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As we here at Sportskeeda have already covered, WWE has announced three matches for the SmackDown Live Clash of Champions PPV, scheduled for the Sunday the 17th of December at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
In a WWE.com video, SD Live Commentator Byron Saxton reported that SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte would defend her title against Natalya and Tag Team Champions The Usos would take on The New Day as well as Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable in a triple threat title match.
These were two matches we weren't surprised to see confirmed for the Clash of Champions' card, however, the third match revealed by Saxton was an unexpected one.
This out-of-nowhere match announced was a triple threat bout between US Champion Baron Corbin. Bobby Roode and, of all people, Dolph Ziggler.
Ziggler recently had feuded with Roode, which included losing to The Glorious One at the Hell in a Cell PPV back in October and in a 2-out-of-3 Falls match on the Halloween edition of SmackDown. That was seemingly the end of this feud.
After the Survivor Series PPV, WWE started to plant the seeds for a feud between Corbin and Roode during a Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn vs. New Day Lumberjack Match, when the US Champ struck Roode in the face.
On this week's episode of SmackDown, Roode and Corbin traded words, strongly teasing a match between each other. This was until Corbin backed down from Roode.
Hence, the WWE Universe was expecting to see the pair go at it, one-on-one, for Corbin's US Championship at the Clash of Champion's PPV.
So, with all due respect, why on earth has Dolph Ziggler been inserted into this Clash of Champions' US Title Match?
My view on the situation is that WWE wants Corbin to retain his US Title, but at the same time, they want Roode, a former NXT Champion who the company is apparently very high on, to be protected in defeat.
Therefore, by having Dolph in the contest, WWE can have Roode evade damage by booking Corbin to retain his Championship through pinning Ziggler and not him.
With Roode only debuting on the main roster and SmackDown back in September, any clean losses in the middle of the ring at this early stage in his WWE career, especially in a title feud, could be a momentum killer.
There is another side to the coin though. It is possible WWE want to have Roode WIN the US Title from Corbin at COC, but in a way in which Corbin is not made to look weak.
But I think WWE's plan is for Corbin to retain for now, and then have Roode win the US Title from him in a single match at the Royal Rumble PPV, i.e, at a bigger stage than Clash of Champions. A Championship win at a 'Big Four PPV' like the Royal Rumble would do a lot more for Roode than a Championship victory at COC.
If this is the direction they are going in, it means the company are firmly behind Bobby Roode, which may come as a shock to those who still think of Roode as n ex-TNA wrestler.
Either way, I am sure it is not Ziggler being given a push by being randomly placed in a match at Clash Of Champions. Really, he will just be WWE's Fall Guy again at the PPV, or more so Corbin's.
And unfortunately for Dolph, this will be just another similar chapter to all of the other ones in the story of his WWE tenure. Another good match, but not a good result.
Could this be his End of Days in the WWE?
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