'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
WWE Clash of Champions came in with varying degrees of expectations. On the one night of the year where every WWE championship would be on the line, there was a card on tap that could either be described as intriguing or lackluster. This was a show going in viewed from two different sides of a coin.
Over on the WWE RAW side, the Red brand was coming off one of their weaker episodes of the year. Between the in-ring debut of RETRIBUTION and rehashing of feuds thought to be done, there were not many fans satisfied with the offering on WWE RAW.
Over on SmackDown, the show has been riding high since the return of the current WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns. With Reigns' feud with his cousin Jey Uso at the helm, the WWE Universe was looking forward to a few of the matches on Friday nights heading into Clash of Champions.
Although many changes were announced due to some Superstars not being medically cleared, this PPV delivered one of the strongest shows of the WWE ThunderDome era and possibly of the year. In this article, we will give star ratings for every match at WWE Clash of Champions.
Lucha House Party vs. Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Titles (Kickoff Show)
The WWE Clash of Champions Kickoff Show featured the SmackDown Tag Team Titles match between champions Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura defending against The Lucha House Party. Although Kalisto and Lance Dorado have been teasing dissension over the past few weeks on SmackDown, the two men worked well together here. Cesaro is always great in the ring, but this match highlighted a much more aggressive Shinsuke Nakamura.
Nakamura was laying in the kicks and strikes, showing off a more motivated side to himself. His partnership with Cesaro has definitely revitalized his run here in WWE a bit. In the end, Cesaro and Nakamura got the win with a Swing into the Kinshasa for the win. This was a solid opener to the night that set the tone for the rest of WWE Clash of Champions.
Star Rating: ***
AJ Styles vs. Sami Zayn vs. Jeff Hardy in a Ladder Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
One of the most anticipated matches heading into WWE Clash of Champions was the Triple Threat Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship with Jeff Hardy defending the title against AJ Styles and Sami Zayn. Zayn made his return on the SmackDown following WWE SummerSlam with his own Intercontinental Championship. Since then, each man has claimed to be the rightful champion, which led to this encounter.
This opener to the main card of WWE Clash of Champions was high impact and non-stop action. All three men put their bodies on the line with everyone taking crazy bumps to put on an entertaining spectacle that was insane. We had unique uses of the ladder, such as Jeff Hardy being flunked out of the ring while straddling the ladder by Sami Zayn. We also saw Jeff do a death-defying Swanton Bomb off a ladder onto Sami Zayn across a ladder bridge.
In the end, Sami Zayn used a set of handcuffs to first handcuff Hardy's ear lobe to a short ladder. He then used the other set to handcuff himself to AJ Styles. As Styles climbed the ladder with Sami on his back, Jeff Hardy came in with the ladder attached to his ear to distract AJ. Sami used this to handcuff Styles to the ladder that he was climbing and climb the other side to walk out of WWE Clash of Champions with both titles.
This was such a creative finish in one of the inventive and innovative ladder matches that the fans have witnessed in years from WWE. The Ladder Match delivered one of the best matches of the year. This contest was an instant classic that opened the proper pay-per-view version of WWE Clash of Champions with a bang.
Star Rating: ****1/2
Asuka vs. Zelina Vega for the WWE RAW Women's Championship
The next match at WWE Clash of Champions was Asuka defending the RAW Women's Championship against Zelina Vega. This was Asuka's third title defense since regaining the gold last month at WWE SummerSlam. Vega won this title shot by defeating Mickie James in a #1 contenders match last week.
This became a showcase for the challenger here at WWE Clash of Champions. Asuka came in overconfident, not really taking her challenger seriously to start. Zelina Vega proved to be one step ahead of the champion on several occasions throughout this contest. Vega showed a great amount of technical wrestling skills and looked on the verge of defeating Asuka a few times.
In the end, Vega got a few near falls on the champion, but Asuka was able to reverse and lock on the Asuka Lock for the submission win. This was a well-worked seven-minute encounter that highlighted the skills of Zelina Vega. This RAW Women's Title Match was solid and allowed both women to look good in the end. After the match, Vega attacked Asuka after the champion tried to show respect, proving that things aren't over between the two after WWE Clash of Champions.
Star Rating: ***
Bobby Lashley vs. Apollo Crews for the WWE United States Championship
Next up at WWE Clash of Champions, we saw a rematch for the United States Championship with Bobby Lashley defending against former champion Apollo Crews. These two men have been feuding for months with most recently Cedric Alexander turning his back on Apollo and Ricochet to join the Hurt Business.
Although the match was nothing to write home about, it was decent action throughout. Surprisingly, there wasn't any significant outside interference from MVP and Ricochet at ringside in this one. This was maintained between the two men who delivered a passable encounter once again here at WWE Clash of Champions.
