After Smackdown broke the ice with the first brand-exclusive PPV, Backlash, a couple of weeks ago, the ball was firmly in Raw’s court to deliver on the blue brand’s decent showing with their first exclusive show, Clash of Champions. Heading into the PPV, the card was certainly stacked with a bunch of matches that could definitely deliver from a in-ring perspective, lending a certain optimism to Clash of Champions going into Sunday night. Unfortunately, it turns out that it wasn’t the quality of the wrestling that we should have been worried about, as WWE delivered up a Pay Per View full of good matches marred by horrible writing, and result was a show that felt less like the start of a new era, and more like a mediocre episode of their weekly television product.
10. Credit Where Credit Is Due
Before we start tearing this show a new one, let’s give all the credit in the world to the wrestlers, who went out there and wrestled some matches that were, at worst, very good, occasionally going way too far above and beyond the call to pop the crowd. The failures of this show do not hang on the shoulders of the men and women who performed at Clash of Champions, because they all put on PPV-quality performances. We just wanted to make sure we acknowledged that hard work, because we are wrestling fans, and great wrestling is a large part of why we watch the show in the first place. However, in nearly every case, the matches at Clash of Champions were consistently undercut by half-assed, questionable, and occasionally downright nonsensical booking both in the weeks leading up to the show, and at the PPV itself. It’s unlikely that the best wrestling matches on the planet could have overcome that sort of handicap, and unfortunately, the wrestlers of the Raw brand simply couldn’t manage a miracle.
http://www.wwe.com/shows/wweclashofchampions/2016/gallery/kevin-owens-vs-seth-rollins-universal-championship-photos#fid-40052197 Source: WWE.com
