With a little less than three weeks to go to Raw’s first brand-exclusive PPV, Clash of Champions, which will take place on 25 September 2016. This will be the first Clash of Champions under the WWE banner and replaces the Night of Champions PPV’s.
The card for Clash of Champions started to shape up on last week’s Raw when Kevin Owens was crowned as the new WWE Universal Champion after interference from Triple H. There are a bunch of questions that WWE need to address from this whole situation itself in the lead up to Clash of Champions. With Roman and Seth both getting screwed last week, we also need a new #1 contender which will probably be Seth since Roman still has his match with Rusev.
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The US Championship picture is also clouded at the moment with Rusev and Roman Reigns’ match at SummerSlam getting called off after the pre-match brawl. The tag-team division sees The Club continuing their feud with The New Day. The Club haven’t really been portrayed that well since debuting in the WWE. Their promising run as AJ Styles’ lackeys was going well till they got split from AJ in the WWE Draft.
After Bayley’s debut on the Raw after SummerSlam, she is slated to face Charlotte for the WWE Women’s Championship at Clash of Champions. Unlike Bayley, one WWE Superstar has been overlooked for the last month and that person is Sami Zayn. Zayn hasn’t had something to sink his teeth into since he defeated Kevin Owens at WWE Battleground in a match of the year candidate.
In this article, we’ll cover these and other things that WWE need to address. Here are 10 things WWE have to do before Clash of Champions.
Disclaimer: This was published before the episode of Raw of 5th September, 2016.
10: Braun Strowman and Nia Jax begin their first feuds
Braun Strowman and Nia Jax have only faced jobbers so far on the main roster. Even though they’ve squashed the jobbers with merciless ferocity, they can’t continue to face jobbers for much longer as the whole spectacle of their squashes are beginning to get diluted. Strowman and Jax now need proper feuds against seasoned WWE Superstars as they attempt to get over. Only then can we see where they stand as far as their development is concerned.
Strowman hasn’t really had a chance to show us what he can do in the role solo yet, other than squashing nameless jobbers. Backstage rumours suggest that even though he’s working hard he isn’t quite ready for a singles run and sticking to the Wyatt Family for a little longer would have been beneficial.
Nia Jax, on the other hand, has improved steadily since she debuted in NXT last year. She’s had a number of high profile singles matches against seasoned performers like Bayley and Asuka, putting on commendable performances. Jax, for her part, has something that no other woman in WWE has right now, sheer size and power. With more training and experience, Nia Jax could definitely become a top player in Raw’s Women’s Division and the journey begins on the road to Clash of Champions.
9: Establishing the Cruiserweight Division
The Cruiserweight Division is arriving exclusively on the red brand on 19th September, five days after the Cruiserweight Classic and just a little less than a week before Clash of Champions. Several new names have already been rumoured to be a part of the WWE Cruiserweight Division including TJ Perkins, Cedric Alexander, Brian Kendrick, Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa. Some like Gargano and Ciampa competed in NXT before taking part of the Cruiserweight Classic while others like Cedric Alexander and TJ Perkins started off with the Cruiserweight Classic.
If WWE are looking for a blueprint for their Cruiserweight Division, WWE need not look as far back as the heralded Cruiserweight’s of WCW in the mid-to-late 90’s but their own Cruiserweight Classic which has been a roaring success. A few established WWE Superstars could also finally get something to sink their teeth into with the Cruiserweight Division including the likes of Neville and even Sami Zayn (more on that later).
8: Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens’ friendship implodes
This one has probably been brewing for a few weeks with Jericho and Owens acting extra chummy on the road to SummerSlam. Owens failed to help Jericho to win his qualifier against Roman Reigns, the next night, for a spot in the fatal-4-way match last week on Raw, which Owens ended up winning.
Now that Owens is the champion, it’s unlikely that we’ll see Chris Jericho stand idly by, watching his ‘friend’ reach the pinnacle of his career. What’s more likely is that the Jericho will come out and demand a match for the championship from Owens or call him out as an undeserving champion which will eventually lead to the end of the ‘friendship’ and result in a physical altercation which may lead to a match.
7: New Day and The Club meet in a No DQ match
The build-up to New Day’s match against The Club was a strange one that was all about Big E’s kayfabe contused penis rather than a more serious storyline that would have showcased Gallows and Anderson better. Sure, Gallows and Anderson are great as whacky heels but that isn’t what they need to be. They were on of the top tag-teams in Japanese wrestling before signing for WWE and they’ve mostly been treated as chums since their debuts, especially Karl Anderson who’s as good in the ring as anyone.
The Club winning their SummerSlam match by DQ after Big E interfered, helped neither team, and the weird ending left some fans with a bad taste in their mouths. WWE need to right this wrong with a match at Clash of Champions that will take this rivalry to the next level. Gallows and Anderson will probably emerge from Clash of Champions as WWE Tag-Team Champions and need to be legitimized as much as possible over the next few weeks instead of us watching Anderson job to Big E.
The Club taking out The Dudley Boyz was a good place to begin but being on the losing end of the six-man tag match last week really hurt. Anderson and Gallows need to go on a rampage over the next few weeks and laying waste to more tag-teams. This should all lead up to a No DQ match at Clash of Champions for the WWE Tag-Team Championships. Sure, Xavier Woods will be at ringside but overcoming the odds will only help cement the heels further as a force to be reckoned with.
6: Sami freaking Zayn
Sami Zayn put on a match of the year candidate along with bitter rival Kevin Owens at WWE Battleground. Even though Sami ended up winning that match, he hasn’t had anything to sink his teeth into since then. Meanwhile, his opponent Kevin Owens won the WWE Universal Championship last week.
