Reviews

The John Report: WWE Clash of Champions 2016 Review

By John Canton • Published 25th September 2016
TJR Wrestling

It’s time for the Raw brand’s first pay-per-view of the new era, Clash of Champions. Every Raw title is on the line plus a few other matches too. I missed the Kickoff Show due to watching the NFL, so let’s jump right in with the main PPV broadcast that started at 8pmET.

WWE Clash of Champions
Indianapolis, Indiana
September 25, 2016

There was an opening video package showing various Raw superstars training that also looked like an advertisement for Tapout gear. Then there was a focus on the key feuds heading into the show.

The pyro went off as they showed the live crowd. It looks like a mostly full crowd.

The New Day made their entrance first so the tag titles are the first match. I wouldn’t have picked that as the first match, but that’s what it is. Announcer Michael Cole noted that New Day have held the tag titles for 399 days. Cole was shown on camera with Corey Graves and Byron Saxton at the announce position by the entrance ramp.

There was a pre-match promo from The New Day trio of Kofi Kingston, Big E and Xavier Woods. They are wearing “Who?” t-shirts to promote their question mark catchphrase. Woods had a few funny one liners saying that G&A are the kind of guys that give out raisins at Halloween and wear tube socks with sandals. Kingston plugged the Booty O’s cereal of course.

Gallows & Anderson made their entrance. The Spanish announce team is at ringside and so is the German announce team.

Raw Tag Team Titles: The New Day’s Big E & Kofi Kingston (w/Xavier Woods) vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson

Gallows took down Big E with a cheap shot right away. Anderson hit a running Liger Bomb on Kingston for a two count. Gallows tagged in with some punches as the heels isolated Kingston in their corner. Kingston tried to fight out of the corner and he did as he tagged in Big E against Anderson. Big E hit two overhead belly to belly suplexes followed by a side belly to belly and then a running splash. Big E went for a charge, but Anderson took him down with a knee to the face. Big E with a uranage slam for a two count. Anderson with a running boot to the face gets two. Gallows got in there and they hit their double team Boot of Doom for a two count as Kingston saved Big E from getting pinned. Big E sent Anderson over the top with a back body drop. Anderson caught Kingston jump off the top with a spinebuster for two. Gallows tagged in and hit a Chokeslam on Kingston. Gallows kicked Big E out of the ring. Kingston fought out of the Magic Killer. He sent Gallows out of the ring, boots to the face of Anderson and the Trouble in Paradise kick. Big E hit the Big Ending for two, which was obvious because Anderson was looking outside the ring to see that Gallows was there and he was there to make the save. Kingston hit a dive over the top to take out Gallows on the floor. Woods hit Anderson in the face with the trombone (ref didn’t see it), Big E picked up Anderson and Kingston came off the top for the double team Big Ending called the Midnight Hour. The match went 7 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: The New Day

Analysis: **1/2 It was a pretty good match for being under ten minutes. Gallows looked dominant. Anderson was crafty, but they were outsmarted by the champs. Tag matches on PPVs are usually longer than that. They knew they weren’t given a lot of time, so they worked a fast pace and it made it an entertaining match from the beginning. The ending was a cheap win for New Day, which is interesting because they are faces. It shows that they are willing to do what it takes to get the win, but it could also mean a rematch soon. New Day’s reign will hit 400 days on Raw tomorrow. I still think they’ll keep the titles for a few more months to beat Demolition’s record of 478 days. Why not? It’s close enough now that they should do it. I picked New Day to win because I figured they would keep the titles to go for the record.

A video aired advertising WWE Network shows. It was noticeable that some Hulk Hogan comments and videos were on there.

There was a video package about the Cruiserweights heading to Raw.

The Cruiserweight Champion TJ Perkins was interviewed by Tom Phillips. Perkins talked about how he’s been training to be here since 1998 and now he’s the champion. Perkins knows that Brian Kendrick has been here before and been a champion before, but Perkins is confident he’ll walk out of there as the Cruiserweight Champion. Perkins said to wish him luck and left.

Analysis: It was a quick promo from the champ. I thought it was a big mistake to not show him on Raw.

After Kendrick made his entrance, they showed a replay from Raw to show how Kendrick earned his title shot. TJ Perkins got an entrance that was like a video game. I don’t know how else to describe it. I thought it was pretty cool.

