WWE's Clash of
Champions PPV didn't seem to stand out much overall even though there were
individual highlights
that brought energy to the show. It was decidedly not a night for the fan
favorites as we saw
title changes and successful defenses that caused more than a little
consternation from
the crowd. It was, however, a night that saw a surprising return and an end
to the show that’s
clearly leading us to Hell in a Cell next month.
Gulak v. Dorado v. Carrillo - Cruiserweight Title
The pre-show promised
to be worth watching as we’d see the Triple Threat match for the
Cruiserweight Title.
The cruiserweights are known for putting on great matches during the
pre-show that set the
tone for the night, and this year’s Clash delivered. Gulak, Dorado, and
Carrillo gave us all
an awesome opening to the show with Gulak winning the match and
retaining the title.
It was good to see the crowd giving this match love with a “This is awesome!”
chant, these guys put
on a match that deserved the attention.
AJ Styles v. Cedric Alexander - United States Title
For the United States
Title match we had AJ Styles vs. Cedric Alexander...on the pre-show?
Yes, someone made
that decision. The match was solid, though, ending with AJ defeating the
hometown favorite
Cedric with the Styles Clash after a strong back-and-forth battle and being
the first match of
the night that went to the heels.
Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman v. Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode - RAW
Tag Team
Titles
The RAW Tag Team Titles
match opened the PPV with Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman
defending against
Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode. I’ve recently gotten back into RAW on
Monday nights after a
long absence and have enjoyed seeing Ziggler and Roode team up. I’m
interested in seeing
what will happen on Monday nights now that these two hold the tag titles.
Hopefully this leads
to more exposure for Robert Roode, a guy who I feel has been overlooked
for a while now.
Again, the result of this one went against the fan favorites but the right team
got
the win.
Bayley v. Charlotte Flair - SmackDown Women’s Title
What was up with the
SmackDown Women’s Title match, anyway? I realize that Bayley’s
showing off her new
cowardly cheating side but I’d have liked a little more fight to that match
rather than the dirty
finish happening so quickly and Bayley running off at full speed with the
title, making for the
night’s most gif-worthy moment. Still, I’m enjoying Bayley’s role now (the
thugger hugger) and
hope she gets more time in the future to showcase the dirty heel tactics in
her matches.
Revival v. The New Day - SmackDown Tag Team Titles
It’s been a good past
few weeks for The Revival and their fortune continued at the Clash PPV
when they defeated
The New Day for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles after an intense match
that at the brutal
end saw the Revival focusing on both winning the tag titles and injuring Xavier
Woods. I still see a
future in this feud, though, and I’m interested to see where they’ll take the
fight from here.
Bliss & Cross v. Rose & Deville - WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles
The Women’s Tag Team
Titles match saw the fan favorites finally take a victory with Alexa Bliss
and Nikki Cross
winning after a good match that didn’t get as much attention from the crowd,
unfortunately. These
ladies did a fine job with the time they were given and the right team won
while Mandy Rose
& Sonya Deville still looked like credible opponents throughout the match.
I
don’t see Bliss &
Cross having much more shelf life, however, so I’m wondering if the clock is
ticking on this
partnership.
Shinsuke Nakamura v. The Miz - Intercontinental Title
Sami Zayn has been a
highlight of the current Intercontinental Title story. I know better than to
hope, but I’d really
appreciate it if WWE took closer notice in Sami’s value. This PPV is a step in
the right direction
though, with Sami introducing reigning IC champ Nakamura to the ring in
dramatic fashion (and
I do mean actual fashion; Shinsuke was looking sharp in that red cape)
and providing a
running commentary on the mic during the match, making things even more
golden. This was my
favorite match of the night with Nakamura retaining the title against The
Miz. Pairing Sami and
Shinsuke turned out to be a great decision and I hope they stick together
for a while.
Becky Lynch v. Sasha Banks - Raw Women’s Title
Sasha Banks and Becky
Lynch got wild over the RAW Women’s Title; I knew this match would
be a screen-door
banger but I didn’t expect it to go all over the place (through the crowd, up
the
stairs, even into the
concession stand). The crowd was especially into this match, which led me
to hope there’d be a
better finish than the non-ending we got after the ref bump. Sure, the match
had to end with the
story continuing on to Hell in a Cell, but I would have preferred a less hectic
ending to this one
with Sasha winning by disqualification.
Kofi Kingston v. Randy Orton - WWE Title
As for the WWE Title
match, Orton and Kofi went out there and what seemed like an attempt at
doing something
different just turned out to have the same energy as any other Orton/Kofi
match we’ve seen. The
crowd picked their favorites and rallied behind them, though, so at least
the audience
connected strongly to an otherwise run-of-the-mill title match. The most
interesting
thing about the match
was the video package that led into it, proving that the WWE’s production
team can make
anything look great. Kofi retains, defends the honor of his family, and we’re
moving on.
Roman Reigns v. Rowan
Honestly, the Reigns
vs. Rowan No Disqualification match didn’t spark any excitement for me as
I didn’t think the
build to this one was strong enough. I suppose it goes to show that a strong
ending can boost even
the most minimal build to a match, as the return of Luke Harper shocked
the crowd as well as
all of the rumor mills on social media. That was how a return from a
long-term absence is
supposed to feel - nobody expects it and when it happens the only
reaction is surprise.
Well done on WWE and Harper’s part for keeping that under wraps in the
age of the internet.
Seth Rollins v. Braun Strowman - WWE Universal Title
Rollins and Strowman
were bookends to this PPV as they both had the opening match and the
main event. As much
as I enjoy watching Strowman it’s hard to tell where he’ll end up after
tonight with Rollins
getting the decisive win and clearly now moving on to feud with The Fiend.
And did Rollins vs.
the Fiend have to happen so soon? The buildup over the next couple of
weeks will be
something to see if the story’s told in an entertaining way, regardless of how
rushed it may seem.
Overview of WWE Clash of Champions: This was a decent PPV with a first
half that felt
more like a specialty RAW than an actual ‘big event’.
PROS: Formal ring introductions, IC title match, Harper returns,
The Fiend appears
CONS: Unenthusiastic crowd, strange finishes to women’s matches