5 reasons why Clash of Champions was a great PPV

AJ Styles retains at Clash of Champions
AJ Styles retains at Clash of Champions

WWE ended the jam-packed year of 2017 with a staggering 16 pay-per-views, a record in itself. The last of the lot, Clash of Champions, took place on December 17th at the TD Garden in Boston, and delivered some great spots and matches.

Here, we take a look at the best moments of the event, and reason why CoC was one of the better PPVs of this year.


#5 The Bludgeon Brothers

The Bludgeon Brothers' squash streak continues
The Bludgeon Brothers' squash streak continues

Former WWE writer buries Judgment Day HERE

WWE has been doing a great job with The Bludgeon Brothers so far, building them up using squash matches to show off their brute power and size, and CoC was no different. The duo of Harper and Rowan ran through the Fashion Police in no time. While Breezango did get in a little bit of offence, it legitimised the match perfectly as Breezango are not just some random jobbers.

Everyone played their roles perfectly, and the ending was sublime. After nailing Fandango with the cross-like finisher, Harper and Rowan cut a very short but effective promo, making their intentions clear.

Good delivery from all involved.

#4 The tag division had a great showing

Everyday is Rusev Day
Every day is Rusev Day

Clash of Champions showed just how great the current tag-team division of Smackdown Live currently is. All four teams involved, The Usos, The New Day, Benjamin and Gable, and Rusev and Aiden English, showed off their prowess in the ring. The match was fast-paced and was filled with great spots and moments.

Chad Gable suplexing Big E, the shenanigans of Rusev Day, Benjamin catching Kofi mid air and power bombing him -- the list goes on.

The decision to make this match makes sense too. The Usos and New Day are the most over teams on the roster right now, and Usos holding on to the belt allows them to play the role of the alphas, which they play so well.

Teams like Rusev and English, and Benjamin and Gable will continue to try and penetrate the Uso penitentiary. And don't forget, the Bludgeon Brothers are primed to enter the race for tag team gold.

#3 Ripples in the US Title scene

Dolph takes the title from Corbin at Clash of Champions
Dolph takes the title from Corbin at Clash of Champions

The US title scene has started moving once again, as we saw Dolph Ziggler pinning the champion Baron Corbin to become the US champion again. While this is not the ideal booking for the US belt, I think we can all agree that it is better than the state the championship was in, to begin with. Corbin had been booked terribly all year round, and had no heat behind him, while Ziggler's introduction into the feud made no sense.

Then why is the result a good thing? Well, putting the belt on Bobby Roode -- who is not yet over with the crowd, would not be helpful to his main roster run, maybe even detrimental. Corbin has not been able to convince fans that he is the destructive force he claims he is. His feuds with the likes of Kalisto were painful to watch.

While WWE's booking has made us lose any faith in Dolph Ziggler, he is a ten-year veteran and a title run for him has been long overdue. Also, Dolph can be built up just the perfect amount for Roode to take the belt from him, giving the Glorious One the push that he needs to go over with the WWE Universe.

#2 AJ Styles goes over Jinder Mahal

Styles submits Mahal at CLash of Champions
Styles submits Mahal at Clash of Champions

We like to give credit where credit is due. Jinder Mahal put up a great show against the Phenomenal One, AJ Styles, and this match was entertaining in every way.

The match had a cold start as the crowd were not too much into it, and it got really hyped as the match progressed, owing to the great performances of both the Superstars involved.

This feud comes to an end finally, with Jinder submitting to the Calf Crusher in the middle of the ring. Jinder's push has been one of the biggest failed experiments in recent times in the WWE, and comparatively, the end was rather well crafted, with the right person going over.

#1 Everything about the YEP! movement

Zayn and Owens saved their jobs at Clash of Champions
Zayn and Owens saved their jobs at Clash of Champions

The penultimate match of the night was Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens going against Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura, with the former losing their jobs, should they lose the match. The match had two special guest referees with slightly different interests in Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon.

Everything about this match was perfect. Daniel and Shane bickered just the right amount before the match to set up the tension. Shane told Daniel to stay back and let him "do his thing", while Daniel said he was just trying to keep everything fair.

The match featured some great spots, which was predictable, given that all four involved are excellent workers. Owens frog splashing on Nakamura through a table will be memorable for quite a while. But the real spice in the match was the disparity between the two referees.

Even the commentators kept pointing out how the counts of the referees were out of sync. Over the match, Shane and Bryan kept disagreeing on little things. But things broke down in the end.

Shane was cheering for Orton when he RKO'ed Sami Zayn for the pin, but Owens pushed Daniel over Shane to interrupt the count, which made Shane furious.

The turn was fantastic. Sami rolled up Orton for the pin, but Shane refused to count the third pinfall, turning on the duo. Daniel countered, shouting "You don't own this place", and then made a fast pin on Orton to save Owens and Zayn's jobs.

This was a perfectly choreographed match and will possibly give rise to many talking points and possible storylines. All four men were protected, and now that Bryan is officially a part of the YEP! movement, we can't wait to see what's in store for us this coming Tuesday.

All in all, a great PPV, with some fantastic moments to wrap up pay-per-views for 2017.

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Edited by Nishant Jayaram
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