WWE Cruiserweight Championship: TJ Perkins vs. Brian Kendrick

The purple ropes are there for this match. Kendrick didn’t want to shake hands before the match. Kendrick grounded Perkins with a headlock with Cole noting that this is Kendrick’s 13th pay-per-view match in WWE. That’s it? Thought it would be more. Perkins went for the knee bar, Kendrick moved up and trapped Perkins against the ring apron. Perkins locked up Kendrick in a Muta Lock submission as he did a “dab” pose to taunt Kendrick. Kendrick got the advantage again as he snapped the neck of Perkins against the top rope. Back in the ring, Kendrick went to toss Perkins out of the ring, but Perkins stopped between the top/middle ropes, avoided an attack and hit a hard kick to the head. Kendrick grounded Perkins with a boot to the back of the head. Perkins with a headscissors takedown, atomic drop and a heel kick. Perkins nailed a neckbreaker by grabbing the hair of Kendrick, so he didn’t get all of it. Perkins hooked the arms into a backbreaker like move. Perkins did a hurricanrana takedown while Kendrick was by the ropes. That looked great. Perkins nailed a springboard dropkick. Perkins went for a kneebar, but Kendrick got out of it. Kendrick hit the Sliced Bread move off the rope for just a two count as Perkins kicked out. Kendrick went for the Captain’s Hook submission, Perkins slipped out and hit a fireman’s carry into the kick. Perkins slapped on the kneebar submission. Kendrick tapped out. It went ten minutes.

Winner by submission: TJ Perkins

Analysis: **3/4 They had a competitive match that went back and forth. No surprise that TJP got the win because it would have been foolish to have him lose the title so soon after winning the gold less than two weeks ago. Kendrick came close to winning with Sliced Bread, but Perkins found a way to come back with the kneebar for the win. In terms of time given and the result, nothing really surprised me. The crowd was into it too, so that’s a good thing.

After the match, Perkins was interviewed in the ring by Andrea Demarco. He was interrupted by Kendrick. Kendrick shook his hand, hugged him and head-butted him in the face. Some fans cheered the heel move.

Analysis: In order for the cruiserweight division to really take off, they need clearly defined heels and faces. Kendrick fits the heel role.

A video aired about the WWE2K17 video game. It’s pretty great although it’s weird to see Alberto Del Rio in it since he left the company. Obviously it was filmed a few months ago.

Cesaro was interviewed backstage by Tom Phillips. He talked about how he’s going to earn his championship opportunity and how this is going to be the biggest comeback in sports entertainment history since he was down 3-0 in the best of seven series.

A recap was shown about the first six matches in the Cesaro/Sheamus best of seven series.

Sheamus and Cesaro made their entrances. Then we got the roll call of announcers around the arena including Brazilian, Russian and Japanese commentators including Funaki.

Best Of Seven Series Match #7: Cesaro vs. Sheamus

The match was very physical early on with Cesaro hitting uppercuts outside the ring. Sheamus with a suplex into a slam followed by a knee attack off the middle ropes. Sheamus hit a couple of backbreakers to work on the injured back of Cesaro. Sheamus hit a spin kick in the corner, which was unique for him. Top rope clothesline gets two for Sheamus. After Cesaro got a rollup for two, Sheamus hit a powerslam for two. Cesaro avoided a corner attack as Sheamus went shoulder first into the ropes and Cesaro hit an uppercut to the back. Cesaro with some more uppercuts followed by a Tornado DDT for two. Cesaro tripped him up on the middle rope, then he hit a 619 and a cross body block gets two. Cesaro with a springboard corkscrew uppercut. Sheamus kick to the head followed by a rollup with tights gets two and Sheamus hit an Irish Curse backbreaker for two. Two more backbreakers by Sheamus also good for two. Cesaro countered a Cloverleaf with a rollup for two. Sheamus had Cesaro above his shoulders, then he dropped him down and Cesaro’s back hit the knee of Sheamus. Cesaro did the Cesaro Swing and then turned it into a Sharpshooter submission, but Sheamus crawled to the ropes with Graves noting Cesaro couldn’t lock it in as well as usual because of the back injury. They battled on the ring apron with Cesaro hitting a boot to the face. Cesaro with a suicide dive and he went head first into Sheamus. That was bad. Looked nasty.

Back in the ring, with both guy in pain, Sheamus hit a Brogue Kick for just two. They replayed that bump by Cesaro where he landed head/neck first on the floor. That was nasty. Cesaro with a clothesline and the Neutralizer gets just two. The crowd chanted “This is Awesome” for them. It’s true. Sheamus was on the top rope. Cesaro with an uppercut and then a dropkick to knock him down. Sheamus knocked Cesaro down to the floor with a headbutt. Sheamus jumped off the top rope and Cesaro nailed him with an uppercut. That looked good and painful. Sheamus hit the White Noise slam on the floor. Cesaro sent Sheamus over the barricade with a clothesline and they both bumped hard to the floor. Doctors checked on both of them. The doctors told the ref that both guys can’t go anymore. That’s the end of the match after 15 minutes.

