Seth Rollins & Braun Strowman (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode – Raw Tag Team Championship match

Background: On the August 12 episode of Raw, Universal Champion Seth Rollins faced United States Champion and O.C. member AJ Styles in a non-title champion versus champion match, which resulted in a brawl with fellow O.C. members Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson with Braun Strowman coming to Rollins’ aid. The following week, Rollins and Strowman defeated Gallows and Anderson to win the Raw Tag Team Championship. Rollins was then scheduled to defend both the Universal and Raw Tag Team championships at Clash of Champions. On the August 26 episode of Raw, Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler won a Tag Team Turmoil to earn a Raw Tag Team Championship match at the event, while later that same night, Strowman challenged Rollins for the Universal Championship, which Rollins accepted.

Previous PPV matches: This is a first time match between these two teams.

Clash Of Champions Record: Seth Rollins is 0-1, Dolph Ziggler is 1-0, Robert Roode is 0-1 and Braun Strowman wrestles at Clash Of Champions for the first time tonight.

Match: Will Seth and Braun be able to trust each other before their match later? They seem to be on the same page as they wait for their opponents. Strowman and Roode kick off the match and Braun unsurprisingly has the early advantage. Roode and ziggler soon take control by double teaming Seth Rollins. Ziggler and Roode make tags, keeping Rollins away from his partner. Nobody has wrestled as many opening matches on PPV as Dolph Ziggler. Rollins makes the hot tag to Strowman who picks up the pace and hits massive shoulder charges on both opponents. Ziggler counters a running powerslam and then avoids a shoulder charge in the corner. Roode and Rollins tag in and Seth picks up the pace. Roode avoids a flying knee and hits a spinebuster for a near fall. I like this tag team of Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode, they’re a good fit for each other. Strowman knocks Roode into Rollins, Ziggler low-bridges Strowman and Roode hits a glorious DDT on Rollins for the three!

Result: Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode win the Raw Tag Team Championships by pinfall.

Review: This was a good way to kick off the show. You could tell Strowman and Rollins were holding back a bit because of the match they’ll have later but there was a good pace at times. I like Roode and Ziggler as a team. This result made sense and it’ll create more tension for the match between Rollins and Strowman later.

Rating: 6/10

Bayley (c) vs. Charlotte – Smackdown Women’s Championship match

Background: Feeling that she deserved an opportunity for the SmackDown Women’s Championship for her win over Trish Stratus at SummerSlam, Charlotte Flair issued a challenge to reigning champion Bayley during “A Moment of Bliss” on the August 20 episode of SmackDown. Bayley accepted the challenge for Clash of Champions.

Previous PPV matches: These two girls have wrestled on PPV three times before, Bayley has won twice and Charlotte once.

Clash Of Champions Record: Charlotte is 2-0, Bayley is 0-1.

Match: The bell rings and Charlotte hits a running boot, hooks the leg and gets a 2 count. Charlotte keeps the advantage and she is agressive with it. Bayley keeps trying to get away from Charlotte so the challenger throws champion in the barricade a few times. Bayley unties the bottom turnbuckle pad and smashes Charlotte’s face into it! Bayley hooks the leg and gets the three! Bayley grabs her title and runs to the back.

Result: Bayley retains her Smackdown Women’s Championship by pinfall.

Review: Well this was a lot shorter than I thought it would be! Charlotte dominated for the whole match and Bayley who is in the middle of a heel turn here beats Charlotte with underhanded tactics! This feud is bound to continue. I’m not buying Charlotte as a babyface and I’d worry that Bayley will get cheers over time despite trying to be a heel. Short match here though that felt like it could have gone a lot longer.

Rating: 3.75/10

The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) (c) vs. The Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder) – Smackdown Tag Team Championship match

Background: On SmackDown, The New Day (Kingston and SmackDown Tag Team Champions Big E and Xavier Woods) faced the team of Orton and The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder) in which the latter won, after which, Orton performed an RKO on all three members of New Day. On the following Raw, Big E and Woods faced The Revival in a non-title match that New Day won by disqualification due to interference from Orton. Kingston came to their aid only for Orton to attack Kingston, while The Revival and Orton temporarily injured Woods’ leg. The following week on SmackDown, Orton threatened to go after Kingston’s family and a WWE Championship rematch was scheduled between the two for Clash of Champions, while Big E and Woods were scheduled to defend the SmackDown Tag Team Championship against The Revival at the event.

Previous PPV matches: This is a first time tag team match between these two teams on pay per view.

Clash Of Champions Record: Big E is 1-1, the other three men make their Clash Of Champions debut tonight.