Underusing a wrestler as beloved and as talented as Sami Zayn during SummerSlam season was a critical error. Instead of capitalizing on Sami’s momentum following his massive win and propelling him closer towards the main event scene, WWE had nothing for Sami in the weeks leading to SummerSlam and hastily slotted him into a pre-show tag team match at the last minute.
Sami deserves better. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, Sami has what it takes to be the next Daniel Bryan. And, with the right build up, Owens vs Zayn could main event WrestleMania someday.
With Clash of Champions round the corner, it looks like WWE creative once again has zilch for Sami as far as storylines go. With that being said, WWE have to correct this and the least they can do, the very least, is cement Sami as the face of the Cruiserweight Division for time being until they figure out something better for him. If it was me, however, I’d capitalize of Sami and Owens’ feud and slot him into the title match at Clash of Champions as part of the triple threat.
5: Bayley and Charlotte cement their feud
When Charlotte won the Women’s Championship from Sasha Banks at SummerSlam, it was a huge surprise to most fans. Everyone expected a long run from Sasha to cement her spot as the top woman on the red brand. However, that was not meant to be as Sasha was taken off the road to heal up niggling injuries which led her to dropping the title at SummerSlam.
Charlotte left SummerSlam with her precious Women’s Championship around her waist only to be challenged by the debuting Bayley the next night on Raw. Bayley has since pinned Dana Brooke twice and looks all set to challenge Charlotte at SummerSlam.
WWE has done well to keep Bayley and Charlotte apart so far to let this feud come to boiling point. In the next few weeks, WWE have to heat this feud up with a physical confrontation between Bayley and Charlotte. Another thing they could do is a contract signing segment that ends in a brawl.
4: Roman continues his feud with Rusev and temporarily aligns with Rollins
Roman Reigns’ match with Rusev at SummerSlam never even began. It was called off after a pre-match brawl between Roman Reigns and Rusev outside the ring. What’s even stranger about the whole situation is the fact the match was positioned in the semi-main event slot of the card.
The feud has gone off the boil since then, with Roman competing in the Universal Championship tournament in the two Raw’s after SummerSlam which ended with Triple H returning to Pedigree him last week. It’s pretty clear that Seth Rollins is the one being positioned to challenge Owens right now, so the best thing for WWE right now would be to continue with the Roman and Rusev feud as we go into Clash of Champions.
We could also see Roman team up with Seth to take on Rusev and KO in the run up the PPV in a tag-team match. That should be drool inducing, watching the two former Shield members fighting a common enemy, the man who screwed them both, Triple H.
3: Rollins turns babyface and becomes #1 contender
If you saw the Raw fallout video from last week, it’s quite clear that WWE are positioning him to turn babyface soon. Seth keeps getting close to winning his first WWE Universal Championship and doesn’t quite manage – this time getting screwed by Triple H who turned on him. Seth is definitely the favourite to be the #1 contender for Owens’ title after being the last person to be pinned in the fatal-4-way match.
Expect Seth to finally turn babyface on the road to Clash of Champions as he challenges Kevin Owens who would be backed by Triple H. If rumours are correct, all this is building to a Rollins vs Triple H match at WrestleMania 33.
2: Triple H confronts Stephanie and Foley and explains why he turned on Rollins
The most shocking thing from last week’s episode of Raw was definitely Triple H’s surprise return. Hunter returned to attack Roman Reigns and Pedigree him outside the ring before imploring Rollins to cover him for the pinfall. Triple H then inexplicably turned on his protégé, Seth Rollins, to help Kevin Owens win the Universal Championship. Mick Foley and Stephanie McMahon were at ringside all this while with looks on their faces which ranged from shocked to horrified. Clearly, neither of them had seen this coming. Before walking away, Triple H looked Mick Foley right in the eyes.
One thing that will happen very soon, is that Triple H will come back and confront Stephanie and Mick Foley. From the face of it, it looks like Triple H is disappointed that his wife didn’t pick him as his GM and he’s looking to take that anger out on Foley.
Triple H will also have to explain to the fans why he turned on his protégé, Seth Rollins. Although I can be sure what Triple H will say, expect it to be something along the lines of him choosing someone new to take on the managerial regime of Raw instead of Rollins who he’s had an uneasy relationship with in recent months, especially the last few months before Rollins got injured. I also expect Triple H to say something along the lines of him not trusting Rollins anymore.
1: Kevin Owens cements himself as the top heel on Raw
If you had told me two weeks ago that Kevin Owens would leave last week’s Raw as Universal Champion, I’d have called you crazy. Even though the circumstances of Finn Balor’s injury played a large part in it, Owens in now the face of Monday Night Raw and no one can say that he hasn’t deserved this.
Some fans were left disappointed, however, at the way in which Owens won the championship with help from Triple H. However, what some fans are forgetting is that despite the reactions he gets from fans, Owens is a HEEL champion, so he can win titles whichever way he wants without looking weak. And it’s Kevin Owens, he’ll make it work.
However, WWE now have to be very careful in the way they portray him. He can be the same sort of cowardly champion that Seth Rollins was portrayed as during his title run last year. WWE have to use these few weeks to cement Owens as a vicious champion who’ll stop at nothing and fight anyone at any time to retain his Championship, because at the end of the day, he’s fighting for his family – that’s the Prize Fighter’s ultimate prize, a secure future for his family.
Ex WWE writer blasts Liv Morgan HERE
