2019 Clash of Champions Preview

This weekend, WWE will head to Charlotte, NC for the Clash of Champions PPV event, and (at least some of) the NWBros will be there! Clash of Champions is advertised as the one night a year where all of the championships are defended. There aren’t a lot of special stipulations to the matches, but we should see some excellent wrestling. Notable, the King of the Ring finals were originally slated for Sunday’s event but have been moved to Monday night. Without that match on the card, there are still 11 matches on Sunday. Judging by the card, we should see some new storylines start to develop that could take us into Hell in a Cell next month, or even into 2020. 

The Card

Seth Rollins(c) vs. Braun Strowman

WWE Universal Championship

The Raw Tag Team Champions defending those titles earlier, in the night, the story of this match will likely center around who has the most left in them. Bray Wyatt’s “The Fiend” has already challenged the winner of this match to a title match at Hell in a Cell, which leads many to think Rollins will retain. Rollins vs The Fiend does seem like an easier sale than Strowman as the defending champion. It wouldn’t be surprising if this is Braun Strowman’s best match. He has gotten much better in the ring, and he is facing off with one of the best doing it today. 

Prediction: Rollins Retains

Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Randy Orton

WWE Championship

This one is a rematch from SummerSlam, where the feud gained a very personal touch, with Orton taunting Kingston’s family. Since then, the feud has continued to try and keep that personal touch, but has fallen a little flat lately. There’s no doubt this will be a good match. Kingston and Orton are both excellent wrestlers, and this match should showcase their talent. An Orton upset win here wouldn’t be completely shocking, but it seems to make more sense to keep the belt on Kofi, and let him drop it to someone in a more compelling story down the road. 

Prediction: Kofi Retains

Becky Lynch (c) vs. Sasha Banks

Raw Women's Championship

The Man takes on The Boss. It’s honestly hard to imagine either woman losing this match. Becky is white hot right now, and Sasha just returned after being out since Wrestlemania. In order to keep both women’s moment going, and boost sympathy for Becky, the smart move is to have her drop the title after Sasha pulls some illegal move. Perhaps some involvement from Bayley, maybe just using a weapon, but I think putting the belt on Sasha will make sure she stays in the spotlight, which has been on Becky for almost a year now. Also, it's hard to discount the rumors that Becky will be moving to SmackDown Live in the Draft next month, and you can’t have the Raw champion moving to SmackDown.

Prediction: Sasha Wins

AJ Styles (c) vs. Cedric Alexander

United States Championship 

Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but Cedric wins this match. A win for AJ here means very little. He is a main eventer, with a midcard title. His reign has made the title feel more important, but it’s time to pass that shine on, and who better than Cedric, who has found himself in the main event of Raw several times in the last couple of months. AJ losing the title, even if it’s caused by a botched interference from the OC, will let him move back into the Universal or World Heavyweight Championship scene, and add a well-deserved feather to Cedric’s cap.

Prediction: Cedric Alexander wins

Bayley (c) vs. Charlotte

SmackDown Women's Championship

If Sasha is winning the Raw Championship, it makes sense to keep the SmackDown Championship on Bayley. Probably won with some outside help from The Boss. The trick here is to make Charlotte look strong coming out of this without the win. Perhaps the easier route is to just have Bayley break out the chair. This could easily extend the feud, while leading to more tag matches between the Four Horsewomen (which helps the Women’s Tag Titles), and provide excellent material for Sasha and Bayley’s promos for the next several weeks. Heck, they could turn their focus on the Women’s Tag Titles in an effort to claim all the gold.

Prediction: Bayley Retains

Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan

No Disqualification Match

LOLREIGNSWINS. The confrontation this past Tuesday added some much-needed fuel to this fire, and the no DQ stipulation makes the match much more interesting. Reigns will win and this will help lead to Daniel Bryan facing Reigns at some point soon. 

Predictions: Reigns Wins

Seth Rollins & Braun Strowman (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode

Raw Tag Team Championship

A lot of the story leading into this match has been based around whether or not Rollins and Strowman can trust each other, heading into their match against each other later in the night. The pair will likely be very skeptical and cautious around one another throughout this match, which will ultimately lead to their losing. Rollins will have to take the pinfall to keep Strowman looking strong. Braun will likely beat Rollins up after the loss, making their match later look even more one-sided. Roode and Ziggler are both excellent on the mic and in the ring, and putting the tag titles on them, will provide for some great matches down the road. Their eventual split will also provide a great match or two. 

Prediction: Ziggler & Roode Win

New Day (c) vs. The Revival

SmackDown Tag Team Championship

This one could really go either way. There’s no real need to take the titles off of New Day, but the Revival could gain a lot from a win here. Looking at Sunday’s card, you’d expect there to be a good mix of new champions, and retentions, but the way things are looking, it’s already pretty even. New Day need something to do and feuding with Revival in an effort to get their belts back could be just the thing. So Revival need to win the belts and let New Day chance them, along with some other tag teams, perhaps a returning Usos?

Prediction: Revival win

Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. The Miz

Intercontinental Championship

With Sami Zayn as Shinsuke’s new mouthpiece, it seems like WWE would want to keep that momentum rolling. The best outcome here would be to have Shinsuke cheat to win, maybe a low blow, like we’ve seen him use in the past. This way Miz can have a legitimate claim at a rematch, and he and Sami can continue to battle it out on the mic each week, where both of them excel. 

Prediction: Shinsuke Retains

Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross (c) vs. Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship

If history is any indication, Bliss and Cross are going to feud once they lose the titles. There has been no indication that either woman is planning to turn on her partner. In fact, the story as of late seems to be pointing towards the opposite. The Bliss and Cross pairing will carry the belts for a little while longer, until their eventual break up.

Prediction: Bliss & Cross Retain

Drew Gulak (c) vs. Humberto Carillo vs. Lince Dorado

Cruiserweight Championship, Triple Threat

Humberto Carillo has skyrocketed very quickly from an unknown newcomer to this title match, so a win for him wouldn’t be the biggest surprise. However, with the recent news that 205 live is ending and the wrestlers will be joining the NXT roster, it would make sense to keep the belt on a more recognizable name like Gulak, to make the transition to a different show. (Assuming they are keeping the cruiserweight division and championship). 

Prediction: Gulak Retains

Story by Tim Howell from Zero Dark Nerdy and NWBros