Match: Xavier Woods and Dash Wilder kick off the match and Woods gets the first few shots in. Scott Dawson hits a chop block from the outside and The Revival take control. Big E drops Dawson on the outside. This match is chaotic. Wilder hits a clothesline on Big E on the apron and E looks like he hits the ring steps. The Revival then keeps Big E away form his corner. Woods is taken out on the outside. He finally makes it back to the apron and Big E tags him in. Xavier picks up the pace and lays into both challengers with clotheslines and DDT’s. Wilder breaks up the cover with a stomp to the knee. The Revival hit shatter machine on Big E on the outside. They then double team Woods before hitting him with shatter machine, ripping off the knee brace and then Dawson locks on a knee bar and Woods taps out.

Result: The Revival win the Smackdown Tag Team Championships by submission.

Review: This was a good match between two of the best teams in the company. It was all about Xavier Woods knee injury and The Revival exploited that to become champions. This feud may continue, we’ll have to see. But for tonight, this was a good match.

Rating: 6.75/10

Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross (c) vs. Fire And Desire (Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville) – Women’s Tag Team Championship match

Background: On the August 5 episode of Raw, Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross defeated defending champions The IIconics (Peyton Royce and Billie Kay), The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane), and Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville in a fatal four-way tag team elimination match to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship. On the September 3 episode of SmackDown, Rose and Deville challenged Bliss and Cross for the titles at Clash of Champions. Bliss claimed that they did not deserve an opportunity, however, Cross accepted a non-title match for that night, which Rose and Deville won. A title match was then scheduled between the two teams for Clash of Champions.

Previous PPV matches: This is a first time match between these two tag teams.

Clash Of Champions Record: All four girls make their Clash Of Champions debut tonight.

Match: Mandy Rose and Nikki Cross kick things off. Mandy, Sonya and Nikki are all looking for their first PPV victory tonight. Nikki and Alexa start the match well and Alexa takes control against Mandy. The 24/7 division then come running out from the back. The likes of Hawkins, Ryder, Heath Slater and Drake Maverick give chace to Truth and Carmella who escape through the crowd. The distraction allows the challengers to take control. Mandy and Sonya keep Alexa from tagging in Nikki. Mandy and Alexa hit simultanious right hands and both girls go down. Alexa makes the hot tag to Cross who picks up the pace. Alexa goes to the top but Sonya pushes Nikki into the ropes which crotches Bliss. Nikki makes a tag and avoids a running knee from Rose before hitting her with a DDT for the three!

Result: Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss retain the women’s tag team championships by pinfall.

Review: This was a decent enough match. It was nice to see the likes of Mandy and Sonya in PPV action although both continue their streak of not winning a match. There’s a lot of time gone into Bliss and Cross at the moment so I expect them to continue their reign for a while.

Rating: 5.75/10

Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. The Miz – Intercontinental Championship match

Background: On the August 20 episode of SmackDown, Sami Zayn was a guest on “Miz TV.” Zayn stated that after months of losing matches, he realized that he would be better suited to helping people on SmackDown and introduced his first client, Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura. The Miz questioned why Nakamura would associate himself with Zayn, who said that Nakamura was unable to express himself because of the language barrier and that he would communicate for Nakamura. Miz then received a beatdown from Nakamura and Zayn.The following week, Miz challenged Nakamura for the Intercontinental Championship at Clash of Champions and Miz received yet another beatdown. Later, the title match was made official.

Previous PPV matches: This is a first ever one on one match between these two men.

Clash Of Champions Record: Shinsuke Nakamura is 0-1, The Miz wrestles at this show for the first time.

Match: Sami Zayn, who is wearing a neckbrace after he got chokeslammed by The Undertaker last week, introduces the man he has liberated, Shinsuke Nakamura. Sami Zayn then continues to speak on the mic as the match begins. It’s a back and forth start to the match with Zayn referring to Miz’s “kick of soft style”. The mic is cut off not long after. Nakamura takes control after a Sami Zayn distraction. Miz soon fires up and hits his trademark clothesline in the corner. Nakamura counters a skull-crushing finale and hits a nice snap German suplex. Miz side-steps a Kinshasa attempt and then locks on a figure four! Shinsuke gets to the bottom rope to break the hold. Zayn grbas Miz’s leg to distract him which allows Nakamura to hit a knee to the back of the head for a near fall. Miz avoids a Kinshasa and hits a skull-crushing finale but as he looks for the pinfall, Sami Zayn distracts the referee. Miz chases Zayn around the ring which allows Nakamura to kick Miz into the ringpost, roll him into the ring and hit the Kinshasa for the three.

Result: Shinsuke Nakamura wins by pinfall.

Review: This was a good match. The skullduggary from Sami Zayn made it more interesting and helped give Nakamura the victory. I’m a fan of Nakamura as Intercontinental Champion, he’s a good fit for the workhorse belt.

