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After two great pay-per-views within a week, WWE seems pretty exciting again. Multiple things happened at SummerSlam and Payback to intrigue WWE fans heading into the fall. Their next pay-per-view is Clash of Champions, scheduled for the last weekend of September.
As the name suggests, every single title will be defended on the show. Quite a few titles have had matches teased at Payback, which did not have a single bad bout. The past few weeks of WWE programming may have also hinted at some matches for Clash of Champions.
If WWE can carry the momentum they have garnered recently, at least on the pay-per-view front, expect another successful event in September. Here are five matches that could happen at WWE Clash of Champions 2020.
#5 Street Profits vs. The Hurt Business (RAW Tag Team Championship)
With every Championship set to be defended, WWE will have to come up with new challengers for the RAW and SmackDown Tag Team Championships in time for Clash of Champions. The tag team division feels a little lackluster, with very few teams competing for the titles.
WWE may be best served in unifying both tag team titles, but that is not the case right now. The Street Profits have been the RAW Tag Team Champions for six months now and could lose their belts pretty soon. The biggest heel tandem on the Red brand at the moment, aside from Seth Rollins and Murphy, might be the Hurt Business.
Bobby Lashley defeated Apollo Crews at Payback to become United States Champion, which might lead to MVP and Shelton Benjamin looking to grab some gold of their own. The Hurt Business could, perhaps, welcome a new member to the faction. Cedric Alexander has been courted by them in recent weeks, with a potential heel turn looming.
Either way, it seems like business is booming. The Hurt Business could be the next RAW Tag Team Champions, at the expense of the Street Profits. WWE should put multiple belts on them while they're hot.
#4 Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler vs. Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott (WWE Women's Tag Team Championship)
The strange bedfellows' team of Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler picked up the surprising win over Sasha Banks and Bayley at Payback, winning the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship in the process. They will most likely head into Clash of Champions with the titles.
The two of them have tremendous potential and can be absolutely dominant in the female tag team division with the menacing size of Jax and the submission prowess of Baszler. The Queen of Spades demonstrated her viciousness at the end of the match, as she locked both Bayley and Banks in a submission hold en route to the victory.
With Bayley still holding the SmackDown Women's Championship, it is unlikely she would be willing to do double duty at Clash of Champions. So with that in mind, Baszler and Jax could face a challenge from another duo who won a match at Payback. Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott.
The reunited Riott Squad defeated The IIconics on the Payback Kickoff Show, which could set them up for a daunting Women's Tag Team Title match against Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax. It would be a fun 'David vs. Goliath' type match on the Clash of Champions card, with the underdog faces looking to take advantage of the hostility between the Women's Tag Team Champions.
#3 Jeff Hardy vs. Sami Zayn vs. AJ Styles (Intercontinental Championship)
The first of two triple threat matches that could happen at Clash of Champions, this was teased on the SmackDown two nights before Payback. Jeff Hardy is the Intercontinental Champion, after using a knee brace to pick up the victory over AJ Styles. It is fair to say that The Phenomenal One was not happy about it.
He will likely get a rematch at Clash of Champions, but SmackDown also saw the return of Sami Zayn. He appeared with a second Intercontinental Title, confronting Hardy and blindsiding him. Zayn was the IC Champion post WrestleMania but was stripped of the title when he opted not to attend WWE's tapings amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Great Liberator may have been prompted to return as a result of the company's precautions being much tighter than before. While it would make sense to simply have a singles match between Zayn and Hardy at Clash of Champions, it seems like AJ Styles is still very much a part of this storyline.
Either way, things are getting very interesting on SmackDown. Hopefully, it is Sami Zayn the wrestler, and not Sami Zayn the manager, who rocks up at Clash of Champions. This could be a fantastic triple threat match, one that may continue the rebuild of the Intercontinental Championship.
#2 Bayley vs. Sasha Banks (SmackDown Women's Championship)
Yes, it seems like WWE might finally pull the trigger on this long-awaited feud for Clash of Champions. There doesn't seem to be any legs in Bayley and Sasha Banks remaining friends, now that three of the four belts they possessed are gone.
Banks lost the RAW Women's Championship to Asuka at SummerSlam, while the Golden Role Models lost the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship to Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax. Their story is back to square one, with Bayley being the sole champion among the pair.
After weeks of subtle teases of cracks between the pair, the 'Legit Boss' could finally snap this Friday on SmackDown. She has caught several glances of Bayley's singles title, while the two have planted several seeds over the past few months. This could bode well for Clash of Champions.
Without the 'Double Champions' act, it might be difficult for WWE to keep Banks and Bayley going as a unit for a few more months. So it might be best for them to split and go at each other at Clash of Champions. This would guarantee an excellent storyline and match for the event, while drumming up the interest for WWE programming even further.
Also, it would make sense for WWE to start an intense feud like this directly after SummerSlam. Clash of Champions would typically be followed by WWE's October fixture, Hell in a Cell, which would be the perfect place to culminate this long term rivalry.
#1 Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton vs. Keith Lee (WWE Championship)
While initially built to be a standard singles match between Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton, the events from Payback may have enforced a change in WWE's main event plans for Clash of Champions. Orton punted McIntyre thrice on RAW, giving him a hairline jaw fracture in the process.
So with no WWE Title match at Payback, The Viper faced RAW newcomer, Keith Lee and in a completely emphatic fashion, Lee stunned the world by picking up a clean victory over Orton. This was a statement by WWE, proving that they are committed to making The Limitless One into a megastar on the main roster.
This opens up a very interesting question for RAW and Clash of Champions. Orton is clearly set to challenge McIntyre again after his assault on the WWE Champion last week but after he was so decisively pinned, there is no way WWE can put Keith Lee on the sidelines, even temporarily.
A major victory like this should instantly elevate the former NXT Champion into the main event scene. It would not make sense if he doesn't face McIntyre and Orton at Clash of Champions, as it is the logical next step in this story. Lee does not even need to win, but it is important that WWE keeps him hot after the impression he made at Payback.
A triple threat WWE Championship match at Clash of Champions could eventually lead to Randy Orton and Drew McIntyre concluding their rivalry inside Hell in a Cell, while Keith Lee continues to gain momentum. By then, he could have both, a clean victory over Orton and a pay-per-view WWE Title match to his name.
Not a bad start to life on Monday Night RAW.