Match Result: Draw

Post match, Sheamus was helped to his feet, but he didn’t want help. The crowd was chanting “let them fight.” Another doctor and referees were with Cesaro at ringside. Cesaro was yelling “come on” showing that he wanted more, but Sheamus was being forced to the back. Cesaro was upset that the match was over.

Here’s the nasty head/neck bump that Cesaro took during the match.

Analysis: ***3/4 That was a very good match on their way to something really special, but the ending hurts it. Great job by Sheamus working on the back the whole match and Cesaro was really believable in his selling as well as the way he kept fighting back. I didn’t expect a draw in the seventh match of a best of seven series, but that’s what we got. Since the crowd was into this match so much, I think they should have just ended with the Cesaro win we were all expecting. Instead, we have to wait for the match to happen again and hope that the crowd is as interested as this crowd was. That floor spot by Cesaro looked nasty. I’m glad he is okay, but those are the kinds of things that will cause injuries. I understand wanting to wow the crowd. It’s also important to be smart about it.

A commercial aired for Smackdown’s No Mercy on October 9.

Bayley was shown getting ready for her match in the locker room. The Women’s Champion Charlotte showed up to talk trash. Bayley said that she’s already beat Charlotte before. Charlotte said you can’t even beat Sasha and left shortly after.

Sami Zayn made his entrance. A video aired showing his issues with Chris Jericho going back two weeks ago to when Jericho attacked him on the Highlight Reel set. Jericho made his entrance. Cole: “Breathe it in, Byron.” Graves: “It’s drink it in, you stupid idiot.” That was good.

Sami Zayn vs. Chris Jericho

Zayn was aggressive, the ref pulled him off and Jericho nailed a cheap punch to the face. Zayn with arm drags followed by a leaping kick to the head. Zayn with a clothesline outside of the ring. Jericho with a springboard dropkick followed by a seated dropkick sent Zayn out of the ring. Jericho dropped Zayn head first onto the guard rail. Back in the ring, flying elbow by Jericho gets two. Zayn tried to fight back, but Jericho crotched him on the top rope and knocked him down to the floor with a forearm shot. Jericho with a boot to the face and wanted the bulldog, but Zayn shoved him into the turnbuckle. Zayn got some offense going with a clothesline, then he sent Jericho to the floor and Zayn hit the somersault dive over the top to take him out. Zayn hit a top rope cross body block for two. A Michinoku Driver by Zayn gets two. Jericho went for Walls, Zayn fought out and Jericho nailed a step up enziguri to knock him down. Hard slaps by Jericho got Zayn going with hard slaps of his own, but Jericho stopped him with a back elbow. Zayn blocked the Lionsault by getting his knees up for a two count. The crowd was clapping to get behind Zayn. It led to Zayn hitting a DDT. Jericho went to the floor. With Jericho on the floor, Zayn jumped between the middle/top rope and hit a DDT on the floor although it didn’t look as smooth as when he does it so some other guys. Zayn went for the Helluva Kick, but Jericho avoided it. Zayn with an Exploder Suplex into a corner. Jericho avoided the Helluva Kick and slapped on the Walls of Jericho submission. Zayn fought out of it with a small package for two. Zayn nailed the Blue Thunder Bomb for a two count. Zayn went to pick him up again, but Jericho hit the Codebreaker for the win after 14 minutes. I thought Zayn would kick out. He did not.

Winner by pinfall: Chris Jericho

Analysis: ***1/2 A good, competitive match with a finish that I didn’t really expect. I doubt many people picked Jericho since Zayn is the younger guy and Jericho is usually the heel that puts over the faces on the rise. I’m glad they had a great match with Jericho really earning the victory. The crowd was really into it with “this is awesome” chants and really getting behind Zayn. When Jericho hit that Codebreaker, I expected Zayn to kick out. When he didn’t kick out I was a little disappointed. It’s nothing against Jericho. I just felt like Zayn needed the win. Perhaps this is just WWE building up Jericho for future matches between them or maybe a face turn leading to him going against his “best friend” Owens. This is a match result I got wrong.

The bizarre KFC commercial featuring Ziggler and Miz aired.

