WWE Clash of Champions 2016: Final Picks and Predictions for Entire Match Card
Just two weeks after SmackDown set the bar high with a superb Backlash pay-per-view that featured AJ Styles defeating Dean Ambrose for the WWE World Championship, Raw will look to exceed the lofty expectations of its fans as it presents Clash of Champions.
It will not be easy. Clash of Champions features a superior card to Backlash on paper but will rely on timing and execution to better its competition's presentation.
With championships at the heart of five of the eight matches, the stakes are high for the men and women of wrestling's most storied brand. Who will leave each match with their arms raised in victory, gold adorning their waist? How will those outcomes affect the Monday night staple going forward?
First, the match card:
- WWE Universal Championship match: Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens
- United States Championship match: Roman Reigns vs. Rusev
- Raw Women's Championship match: Bayley vs. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte
- Raw Tag Team Championships match: The New Day vs. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows
- Best-of-seven series finale: Cesaro vs. Sheamus
- Sami Zayn vs. Chris Jericho
- Cruiserweight Championship match: T.J. Perkins vs. Brian Kendrick
- Kickoff match: Alicia Fox vs. Nia Jax
Before the show hits the WWE Network airwaves, enjoy this last-minute look at Sunday's spectacular.
Kickoff Match: Alicia Fox vs. Nia Jax
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The opening match of Sunday's festivities will feature Alicia Fox squaring off with the unstoppable force that is Nia Jax. The last time the two female competitors locked horns, Jax ended the match emphatically, spearing Fox through the timekeeper's position and leaving her in a heap at ringside.
A former Divas champion, Fox knows what it takes to reach the pinnacle of women's wrestling in WWE. Unfortunately for her, she has bitten off more than she can chew with Jax, who has shown no signs of weakness as she lays the foundation for what very well could be a superb in-ring career with the Raw brand.
Fox is but the latest victim on her resume.
Prediction: Nia Jax defeats Alicia Fox.
Cruiserweight Championship Match: T.J. Perkins vs. Brian Kendrick
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T.J. Perkins made history by becoming the first cruiserweight champion since 2007. His victory in the WWE Cruiserweight Classic not only reintroduced that style of competition to the company's fanbase, but it served as his coming-out party on a national stage.
Formerly Manik of TNA Wrestling, Perkins has shed the mask and will look to build on his momentum as he battles respected veteran and No. 1 contender Brian Kendrick.
Competing on WWE pay-per-view for the first time since 2009, Kendrick has the opportunity for one last great run. At age 37, this may be his last chance to remind fans why he has always been one of the more talented performers in the industry.
As inspirational as Kendrick's story may be, and as much as longtime fans may want to see the Olympia, Washington, native and Shawn Michaels trainee emerge with the title, Perkins will retain here and continue to build his reputation inside the WWE ring.
Prediction: TJ Perkins defeats Brian Kendrick.
Sami Zayn vs. Chris Jericho
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Sami Zayn admitted on a recent edition of The Highlight Reel that he and Kevin Owens traveled the world in hopes of one day achieving the same success Chris Jericho has enjoyed in WWE. Himself a well-traveled wrestler, Jericho was an inspiration to the Montreal native.
That all ended, though, when Jericho blasted Zayn with a cell phone to the face and left him lying in the center of the ring via a Codebreaker.
While the feud has not been properly followed up with any intensity, the match itself should prove to be phenomenal based solely on the talent involved.
Jericho has once again reinvented himself, leaning on the absurd and ridiculous while getting simple catchphrases such as "stupid idiot" and "it" over with the audience. Yet as Sunday's show arrives, his match with Zayn feels more like an opportunity for WWE Creative to elevate The Underdog from the Underground rather than hand Y2J an unnecessary victory.
Prediction: Sami Zayn defeats Chris Jericho.
Best-of-7 Series Finale: Cesaro vs. Sheamus
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Cesaro and Sheamus have waged war in six matches of varying quality, length and intensity but have managed to craft a fairly entertaining best-of-seven series that will conclude Sunday night with one last battle.
Nursing an injured back and fighting at a 3-0 deficit, The Swiss Superman has shown tremendous heart and resiliency in fighting his way to a tie score. He has also shown a propensity for doing what is necessary to achieve that 3-3 record, even if it means holding onto the ropes to down The Celtic Warrior.
Sunday night, both Superstars will pull out all stops for the chance to win the series and earn a future championship opportunity, but who will leave with his arm raised in victory?
Both are fairly one-dimensional characters, and neither is particularly fresh or interesting.
