TJRWrestling WWE Clash at the Castle 2024 Preview
The WWE Clash at the Castle name is back as Drew McIntyre competes in his home country against Damian Priest while Cody Rhodes faces AJ Styles again.
For the third straight WWE Premium Live Event, the company heads overseas for a major show. The Backlash France crowd was one of the best of all time while King and Queen of the Ring in Saudi Arabia provided some memorable moments. Now it is Scotland’s turn for their first ever PLE on a show featuring wrestlers from Scotland in three of the five advertised matches. It’s also the third PLE in a row with only five advertised matches on the main show. While we’ve gotten used to just five matches on PLE shows, I do feel bad for a lot of the roster that doesn’t get to be on a show.
This is a rare card where I think it makes more sense for the World Heavyweight Title match to go on last rather than the WWE Title match. The story of Drew McIntyre being back home in Scotland to compete for the World Heavyweight Title held by Damian Priest is going to be very interesting. It’s certainly not a match that is easy to predict. The Cody Rhodes-AJ Styles story is back in the forefront after AJ’s fake retirement angle, so that one should be a great match as well.
The crowd in France at Backlash will be remembered forever, but I also think these fans in Glasgow, Scotland are going to be loud the whole night. A lot of chanting and singing going on. Plus, due to the presence of Scottish wrestlers on the show, there’s going to be a lot of emotion as well.
I am posting this preview before Smackdown airs because the start time of Clash at the Castle is 2 p.m. ET on Saturday. If I wait until after Smackdown then that doesn’t give you, dear reader, much time to read my thoughts in this preview. Let’s get to it.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill (c) vs. Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark vs. Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn
The team of Belair & Cargill have been a dominant force as a team and nobody has really come close to beating them. They usually do the formula where Belair is the babyface in peril leading to Cargill getting the hot tag and that tends to lead to the finish. There have been a couple of matches where opponents got more offense than I expected, but the results have been the same.
I really don’t think Baszler & Stark have a chance to win here. However, the Fyre & Dawn team has a slight chance since they are from Scotland, so perhaps WWE will want some Scottish wrestlers to pick up a big win. The thing about a triple threat is that Fyre & Dawn could pick up the win without beating Belair or Cargill because the titles can change hands without the champions being pinned. While it’s a possibility. I’m going with the champions Belair & Cargill to continue their title reign for at least a few more months.
Winners: Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill
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Intercontinental Championship: Sami Zayn (c) vs. Chad Gable
It’s been a great story here. Sami Zayn won the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania 40 from GUNTHER thanks to Chad Gable’s “coaching” help. Zayn gave Gable a title shot, Zayn beat him and it led to Gable turning heel. I mentioned when previewing the King and Queen of the Ring PLE that I thought Zayn would beat Bronson Reed in the triple threat with Chad Gable and that’s what happened. That’s because it was needed to be done that way to set up the Zayn-Gable singles match showdown and here we are.
I think technically speaking it’s going to be a terrific match. However, there’s also an interesting storyline because Gable wants his buddy Otis to help him win this match yet Otis has been conflicted due to Gable bossing him around while Zayn is encouraging Otis to break free like Zayn did once upon a time from The Bloodline. The question then becomes does Gable win the title and then Otis turn on him or does Otis not helping Gable prevent Gable from winning the title? Either one of those things could happen. I don’t think Zayn needs a super long title reign, but I think it will continue. I think Otis is going to refuse to help Gable, the fans are going to love it and Zayn will capitalize to get the win. Post match, I think Otis will deck Gable with a clothesline and Otis will leave to cheers. I’d love to see Gable win the IC Title at some point later in the year, but I think Zayn will keep the title here.
Winner: Sami Zayn
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WWE Women’s Championship: Bayley (c) vs. Piper Niven
They built to this match in the last few weeks with Niven going back home to Scotland to challenge for the WWE Women’s Championship. Niven is somebody who has got some mild pushes at times and is part of a team with Chelsea Green, but this is her biggest opportunity to win a major singles championship in WWE.
It should be a solid match with Niven using her power to dominate part of the match while Bayley is out there selling very well and making the babyface comeback to win. I don’t see Bayley losing this match. We know that Queen of the Ring winner Nia Jax will challenge the WWE Women’s Champion at SummerSlam in less than two months, so it makes a lot of sense for the babyface Bayley to keep the title going into SummerSlam against heel Jax. That’s where I think the title change might happen. The crowd will love Niven because she’s from Scotland, but they will also love Bayley too as we have seen when she’s in front of UK crowds in the past.
