# Night of Champions (2014)
**Night of Champions (2014)** was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE, held on September 21, 2014, at [Bridgestone Arena](https://www.edgepedia.org/bridgestone-arena) in [Nashville, Tennessee](https://www.edgepedia.org/nashville-tennessee). It was the eighth annual Night of Champions event, a show whose premise places every active main-roster championship on the line, and it was the first edition of the event in the [WWE Network](https://www.edgepedia.org/wwe-network) era, which had launched in February 2014.[1](https://ewrestling.fandom.com/wiki/Night_of_Champions_%282014%29) • [2](https://wrestlefile.com/events/night-of-champions-2014/) • [3](https://corporate.wwe.com/f/docs/annual-reports/2021.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date and venue | September 21, 2014, Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee[4](https://www.thesmackdownhotel.com/events-results/ppv-special/wwe-night-of-champions-2014) |
| Edition | Eighth annual Night of Champions pay-per-view[1](https://ewrestling.fandom.com/wiki/Night_of_Champions_%282014%29) |
| Main event | John Cena def. WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar by disqualification; Lesnar retained the title[5](https://www.wwe.com/shows/nightofchampions/2014) |
| Title changes | Gold & Stardust won the WWE Tag Team Championship, The Miz won the Intercontinental Championship, and AJ Lee regained the Divas Championship[5](https://www.wwe.com/shows/nightofchampions/2014) |
| Missing match | Seth Rollins defeated Roman Reigns via forfeit after Reigns underwent emergency surgery[6](https://www.wrestlinginc.com/events/2014/254/wwe-night-of-champions-2014/) |
| Attendance | 11,000[2](https://wrestlefile.com/events/night-of-champions-2014/) |
| Theme songs | "Night of Gold" by CFO$ and "Big Epic Night" by Jim Johnston[4](https://www.thesmackdownhotel.com/events-results/ppv-special/wwe-night-of-champions-2014) |
## Background
Night of Champions was WWE's September pay-per-view, branded in company materials as its most championship-focused event of the year. The 2014 card was built from scripted storylines in which wrestlers portrayed heroes and villains, with tensions building toward matches on the show.[1](https://ewrestling.fandom.com/wiki/Night_of_Champions_%282014%29) Tickets went on sale in June 2014 for the Bridgestone Arena show.[7](https://www.wwe.com/shows/nightofchampions/2014/night-of-champions-2014-tickets)
The central storyline concerned the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. [Brock Lesnar](https://www.edgepedia.org/brock-lesnar) had dominated [John Cena](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-cena) at [SummerSlam](https://www.edgepedia.org/summerslam) to win the title, and the Night of Champions match was a rematch between the two.[2](https://wrestlefile.com/events/night-of-champions-2014/) A second advertised match pitted former Shield teammates Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins against each other, announced on the September 9, 2014 edition of WWE Main Event.[8](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wwemainevent/2014-09-09/wwe-main-event-results)
## The main event: Cena versus Lesnar
John Cena brought the fight to champion Brock Lesnar, who was accompanied by his advocate [Paul Heyman](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-heyman), in a rematch that proved far more competitive than their SummerSlam encounter.[5](https://www.wwe.com/shows/nightofchampions/2014) • [2](https://wrestlefile.com/events/night-of-champions-2014/) The match, which ran 14:15, ended when Cena won by disqualification; under championship match rules, the title does not change hands on a disqualification, so Lesnar walked away with the WWE World Heavyweight Title.[9](https://prowrestling.fandom.com/wiki/Night_of_Champions_2014) • [5](https://www.wwe.com/shows/nightofchampions/2014) WWE's own event page described the finish as a conclusion no one saw coming, and retrospective reviews criticized the disqualification ending for interrupting the rematch at its strongest point and using [Seth Rollins](https://www.edgepedia.org/seth-rollins)' interference to start a new angle rather than settle the championship story.[5](https://www.wwe.com/shows/nightofchampions/2014) • [2](https://wrestlefile.com/events/night-of-champions-2014/)
## Championship matches
**Three titles changed hands.** Goldust and Stardust, whose storyline centered on a search for the "cosmic key," defeated tag team champions [The Usos](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-usos) to capture the WWE Tag Team Championship.[5](https://www.wwe.com/shows/nightofchampions/2014) The Miz regained the Intercontinental Championship from [Dolph Ziggler](https://www.edgepedia.org/dolph-ziggler) with assistance from his stunt double Damien Mizdow and a handful of tights; the win proved temporary, as the title changed back the following night.[5](https://www.wwe.com/shows/nightofchampions/2014) • [2](https://wrestlefile.com/events/night-of-champions-2014/) In a triple threat match, [AJ Lee](https://www.edgepedia.org/aj-lee) forced champion Paige to submit to the Black Widow after Nikki Bella had fallen, regaining the WWE Divas Championship and tying Eve's record of three title reigns.[5](https://www.wwe.com/shows/nightofchampions/2014)
**Two champions retained.** United States Champion Sheamus defeated Cesaro in a match singled out by reviewers as the card's best pure wrestling contest, built on stiff strikes and escalating physicality.