A Hispanic Heritage video aired about baseball legend Roberto Clemente.

The Universal Champion Kevin Owens was backstage as Commissioner Stephanie McMahon and General Manager Mick Foley walked up to him. They said were excited about Owens first main event as Universal Champion. Owens wondered why they were proud of him. Owens said he’ll show Stephanie why her husband picked him (Owens) over Rollins and why they should have picked Owens over Rollins as the #1 Raw draft pick. Owens said he’ll show us that he is the main event and he’s going to show the world that Seth Rollins is no longer the man, now he’s just the mistake. Owens said “your mistake” to Stephanie as he left while Foley said he loved that chip on KO’s shoulder.

A video package aired to set up the Women’s Title triple threat match.

The order of entrance is Bayley out first, then Sasha Banks and the Raw Women’s Champion Charlotte walked out with her ally Dana Brooke.

Raw Women’s Championship: Charlotte vs. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks

Charlotte nailed a neckbreaker on Banks early on. She went for a moonsault, but Banks tripped her up and hit a running knee attack in the corner. Bayley with an overhead suplex to Banks and elbow drop to Charlotte gets two. Bayley with a neckbreaker on Banks on the middle ropes. Brooke pulled Bayley off the apron and tossed her into the barricade. No disqualifications in a triple threat. Charlotte with a knee to the back of Banks. Charlotte with a suplex to Banks for two. Bayley got back to her feet, but Charlotte knocked her down again outside the ring. Banks with forearms, clothesline, dropkick and a knee to the face. Bayley came back in the ring with a cross body block off the top as both women turned around to take the bump. Bayley with a shoulder tackles on both girls in the corner followed by back elbow smashes and Banks avoided a running knee. Banks stacked both of them against the turnbuckle and Banks did a double knee attack to Bayley for two. Banks with a double knee attack on Bayley outside the ring. Banks knocked Brooke down outside the ring, so when they went back in, Charlotte with a backbreaker into a slam for two. Bayley to Belly on Charlotte gets two as Banks made the save and then Charlotte broke up the pin.

All three women were down. They all took turns on offense for a bit. Banks set up Charlotte for a superplex, but Charlotte slammed her off. Charlotte sent Bayley head first into the turnbuckle. Charlotte set up both opponents side by side on the mat, then went up for a moonsault, hit it and Charlotte covered Banks for two. Bayley kicked out of a pinfall attempt by Charlotte as well. Charlotte with Natural Selection on Bayley gets two. Banks applied the Bank Statement submission. Brooke rolled into the ring to save Charlotte. Bayley and Sasha got nearfalls on eachother. Charlotte sent Bayley to the floor. Banks with a backstabber into the Bank Statement submission on Charlotte and she kicked Brooke away. Bayley with the save. Charlotte broke up when Banks went for the Bank Statement submission on Bayley. Charlotte tossed Banks into the barricade. Back in the ring, Bayley with an inside cradle. Charlotte with a boot to the face of Bayley knocked Banks to the floor while she was in the ropes. Charlotte nailed a standing side kick to Bayley for the pinfall win after 14 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Charlotte

Analysis: ***1/4 A good match by the ladies as you would expect from them. It was a relatively clean win by Charlotte at least at the end of the match although Brooke helped Charlotte a few times. I thought the ending could have been stronger. A kick to the head wins it? That’s it? People use kicks all the time and they amount to nothing, yet Bayley got beat by a kick. They could have done a better finish. I always find it weird that triple threats are no disqualification matches yet nobody seems to want to use weapons or anything else that may give them an advantage. Bayley getting pinned isn’t a surprise to me because they will probably go back to more Charlotte vs. Sasha matches. I predicted a Banks title win here because I felt like they needed to change the direction of the women’s division. Nope. I have nothing against Charlotte, but I was hoping for something to change here.

The Kickoff Panel talked about the show so far. The crew is made up of Renee Young, Booker T, Jerry Lawler and Lita. Everything on the show is great according to them. Of course it is.

Clips aired from earlier in the night on the Kickoff Show, Nia Jax beat Alicia Fox. I didn’t watch it, but that’s not a surprise result at all.

A video package aired to set up Rusev vs. Reigns for the US Title.

The ravishing Russian Lana introduced the US Champion, her husband Rusev.