Rating: 6.25/10

Becky Lynch (c) vs. Sasha Banks – Raw Women’s Championship match

Background: At SummerSlam, Becky Lynch defeated Natalya in a submission match to retain the Raw Women’s Championship. On the following Raw, Lynch stated she respected Natalya and put out a warning to the rest of the women’s division. Natalya later came out with her arm in a sling and stated they would face each other again. She was then interrupted by the returning Sasha Banks (in her first appearance since WrestleMania 35 in April). Banks and Natalya embraced only for Banks to attack Natalya, thus turning heel. Lynch came to Natalya’s aid but was attacked by Banks with a chair. Banks later challenged Lynch for the title at Clash of Champions and Lynch accepted.

Previous PPV matches: This is a first PPV match between these two girls.

Clash Of Champions Record: Sasha Banks is 0-1, Becky wrestles on this PPV for the first time tonight.

Match: Becky goes right to work on Sasha in the early going. The four horsewomen are the girls involved in the singles title matches tonight. Banks takes control and slowly picks apart the Raw Women’s Champion. Becky soon gets back into the match and it’s back and forth. The crowd are definitely behind Lynch in this one. Saska locks on the Banks Statement out of nowhere but Becky breaks out of it and hits a legdrop for a near fall. Both girls counter each others submissions but Becky manages to roll into the dis-arm her and Sasha gets to the ropes. Sasha hits two backstabbers and locks on the Banks statement but Becky manages to get out of it. Sasha changes the gameplan and grabs a steel chair, tossing it over to Lynch. The referee kicks the chair out of the ring but behind his back Sasha hits Becky with another chair! Banks hits a shining wizard and gets a near fall. Sasha looks to use a chair but the referee wrestles it out of her hand. Becky then swings the chair at Sasha who moves and Lynch takes out the referee! Becky lays into Banks with the chair and Sasha retreats through the crowd with Becky in tow. They battle in the crowd where Becky locks the disarm-her through a rail. The girls battle in the conessions and then back down the arena stairs. We’re told that this match is over despite the referee being down. Becky has lost the match by disqualification.

Result: Sasha Banks wins by disqualification.

Review: This was a really good match but you can tell they have plenty more in the tank and we’ll see another match between them. Sasha Banks gets the victory tonight and to the best of my knowledge it’s the first big feud between the two so there’s no problem with getting a few more matches out of it. Sasha could be the one to end the title reign. Good match tonight.

Rating: 8/10

Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Randy Orton – WWE Championship match

Background: During the WWE Championship match at SummerSlam, Randy Orton attempted to target Kofi Kingston’s family, who were at ringside. Kingston brawled with Orton outside the ring, resulting in both men being counted out; thus Kingston retained the title, but he continued to attack Orton. On the following episode of SmackDown, The New Day (Kingston and SmackDown Tag Team Champions Big E and Xavier Woods) faced the team of Orton and The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder) in which the latter won, after which, Orton performed an RKO on all three members of New Day. On the following Raw, Big E and Woods faced The Revival in a non-title match that New Day won by disqualification due to interference from Orton. Kingston came to their aid only for Orton to attack Kingston, while The Revival and Orton temporarily injured Woods’ leg. The following week on SmackDown, Orton threatened to go after Kingston’s family and a WWE Championship rematch was scheduled between the two for Clash of Champions, while Big E and Woods were scheduled to defend the SmackDown Tag Team Championship against The Revival at the event.

Previous PPV matches: These two men have wrestled on PPV twice before, Randy Orton won the first and they drew the second.

Clash Of Champions Record: Kofi Kingston is 1-1, Randy Orton is 0-1.

Match: Randy starts the match well, setting a slow pace and applying a headlock. Kofi takes Orton down and Randy leaves the ring and backs up the ramp. It looks like there was a stiff forearm shot from Kingston that Randy sells. The fight goes to the outside where Orton hits a big suplex. Orton feigns a shoulder injury to lure Kofi in and throw him into the ringpost. The match is back and forth for much of the middle. Kofi is getting a few boo’s today. He hits a boom drop but Orton counters trouble in paradise with a backbreaker. Kofi counters a hangmans DDT and then dives to the outside into his challenger. Kofi hits SOS for a near fall. The match continues to be back and forth with both men getting near falls. Orton hits a hangmans DDT and looks for an RKO but Kofi counters. Randy tyen hits an RKO out. of. nowhere. Kofi gets his foot on the bottom rope to stop the pinfall. Kofi avoiuds a punt and hits trouble in paradise for the three.

Result: Kofi Kingston retains the WWE Championship by pinfall.

Review: This was a good match, I preferred it to their previous match at Summerslam. It was a slow pace again and Orton helps make it feel like a main event. It was tough doing the stuff on the outside after the last match as it was more of the same but it was kept to a minimum. Kofi wins cleanly which will presumably put an end to this rivalry.

