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WWE Clash of Champions: Best Moments of the Raw PPV
Raw held their first brand-exclusive PPV on Sunday, September 25. The Clash of Champions event put every title from the Monday night show on the line. Can the PPV follow-up the awesomeness that was Smackdown's Backlash?
We're breaking down the event to see what worked and what fell a little flat. After making a few predictions of our own, we're seeing if the additional PPV each month is worth it or if it's a bit too much.
Here are some of the best moments of Clash of Champions. Warning: Spoilers ahead.
TJ Perkins/The Brian Kendrick Aftermath
After Perkins won the Cruiserweight Classic, which also came with a sweet championship belt, it was a bit of a head-scratcher to see that he'd be defending his title almost two weeks later. The Brian Kendrick earned a chance to win this new Raw title, after beating out three other cruiserweights. However, what happened after the match was pretty fantastic and reminiscent of 90s-era WWE.
Kendrick refused to shake Perkins' hand before the match, so after Perkins won, it was strange to see Kendrick embrace the champ in a hug. Then, Kendrick headbutted Perkins. He's a bit of a sore loser, apparently. What's great about this is that it continues the rivalry between the two characters and adds to the character of Kendrick who is a bit of a loose cannon and jealous of all the attention the champ is getting.
The match was completely solid. Sure, there were a couple sloppy moments, but what WWE fans got was an entertaining cruiserweight match. Aside from the fight, Perkins has one of the best entrance themes currently in WWE. It sounds like side-scrolling beat-em-up for the SNES.
Cesaro/Sheamus VII, Minus the Finish
Cesaro and Sheamus were involved in a Best-of-7 match in order to become the number one contender for the championship title. The storyline has been a bit weak, and the build-up towards Clash of Champions was incredibly predictable. However, these competitors shut critics up with their performance at the PPV.
What these two stars delivered was an incredible back and forth contest that continued the story they've been working on together for over a month. Cesaro is still hurt, and Sheamus really worked his back and shoulders, which were injured in the first and second match between the two. Up to this point, the PPV really wasn't living up to the hype, so Cesaro and Sheamus beating the hell out of each other was refreshing. It got a bit scary though when Cesaro went for a dive outside the ring and landed on his head.
Then, the finish for the match kind of ruined everything the two have built up. Sheamus and Cesaro went over the barricade, into the audience, and a slew of ringside doctors came over to them and the ref called the match a "no contest," even though they both wanted to continue. It was a bit silly and almost out of place. Sure, it was a brutal match, but lightly flipping over the barricade didn't seem like a moment where doctors needed to "call it." Regardless, everything up to that part was fantastic.
Women's Championship Triple-Threat Match
Charlotte has dominated the competition as the Women's Champion, even if she has had a little help from her friend Dana Brooke. Now, she has to face both Sasha Banks and Bayley to defend her title in a triple threat match. The build-up for the match was decent. What many were really hoping for was Brooke turning on Charlotte or at least something that was a bit of a surprise. We didn't get that. What we got was a great match.
When you put three people into a ring, at the same time, it can be a little tough, simply because most of the action will involve just two people. However, the Women's Championship match did a really nice job of balancing the action, even though it was usually just two wrestlers in the ring at the same time. The action was entertaining, and the match stole the show, up until the main event.
Once again, Charlotte found a way to win, and while we were really pulling for Bayley to get the belt, Charlotte has been a really awesome champ. She's over-confident, cocky, and can back up everything she does in the ring. She's incredibly talented, and we're hoping for a match like this at the next PPV, even if the finish was a little bit sloppy.
Everything Kevin Owens
So many people were pulling for Seth Rollins to win the Universal Championship from Kevin Owens at Clash of Champions. There were lots of rumors saying he was going to lose. However, the rumors were wrong, and Owens proved why he's a great champion: he's hilarious. Sorry Rollins, but Owens is just too entertaining as champion right now.
A few minutes in, Owens tossed Rollins out of the ring, leaned through the ropes and sarcastically yelled, "Is he ok? I hope he's ok!" While Owens is great in the ring, it's small antics like that moment which make him great. He's loud in the ring and taunts his opponents. The best moment of the match came when Owens told the ref and Rollins to "suck it" in true Attitude Era style.
Things only got better when Owens' best friend, Chris Jericho, sauntered to the ring, reminding everyone how close they are. Jericho interfered time and time again, and Owens ended up winning, mainly because a referee made of cardboard and fragile dinner plates was knocked out for a good 5 minutes. Rollins was a great champ, but what Owens is doing right now is incredibly entertaining. The crowd hates him, he's great in the ring, and he's fun to watch.
Overall, Clash of Champions was an alright PPV. It didn't live up to the hype, and it's tough to follow Backlash, which was one of the best events of the year. It was a mixed bag of a few great matches and a lot of middle-of-the-road segments. It seems like Raw is trying to find its voice and throwing a lot at its viewers with five different championship titles. The most boggling thing about the event was putting on the Tag Team Championship match as the opener to the PPV, not counting the kickoff show. Hopefully, things get better next month with Raw's second PPV. As it is right now, multiple PPVs a month is not looking like a good thing.
