WWE’s flagship show, Monday Night Raw, will present its first brand-exclusive PPV this Sunday from Indianapolis this Sunday. Clash of Champions will be a chance for the red brand to show the depth and talent on its roster after SmackDown’s first PPV, Backlash, was well-received earlier this month and ended the night with AJ Style’s historic championship win.
We have a stacked card this Sunday with every Raw title being defended and being main-event by Kevin Owens defending his Universal Championship against Seth Rollins. The New Era of WWE is well and truly on its way and Clash of Champions will be Owens’ first showcase title defence. What surprises could Clash of Champions hold for us? Read on to find out.
5: Goldberg
Rumours about Goldberg’s impending return have been circling for weeks - ever since it was announced that Goldberg would be in WWE 2K17. These rumours picked up steam after it was announced that Goldberg would in Indianapolis – the city hosting Clash of Champions – this Sunday.
However, we have bad news for all you Goldberg fans out there because we are hearing that Goldberg will NOT be returning at Clash of Champions this Sunday. WWE and Goldberg may still work out a deal in the future, but there are no details on that as of now.
4: New Tag-Team Champions
The New Day are now considered to have the longest single WWE Tag-Team Championship reign in history (even though Demolition actually have the longest title run at 478 days). The trio have held the championships from SummerSlam 2015 and were widely expected to lost the championships at this year’s edition at SummerSlam by Big E’s return prevented the title from changing hands after New Day lost the match by DQ.
Fans of Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows will be happy to hear that as of right now, The Club are rumoured to pencilled in to walk away from Clash of Champions as the new WWE Raw Tag-Team Champions. The Club have been very goofy in their promos in recent months including the terrible Old Day segment and fans will be hoping that The Club will be taken as a more serious threat if they win the championships this Sunday.
3: Dana Brooke turns on Charlotte
The deterioration of Charlotte and Dan Brooke’s relationship has been highlighted on Raw programming over the last month. Dana has repeatedly tried to prove herself to Charlotte and as failed spectacularly at most of her attempts. It was because of Dana that Charlotte will have to defend her championship in a triple threat match at Clash of Champions – Dana was the one who brought Sasha and Bayley's shoulders being down together to Mick Foley’s attention.
Matters came to a head a few weeks ago when Dana got fed up with Charlotte constantly demeaning her and slapped Charlotte on Raw and got herself an opportunity to become the #1 contender to the Raw Women’s Championship. However, she lost that opportunity and went back to being Charlotte’s lackey.
Dana turning on Charlotte momentarily and slapping her was well received by the live crowd and the latest rumours suggest that Dana could be turning on Charlotte this Sunday and turning babyface. Dana could also be a challenger to the Women’s Championship in the near future, especially if Charlotte manages to retain.
2: Kevin Owens retains
Even though there were early rumours that Vince McMahon was upset with the disappointing Raw ratings after Owens became champion and that was going to lead to Rollins finally winning the Universal Championship this Sunday, the latest whispers through the WWE grapevine are suggesting that WWE will cement Owens’ reign this Sunday with him retaining the title.
The part that stills seems to be undecided is the finish to the main event. Will Owens will clean or will there be some sort of interference? What will Mick Foley and Stephanie McMahon’s role be in the proceedings? Foley has clearly shown his averseness to interferences in recent weeks so how will he react to an interference finish.
For more on said finish, read on....
1: Triple H returns to help Owens retain and cements Rollins’ babyface turn
Triple H returned to Raw a few weeks ago to take out Roman Reigns and he subsequently turned on his now-former protégé Seth Rollins to help Kevin Owens win the Universal Championship. As we said in point #2, Owens is said to retain the Universal Championship this Sunday and it could be with Triple H’s health.
‘The Game’ has been off WWE programming since his return earlier this month but latest rumours suggest that he is on the verge of returning during the Clash of Champions main event to help Owens retain.