United States Championship: Rusev (w/Lana) vs. Roman Reigns

There was a slow start to the match with Rusev hitting an impressive spin kick. Rusev worked over Reigns for a few minutes with the crowd doing dueling chants for Reigns. They really worked a slow pace for the first five minutes with Reigns barely getting any offense. Reigns started on offense with…of course… a clothesline. There are a few more clotheslines. Rusev tossed Reigns shoulder first into the ring post. Rusev escaped to the floor, so Reigns drove him into the barricade. The crowd was so bored that they were chanting “CM Punk” for a bit. Rusev grounded Reigns in the ring with a chinlock. Rusev with a hip toss and a headbutt that didn’t come close to hitting, but that’s better than actually hitting I guess. Reigns nailed a boot to the face, but he was stopped by a dropkick by Rusev. Reigns avoided a headbutt off the middle ropes and hit a Samoan Drop for two. Clothesline fest by Reigns leads to a clothesline that sent Rusev over the top to the floor. Reigns sent Rusev shoulder first into the steel steps.

Back in the ring, Rusev kicked Reigns in the ribs to slow him down. Rusev with a stun gun gets two. Rusev with a roundhouse kick gets two. Reigns stopped Rusev’s momentum with a Superman Punch for two. Reigns did his loud yell, Lana was on the apron yelling at Reigns and Rusev nailed a superkick for the two count. Reigns fought out of an Accolade attempt, he ran the ropes and hit a Spear. Reigns covered, so Lana pulled the ref out of the ring at the two count. The ref sent Lana to the back. Reigns got a rollup. Reigns kicked Rusev out of the ring and hit the Drive By kick. Reigns hit another Drive By kick onto an announce table. Back in the ring, Rusev nailed another superkick for two count. Rusev quickly applied the Accolade submission, but Reigns was able to power out of it. Rusev tried to charge in again and was met with a Spear by Reigns. Reigns covered and won the match after 17 minutes.

Winner by pinfall and New United States Champion: Roman Reigns

Post match, replays aired of the key spots in the match. Reigns celebrated with the US Title to a mixed reaction from the crowd. He had a big smile on his face.

Analysis: **3/4 It was pretty good. The first ten minutes of the match were boring. You could tell the crowd was losing interest as well. The last five minutes were really good because of the false finishes. They knew how to build up the big spots in the match with Reigns powering out of things like the Accolade in order to get some nearfalls of his own. The final Spear by Reigns looked really good, so I liked that finish. My prediction for the match was Rusev retaining because I felt like it should be somebody like Cesaro or Zayn that beat him for the title. I still feel that way.

A commercial aired for Ride Along.

Seth Rollins was shown backstage getting ready for his match. Stephanie and Mick showed up with Stephanie wishing him luck. Seth told her that everything she says is a lie. Stephanie said she had nothing to do with what her husband did. Seth said that after tonight you’re going to realize you bet on the wrong guy and tell her husband (Triple H) he bet against the wrong guy.

A commercial aired for Hell in a Cell, a Raw PPV, on October 30. It’s in Boston.

The video package aired to set up Owens vs. Rollins for the Universal Title.

The challenger Seth Rollins made his entrance first. The Universal Champion Kevin Owens entered looking confident. Ring announcer Jojo Offerman did in-ring introductions for the main event.

WWE Universal Championship: Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins

The match started at 10:41pmET. Rollins was aggressive early on as Graves said that Rollins carried this company for “several years.” A WWE Title run that was seven months long is now “several years” I guess. Rollins nailed a blockbuster off the second rope for two. Owens took control as he caught the leg of Rollins, kicked him in the back of the knee and hit a DDT. Owens sent Rollins into the barricade followed by driving Rollins back first into the ring post. The knee of Rollins became the target of the attack from Owens as he kicked the right knee several times. Owens with a back body drop that sent Rollins over the top to the floor followed by the Foley-like elbow drop onto Rollins on the floor. Owens with a senton for two, then a chinlock to keep Rollins grounded and Owens did a hard whip into the corner. Hard corner whip by Owens again. Owens talked trash: “I’m the foundation of this company.” Rollins did a HBK like corner bump and hit a clothesline. Slingblade by Rollins takes down Owens again. Rollins with two clotheslines the corner, he sent Owens face first into the middle turnbuckle and a knee strike got a two count. Running dropkick by Rollins sent Owens out of the ring.

Rollins tossed Owens into the barricade. Rollins cleared off one of the announce tables at ringside. Owens was back in the ring, Rollins managed to get a standing side kick and that was good enough for two. Rollins went for a corner attack, Owens moved and kicked him in the right knee followed by a cannonball for two. Rollins with a knee to the face, Owens with a kick to the face and Rollins with a jumping kick to the face. Both guys were down at the 15-minute mark. Corner clothesline by Owens, but his cannonball attempt didn’t work this time. Rollins went for a top rope knee attack, Owens caught him and hit a cradle into a backbreaker into the neck for two. Rollins kicked Owens while KO was on the top rope. Owens with a gutbuster off the middle rope, then Owens went up top and hit a Bullfrog Splash for a two count.