Winner: Bayley
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I Quit Match for the Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. AJ Styles
This is a rematch from Backlash France in early May when Cody beat AJ in a terrific match. I went 4.5* for it which means it was incredible while Dave Meltzer went five stars for it, which means he loved it even more than I did. It was a memorable match thanks to the crowd with their chants, but also because of how good it was. It was also Cody and AJ’s first match together, which showed how they had immediate chemistry together.
There is more of a story this time since Styles earned this title shot by doing the fake retirement, which led to the cheap attack on Cody and then Cody agreed to a match while adding in the “I Quit” stipulation. In theory, an I Quit Match should end on a submission move. Styles has the Calf Crusher that he’s used many times while Cody doesn’t really have a regular submission move although he does use the Figure Four Leglock occasionally. We also have seen people quit in I Quit matches due to wanting to avoid taking a big move, so they could go for something like that. I’m sure they’ll come up with something creative.
I would be surprised if Cody Rhodes lost this match. That’s not a knock on AJ Styles, who I like a lot, but I think Cody is going to be champion until next year’s WrestleMania so I will have a tough time picking against him. This certainly could be the match of the night.
Winner: Cody Rhodes
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World Heavyweight Championship: Damian Priest (c) vs. Drew McIntyre
(The Judgment Day is barred from ringside.)
This match is likely the main event featuring the World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest in enemy against he “Scottish Warrior” Drew McIntyre in his home country. It should be a rabid crowd in Glasgow for this match that actually seems difficult to predict. Back in the US, Canada and other places, both of these guys are heels, but not in Scotland. My gut feeling is that McIntyre should win and should have a solid reign as the champion, but does WWE really want to take the title off Priest after just two months? I’m not sure about that.
This past Monday they added the stipulation that if Drew McIntyre could beat Finn Balor then The Judgment Day would be barred from ringside. What’s interesting about that is that Carlito has been hanging around the group and wanting to be in the group, but he’s not officially a part of the group. I can certainly see a spot in the match where Carlito interferes to help Priest and it gets a two count. Either that or Carlito screws up, accidentally helps McIntyre and McIntyre follows up with a Claymore Kick to win.
I think the two overwhelming factors why Drew McIntyre should win is because he really does deserve a meaningful title reign especially after he recently signed a new WWE contract and I think it’s important to make the fans happy. The last time WWE did Clash at the Castle two years ago was in Wales and while it’s not the same in Scotland, that crowd was fully behind Drew as he lost to Roman Reigns due to Solo Sikoa’s interference. Would it be smart for WWE to jack up the prices for a show like this to have the first ever Scottish PLE and then book the top star from Scotland to lose in front of the people in his country? I think that’s a bad business move. I realize that CM Punk could be involved to screw Drew out of the title, but you could also have Drew win and then get to the Punk story in the months ahead. There is also GUNTHER lurking as the King of the Ring winner who gets a World Title shot at SummerSlam too. I think Drew should win and have a big celebration with his Scottish family and friends. End it with a memorable moment for those fans in Scotland and for Drew himself.
It should be a fun, intense matches between two big, athletic guys who have worked hard to get where they are in the main event spot. I like Drew more than Priest, but I’m happy Priest is doing so well and that he can say he’s been a World Heavyweight Champion in an era of sold out shows. With that said, I think it’s time for Drew McIntyre to get that World Title back.
Winner AND NEW World Heavyweight Champion: Drew McIntyre
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BONUS TOPICS!
The Match I’m Looking Forward To The Most
Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre. I’m intrigued by the booking. I think the Cody/Styles match will be better in terms of match quality, but the result of Priest/McIntyre interests me more.
The Match I Care About The Least
Women’s Tag Team Titles. It’s not a bad match. I just like the others more.
Longest Match
Cody Rhodes vs. AJ Styles around 22 minutes.
Shortest Match
Women’s Tag Team Titles about 13 minutes.
Excitement Level on a Scale of 1-10 (1 being low, 10 being high)
I’m at 7.75 out of 10 for this show. I think the fans in Scotland are going to be incredible just like the Lyon, France crowd at Backlash and that’s going to help the show a lot. I’m certainly intrigued by a few of the match results as well. The two that really stand out are the Zayn/Gable and Priest/McIntyre matches because there are a lot of ways those matches can go. The other matches are more predictable, but it’s not a bad thing because I think the match quality will be strong throughout the show. I’m looking forward to Clash at the Castle.
I’ll be back with a review of WWE Clash at the Castle on TJRWrestling.net on Saturday, so check that out live or any time after it’s over. You can also tweet me on X/Twitter at @johnreport as well.
If you want to send an email, send it to me at mrjohncanton@gmail.com. Thanks for reading.