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With SummerSlam and Payback in the rear-view mirror, the WWE Universe now turns its attention to the one night of the year where every championship is on the line. This Sunday, Clash of Champions will emulate live on the WWE Network from the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.
With every championship being defended, the card is stacked to produce another solid show. With the added addition of virtual fans via the WWE Thunderdome, this Sunday is sure to be a show that fans will enjoy. There are currently nine matches scheduled.
The WWE Universe is in for a stacked show
On the Monday Night RAW side of the show, Bobby Lashley will defend the WWE United States Championship against former champion Apollo Crews. The Street Profits will also defend the WWE RAW Tag Team Championships against Andrade and Angel Garza.
Nia Jax and Shayna Bazler will defend the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships against Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott. Asuka will defend the WWE RAW Women’s Championship against Zelina Vega too.
In the main event for the red brand, Drew McIntyre will defend the WWE Championship against Randy Orton once again, this time in an Ambulance match.
On the Friday Night SmackDown side of Clash of Champions, the “real” WWE Intercontinental Champion will be crowned. Jeff Hardy will defend the title in a Ladder match against AJ Styles and Sami Zayn.
Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura will defend the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championships against Lucha House Party. Also, Bayley will defend the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship against long-time rival Nikki Cross.
In the main event for the blue brand, Roman Reigns will defend the WWE Universal Championship against his very own cousin, Jey Uso.
With that being said, these are five things that you should happen at this Sunday’s Clash of Champions pay-per-view.
#5 Alexa Bliss costs Nikki Cross the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship
At Clash of Champions, Nikki Cross will get yet another shot at dethroning Bayley as WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion.
This time there will be no Sasha Banks with Bayley to cost Nikki the match, so maybe this Sunday will be her night, right? Well, not so fast as there is another factor to this match now... Alexa Bliss.
Ever since being traumatized by the Fiend a couple of months ago, Bliss has not been the same. She has been on edge and acting awkward on WWE TV, especially towards Cross.
During the No. 1 contender match a few weeks ago, Bliss hit Sister Abigail on Cross and left. Cross obviously still won the match, but the cracks are beginning to become more evident.
Another clean loss would do more harm to Nikki than good. So, the best-case scenario would be to have Alexa come out and hit another Sister Abigail on her "best friend", just as she is about to win.
This outcome doesn't just end the Cross-Bayley feud once and for all while keeping the former strong. It would also result in another women’s feud on SmackDown that doesn’t feature the title. SmackDown desperately needs that, since the depth on the blue brand is severely lacking at the moment.
#4 AJ Styles becomes the one and only WWE Intercontinental Champion
In one of SmackDown’s most interesting storylines and a throwback to WrestleMania 10, the question of who is the real WWE Intercontinental Champion remains.
To recap the situation, Sami Zayn won the WWE Intercontinental Championship earlier this year from Braun Strowman in a three-on-one handicap match. After successfully defending the title at WrestleMania 36, Zayn disappeared from WWE television due to personal reasons.
AJ Styles later won a tournament to be crowned the new champion, defeating Daniel Bryan in the final. Jeff Hardy was also in the tournament, but was taken out by Sheamus and lost his opportunity. Hardy later challenged Styles for a title match and won.
Zayn returned shortly after and stated that he is the true Intercontinental Champion. This has led to Clash of Champions, where a Triple Threat Ladder match to crown the true champion awaits.
The match itself could easily be the match of the night on Sunday and possibly even the match of the year. There is no easy choice for a winner though, as any one of Styles, Zayn or Hardy would make an excellent champion.
With that said, considering the current landscape of SmackDown, the best choice in this situation is AJ Styles. The reason why Styles is the best option to win this match is that while Zayn and Hardy have potential feuds without the IC title, Styles doesn’t.
If Hardy loses, a case can be made for him to be the next challenger for Roman Reigns’ WWE Universal Championship if his feud with Jey Uso is over. Zayn can try to realign himself with Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura, who weren’t so thrilled to see him when he returned.
Either way, Zayn has options without the title around his waist. As for Styles, without the IC title, there is nothing for him to do. He’s already feuded with guys like Bryan, Drew Gulak and Matt Riddle.
While him holding the championship wouldn’t help that, Styles can have great matches with random babyfaces until the WWE Draft, which is rumored to be happening soon. After the draft, Styles would have new faces to feud with and would make the Intercontinental Championship feel important once again.
#3 Roman Reigns solidifies his heel turn by destroying Jey Uso after their WWE Universal Championship match
In a surprisingly great storyline that is more interesting than many fans expected it to be, Roman Reigns will defend his WWE Universal Championship against his own blood, Jey Uso.
