WWE Clash Of Champions 2020 Honest Review

 This past weekend the WWE presented its 2020 Clash of Champions PPV and what a night it was! From family collisions to kick off show women’s division matches, there was a lot left for us fans to discuss and today, that is exactly what we are going to be doing! Looking back through the night's events I am going to be sharing my honest thoughts on matches and booking decisions, reliving the action from September WWE PPV!

 

Sami Zayn is a Genius

The opening contest sure did not lack entertainment and was a simply fantastic way to kick start the evening! Sami Zayn, Jeff Hardy, and AJ Styles put a great deal of focus on the IC Championship and I must admit that it was so great to be truly invested in this title scene. Here we had three of the best names in the industry today all full of experience and all bringing something different to the table in terms of their characters and in-ring styles with similarities here and there that made sure this was a must see collision. Now, a triple threat between these superstars is unmissable regardless but the addition of the ladder’s stipulation made this even more exciting and what we got was an absolutely brutal opening match up full of unique spots. These three men really did bring creativity to this contest and each man had their standout moment however, it was eventual winner Sami Zayn who stole the spotlight in my opinion. The way in which he used the handcuffs on the ear of Hardy and the wrist of Styles was unique and entertaining and catered to his character perfectly! There were some brutal spots during this match and props to Hardy for taking one heck of a beating and showing why he is an all-time great who always delivers in ladder matches. An excellent way to kick start the evening!

 

Zelina Vega Impresses

Now, I and many others have been discussing the in-ring work of Zelina Vega for a while! Since arriving In the WWE Vega has been assigned the role of manager, something she, of course, excels in however, there can be no denying that she has been held back massively and its been a shame that we have seen so little of her compete. More recently Vega has stepped up into a new role and shown the WWE Universe what she is capable of in terms of her wrestling ability and this weekend Zelina stepped into her first title match against RAW Women’s champion Asuka and boy did she impress. While the action was kept short Zelina showcased her in-ring style extremely well against one of the best all-round competitors in Asuka. She held her own and used her small frame and speed to her advantage coming close to capturing gold more than once throughout the contest! Of course, no title change was made but with confrontation between the two women shown post-match we can believe more is to come from Vega in the ring and the feisty star is far from done with the women’s champion.

 

Time for Something New

I don’t know about you, but I really struggled to have an interest when it came to the United States Championship match. Over the past couple of months, fans have seen Lashley and Apollo Crews collide several times and seeing them meet once again in the ring was something I just could not get behind. Of course, the match was solid, nothing new to what we have already seen but it was fantastic to once again see Crews showcase his strength and power impressively in a match against a star like Lashley. We again saw no title change which was to be expected and hopefully we can now see Lashley move onto something new as well as Crews who can now step away from the Hurt Business and focus on something new whatever that may be.

 

Possible Injury for Garza?

The Clash of Champions PPV saw the RAW Tag Team title scene involving the same stars yet again when the Street Profits defended their gold against Angel Garza and Andrade and while we have seen these teams collide multiple times in recent months this was shaping up to be a strong tag team encounter that I was really enjoying, however, it became clear that something wasn’t going to plan and Angel Garza may have suffered an injury. Correct me if I am wrong but I’m pretty sure we saw the Ref hold up the X and after Garza made what was evidently the late tag to Andrade went straight to the floor and was seen by medics. A few moments later a dodgy pin was made which I’m guessing was a last-minute move seeing the Street Profits retain the titles. If it had not been for this injury, I am sure we would have seen the titles change hands here. Now, this was a strong match up that was surely entertaining, but I do hope Angel Garza is well!

 

Missed Opportunity

With Nikki Cross unable to compete last night plans were changed and Bayley stepped into the ring to offer an open challenge which to be completely honest I was not mad about. This was a great opportunity to give to a superstar backstage and I was interested to see who would take her up on the challenge however, I was soon left disappointed when it was revealed to be Asuka as the woman to do so. Now, I love Asuka, we all do but this is a match we saw only last month at the SummerSlam PPV, there was nothing new here and we had already seen the RAW Women’s champion in action earlier on in the night. In my opinion, the WWE really missed something here and could have given this moment to a star like Naomi which admittedly may not have come across as big of a match as what we got but would of made sense and made for something new. Of course, I can understand why Asuka was picked and this most likely came down to practical reasons considering the circumstances. The match unsurprisingly ended in DQ but it was awesome to see Sasha Banks make an appearance post-match and attack her former best friend.

 

And Still WWE Champion…

I will admit that I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed McIntyre vs Orton. We had previously seen the two superstars go at it on PPV for the WWE Championship and deliver but their Clash of Champions bout was of a completely different nature. No limits or rules, both men really did go through it and the scars on both superstars’ bodies really does show that.  Going into this match the WWE champion had his jaw as a weak spot but as the action progressed, we saw that his knee and lower back were also a factor for Orton to work on. However, despite all that the Scottish star left the PPV still champion after yet another fantastic performance and title defense. We saw a rougher and more edgy side to the champ as he worked against one of the best of the best in Orton. Another cool factor to this match was the involvement of everyone Orton has attacked in recent months including the Big Show, Christian and Shawn Michaels and things concluded perfectly when Ric Flair drove the ambulance away with Orton in the back. Possibly one of the best Ambulance matches to date.

 

A Family Bash

Roman Reigns vs Jey Uso really was right up my street. A simple storyline focusing on family and real-life ties, it was exactly the kind of thing I enjoy watching and the build to this match really sold me and had me interested in the Clash of Champions main event. While we may never see Jey as Universal champion it was so special to see him being given this moment and this worked as such a strong storyline early into Reign's latest reign as champion. Throughout contest, we saw the story of Jey being the youngest cousin, Roman the alpha and it made for hooking action. The match itself started out slower-paced than I expected, controlled by Reigns and whenever Uso did fit in some momentum it was short-lived and Roman was soon there to shut it down and regain control. When We did see more of Jey on top we also saw the action quicken and a drastic change in the pace which of course catered to Jey Uso. In the later parts of this match, Roman really did look to punish his cousin, it highlighted that new side of him and his character and was incredibly entertaining to watch. The little moments here really did matter from Jimmy coming out to throw in the towel for his brother to Roman demanding respect and appreciation from Jey and while there was no title change this was a crucial match and storyline for the new Roman Reigns and I absolutely loved it.

And that was Clash of Champions 2020! As we mentioned in the intro, the night left us with a lot to discuss and the seeds have been planted for the next up and coming PPV! As always, I would love to know what you guys thought so feel free to leave a comment below or tweet me over at @TezangiVictoria.