WWE Clash Of Champions 2020: Ranking and grading every match at the PPV

By Divesh Merani
Modified Sep 28, 2020 09:26 IST
Clash of Champions was a decent show.
Clash of Champions was a decent show.

Another WWE pay-per-view inside the ThunderDome is in the books, with Clash of Champions being a middle-of-the-road show. WWE had to alter the theme of the event, from "Every title will be on the line" to "Every match is for a title" due to a few Superstars being unable to compete.

The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match was scrapped, while a few matches were moved around to restore some balance to Clash of Champions. There were seven matches at the show, not including Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura's victory over the Lucha House Party on the Kickoff Show.

Some matches were paint by the numbers, but Clash of Champions did host some enthralling title bouts and had its fair share of surprises. One match might even be considered among the best in WWE for the year. But what other matches stood out over the others?

Here is every match at WWE Clash of Champions 2020 graded and ranked, from worst to best.

#7 Bayley vs. Asuka (SmackDown Women's Championship)

While not a bad match, Asuka's impromptu challenge for Bayley's SmackDown Women's Championship was merely a part of the angle between the Role Model and Sasha Banks at Clash of Champions. With Nikki Cross absent from the show, the current RAW Women's Champion stepped up.

Anybody else could have stepped up and challenged Bayley over here, with Asuka's involvement not amounting to anything at all. The two wrestled well for the sub-three minutes they got before Bayley intentionally got herself disqualified by hitting the Empress of Tomorrow with a steel chair.

The SmackDown Women's title match as itself was the worst at Clash of Champions, only because the story focused on everything but the match. After Bayley retained her title via DQ, Sasha Banks returned and immediately went after her former best friend.

This segment was pretty good, but the standalone match was just there for the sake of having a Championship match. That is why it is at the bottom of this list.

Grade: C

#6 Street Profits vs. Andrade and Angel Garza (RAW Tag Team Championships)

What started off as a potentially great tag team match ended in a visible whimper. Andrade and Angel Garza challenged the Street Profits for the RAW Tag Team Championship once again but this time, at Clash of Champions, their match was cut short due to a possible real-life injury to Garza.

After hitting a beautiful top rope Spanish Fly on Montez Ford, the former NXT Cruiserweight Champion clearly looked hurt. Andrade wrestled for a bit before the match ended prematurely. Andrade kicked out of a slam from Angelo Dawkins, but the referee counted to three regardless.

This was a messy end, but the few minutes of action beforehand were pretty good. The chemistry between the two teams was pretty evident, which may have led to a much more memorable encounter at Clash of Champions.

Grade: C

#5 Bobby Lashley vs. Apollo Crews (United States Championship)

Another rematch from a pay-per-view from last month, Clash of Champions saw Bobby Lashley retain his United States Championship over Apollo Crews. It was a solid match, pretty similar to the one they had at Payback. Both stars looked decent, although WWE could have done a better job at making Lashley look more destructive.

As the "CEO" of the Hurt Business, the company should truly invest in him. There were moments where it seemed like Crews would pull out the victory, but Lashley ultimately submitted him with the Full Nelson. It did not exactly stand out though.

One would hope that the storyline between Apollo Crews and the Hurt Business ended at Clash of Champions. The menacing faction will likely focus all of their attention on RETRIBUTION now.

Grade: B-

#4 Asuka vs. Zelina Vega (RAW Women's Championship)

Initially scheduled for the Clash of Champions Kickoff Show, Asuka's RAW Women's Championship defense against Zelina Vega was a generally solid match. The aforementioned absences enforced the change for WWE and as a result, Asuka wrestled twice on the show.

Vega more than held her own in the ring, showing that she has the ability to have a successful career as a wrestler in WWE. The former manager did well at countering some of Asuka's offense, coming close to winning the RAW Women's title on multiple occasions.

Despite all the near-falls for Zelina Vega, it was Asuka who emerged victorious by submission at Clash of Champions. While pretty decent, this match felt pretty rushed. However, it seems like Asuka and Vega have much more to offer against each other based on the events that developed after the match.

Clash of Champions 2020 may have proven to be the start of a very bright future for Zelina Vega. She has been a standout performer on the microphone and with further development of her in-ring work, the sky is the limit for La Muñeca.

Grade: B-

#3 Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton (Ambulance Match for the WWE Championship)

Yet another rematch at Clash of Champions, this one was the freshest from the lot. Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton really laid into each other over here, with a violent and gritty brawl that went into the backstage area. The match also followed a nice thread of callbacks to the summer, before their first WWE Championship bout.

The match was dominated by interference from some of the WWE legends that Orton punted over the summer. The Big Show, Christian, and Shawn Michaels all got their shots in at Clash of Champions. While they all made sense, the cameos did not help McIntyre one bit.

It seemed like the Viper had his number multiple times during the match, leading to the interferences. Nevertheless, the interactions between Orton and McIntyre were brutal. The Scottish Terminator even got several cuts to his back, after the windshield of the ambulance was shattered during the action.

Drew McIntyre picked up the victory at Clash of Champions, emphatically sealing it with a Punt of his own. The match was pretty good but not as good as the one they had at SummerSlam. The shot of Ric Flair driving the ambulance that carried Randy Orton away was great as well.

Grade: B+

#2 Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso (WWE Universal Championship)

Clash of Champions was main evented by the Universal Championship match between Roman Reigns and Jey Uso. While the result was never in doubt, the journey the two cousins took us on was fantastic. Reigns also wrestled without a vest on, showing off his ridiculous physique.

This was a battle that ran on storytelling and emotion. It started off at the Big Dog's pace, as he dictated proceedings. Uso eventually found a few openings that switched the momentum onto his side. After a quick flurry of offense, the twin wrestler took control.

Some of the near-falls he got on Reigns at Clash of Champions were incredible. However, one of them led to a subtle low blow from the Universal Champion. He ended up hitting two Spears on his cousin, but refused to cover him until he acknowledged Reigns as the Tribal Chief. Jey Uso remained defiant, which led to a further beatdown.

The match ended when an injured Jimmy Uso threw in the towel, after an intense period of doubt. This was excellent in affirming Roman Reigns as a dominant despicable heel, as he willingly used questionable tactics and destroyed his cousin to remain the top dog in WWE, and in his family. What an ending to Clash of Champions.

Grade: A

#1 Jeff Hardy vs. Sami Zayn vs. AJ Styles (Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship)

The best match at Clash of Champions was the first one. The show opened with this brutal and innovative ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship. Jeff Hardy, Sami Zayn, and AJ Styles put each other through hell in pursuit of the Intercontinental Championship. This match did spectacularly to make the IC title feel prestigious again.

The three Superstars went above and beyond to make this a memorable affair, with lots of risky ladder spots. The biggest one was Hardy's huge Swanton Bomb onto Zayn, who was laid out on a ladder bridged at ringside. It is incredible that nobody got seriously injured at Clash of Champions.

The finish was a work of genius from Sami Zayn, who used handcuffs to severely limit Styles and Hardy. He ended up winning the match, retrieving the Intercontinental Championship that he never lost. This was a very creative finish to a match that was abundant in in-ring quality and storytelling.

Like many WWE pay-per-views in the past, the best match at Clash of Champions happened at the start of the show. Everybody involved brought it here, playing their part in making this triple threat a WWE Match of the Year contender. This was genuinely one of the wildest ladder matches in WWE history.

Grade: A+