It came out of nowhere as Jey won a Fatal Four-Way No. 1 contender match after Big E, who was originally in the match, was taken out by Sheamus. Uso pinned Matt Riddle in the match to secure his spot at Clash of Champions.
This story is interesting because while Reigns has not been acting full heel against Jey so far, you can see the tension building between the two on WWE TV. In their tag team match a few weeks ago against Sheamus and Corbin, Jey did all of the work.
Reigns didn’t show up until the end of the match, where he hit the spear after Uso hit his finisher and stole the pin. Last week in the Samoan Street Fight between the same two teams, the roles were reversed as Jey stole the pin.
After the match, Jey was excited while Reigns looked shocked. Reigns and Jey hugged before Jey left the ring. While Jey looked happy, Reigns had a murderous look on his face. A look that is an ominous sign for Jey come this Sunday.
As for the match itself, it can go one of two ways. WWE can have Reigns absolutely obliterate Jey in quick fashion and end the story then and there.
WWE could also have Jey put up a valiant fight, even having him hit the splash and give fans a thought of “maybe he can do it!” Reigns would obviously kick out, begin to take the match seriously, and finish off Jey shortly after.
For storyline purposes and to further Reigns’ heel turn, the latter feels like the better route. Not only would you get a good match out of it, but you'd make Jey uso look like a credible singles competitor too.
You could also make Reigns an even more hated heel in WWE after the match by having him destroy his own cousin, proving that he cares about no one but himself.
Where the story goes after Clash of Champions remains to be seen, but it will be very interesting to see where things go, that is for sure.
#2 Andrade and Angel Garza finally dethrone the Street Profits as WWE RAW Tag Team Champions
In a feud that has seemed never-ending since WrestleMania 36 back in April, the Street Profits will once again defend the WWE RAW Tag Team Championships against Andrade and Angel Garza. The Street Profits have had the upper hand in every match the two teams have had, but that should come to an end this Sunday at WWE Clash of Champions.
This feud began back in March just before WrestleMania, where Andrade and Angel Garza became No. 1 contenders for the RAW Tag Team Championships. However, Andrade was injured on an episode of RAW, so Austin Theory teamed with Garza in an unsuccessful title match at WrestleMania.
The feud took a break, as the Street Profits feuded with the Viking Raiders for the rest of the spring and early summer. They then returned to the Andrade and Garza for SummerSlam and now, Clash of Champions.
This match will be different than their prior bouts for one reason. Andrade and Garza will no longer have Zelina Vega in their corner. Vega has grown tired of the two bickering and is now a singles competitor. She is facing Asuka for the WWE RAW Women’s Championship this Sunday.
The easy story to tell here with an Andrade and Garza victory is that they no longer need Vega and that she was holding them back, and not the other way around.
It is highly unlikely Vega beats Asuka, but the chances of Andrade and Garza winning are high. The Street Profits are the longest reigning RAW Tag Team Champions, but they haven’t done much with those titles.
Their feuds with the Viking Raiders and Andrade and Garza have both been drawn out and it is time for a change. Expect new WWE RAW Tag Team champions this Sunday.
#1 Randy Orton wins the Ambulance match to become WWE Champion
In the main event of the evening, Drew McIntyre’s feud with Randy Orton will be taken to the next level as the two face off in an Ambulance match for the WWE Championship.
This match was in question for a while, as McIntyre suffered a fractured jaw thanks to three punts from Orton the night after SummerSlam. McIntyre returned the favor by hitting Orton with three Claymores a few weeks after that.
Orton’s status was so much in question that Keith Lee faced McIntyre twice in matches where if he won, he would face the champion this Sunday instead.
Orton and McIntyre had a great match at SummerSlam last month, which McIntyre won with a roll-up pin. The most noteworthy thing about their SummerSlam match was that neither man hit their finisher successfully.
This made both men look strong and also made Lee’s quick victory over Orton the following week at Payback even more impressive.
As for their Ambulance match this Sunday, it is the perfect stipulation for this feud. Orton and McIntyre have both been trying to injure each other’s jaw for weeks. Being put in the back of an Ambulance keeps the loser looking strong, even in defeat.
It would be hard to keep this feud going for another month if Orton loses, with WWE Hell in a Cell not until early November this year. Orton would also have a first feud ready post-Clash of Champions.
He has been feuding with the aforementioned Keith Lee, who Orton punted in the head on this week’s RAW. Orton has cooled off a bit since SummerSlam, but is still one of the best things in WWE right now.
