Punk be cancelled. Triple H not only refused and but also decided that the first person he sees backstage would receive an immediate title shot at Axel's Intercontinental Championship. Triple H headed to the back and ran intoKofi Kingston, who was sent to the ring to challenge Axel. Axel pinned Kingston after a Hangman's Facebuster to retain the title.[4]
After this,AJ Lee defended herWWE Divas Championship againstNatalya,Naomi, andBrie Bella in a fatal four-way match. AJ forced Natalya to submit to the Black Widow to retain the title.[4]
In the third match,Alberto Del Rio defended theWorld Heavyweight Championship againstRob Van Dam, who was accompanied by Del Rio's former ring announcer,Ricardo Rodriguez. Van Dam won by disqualification after Del Rio refused to release the Cross Armbreaker by a 5 count. After the match, Del Rio tried to attack Van Dam with a chair but Rodriguez took the chair, allowing Van Dam to execute a DDT and a Van Daminator on Del Rio.[4]
Next,The Miz wrestledFandango. Miz forced Fandango to submit to the Figure Four Leglock to win the match.[4]
In the fifth match, CM Punk faced Curtis Axel and Paul Heyman in a No Disqualification Handicap Elimination match. Midway through the match, Punk hit Axel with a kendo stick, executed a GTS and forced him to submit to the Anaconda Vise. Punk then chased Heyman, his remaining opponent, through the arena and taunted him. Heyman hugged Punk but was attacked with a kendo stick.Ryback interfered, tackling Punk through a table positioned in the corner before placing Heyman on top of Punk, allowing Heyman to score a pinfall and win the match.[4]
After that,Dean Ambrose defended theWWE United States Championship againstDolph Ziggler. Ambrose pinned Ziggler after Dirty Deeds to retain the title.[4]
In the penultimate match, the other two members ofThe Shield,Seth Rollins andRoman Reigns, defended the WWE Tag Team Championship against The Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil). In the end, Reigns performed a Spear on O'Neil, allowing Rollins to score a pinfall to retain the titles.[4]
In the main event,Randy Orton defended the WWE Championship againstDaniel Bryan. Orton attempted an RKO but Bryan countered and performed a Dropkick on Orton, knocking him into the referee. Bryan applied the Yes! Lock but Orton touched the ring ropes, forcing Bryan to release the hold. In the end, Orton attempted an RKO but Bryan countered into a Backslide, which Orton countered. Bryan pinned Orton after a Running Knee to win the title.[4]
The next night onRaw, Daniel Bryan was stripped of the WWE Championship by Triple H, because of a fast count byrefereeScott Armstrong; Triple H accused Bryan of having conspired with the referee and punished Bryan more by putting him in a match with Roman Reigns; though Bryan won, he was again assaulted by the rest of The Shield (Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose) and Randy Orton. Orton put Bryan's head in between the folds of a chair, but before he could further injure Bryan, most face wrestlers ran to the ring and attacked Orton and The Shield, with Bryan finishing them off with a high knee to Rollins.[16]
On the September 20 episode ofSmackDown, Triple H gave Rob Van Dam a rematch with Alberto Del Rio atBattleground for the World Heavyweight Championship. Immediately afterwards, Del Rio viciously assaulted Van Dam backstage.[17]
CM Punk continued to feud with Paul Heyman and his newest clientRyback. On the September 23 episode ofRaw, a match between the two was scheduled for Battleground.[18]
AJ Lee continued her feud with the members of the Total Divas cast. On the September 23 episode ofRaw, Brie Bella pinned Lee during a 10-diva tag team match, leading to a title match at Battleground.[18]
The 2013 Night of Champions was the final Night of Champions to feature the World Heavyweight Championship, as it was unified with the WWE Championship atTLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in December, with the WWE Championship becoming the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.[19]
| Order | Team | Elimination | Eliminated by | Times[29] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3MB (Heath Slater andDrew McIntyre) (withJinder Mahal) | 1 | Tons of Funk | 1:31 |
| 2 | Tons of Funk (Brodus Clay andTensai) | 2 | The Real Americans | 4:53 |
| 3 | The Real Americans (Antonio Cesaro andJack Swagger) (withZeb Colter) | 4 | The Prime Time Players | 9:11 |
| 4 | The Usos (Jimmy Uso andJey Uso) | 3 | The Real Americans | 11:03 |
| Winners | The Prime Time Players (Darren Young andTitus O'Neil) | |||