Rating: 6.25/10

Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan – No disqualification match

Background: As Roman Reigns was getting ready to announce his SummerSlam opponent on the July 30 episode of SmackDown, an unidentified person pushed lighting equipment on top of Reigns backstage. The attacker was originally alleged to be Samoa Joe due to their previous rivalry, however, Joe was proven innocent during a hit and run on Reigns in which Joe was a witness. Buddy Murphy then became a suspect as he was spotted in the background in the footage of the original attack, prompting Reigns to contront Murphy backstage. After Reigns brawled with Murphy, Murphy eventually revealed that the attacker was Erick Rowan. On the SummerSlam Kickoff pre-show, Rowan attacked Murphy for the accusation. Rowan and his tag team partner Daniel Bryan then forced Murphy to claim that he was lying and Bryan & Rowan conducted their own investigation to find out that Reigns’ attacker was a man that looked like Rowan. However, Reigns found additional footage that showed Rowan pushing over the equipment. This caused Bryan and Rowan to split due to Rowan lying, and a match between Reigns and Rowan was scheduled for Clash of Champions, which later became a No Disqualification match.

Previous PPV matches: This is a first time PPV singles match between these two men.

Clash Of Champions Record: Both men are 1-0 at this event.

Match: Rowan has some badass new music. Reigns attacks Rowan as he makes his entrance but Rowan soon takes control. Rowan lays into Reigns on the outside, smashing him off the announce desk, barricades and ring steps. Plenty of weapons used in this one as the fights goes into the crowd. Reigns hits a drive-by but Rowan gets back into it with a massive cross body. Rowan keeps control both inside the ring and out until Reigns hits him with a Samoan drop. Roman hits a superman punch for a near fall. Rowan powerbombs Reigns through an announce desk and pins him for a near fall. The fight then goe into the crowd again where Rowan chokeslams Reigns through a table. Rowan then lines up the camera jib to swing into Reigns but Roman nails him with a pipe. Reigns then swings the jib into Rowan twice before hitting him with a superman punch. Reigns looks for a spear but someone hits him with a big boot. It’s Luke Harper! Harper and Rowan double team Reigns and Rowan hits Reigns with the iron claw for the three!

Result: Erick Rowan wins by pinfall.

Review: This is a huge victory for Rowan and a totally unexpected one too. Luke Harper helps his old tag team partner to beat the posterboy of the company. The match was ok and definitely picked up towards the end. It wasn’t bad actually. I guess this feud will continue until Roman Reigns gets his win.

Rating: 6/10

Seth Rollins (c) vs. Braun Strowman – Universal Championship match

Background: On the August 12 episode of Raw, Universal Champion Seth Rollins faced United States Champion and O.C. member AJ Styles in a non-title champion versus champion match, which resulted in a brawl with fellow O.C. members Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson with Braun Strowman coming to Rollins’ aid. The following week, Rollins and Strowman defeated Gallows and Anderson to win the Raw Tag Team Championship. Rollins was then scheduled to defend both the Universal and Raw Tag Team championships at Clash of Champions. On the August 26 episode of Raw, Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler won a Tag Team Turmoil to earn a Raw Tag Team Championship match at the event, while later that same night, Strowman challenged Rollins for the Universal Championship, which Rollins accepted.

Previous PPV matches: This is a first time PPV match between these two men.

Clash Of Champions Record: Seth Rollins is 0-2 and Braun Strowman is 0-1.

Match: Braun Strowman bulldozes Rollin as the bell rings and looks to finish the match quickly but Seth fights back. Rollins hits three superkicks and a frog splash but doesn’t even get a one count on the cover. Braun throws Seth around the ring. Braun hits his running shoulder charge on the outside twice but Seth counters a third with a drop toe hold. Seth hits a suicide dive on Braun into a table which collapses. Not sure whether that was supposed to happen. Rollins looks to dive on Strowman who is laid down on one of the announce desks but Strowman goes up top with the Universal Champion and pushes Seth down to the mat. Braun then dives off the top with a splash onto Rollins for a near fall. Seth hits a stomp and barely gets a one count so Seth hits a second stomp and gets a two count. Rollins hits a third for a near fall. Braun looks for a running powerslam but his knee gives out. Seth then hits a pedigree and a stomp for the three.

Result: Seth Rollins retains the Universal Championship by pinfall.

Review: This was a fast-paced if short match. After a long night this was perfect. It didn’t need to be a long drawn out match. It’s a huge feather in the cap for Rollins to beat Strowman clean. Unless there’s a heel turn in store for Strowman I think this’ll be the end of this rivalry. A decent main event to finish the night.

Rating: 6.5/10