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Clash of Champions is a quintessential WWE filler show, but that won't stop it from being a customarily long one, with 11 matches on Sunday night's card. Despite its filler nature, though, this year's lineup looks like a good one. However, in the understandable event that you don't have time to watch all of these matches, which ones would you likely want to go out of your way to see? Which ones would you probably want to avoid having to watch?
Let's take a look at 11 matches on this card and try to separate the what from the chaff. Surprises are common in WWE. Sometimes we get duds. Sometimes we get matches that greatly exceed expectations. Nevertheless, we can say with reasonable certainty which matches will be better than their competitors.
#11 Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross vs. Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville
Clash of Champions lives up its billing, having every title on the line, because for what feels like the first time in forever, there's a defense of the beleaguered women's tag team titles on a pay per view, with Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross will be taking on Fire and Desire.
There's not much heat to this match, with it having a lazy build, and Alexa Bliss' pay per view matches have never been something you'd want to go out of your way to see. Clashes between Nikki Cross and Sonya Deville should be interesting, but probably not enough to save this match in comparison with its strong competition on the evening.
This one might get bumped to the pre-show, which would honestly be the most appropriate course of action. This rivalry isn't going to revive the fortunes of the floundering women's tag team division.
#10 Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman vs. Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode
This match feels as inconsequential as it gets. Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins won the tag team titles for some reason, but aren't feuding with The OC. Instead, they're in a title match with the completely random pairing of Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode, who WWE obviously has no idea what to do with otherwise.
The talent involved should save this match from being the worst on the night, but it certainly shouldn't be something you'd want to get excited about. Hopefully, it will be short.
#9 Roman Reigns vs. Rowan
Now the night begins to get more exciting. That this match is ranked so low speaks more to the quality of the overall card rather than anything inherently bad about this match. This should be a fun hoss fight. It won't be a technical masterpiece, but it could be a high-intensity brawl.
Roman Reigns will win unless something shocking happens. The bigger question is where this story goes from here, and what Daniel Bryan's role was in the attacks on Roman Reigns. You can bet on him appearing in some capacity.
#8 Drew Gulak vs. Humberto Carillo vs. Lince Dorado
As usual, this should be a fast-paced, technically notable match between three great wrestlers. The problem is that, like all 205 Live matches, this probably won't get an electric crowd reception, which matters a lot. A cold crowd can kill a match that would otherwise be hot.
Look for Drew Gulak to retain in this one. It's unlikely that he's going to drop the title in a triple threat match without much build. That might also damage the reception of the match.
#7 Seth Rollins vs. Braun Strowman
This match should be fun, but not as much fun as the stiff competition it faces elsewhere in the night. Braun Strowman can throw Seth Rollins around some, and it will be interesting to see how frayed their alliance will be after probably losing the RAW Tag Team titles earlier in the evening.
Nevertheless, the most interesting part of this match will be to see if The Fiend makes an appearance. We know Bray Wyatt is lurking and will challenge the winner at Hell in a Cell next month. Let's hope he shows up tomorrow night.
#6 The Miz vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
The Miz is one of the most underrated performers in WWE. We've seen him rise to the occasion in Intercontinental Championship matches many times. Hopefully, tomorrow night will be no different.
Shinsuke Nakamura has become infamous for phoning in his performances since coming to WWE, but he'll have a good opponent who should be able to bring out more than usual in him. Even when not at his best, Nakamura is a serviceable performer. This should make for a fun match.
#5 Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton
The build between Kofi Kingston and Randy Orton has great, making this one of 2019's best feuds. Capitalizing on past animosities, it has renewed their story in a great way for the present, with Kingston being the unlikely WWE Champion. Now, after an incredible rise and run, this feels like it might be "it" for his reign. That will add intrigue to this match.
Unfortunately, Randy Orton is known for phoning in his matches, and his performance at SummerSlam wasn't spectacular, either, so this probably won't be as good as it can be. Nevertheless, it should be one of the finer bouts on the evening.
#4 The New Day vs. The Revival
The New Day vs. The Revival has been a dream match among many fans for a long time. Now it's finally going to happen. If there's one thing we can be thankful for with regards to this otherwise odious "wild card" rule, it's stuff like this, even though it would have felt more special as a champion vs. champion match at Survivor Series.
The Revival won't win this match, given that they're RAW Superstars, and I fear it won't get the time it deserves, so that bumps it down somewhat. Nevertheless, this match should be well worth going out of your way to see.
#3 Bayley vs. Charlotte Flair
This match hasn't happened in a while. Given the talent involved, it would always have been a good one, but now with the red hot story going into this, with Bayley strangely finding herself on the dark side, the stakes have been raised even higher. Charlotte Flair suddenly looks like a beleaguered challenger instead of an overwhelming favorite one.
Bayley is likely to retain tomorrow night, either by hook or crook, to create an even more intense rivalry going forward. Seeing how the Queen reacts will be a point of intrigue.
#2 Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks
This match hasn't happened in many years, thanks to these two being on opposite sides of the brand split since it was first reintroduced in 2016. Now they're finally coming to blows, and Sasha Banks is at her hottest point in a long time. The heel turn was exactly what she needed to revive her fortunes.
It's what Becky Lynch needed, too. Her reign feels a lot more consequential when squaring off against an exciting opponent.
We all remember their classic match in NXT back in 2015. While main roster limitations probably mean that this won't equal the intensity of that encounter, we should still expect to see something good. Stay tuned.
#1 AJ Styles vs. Cedric Alexander
Unsurprisingly, this match looks like the best one going into tomorrow night's show. While it hasn't been built up as well as some of the other matches, AJ Styles and Cedric Alexander are who they are, and we should expect a dynamite encounter, especially given the lack of commercial interruption that pay per view affords.
Styles will be the overwhelming favorite to retain. Nevertheless, this is the biggest chance yet for the former Cruiserweight Champion to prove himself on the big stage. He'll be in a title match with one of the most respected and well-known men on WWE's roster. He'll want to rise to the occasion. We should bet that he will.
