WWE Clash of Champions, for the most part, delivered. Multiple titles changed hands, superstars returned, and we have all the results here.
WWE Clash of Champions Kickoff:
Drew Gulak (c) defeated Humberto Carrillo and Lince Dorado to retain the Cruiserweight championship.
Drew Gulak was aggressive from the beginning, but a very game Lince Dorado and Humberto Carrillo used their high flying offense to take it to the champ. In the end, it was Gulak who outsmarted his opponents to retain his title.
AJ Styles (c) defeated Cedric Alexander to retain the United States Championship
Hometown hero Cedric Alexander came out of the gate with a Michinoku Driver, however this match was all AJ Styles. AJ used his patented offense to retain his title in a completely one sided affair. After the match, The OC ran in to assist AJ in a three man beatdown of the challenger. This match didn’t do anything for Cedric or AJ. It was mainly the same thing we’ve seen on Raw for weeks now.
WWE Clash of Champions Main Card:
Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler defeated Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman (c) to win the Raw tag team championships.
The tag team title match kicked off the show, and did a great job setting the tone. Strowman and Rollins did a great job working together, however Roode and Ziggler used their new found chemistry to isolate Rollins and beat him down. A hot tag to Strowman looked to turn the tide in the champs favor, but a Strowman mis-timed his running charge and took out Rollins. Roode hit his Glorious DDT for the win.
Bayley (c) defeated Charlotte Flair to retain the Smackdown Women’s championships.
Charlotte Flair took the action to Bayley early, but the champ was able to fight back. Right when it seemed like Charlotte was going to gain her momentum back, Bayley took the turnbuckle pad off while the referee wasn’t looking. She pulled Charlotte into the newly exposed turnbuckle and won the match. The match was too short to really make an impact but it did show that this new Bayley would do anything to win.
The Revival defeated The New Day (c) to win the Smackdown tag team championships.
This was a back and forth affair and both sides looked to pick up the victory early. The Revival spent the beginning of the match looking to take out Xavier Woods, which they managed to do. The challengers were able to isolate the big man and utilize their patented old school offense to wear him down. A belly to belly suplex enabled Big E to make a hot tag to Xavier Woods, but it wasn’t enough. The challengers hit the shatter machine on Woods, and instead of pinning him, opted to make him tap out to a kneebar. Afterwards, the newly crowned champions cut a promo about how Randy Orton was going to defeat Kofi Kingston and become the new WWE Champion.
Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross (c) defeated Fire & Desire to retain the Women’s tag team titles.
Fire & Desire spent the majority of the match on the offensive, with small flurries of offense from the champions. Both teams tried for finishers towards the end, however Cross was able to gain the upper hand and hit her neck breaker on Mandy Rose for the win. This match wasn’t particularly noteworthy, but it did a good job showing the chemistry both teams have. Nikki Cross remains the star in every match that she is in.
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) defeated The Miz to retain the Intercontinental championship.
The match kicked off with a flurry of offense from Nakamura, along with Sami Zayn on the microphone narrating every maneuver, like only he can. Miz looked to take out Nakamura’s leg so he could apply his Figure 4 Leglock, but Nakamura was able to fight out of it. Sami Zayn provided a distraction and allowed Nakamura to regain control but a Skull-Crushing Finale from The Miz looked to win him his 9th Intercontinental title. Sami Zayn distracted the ref, and when Miz tried to chase Sami Zayn off, he ran into a Kinshasa from Nakamura. The match didn’t really have that much chemistry, however the pairing of Nakamura and Zayn continues to be pure gold.
Sasha Banks defeated Becky Lynch (c) via DQ, Becky Lynch retains Raw Women’s championship.
This match had the most energy and story out of any match so far, and it delivered on the hype. Sasha and Becky did their best to weaken each other for their respective submissions, and hit their signature moves along the way. Eventually, frustration set in and Banks went for a chair and was able to use it without the referee noticing. However she was still not able to put the champion away. Becky then let her frustrations get the better of her and grabbed the chair, and struck the referee in the process. The Man, knowing the match was over, proceeded to attack Banks with the chair over and over. The brawl led outside the ring, and eventually to in the crowd. Officials ran in while Lynch applied her Disarm-her submission. Becky was later fined for striking the referee.
Kofi Kingston (c) defeated Randy Orton to retain the WWE Championship.
Kingston and Orton have been engaged in heated rivalry for months, and their hatred boiled over in a red hot championship match. Orton was in control early, and did his best to keep the high flying Kingston on the ground. Orton took the match ringside, where he suplexed Kingston onto the announce table. Randy was at his peak as he dismantled Kingston throughout the match. Kingston managed a comeback, but was once again slowed by the challenger. In the final moments of the match, Orton finally hit the RKO but Kingston got his foot on the bottom rope. Orton went for his running punt, but a Trouble in Paradise out of nowhere scored Kingston the victory. Kofi’s decisive win was the latest in a long line of title defenses that has seen him be one of the best booked champions in the last decade.
Erick Rowan defeated Roman Reigns in a No DQ match.
After months of build up, Roman Reigns finally faced his attacker in a No DQ match. Roman led the match early, but Rowan’s power was too much to overcome and the fight was taken ringside. Roman and Rowan battled into the stands, and back to the ring where they used weapons to gain the upper hand on each other. Roman’s momentum was curbed once again, as Rowan put Roman through the announce table with a power bomb. The fight moved to the stage where Roman finally gained his momentum back by hitting Rowan with a jib camera. Reigns then went for a spear down the ramp, and was blasted by a returning Harper. Harper hit reigns with a discuss clothesline, and Rowan hit Reigns with he Iron Claw for the win. This match delivered on months of storytelling, and finally saw the long awaited return of Harper.
Seth Rollins defeated Braun Strowman to retain the Universal Championship.
A few hours after losing the Raw tag team championships to Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler, Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman faced off in the main event. In a match reminiscent of his matches against Brock Lesnar, Rollins took the fight immediately to Strowman and looked to cut the big man down to size. Strowman then took control of the match, and punished Rollins for minutes. The match spilled outside, where Strowman ran over Rollins multiple times. Rollins managed to counter and proceeded to hit multiple suicide dives, one of which drove Strowman through a table. Back in the ring, Strowman shockingly went to the top rope and delivered an impressive splash for a two count. Rollins managed to recover and hit two stomps for near counts. Rollins then hit a Pedigree and a final Stomp for the pinfall. As Rollins celebrated atop the stage, The Fiend appeared and laid him out with a Sister Abigail. He then applied the Mandible Claw and his laughter played throughout the arena as the show went off the air.
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