WRESTLING WITH CLASH OF CHAMPIONS 2019

WWE Clash Of Champions- 9/15/19 Charlotte, NC

Quick Results:

• (Kickoff Show) Cruiserweight Championship: Drew Gulak defeated Humberto Carrillo and Lince Dorado to retain

• (Kickoff Show) United States Championship: AJ Styles defeated Cedric Alexander to retain

• Raw Tag Team Championship: Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode defeated Seth Rollins & Braun Strowman - New Champions

• Smackdown Women's Championship: Bayley defeated Charlotte Flair to retain

• Smackdown Tag Team Championship: The Revival defeated The New Day - New Champions

• Women's Tag Team Championship: Bliss Cross defeated Fire & Desire to retain

• Intercontinental Championship: Shinsuke Nakamura defeated The Miz to retain

• Raw Women's Championship: Sasha Banks defeated Becky Lynch by DQ, Lynch is still champ

• WWE Championship: Kofi Kingston defeated Randy Orton to retain

• No Disqualification Match: Erick Rowan defeated Roman Reigns

• Universal Championship: Seth Rollins defeated Braun Strowman to retain

Highlights:

• One major nitpick I had for this show was that the outcomes were fairly predictable. The major surprise of the night was a returning Luke Harper. While it's great to see him back on the show, this doesn't look good for Erick Rowan's singles career.

• The other major surprises of the night was the Cruiserweight and US Titles both being defended on the Kickoff Show. These two matches were expected to be the show-stealers but, due to the limited time on the Kickoff, this severely hindered that outcome. While both matches were very good, they needed more time to be real standouts on a card with 9 other matches. I expect the Styles/Alexander feud to continue, which would be good because I don't think Alexander came off looking very strong after being defeated so soundly by Styles.

• While the Cruiserweight match had plenty of high-flying action, the finish was awkwardly botched with a funky pin that was later removed on the replay. WWE also tends to have a lot of one-on-one action in a Triple Threat match, which seems very formulaic and contrary to the purpose of the match. I wonder if AEW might structure Triple Threat matches differently to stand out? One very good spot that stood out was Carrillo diving over the top rope onto Dorado, who was sitting atop Gulak's shoulders in an Electric Chair.

• It was nice to see Bayley acting like a proper heel in her match with Charlotte Flair. Flair and the referee did a good job pulling the eyeline of the viewers to allow Bayley to remove the bottom turnbuckle pad unnoticed and actually cheat to win the match. It was a creative finish, especially with Flair dominating the majority of the match. Bayley definitely needs to keep that up going forward, but she still needs a new entrance and heel gimmick to go along with it.

• The Revival, a Raw Tag Team, has won the Smackdown Tag Titles. The Brand Split is reportedly to be back in full effect when Smackdown moves to Fox in a couple weeks. So this means either The Revival is moving to Smackdown or they will lose the titles over the next couple of weeks. It was announced on this show that a new Draft will start on the second episode of Smackdown and finish on the following Raw. So expect to see several moves take place then.

• As you can see, there was no 24/7 Championship results listed above. The only 24/7 interaction happened during the Women's Tag Team Title match. R-Truth and Carmella were disguised as sound techs in the back during an interview with the Tag Champions, when Alexa Bliss proceeded to "stooge off" Truth's whereabouts to the 24/7 Contenders. During the Tag Title match, R-Truth ran into the ring and, while the referee kept the other contenders out, Bliss attempted to win the 24/7 title with a rollup attempt on Truth. This was an entertaining spot but, at the same time, didn't do anything good for the Women's Tag Titles.

• Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch had a very good match with plenty of aggression to add to the personal nature of the rivalry. However, I think the match lost some steam when Lynch accidentally hit the referee with a chair and they brawled through the crowd, up to the concourse and back again. Aside from a bit of mustard dumped on Sasha, a full on food fight might have been a fun, memorable spot during the commotion. The commentary team told those watching at home that the match had been thrown out and Lynch disqualified. However, the crowd did not hear this bit of information. They seemed to deflate a bit by the time the two women got back down to ringside. When the match was finally announced to be over, it was a bit of a disappointment. Up until then, the match was very good.

• Kingston/Orton was the longest and the slowest match of the night. I hope this rivalry is over but I don't see who could step up to challenge Kingston next.

• The show ended with an appearance from The Fiend, who attacked Rollins and seemingly set up a match for Hell In A Cell. This was a great way to end the show on a high note. I think it is too early for The Fiend to be in a title match, but since he is, he has to win!. If WWE books The Fiend to lose in any way, it will completely undermine all the steam he currently has and put him right back in the same position he was in as Bray Wyatt.

Overall, I give this show a 3 out of 5. Most of the action was solid but the outcomes predictable, and, aside from one or two instances, nothing really stood out on this show.