For Kaitlyn, Night of Champions was supposed to be the turning point in an up-and-coming career, a moment when, years down the road, the WWE Universe could point to and say, "That was when things really took off." In the weeks leading up to the pay-per-view, the determined Diva had been on quite a role, winning a No. 1 Contender’s Divas Battle Royal and even overcoming the dominating Beth Phoenix. Heading into Sunday, she was primed and ready to challenge Layla for the prestigious Divas Championship.

Instead, what should have been a career-defining pay-per-view turned into a nightmare for the powerhouse challenger. That night, she was found writhing in pain backstage, nursing what was eventually diagnosed as a sprained ankle — an injury that forced Kaitlyn out of her Divas Title Match and, quite possibly, out of the Divas Title picture for some time to come.

In the wreckage of that now-lost opportunity, only frustration and questions remain. Frustration on the part of the fallen Diva and questions as to who conspired to train wreck her recent momentum.

Her assailant is still unknown, though WWE.com has been able to officially rule out Little Jimmy. Still, the motives are crystal clear. Someone obviously wanted Kaitlyn out of the running for the Divas Title, which has incited WWE.com to ask the question: Who attacked Kaitlyn?

Who benefits?

The most obvious suspect in the vicious attack on the ex-NXT star is Eve, who eventually replaced the original challenger and went on to defeat Layla and claim the Divas Title at Night of Champions. The cunning Assistant to SmackDown General Manager Booker T has certainly shown shrewdness in her past attempts at power grabbing, and eliminating the threat of Kaitlyn from the championship picture would have been a stroke of genius, and certainly not beyond the devious nature of the stunning Diva. And, with her newly formed connection to Booker T, Eve was in the perfect position to insert herself into the Divas Title Match at Night of Champions — an opportunity that she took full advantage of with a huge win over Layla.

A less obvious suspect may be the Diva Kaitlyn was scheduled to face off against for the title, now-former champion Layla. It’s true that the English-born Diva’s friendship with Kaitlyn has always seemed to be genuine. On the other hand, could this have been a case of putting the title before a friend? It certainly has happened before in WWE, proving time and again just how precious championship reigns are.

Even though Eve denied any involvement during the Sept. 21 edition of SmackDown in the attack on Kaitlyn, and then Kaitlyn herself arrived on the Sept. 24 episode of Raw with the announcement that security camera footage from Night of Champions showed her attacker to have blond hair, can Eve, who did her best to blame the assault on Beth Phoenix, be completely ruled out as the prime suspect behind the attack? As the WWE Universe is well aware, things are very rarely as they seem when it comes to such matters. ( WATCH BETH PHOENIX EXCLUSIVE)

If we start to peel the layers of this mystery onion, the short list of potential attackers and plotters begins to grow. So who else has a grudge against Kaitlyn? The answers might just surprise you.

Delving deeper

Take Natalya, for instance. The resident technician of the Divas division expressed her complaints on Twitter about Kaitlyn’s ascension to No. 1 contender, saying that the Divas Battle Royal winner didn’t deserve such vaunted status. Natalya is a formidable foe, and certainly not a Diva to be trifled with. But would she stoop so low as to knock out Kaitlyn just to prove a point?

Delving even deeper into the cast of shady characters who might be out to get the up-and-coming Kaitlyn, a couple of high-profile names pop up. Back in late 2010 on NXT, Mr. Money in the Bank himself, Dolph Ziggler, was caught locking lips with Kaitlyn backstage. When Vickie Guerrero found out about the incident, she was irate.

Rushing backstage to confront Kaitlyn, Vickie pushed the NXT star, sending her into a crate. But Kaitlyn got the last laugh, countering Vickie’s shove by hurling a wedding cake at Guerrero. With such past grievances between the two, could it be that perhaps Vickie is secretly behind the Night of Champions attack on the former No. 1 contender? The quarrelsome Queen Diva has obviously shown a propensity toward such dastardly actions before, and maybe she has a long memory when it comes to Kaitlyn.

Again, though, not everything is always as it seems inside — or even around — the squared circle, and the possibility that someone or something far out of the norm had something to do with the attack can never be neglected. Is there someone out there we haven’t yet considered, possibly with a hidden grudge against Kaitlyn?

All we know for sure is someone was behind it, and eventually the guilty party — or parties — will be exposed.

For now, though, it’s still unclear as to just who attacked the Diva. What is clear is that Kaitlyn may have been unfairly robbed of the opportunity of a lifetime. When her injured ankle is back to full strength, will she regain her status as No. 1 contender, or will she be too preoccupied with getting payback for the Night of Champions assault?