Owens and Rollins battled outside the ring. Owens cleared off the other announce table. The referee yelled at Owens, so Owens told him to “suck it” and did the motion. Owens went for a senton splash, but Rollins moved and Owens went crashing through the table. Fans chanted “this is awesome” because they like highspots. Back in the ring, Rollins up top and hit a knee to the face. Rollins went up top with a Frog Splash for a two count. Chris Jericho went down to ringside, Rollins kicked him off the apron and Owens hit a double underhook Powerbomb for two. Rollins sent Owens into Jericho to knock him off the apron. Rollins with a knee to the face, he told Owens to “suck it”, then he did the gesture and hit a Pedigree. Jericho put Owens’ foot on the bottom rope, but the ref saw the foot on the apron so it’s only a two count. Rollins chased Jericho outside the ring. Back in the ring, Owens went for the Popup Powerbomb, but Rollins bumped into the referee to knock him down. I could hear some in the crowd groaning – not really, but fans hate ref bumps. Rollins nailed a Pedigree on Owens and he covered. Fans chanted to ten while the referee was down. Jericho attacked Rollins in the back and stomped away on him. Rollins gave Jericho a back body drop over the top to the floor. Rollins took out Jericho with a suicide dive. Then Rollins knocked down Owens with a suicide drive. Stephanie McMahon sent another referee down to the ring. Owens caught Rollins with the Popup Powerbomb and covered for the pinfall win after 25 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Kevin Owens

Analysis: *** A good match as expected, but the last few minutes were obviously hurt by the interference and the ref bump. Both guys busted out a lot of awesome looking moves, which is their strength. Rollins did an okay job of selling the knee injury, but there were times when he just ignored it too. A lot of the nearfalls they did were believable. The biggest false finish was obviously the big spot where Rollins hit the Pedigree, went for the cover and the ref was down. They do spots like that to make the face look good. It helps Rollins because he can complain about a moment like that costing him the victory. Plus, Rollins can also say that Stephanie sent a ref out when it was convenient for Owens, but did nothing when Rollins had a pinfall. It’s going to lead to a rematch at some point too. No sign of Triple H although it was as if they were saluting him with the crotch chops. Owens retaining was what I expected because he won the title less than a month earlier. There was no reason to do a title change here.

Post match, Owens celebrated the win with his best friend Jericho. Rollins looked angry in the ring. The show went off the air at 11:08pmET, so it had something in common with Raw in that sense.

Analysis: This ending could lead to a triple threat match at Hell in a Cell with Owens vs. Rollins vs. Jericho because they must have had Jericho get the win for a reason. It could lead to Jericho turning face soon after Owens retains the title. Then again, No Mercy’s main event is a triple threat, so I doubt a Raw PPV will headline with a three way so soon. I’m not sure what HIAC’s main event may be other than Owens vs. Rollins again.

Five Stars of the Show
1. Cesaro
2. Sheamus
3. Chris Jericho
4. Sami Zayn
5. Seth Rollins

Final Thoughts

It gets a 7 out of 10 from me.

Clash of Champions is a tough show to rate because I thought the in-ring performance was pretty good up and down the roster, but some of the booking decisions left me scratching my head wondering what WWE was thinking. I’ll give it a 7 because I enjoyed most of the matches. None of them stood out that much in terms of being classic matches, but there wasn’t anything that was that bad on this show.

It would have been nice if there were memorable moments that we might remember for months or years to come. I doubt I’ll remember anything from this show except maybe that awful landing that Cesaro had on the floor.

I’m sure that WWE is going to try to tell us that Clash of Champions a spectacular event. It really wasn’t that bad, but it was also below average from what WWE has given us on PPV this year. You can see that by looking at my rankings below.

WWE PPV Rankings In 2016 So Far

Money in the Bank – 8
Battleground – 8
Payback – 7.5
Backlash – 7.5
Royal Rumble – 7.5
SummerSlam – 7
Clash of Champions – 7
Extreme Rules – 7
WrestleMania 32 – 6
Fastlane – 6

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Thanks for reading. Go Toronto Blue Jays. Go Los Angeles Rams.

John Canton – mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter @johnreport

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