WWE Clash Of Champions (2019)

WWE Clash Of Champions (2019)

     Coming from Charlotte, NC (aka The Queen City), Clash of Champions (The event where every championship title is on the line) has a long line-up to go through so let's bring you the recaps.

Lince Dorado vs Drew Gulak (c) vs Humberto Carillo- Triple Threat Match for The Cruiserweight Championship    

     This match was a nice showcase for all men involved. Drew Gulak showed caginess and guile versus his high-flying opponents. Dorado and Carillo executed excellent aerial acrobatics with Dorado hitting a pop-up dropkick on Carillo and Carillo hitting a moonsault on Dorado while the latter was on Gulak's shoulders. Though it looked like Carillo was about to grab the victory, Gulak's smarts help him win the day. 

Rating: Three "How Did He Not Break His Damn Fool Neck"s out of five.

AJ Styles (c) vs Cedric Alexander- United States Championship Match

     While the previous match was heavily competitive, this bout seemed much less so. It wasn't a squash by any means but AJ Styles had control over the majority of the match and his win over Cedric was pretty decisive and thorough. Cedric had two different flurries of offense but after a Styles Clash on the outside, a phenomenal forearm and a second Styles Clash, it was all she wrote for the young up and comer. Styles's pals the OC (Anderson and Gallows) came out to provide the post-match beating of Alexander, putting the exclamation point on a match that was, in my opinion, way too short. 

Rating: Two and a half Too Sweets out of five.

Seth Rollins and Braun Stroman (c) vs Robert Rood and Dolph Ziggler- RAW Tag Team Championship Match

      While I had my misgivings about this match basically taking four singles wrestlers and making a tag team championship match despite WWE's tag team division needing a desperate overhaul in terms of depth. All four men put in really good efforts, but I couldn't really get into this match. The outcome was predictable and as a set-up for the Universal Title match later tonight, seemed to make the RAW Tag Team Titles a perpetual afterthought. 

Rating: Two Gettings of These Hands out of five.

Bayley (c) vs Charlotte Flair- Smackdown Women's Championship Match

     If there were any doubts about Bayley's turn into full-blown heel-hood (is that a word?), I imagine they're all out the window by now if this match is anything to go by. Charlotte was cheered like a hero awaiting their reward for conquering the hypocritical hugger Bayley. The fans were firmly behind Charlotte despite her supposedly being a heel (though Charlotte is a native of Charlotte, NC so she gets a hometown pop). The match was completely one-sided which puzzled me until the ending where Bayley uses a dirty trick worthy of the Nature Boy himself to retain. It wasn't much of a match but in terms of story, it is interesting to see where it goes from here.

Rating: Two and a half loose turnbuckle pads out of five.

The New Day (Xavier Woods and Big E) (c) vs The Revival- Smackdown Tag Team Championship Match

     The Revival know how to be top heels, that's for certain. The story of the match was Xavier's injured knee and it did end up being a deciding factor with the downfall of the New Day. The in-ring action did its best to make it look exciting but the Revival seemed pretty dominant from beginning to end and especially at the very end with tormenting Xavier into tapping out to award the Smackdown Tag Titles to The Revival. 

Rating: Two Top Guys out of five. 

Alexa Bliis and Nikki Cross (c) vs Fire and Desire Sonya Deville andMandy Rose- Women's Tag Team Championship Match 

     Hearing Renee Young and Corey Graves bickering over each other was almost as distracting as the 24-7 title shenanigans that interrupted this match and were promptly never seen again tonight. Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss's unlikely friendship and winning ways continue in a decent match with Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. A couple of close calls made this a good competitive match though nothing really too special. 

Rating: Three Rainbow flags out of five. 

Shinsuke Nakamura w/ Sami Zayn (c) vs The Miz- Intetcontinental Championship Match 

      The build for this match has been on the back burner with Sami Zayn, the motormouthed muse for the wrestler known as The Artist, constantly getting one up on The Miz, who's been having just about the worst run of luck since his last face turn. Sadly for the Cleveland native, that run continues in a valiant but losing effort as Sami Zayn provides the distraction after Miz hit his finisher on Shinsuke. The two have decent chemistry and got good performances out of each other and that's not nothing. 

