Night of Champions (2010) — WWE pay‑per‑view at Allstate Arena

Concept and card structure

The Night of Champions concept is straightforward: a pay‑per‑view built around title matches that span the company’s divisions. The 2010 card followed this pattern by arranging several championship defenses across different categories — world title, secondary or midcard belts, tag team championships and the women’s division. In 2010 the event also featured the first non‑title match in the Night of Champions series, a deliberate exception used to further a storyline that did not require a championship stipulation.

Roster, matches and booking considerations

The card combined established main‑event names with midcard and tag team competitors who held or contested titles during that period. WWE typically structured the night to place a world championship defense in the main event slot, supported by undercard title matches intended to provide variety in match type and pacing. Promoters used title defenses to settle ongoing feuds, to reassert champions’ standing, or to create fresh angles that would continue on the company’s weekly shows.

Production and broadcast

As a televised pay‑per‑view, Night of Champions was produced with the standard broadcast elements of the time: ring announcers, commentary teams, and staged entrances designed for the arena and home viewers. The show aired to a global audience via WWE’s distribution partners and was subsequently available through WWE’s on‑demand services. Production emphasized the presentation of each title as a marquee attraction and often included backstage segments to link matches into longer narratives.

Reception and legacy

Critical and fan reaction to Night of Champions (2010) focused on the quality of matches, the logic of booking decisions, and whether the event delivered memorable title moments. Reviews typically assessed whether championship matches felt decisive and whether the card balanced competitive contests with storyline progression. The inclusion of a non‑title bout was noted as a modest but meaningful change to the Night of Champions formula, demonstrating WWE’s willingness to deviate from a single‑concept constraint when storyline needs required it.

Historical placement

Night of Champions emerged in the mid‑2000s as part of a trend in which WWE experimented with pay‑per‑views centered on a single theme. By 2010 the event had established itself as a regular stop on the company calendar, known for concentrating title matches on one card. This approach gave the show a clear identity for fans who wanted an evening focused on championship stakes, while also allowing the company to use those stakes as turning points for longer television arcs.

Key facts

• Date: September 19, 2010.
• Promotion: WWE.
• Venue: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois.
• Concept: headline focus on the promotion’s active championships, with the 2010 show notably including the first non‑title match in the event’s history.
• Broadcast format: televised pay‑per‑view available to domestic and international audiences.
• Context: part of WWE’s annual pay‑per‑view schedule and the fourth Night of Champions event overall.

For readers seeking match‑level results, attendance figures, or critical reviews, consult dedicated event reports and wrestling archives that compile bout lists and outcomes in detail. This article provides a concise encyclopedic overview of the event’s concept, place in WWE’s schedule, and its significance as a championship‑centric pay‑per‑view that made a small structural change in 2010.