WWE Clash of Champions Review - September 15, 2019

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Kickoff Show: WWE Cruiserweight Champion Drew Gulak def. Lince Dorado and Humberto Carrillo in a Triple Threat Match

With the sole exception of Money in the Bank back in May (for some strange reason), the WWE Cruiserweight Championship has settled nicely into a spot on these pay-per-view Kickoff shows. It's when the crowd is at its hottest, so I don't have a problem with the positioning whatsoever. All three of these guys worked well together and produced a nice little Triple Threat match. Gulak pinning Dorado made sense as it keeps Carrillo in chase mode and protects him in defeat.

Kickoff Show: United States Champion AJ Styles def. Cedric Alexander

The Cruiserweight title match ending up on the pre-show was hardly surprising, but I was surprised by Styles vs. Alexander being bumped to the Kickoff. I realize it was a last-minute addition to the card, but Styles is a notable name and this event emanated from Alexander's hometown of Charlotte. Nevertheless, this was a hell of a sprint and a ton of fun, yet criminally short. Alexander looked awesome early on, but I figured interference from The O.C. and some sort of shenanigans would cost him the victory. Styles' decisive win makes me think the feud is already over, which would be a shame if true.

Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler def. Universal Champion Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman to Win the Raw Tag Team Championship

It was smart to have this open the show since Rollins vs. Strowman went on last (was there ever any doubt?). I'm still skeptical over this Roode-Ziggler tandem, but so far they've shown strong chemistry as partners and this was an entertaining outing. The outcome was the right one considering it would've made Roode and Ziggler look terrible if they couldn't beat feuding tag team champions. It's worth noting that Roode pinned Rollins, though I don't expect that to earn him a shot at the Universal Championship or anything.

SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley def. Charlotte Flair

We've gotten some great matches between Bayley and Flair over the years, but this was not one of them. Part of me was disappointed that we didn't get a longer match out of them, but I'm also happy that they didn't waste our time with a matchup that was going to conclude with a cheap finish. Although the bout itself wasn't anything special, it was encouraging to see Bayley win via nefarious means (by sending Flair head-first into the exposed turnbuckle post) and run away like a coward afterward. Now the next step is for her to ditch the babyface entrance music and change up her outdated look.

The Revival def. The New Day to Win the SmackDown Tag Team Championship

I honestly didn't have high expectations coming into this contest, just because the build has been nearly nonexistent on WWE TV lately with Xavier Woods being gone. Despite that, this was a quality match with solid work from both teams. Revival focused on Woods' "injury" throughout and I thought for sure that New Day would battle back to win. Well, apparently not. Revival were reportedly very frustrated with where they were in the company at the onset of 2019, but they have since become three-time tag team champions on Raw and SmackDown Live. By the way, I'm well aware that Revival are Raw wrestlers, but I'm not sure WWE cares. The Draft is coming up anyway, so I guess nothing matters until then.

WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross def. Fire and Desire

I would have put this on the Kickoff show over Styles vs. Alexander, but that's just me. Besides, this bout technically pitted two heels teams against each other, not to mention how it was treated like a joke with the 24/7 Championship nonsense tying into it. It was far from terrible, though, and the effort was definitely there. I have no clue who Bliss and Cross have left to defend against since they've already wiped out the rest of the division over the past month.

Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura def. The Miz

This was another rivalry I wasn't too invested in in the weeks preceding the pay-per-view, simply because WWE has shown zero desire to elevate the Intercontinental title back to where it should be. That said, Nakamura and Miz contested a really good match and got the crowd into the nearfalls down the stretch. I could do without Zayn obnoxiously yelling on the mic during Nakamura's matches, though. His mic was cut off within the first few minutes, but there's no need to make that a regular thing going forward.

Sasha Banks def. Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch by Disqualification

I laughed whenever I saw fans suggest coming into Clash of Champions that Lynch vs. Banks would main event, not because I didn't think they could but rather because I knew WWE would want Rollins vs. Strowman to go on last over this. Based off how this was undoubtedly the best bout of the night, it could have easily headlined the show. The crowd was into the action from start to finish and I loved how the bad blood between Banks and Lynch felt real. Banks was my pick to take home the Raw Women's Championship, but the non-finish obviously ensures that the storyline isn't over and that neither woman had to be pinned. If were up to me, I'd put Lynch and Banks in one of next month's Hell in a Cell matches.

WWE Champion Kofi Kingston def. Randy Orton

I haven't found too many of Kingston's title defenses to be overly exciting, but this might have been his most memorable yet. Granted, it probably went a little longer than it needed to at 20 minutes in length, but I enjoyed the drama and thought it was a vast improvement over their boring SummerSlam outing. Kingston winning clean genuinely surprised me because I figured we were in for another rematch at Hell in a Cell. I suppose they could still go that route if they wanted, but it will be hard to get there now that Orton has been defeated decisively by Kingston.

Erick Rowan def. Roman Reigns in a No Disqualification Match

For a feud that jumped the shark weeks ago, this was way better than it had any right to be. I appreciated their intensity and how they made excellent use of the stipulation. The crowd didn't buy into any of Rowan's nearfalls because they didn't take him seriously as a threat to Reigns (and rightfully so), but Luke Harper returning to aid Rowan to victory was a spectacular swerve. It wasn't too long ago that certain sources indicated that Vince McMahon had no interest in bringing Harper back, but those reports were clearly crap. I'm really looking forward to finding out what's next in this story and how Daniel Bryan will factor in (if at all).

Universal Champion Seth Rollins def. Braun Strowman

Rollins and Strowman worked a style similar to the one Rollins and Brock Lesnar did at WrestleMania 35 and SummerSlam, which was probably for the best. This featured more big moves than it did actual wrestling, but I'm not complaining because they captured the crowd and (unlike Orton vs. Kingston) this didn't overstay its welcome. Strowman was very much protected in defeat (kicking out of three Curb Stomps before finally falling to a Pedigree and a fourth Curb Stomp), but I don't understand why. He's been unsuccessful in winning the world title every time he's vied for it over the past two years. Can fans/official just accept he's been booked like the ultimate loser and move on? "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt laying out Rollins on the stage afterward was a cool way to close out the show.

Overall Show

There were a few matches that missed the mark for me, but on the whole, I thought Clash of Champions continued WWE's streak of above-average pay-per-views in 2019. Only two titles changed hands, but it didn't run too long, there were enough excellent matchups to make it worthwhile, and there was plenty of build for Hell in a Cell next month. Plus, Harper's return was a pleasant surprise, to say the least. Fans will argue that didn't light the world on fire, but not everything is going to be amazing or atrocious. It is possible for shows to fall somewhere in between, and as a fan, I was personally left satisfied.