The ending of this WWE Clash of Champions contest came when Lashley was able to put down Crews with a huge spine buster. He followed up with his Hurt Lock for the submission win to successfully defend the United States Championship. This match was not bad yet unspectacular. We have seen these two face on many occasions, so there really is nothing new to take away from this title encounter.
Star Rating: *3/4
Street Profits vs. Andrade & Angel Garza for the WWE RAW Tag Team Championships
Our next match at WWE Clash of Champions was another rematch with Street Profits defending the RAW Tag Team Championships against Andrade and Angel Garza. Heading into this match, it looked as if Andrade and Garza had broken up with Zelina Vega abandoning the two as their manager. However, the two men won a three-way match to get this title shot last Monday on RAW.
This was another well-worked contest with both teams showing chemistry with one another. This encounter was well on its way to being the best match of their series, which started before WrestleMania 36. However, an injury to Angel Garza brought this WWE Clash of Champions encounter to a halt.
It looked as if Garza hurt his leg or quad and went down at ringside with officials and doctors checking on him. With this happening, the referee called an audible in this WWE Clash of Champions match and counted the three count on Andrade after a spine buster from Angelo Dawkins, even though Andrade kicked out at two.
This was a solid affair between four men who know each other very well. If not for Garza's injury and the botched finish, we may have seen an even better contest and possibly a different outcome.
Star Rating: **
Bayley vs. Asuka for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship
Heading into WWE Clash of Champions, we were supposed to see Nikki Cross getting a shot at the SmackDown Women's Championship of Bayley. WWE announced on the Kickoff Show that Nikki Cross, along with Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax, was not medically cleared to compete. The always cocky champion, Bayley, decided to make an open challenge to anyone, which was answered by RAW Women's Champion Asuka.
Asuka and Bayley both have a tremendous amount of experience against one another, dating back to their clashes in NXT. This SummerSlam rematch was alright while it lasted. However, it was more or less a backdrop for what was to come after the bell in this WWE Clash of Champions contest.
Following Bayley getting herself disqualified by using a steel chair on Asuka, Sasha Banks made her return to attack her former best friend with a steel chair shot to the back. Although Banks was still feeling the effects of Bayley's attack a few weeks ago, she looked for a measure of revenge, which she got via some kendo stick shots to the SmackDown Women's Champion. The match itself was just okay, but the post-match here is what everyone will be talking about following WWE Clash of Champions.
Star Rating: *3/4
Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton in an Ambulance Match for the WWE Championship
The penultimate match of Clash of Champions saw Drew McIntyre defend the WWE Championship against Randy Orton in an Ambulance Match. This feud has been going since before SummerSlam, with Drew defeating Orton at that PPV before Randy hit him with three punt kicks on the following night on RAW. McIntyre would respond with three Claymores weeks later, which took Orton off TV for a number of weeks.
This Ambulance Match was extremely physical, with both men giving up their bodies to create an engaging story. In particular, Drew McIntyre took a brutal bump on the windshield of the ambulance. We saw interference from Orton's previous victims in Big Show, Christian, and Shawn Michaels here at WWE Clash of Champions. In the end, McIntyre gave Orton a Claymore and then a Punt Kick before closing the doors of the ambulance to win. After the match, we saw another victim of Orton's, Ric Flair, driving the ambulance out.
This was a very fun and entertaining brawl. The action between the two men was physically intense, but the interference from the legends did take something away from the babyface win for the WWE Champion. Even with that, it was also satisfying to see the dastardly heel in Orton get his comeuppance.
Star Rating: ***1/2
Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso for the WWE Universal Championship
The main event of Clash of Champions was Roman Reigns defending the WWE Universal Championship against his cousin, Jey Uso. This match was arguably the most-anticipated heading into the night with a tremendous buildup prior to this battle. It delivered and exceeded on any and all expectations.
Roman displayed his new shirtless and vest-less look, which made him look like an absolute superstar. It made you wonder why WWE ever had him wear a vest for years in the first place. The in-ring work here was solid throughout with Roman dominating for the most part, but it was the storytelling in this WWE Clash of Champions main event that was extremely captivating. Roman proved himself to be a sinister heel, while Uso put on a career performance.
Roman's words elevated this contest with his repeated pleas for his cousin to call him "The Tribal Chief". It became a story of the more Jey refused his demands, the more Roman got vile and vicious in his attacks. Uso's enthralling comeback and selling made this a truly memorable main event encounter at WWE Clash of Champions. The ending visual at WWE Clash of Chamof Heyman draping the lei necklace Jey wore to the ring on Roman was the cherry on top of an absolute money segment overall.
This was the best WWE PPV main event of 2020 and a bonafide match of the year candidate. It had incredible storytelling that gripped you as a viewer. Everyone played their roles here at WWE Clash of Champions well, even Paul Heyman and Jimmy Uso on the outside. These two men put on something that will be talked about for years to come and made this PPV one of the must see events for WWE all year.
Star Rating: ****1/2