Rating: Three YEAH-OH's out of five. 

Becky Lynch (c) vs Sasha Banks- RAW Women's Championship Match 

     Dueling "Let's Go Becky" and "Let's Go Sasha" chants flood this match of two of the best women wrestlers in WWE. This was a much better match than Charlotte vs Bayley at least from an in-ring standpoint. The match takes a weird turn when Becky inadvertently decks the ref with a steel chair (which we later learn caused a disqualification). From there, Banks and Lynch battled up through the crowd, into the concourse where Becky poured mustard on Sasha. Fighting back into the arena, Becky took firm control with steel chair shots and a DisArmHer through the steel chair. Match of the Night so far. 

Rating: Three and a half condiments across the spine out of five. 

Kofi Kingston (c) vs Randy Orton- WWE Championship Match 

     While this match was better than their SummerSlam bout, this is one of the slower paced matches on the card and it does drag things down a bit. But in the case of a man trying to battle the odds and beat an age-old demon of his past, it tells a decent enough story. For weeks, The Apex Predator has been harassing and getting into the mind of the inspirational champion. Randy's arrogant posturing, calling Kofi a stupid undeserving champion, giving Kofi more to prove. Kofi manages to put in a good turn as a conquering hero, even if the fans in the audience were a bit lukewarm. Personally, I blame that on it being an Orton match. Overall a decent match but I'm hoping this feud has reached its apex, so to speak.

Rating: Two and a half Troubles In Paradise out of five. 

Roman Reigns vs Erick Rowan- No Disqualification Match

     There's nothing quite like a good old Hoss fight. Two big beefy men slugging it out and wrecking all of the shit along the way. While I wouldn't call this one a barn-burner, it was a pretty good brawl for the only non-title match on the card. Roman fought through a lot, getting hit with steel steps, a kendo stick, a trash can, and being put through at least two tables. Despite all of that, he kept getting back up because that's what he does. Enter Luke Harper; someone whom the dirt sheets had earlier stated the Vince McMahon and WWE didn't want to use. Surprising the entire crowd as well as myself with his his appearance, Harper and Rowan overwhelmed the Big Dog and it was all academic in the end. 

Rating: Three missing massive monstrous mallets out of five. 

Seth Rollins (c) vs Braun Stroman- WWE Universal Championship Match

      Conversely, there's something to be said about a good David vs Goliath match. Closing out the show that they opened, Seth Rollins and Braun Stroman definitely gave it a much better go with this match than in their Tag Title match (which, honestly doesn't speak well of how booking feels about the tag team division, but that's another topic for another time). Braun brutalized Seth with his power while Seth used his quickness to outmaneuver the Monster Among Men when he could. Braun looked like a beast taking Stomp after Stomp after Stomp and kicking out of each one before succumbing to a Pedigree and a fourth Stomp to stay down long enough for Seth to pick up the pin.  Seth didn't celebrate for long, however. Because The Fiend Bray Wyatt has sent out an invitation to Seth for a match at Hell In A Cell. He seals the invite with a Sister Abigail on the steel stage and a Mandible Claw to put Seth out for good as the show closes. 

Rating: Three Stomps That Braun Kicks Out Of...out of five. 

Overall Grade: 

Two And A Half Jib Cameras Used As A Bludgeoning Tool Out Of Five!

     While there were some good matches on the card (Becky and Sasha, Seth and Braun, The Cruiserweight Triple Threat and surprisingly enough Roman vs Rowan) this Pay Per View couldn't really kick it into that next gear. While this was a good enough WWE Event and by no means terrible or even all that bad, it doesn't quite clear the bar into very good or great. 

Match Of The Night Goes To 

     Becky and Sasha kept the fire burning throughout the match, brawling all through the crowd, although this could've done well with the No Disqualification stipulation added to it, it's not surprising they ended it with Becky accidentally beaning the ref with the steel chair, instigating said post-match fracas. The story isn't over with these two and I'm looking forward to seeing more.