With a heel universal champion at the top of the card, though, this one feels like Cesaro's for the taking.
Prediction: Cesaro defeats Sheamus, wins series 4-3.
Raw Tag Team Championships Match: The New Day vs. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows
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WWE Creative has been absolutely tone deaf when it comes to the handling of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Stuck in humorless vignettes, in which they were dressed like doctors and then proclaimed themselves retirement specialists, they have lacked the killer edge and sense of danger they built for themselves as key members of Bullet Club in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Sunday night, they will conclude their rivalry with The New Day in a Raw Tag Team Championships match they will likely win.
But should they?
The team has zero momentum and a championship victory at this point would serve only to justify the money that has been put into bringing them into the company. Instead of using them to help maintain the credibility of the titles, WWE Creative would essentially be admitting Gallows and Anderson need the titles to get over, a recipe for disaster in modern wrestling.
Still, the Biz Cliz bruisers will likely walk out of Indianapolis with the gold, ending New Day's historic year-plus reign with the championships.
Prediction: Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows defeat The New Day to win the Raw Tag Team Championships.
Raw Women's Championship Match: Bayley vs. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte
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Charlotte ended Sasha Banks' three-week championship reign back at SummerSlam in a decision that frustrated fans. After all, the second-generation star had dominated women's wrestling for the better part of a year.
Why did she need to regain the title so quickly after dropping it in what should have been the coronation of The Boss as the next breakout star in women's wrestling?
The answer? To help introduce Bayley into the title scene. With a heel champion reigning over things, it is more convenient to have two beloved babyfaces chasing after her than the alternative. It is an easy narrative WWE tells repeatedly.
Don't believe me? Check out SmackDown's No Mercy main event.
Bayley has been wholly misused since arriving on the main roster in August, suffering more defeats than she should have and feeling very much like a third wheel in a rivalry between Banks and Charlotte. Expect those two women to be at the center of Sunday's match, but also keep an eye on Dana Brooke, who has been a key figure in the build to the contest.
The intensification of the dissension and tension that exists between her and Charlotte could play a major role in the outcome of Sunday's bout.
Prediction: Sasha Banks defeats Charlotte to win the Raw Women's Championship.
United States Championship Match: Roman Reigns vs. Rusev
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One of the marquee matches on Sunday's card will pit United States champion Rusev against Roman Reigns in the final battle of a feud that has elevated The Bulgarian Brute's star and allowed Reigns to remain a central figure on Raw despite being out of the Universal Championship picture.
At SummerSlam, Reigns injured Rusev, sidelining him for a few weeks. The U.S. champion would return with a vengeance, though, costing Reigns the opportunity to compete in Sunday's main event and leaving him lying in a heap, courtesy of The Accolade.
When the two behemoths battle in Indianapolis, they will do so in an incredibly physical match that could well steal the show out from underneath their peers.
Reigns is the most consistent main event star on the Raw brand, while Rusev has developed into one hell of a worker. Their chemistry and the layout of the match will determine its overall quality, but it will be the outcome that either excites fans or dooms it to disdain and anger.
One would not readily assume Reigns would win the United States title, a midcard championship that most use as a stepping stone to bigger and better things. He has already headlined two straight WrestleManias and captured the WWE Championship three times. He is the guy on Monday nights, so the title would seemingly do him no good.
Then again, that is what everyone thought about John Cena's run with the strap, which exceeded all expectations and led to the creation of the U.S. Open Challenge.
Prediction: Roman Reigns defeats Rusev to win the United States Championship.
WWE Universal Championship Match: Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens
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Triple H's shocking betrayal of Seth Rollins not only led to Kevin Owens' WWE Universal Championship reign but also set up a Clash of Champions main event that will prove interesting for more than one reason.
Not only are fans anticipating an extraordinary wrestling match between two of the best workers in the industry, but the evolution of Rollins' babyface character will be of great interest.
Monday night, fans witnessed Rollins prove what type of wrestler he will be as a babyface. In fact, they saw him deliver a performance more fitting of his abilities than they witnessed during his time a villain. More comfortable as a babyface, and working one of the best pure heels in the industry, Rollins may well provide the defining singles match fans have been waiting for since he arrived in WWE in 2012.
The wild card will be the aforementioned Triple H.
The Game has been absent from television since double-crossing Rollins, leaving fans to wonder what his motivations were. Should the audience expect to see the COO pop up in Sunday's main event? More importantly, will he once again end The Architect's quest for gold?
To quote the great Magic Eight Ball, "all signs point to yes."
Prediction: Kevin Owens defeats Seth Rollins to retain the title.
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