WWE Clash of Champions Review - September 27, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Kickoff Show: SmackDown Tag Team Champions Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro def. The Lucha House Party (Kalisto and Lince Dorado)

Every match these teams have had against each other up to this point has been well-wrestled, but I don't think there was any question regarding who was winning here. The focus was more so on the tension teased within The Lucha House Party lately. I expected that to factor into the finish somehow but surprisingly it didn't. SmackDown's tag team division is so depleted that I have no idea who's left for Nakamura and Cesaro to defend against on the SmackDown brand.

Sami Zayn def. Jeff Hardy and AJ Styles in a Triple Threat Ladder Match to Win the Intercontinental Championship

I had high hopes for this coming into Clash of Champions because the immense amount of talent involved and they didn't disappoint. There's been so many Ladder matches in the last year in WWE that I was worried this would feel like more of the same and that it would underwhelm, but they were enough crazy spots to make it all worthwhile. All three guys busted their asses and Zayn handcuffing Hardy and Styles to ladders was a clever way for him to win. He never got a real run with the Intercontinental Championship before being stripped of it in May, so I'm totally fine with him regaining it and putting Hardy and other babyfaces from SmackDown in chase mode.

Raw Women's Champion Asuka def. Zelina Vega

I didn't have much of an issue with this originally being positioned on the Kickoff show, just because I honestly couldn't have cared less about Vega challenging for the Raw Women's Championship to begin with. That said, this was perfectly fine for the time they were allotted. Vega didn't embarrass herself, but she didn't have an amazing enough showing that I'm convinced she'll do well on her own away from Andrade and Angel Garza. However, a rematch is likely after Vega attacked Asuka afterward. Ugh.

United States Champion Bobby Lashley def. Apollo Crews

I actually really liked the match these guys had over the United States Championship at Payback last month. Thus, I was looking forward to this rematch. It was equally enjoyable, but with Lashley winning clean again, it's time to put this rivalry to rest. Crews has been feuding with The Hurt Business since the start of the summer and desperately needs to move on. It's worth noting that Cedric Alexander didn't come out to ringside with the rest of The Hurt Business. Could it be COVID related?

Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits def. Andrade and Angel Garza

These teams always work well together, but there was no reason for WWE to run this match back again unless the idea was for Andrade and Garza to win the titles. Yes, they lost, but it's possible they were going to win before Garza suffered a legitimate leg injury and the referee counted three when Angelo Dawkins pinned Andrade, even though it was merely supposed to be a nearfall. It came off terribly and even the commentators were confused. I have no problem with the contest being cut short because of Garza's injury, but couldn't the ref have relayed that info to the wrestlers a bit better? It was a good match ruined by a confusing finish. Unfortunately, I can see the feud continuing because Andrade and Garza can argue they were robbed of the victory. Ugh.

Raw Women's Champion Asuka def. SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley by Disqualification (Raw Women's Championship Was Not Defended)

This was the weakest part of the show by far. Nikki Cross apparently wasn't "cleared to compete," so make of that what you will. Every championship had to be defended on this show (unless you're the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions), so I get WWE wanting to find a replacement for Cross, but Asuka was the wrong call. She already wrestled earlier in the evening and already faced Bayley a bunch this summer. In other words, this was a massive waste of time, especially with it ending in a disqualification. The matchup merely existed so Sasha Banks could show up and brutalize Bayley with a chair. Expect those two to finally clash at Hell in a Cell.

WWE Champion Drew McIntyre def. Randy Orton in an Ambulance Match

Ambulance matches have never been my cup of tea personally, so I can't say I was shocked when this dragged at several points. It wasn't overly exciting, but it wasn't terrible, either. All things considered, it was pretty good, at least in terms of wrapping up Orton's Legend Killer story with all the legends he's punted in the head over the last few months. Granted, it made McIntyre look a little weak since he couldn't win on his own, but I assume Orton will address that on Raw. I didn't love the match by any means, but it accomplished what it needed to and had the right result.

Universal Champion Roman Reigns def. Jey Uso

I didn't expect to be too excited for this match a month ago when it was made official for the event, but they successfully got me hooked on their feud in the last month. I knew it would be fun from a storyline standpoint, but it wound up being a storytelling masterpiece. Seriously, everyone involved played their roles remarkably well. Reigns toyed with Jey early on before getting annoyed as Jey kept battling back. That led to Jey having a few flurries of offense and coming close to winning on a few occasions. Jimmy coming down to ringside with a white towel and ultimately throwing it in (despite Jey telling him not to) because he couldn't watch his brother get pummeled anymore was beautiful. The closing shot of the show with Reigns standing over The Usos with the title held high above his head was just amazing. I loved everything about this and the predictability surrounding the outcome hardly mattered because this was so damn terrific. Needless to say, heel Reigns has been a revelation. Him going shirtless was a nice way for him to further the character change and the new entrance music coming soon will complete the package.

Overall Show

The main matches carried this show. Clash of Champions was worth watching for the the main event alone, though the opener was also outstanding in a different way and the Ambulance match had its moments. The rest of the card was either decent or forgettable, but at least the three-hour show never dragged for me. Most of the right people won and a majority of the wrestling was solid, so I can't complain. It's also worth mentioning that a Draft was announced for the October 9th SmackDown and the October 12th Raw, but it's hard to care when WWE constantly has people switch shows for no rhyme or reason. Why would a Draft change anything besides potentially boosting the ratings for a week?