Last night was WWE’s Clash of Champions Pay-Per-View, featuring five title defenses and several non-title matches. Every single champion retained their titles except for Rusev, who lost his belt to Roman Reigns. Other highlights of the show were Nia Jax defeating Alicia Fox on the pre-show, Chris Jericho defeating Sami Zayn, and Match Seven of the Best of Seven Series between Sheamus and Cesaro going to a no contest. Looking back, what were the best moments of the show, and what missed the mark?
The Best
Cesaro and Sheamus Put on Match of the Night
While this match ended in a no contest, it was by far the best match on the Clash of Champions card. The Best of Seven Series was uncommon in the sense that it kept showing that same match on paper, Cesaro vs. Sheamus. However, each match got better and better, and this match topped the rest of the series. Sheamus mainly stuck to the arsenal of moves that gave him his first 3 wins, but Cesaro gave us two huge moments that we did not expect out of the Swiss Superman.
The moment that had everyone talking was a botched suicide dive by Cesaro. He clipped Sheamus’s leg, and practically landed right on his head. Magically, Cesaro got right back up and wrestled like nothing happened. Cesaro’s other highlight, that was somehow less expected than the suicide dive, was a successfully attempted 619 on Sheamus, paying tribute to Rey Mysterio.
The no contest might take this feud all the way to Hell in a Cell (we’ll find out on Raw tonight), but if it was their final clash, it was one hell of a way to end it.
TJ Perkins Makes His Official Debut With an 8-Bit Video Game Entrance
Thanks to Xavier Woods’s UpUpDownDown YouTube Channel, it is more apparent than ever that today’s up and coming wrestlers enjoy playing video games. What most people (myself included) did not know, however, was that TJ Perkins one of these people. Citing Mega Man as one of his influences, Perkins entered his Cruiserweight Championship match against Brian Kendrick to an entrance theme reminiscent of the days of the NES and the Super Nintendo.
Along with a great entrance, Perkins would end up retaining his championship by using his signature kneebar.
The Worst
The Tag Team Division Stays Directionless
I love the New Day. I mean, who doesn’t? They are arguably the most entertaining act in WWE. The problem with them being so great is that they have not had credible Tag Team Championship challengers for the majority of their title reign that has spanned 400 Days. That was the case until Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson came around. Most people don’t know or care for the Club members, but there was no doubt that the former IWGP Tag Team Champions were the most credible challengers for the gold.
The New Day retained their championships last night against Gallows and Anderson thanks to Francesca II, which means that Gallows and Anderson have lost two championship matches in a row. Who is left for New Day to defend against? The rest of the division consists of The Shining Stars, Enzo and Cass, and The Golden Truth. Unless Raw signs the current NXT Tag Team Champions, The Revival, it is almost guaranteed that Gallows and Anderson are going to get another opportunity just because there is no one left.
The Cruiserweights Feel Like a Side Show
As said many times on this site, the Cruiserweight Classic featured the best WWE wrestling all year. Now that several of those amazing performers are on Raw, it seems like that they are being advertised as a side show instead of a featured attraction. There is no storytelling (so far), the ring ropes change to purple for some reason, and only the hardcore fans who watched the Cruiserweight Classic are going to be engaged with pure in-ring segments.
Last week’s fatal four way between Cedric Alexander, Rich Swann, Brian Kendrick, and Gran Metalik was a good start of giving the audience a taste of what they can do in the ring. Starting tonight on Raw, it is time for WWE to get fans more invested in them other than the fact that they flip and are under 205 lbs.