[5](https://www.wwe.com/shows/nightofchampions/2014) • [2](https://wrestlefile.com/events/night-of-champions-2014/) Cesaro had earned the title shot by winning a number one contender's match.[8](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wwemainevent/2014-09-09/wwe-main-event-results)
## Non-title matches
Rusev, accompanied by Lana, forced [Mark Henry](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-henry) to tap out to The Accolade, remaining undefeated. Henry, who weighed over 400 pounds and was brought to tears during [Lilian Garcia](https://www.edgepedia.org/lilian-garcia)'s pre-match singing of the American national anthem, dominated early before Rusev drove him spine-first into the ring post and targeted his back; a World's Strongest Slam by Henry took too great a toll on the injured back to be capitalized on, and a leaping side kick left Henry vulnerable for the submission. Rusev and Lana celebrated as the Russian flag hung above the ring.[10](https://www.wwe.com/shows/nightofchampions/2014/mark-henry-rusev)
[Randy Orton](https://www.edgepedia.org/randy-orton) defeated [Chris Jericho](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-jericho) in a highly personal match between two of WWE's most decorated wrestlers, a bout that reviews placed in the show's strong tier alongside Sheamus-Cesaro and the main event.[5](https://www.wwe.com/shows/nightofchampions/2014) • [2](https://wrestlefile.com/events/night-of-champions-2014/)
## The Rollins-Reigns forfeit and Ambrose's return
The advertised match between Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns never took place. Reigns underwent emergency surgery on the Saturday before the event, a fact discussed by the kickoff pre-show panel of Renee Young, Big Show, Booker T, and Alex Riley.[11](https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2014/09/wwe-night-of-champions-results-581238/) Rollins was recorded as defeating Reigns via forfeit.[6](https://www.wrestlinginc.com/events/2014/254/wwe-night-of-champions-2014/) During the segment, Dean Ambrose answered Rollins' open challenge, a return that became one of the event's notable moments.[12](https://www.wwe.com/shows/nightofchampions/2014/wwe-night-of-champions-2014-results)
## Reception and business figures
Contemporary and retrospective reviews were largely positive about the in-ring quality. Wrestling Inc's review called Night of Champions possibly the best WWE pay-per-view of 2014 by wrestling alone, citing a strong slate of matches up and down the card.[13](https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2014/09/views-from-the-turnbuckle-wwe-night-of-champions-review-581261/) A later retrospective assigned the event a grade of B, 7.8 out of 10, praising Sheamus-Cesaro, Orton-Jericho, and a more competitive Cena-Lesnar rematch while criticizing the disqualification finish, the short-lived Intercontinental title change, and the loss of the advertised Reigns-Rollins match.[2](https://wrestlefile.com/events/night-of-champions-2014/)
The event's commercial performance reflected the shift to streaming. WWE's quarterly filing reported 48,000 traditional pay-per-view buys for the September 2014 Night of Champions, down from 175,000 for the prior year's event, with comparable-basis pay-per-view buys declining 56 percent because of the availability of pay-per-view events on WWE Network.[14](https://corporate.wwe.com/f/docs/press-releases/10302014_516.pdf)
## References
1. [Night of Champions (2014), The eWrestling Encyclopedia](https://ewrestling.fandom.com/wiki/Night_of_Champions_%282014%29)
2. [Night of Champions 2014 Review & Final Grade, WrestleFile](https://wrestlefile.com/events/night-of-champions-2014/)
3. [WWE 2021 Annual Report](https://corporate.wwe.com/f/docs/annual-reports/2021.pdf)
4. [WWE Night of Champions 2014 Full Results & Match Card, The SmackDown Hotel](https://www.thesmackdownhotel.com/events-results/ppv-special/wwe-night-of-champions-2014)
5. [Night of Champions 2014, WWE.com](https://www.wwe.com/shows/nightofchampions/2014)
6. [WWE Night Of Champions (2014), Wrestling Inc events](https://www.wrestlinginc.com/events/2014/254/wwe-night-of-champions-2014/)
7. [Night of Champions tickets on sale now, WWE.com](https://www.wwe.com/shows/nightofchampions/2014/night-of-champions-2014-tickets)
8. [WWE Main Event results, Sept. 9, 2014, WWE.com](https://www.wwe.com/shows/wwemainevent/2014-09-09/wwe-main-event-results)
9. [Night of Champions 2014, Pro Wrestling Fandom](https://prowrestling.fandom.com/wiki/Night_of_Champions_2014)
10. [Rusev def. Mark Henry, WWE.com](https://www.wwe.com/shows/nightofchampions/2014/mark-henry-rusev)
11. [WWE Night Of Champions Results, Wrestling Inc](https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2014/09/wwe-night-of-champions-results-581238/)
12. [WWE Night of Champions 2014 results, WWE.com](https://www.wwe.com/shows/nightofchampions/2014/wwe-night-of-champions-2014-results)
13. [Views From The Turnbuckle: WWE Night Of Champions Review, Wrestling Inc](https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2014/09/views-from-the-turnbuckle-wwe-night-of-champions-review-581261/)
14. [WWE Exhibit 99.1, September 30, 2014 press release](https://corporate.wwe.com/f/docs/press-releases/10302014_516.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Combat sports and professional wrestling › Professional wrestling promotions and championships › WWE promotion and brands › WWE pay-per-views, 2002–2016*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license