WWE Clash of Champions: Honest Review

Last night fans saw the WWE present the two thousand and nineteen Clash of Champions PPV and what a night! While we did have some very disappointing moments the night overall was extremely entertaining with brilliant matches and surprises along the way. With such a busy night we have so much to cover so let’s jump right into looking back at what was an eventful evening. 

The WWE Are NOT Using their Tag Team Division Properly

What stood out for me first last night was the use of the tag team division. Opening the show as the RAW tag team titles with Strowman and Rollins taking on challengers Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler. With a division full of such incredible tag team talent such as Anderson and Gallows and The Viking Raiders, for example, it's extremely frustrating to see two teams consisting of two sets of superstars who don’t belong in the tag team division competing for the titles. Both teams had next to no chemistry, the bout made no sense and there was a lack of interest from fans as a result.

Moving over to the Smackdown LIVE tag team championship bout, however, and things couldn’t be more different. With the Revival and the New Day competing in a dream contest what we saw was exactly how the division should be used. We had backstory, the booking made sense and it was a match to genuinely anticipate. Overall what we can take from this PPV was the serious need to focus more attention on the tag team division, looking at the amazing talent that’s already there.

Continuing to Fail the SDLive Women’s Championship

Throughout the build to Bayley vs Charlotte Flair, we saw Bayley focused so heavily on the perception of the Smackdown LIVE Women’s Championship. She spoke of wanting to make the title mean something more and be considered as must-see and important as the RAW women’s championship; however, come Clash of Champions she and Flair took part in a match barely touching seven minutes! With the pair having so much history, the match having a solid build and this new side of Bayley kick-starting in recent weeks this was an important night full of opportunities but what we saw was an encounter that reminded many of the types of bouts we saw from the women’s division ten years ago. What was great was exactly how the match ended. We saw that new side of Bayley come into play and her literally running backstage was brilliant, however, this could have been a great match but the WWE missed out on a huge opportunity and proved a very negative point.

How it Should be Done

I have mentioned quite a bit recently that I haven’t been all too impressed with how the WWE has used the Women’s tag team division. The titles grew massively forgettable and the company were doing next to nothing with a division that had the numbers and the talent, however, last nights Clash of Champions PPV provided fans with a match that promised a positive change ahead. With Bliss and Cross defending the titles against Fire and Desire fans were able to witness a solid tag team contest with story and a perfect showcase of what the division is all about. Both sets of teams have brilliant chemistry that showed throughout, we got to see just how far Mandy and Sonya have come and a slightly new side of Bliss in the shape of a babyface was very exciting and entertaining to watch. This wasn’t the match of the night but it was an important one for the women’s tag team division and hopefully moving forward we can see more of this.  

The IC Title can be Saved

The Intercontinental Championship picture has been interesting to say the least in recent months and I have to admit that I have at times forgotten about the title and lost interest in angles revolving the championship scene. This past weekend at the WWE Clash of Champions PPV Shinsuke Nakamura defended the IC title against the Miz in what a great contest was actually. Again, this wasn’t a standout of the night but it highlighted an important message for this particular championship, that it can be saved. The work from Sami Zayn at ringside made this even more interesting entertaining while the actual wrestling between the Miz and Nakamura was far better than I was expecting it and they all showed that with the right booking and storytelling the WWE can provide great content for the International championship picture.

The Match of the Night

There is no doubt about it, the match of the night came from the RAW women’s championship contest between Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks. This was hands down the match I was most looking forward to on the night and it did not disappoint! I was surprised by the DQ ending but it must be said that this was very smart booking! We are sure to see things continue on between these two women in the coming months! The match itself highlighted just how brilliant the two women are in the ring providing the best wrestling match of the night going down as career highlights for both superstars. The brawl as a brilliant addition to the match adding more of a personal touch to things and while the end result and the beating Banks took shows a slight inconsistency it was an unexpected twist leaving everyone wanting more! 

Kofi Kingston Proves Himself 

One of the best rivalries in recent months has without a doubt been Randy Orton vs Kofi Kingston. The ten-year story has so much to it and fans have been left with every reason to feel completely engaged in the action. Such a basic angle with so much backstory this was a match that had my attention for the build and everything that went with it! Their previous encounter at last months PPV did result in a count-out ending and so this second title bout made all the sense in the world and again while it wasn’t my favourite piece of in-ring action of the night I loved the story that was told here and I had a genuine interest from the get-go!  This was such a personal contest and throughout you could feel the determination in Kingston, you could see his journey late out right before your eyes. The confidence of Orton and the heart and progress of Kingston really did make this such a standout and I have to admit I was left both surprised and proud to see Kingston retain considering this would have been the perfect night to crown Orton WWE Champion for a fourteenth time.

Luke Harpers Return

If you know me you defiantly know that I have been the biggest Luke Harper fan for a very long time and so when he made his massively shocking return last night assisting Erick Rowan in a huge victory over Roman Reigns its safe to say I marked out a little. I don’t think anyone really saw this coming. Rowan had a career-changing performance last night showing just how good he is and what he can bring to the table. This was the first time I really did see Rowan as a standout single star with potential to be champion. The match was one of my personal favourites of the entire night! Harper's return was the icing on top of the cake. It was one of the more surprising moments of the night, it was timed well and I have to say I’m very excited to see what is coming up next for both Rowan and Harper after a huge night. 

The Fiend Sets His Sights on the Universal Championship

I'll admit that I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Clash of Champions main event. I liked the story that was created earlier on in the night, the tension from losing the tag team titles was a great little factor in this match. Both superstars are of course very different and that showed throughout this match with the speed of Rollins and sheer power of Strowman could have made for something bad or really good and what we saw were very entertaining action and a solid main event. Rollins showed exactly why he is champion and Braun proved yet again he is more than worthy of being champion.

Now, one of the biggest highlights of the night was the closing moments that saw Bray Wyatt set his sights on Seth Rollins and the Universal Championship. This was what fans wanted. Despite barely appearing on TV The Fiend is the most over and hyped superstar on the WWE roster today and the WWE Universe wants to see him as champion. This was a perfect way to conclude the night and kick start a whole new chapter in Seth Rollins reign as champion and an exciting new venture for the Fiend. 

In all honesty, I personally really enjoyed Clash of Champions. I felt as though it was a slow start and we had a couple of very disappointing matches but overall this was a very strong and entertaining show. From the women’s tag team division getting the spotlight they needed to everything we saw from Banks and Lynch to surprises from the likes of Harper's return to The Fiend targeting Seth Rollins. Fans have plenty to be excited about over the coming months and I would most certainly rate the show an eight of ten!