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We're breaking down the event to see what worked and what fell a little flat. After making a few predictions of our own, we're seeing if the additional PPV each month is worth it or if it's a bit too much.
Here are some of the best moments of Clash of Champions. Warning: Spoilers ahead.
TJ Perkins/The Brian Kendrick Aftermath
After Perkins won the Cruiserweight Classic, which also came with a sweet championship belt, it was a bit of a head-scratcher to see that he'd be defending his title almost two weeks later. The Brian Kendrick earned a chance to win this new Raw title, after beating out three other cruiserweights. However, what happened after the match was pretty fantastic and reminiscent of 90s-era WWE.Kendrick refused to shake Perkins' hand before the match, so after Perkins won, it was strange to see Kendrick embrace the champ in a hug. Then, Kendrick headbutted Perkins. He's a bit of a sore loser, apparently. What's great about this is that it continues the rivalry between the two characters and adds to the character of Kendrick who is a bit of a loose cannon and jealous of all the attention the champ is getting.
The match was completely solid. Sure, there were a couple sloppy moments, but what WWE fans got was an entertaining cruiserweight match. Aside from the fight, Perkins has one of the best entrance themes currently in WWE. It sounds like side-scrolling beat-em-up for the SNES.
Cesaro/Sheamus VII, Minus the Finish
Cesaro and Sheamus were involved in a Best-of-7 match in order to become the number one contender for the championship title. The storyline has been a bit weak, and the build-up towards Clash of Champions was incredibly predictable. However, these competitors shut critics up with their performance at the PPV.What these two stars delivered was an incredible back and forth contest that continued the story they've been working on together for over a month. Cesaro is still hurt, and Sheamus really worked his back and shoulders, which were injured in the first and second match between the two. Up to this point, the PPV really wasn't living up to the hype, so Cesaro and Sheamus beating the hell out of each other was refreshing. It got a bit scary though when Cesaro went for a dive outside the ring and landed on his head.
Then, the finish for the match kind of ruined everything the two have built up. Sheamus and Cesaro went over the barricade, into the audience, and a slew of ringside doctors came over to them and the ref called the match a "no contest," even though they both wanted to continue. It was a bit silly and almost out of place. Sure, it was a brutal match, but lightly flipping over the barricade didn't seem like a moment where doctors needed to "call it." Regardless, everything up to that part was fantastic.
Women's Championship Triple-Threat Match
Charlotte has dominated the competition as the Women's Champion, even if she has had a little help from her friend Dana Brooke. Now, she has to face both Sasha Banks and Bayley to defend her title in a triple threat match. The build-up for the match was decent. What many were really hoping for was Brooke turning on Charlotte or at least something that was a bit of a surprise. We didn't get that. What we got was a great match.When you put three people into a ring, at the same time, it can be a little tough, simply because most of the action will involve just two people. However, the Women's Championship match did a really nice job of balancing the action, even though it was usually just two wrestlers in the ring at the same time. The action was entertaining, and the match stole the show, up until the main event.
Once again, Charlotte found a way to win, and while we were really pulling for Bayley to get the belt, Charlotte has been a really awesome champ. She's over-confident, cocky, and can back up everything she does in the ring. She's incredibly talented, and we're hoping for a match like this at the next PPV, even if the finish was a little bit sloppy.
Everything Kevin Owens
So many people were pulling for Seth Rollins to win the Universal Championship from Kevin Owens at Clash of Champions. There were lots of rumors saying he was going to lose. However, the rumors were wrong, and Owens proved why he's a great champion: he's hilarious. Sorry Rollins, but Owens is just too entertaining as champion right now.A few minutes in, Owens tossed Rollins out of the ring, leaned through the ropes and sarcastically yelled, "Is he ok? I hope he's ok!" While Owens is great in the ring, it's small antics like that moment which make him great. He's loud in the ring and taunts his opponents. The best moment of the match came when Owens told the ref and Rollins to "suck it" in true Attitude Era style.
Things only got better when Owens' best friend, Chris Jericho, sauntered to the ring, reminding everyone how close they are. Jericho interfered time and time again, and Owens ended up winning, mainly because a referee made of cardboard and fragile dinner plates was knocked out for a good 5 minutes. Rollins was a great champ, but what Owens is doing right now is incredibly entertaining. The crowd hates him, he's great in the ring, and he's fun to watch.
Overall, Clash of Champions was an alright PPV. It didn't live up to the hype, and it's tough to follow Backlash, which was one of the best events of the year. It was a mixed bag of a few great matches and a lot of middle-of-the-road segments. It seems like Raw is trying to find its voice and throwing a lot at its viewers with five different championship titles. The most boggling thing about the event was putting on the Tag Team Championship match as the opener to the PPV, not counting the kickoff show. Hopefully, things get better next month with Raw's second PPV. As it is right now, multiple PPVs a month is not looking like a good thing.
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