What Raw Can Learn from SmackDown After Uneven WWE Clash of Champions 2016

For all its thrills and foot-on-the-gas action, Sunday's WWE Clash of Champions 2016 failed to make the mark on the audience that SmackDown's Backlash did two weeks prior.

Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins' battle for the WWE Universal Championship should have been more satisfying, but all the powerbombs and dives got lost in a storm of overwrought drama.

The writing got in the way of the wrestlers, which was the night's running theme.

Raw's first brand-exclusive pay-per-view featured better matches and a deeper lineup but couldn't keep up with SmackDown in terms of storytelling. Backlash outdid Clash of Champions by way of clearer narratives and booking shakeups.

And where anemic endings held back potential classics on Sunday's PPV, SmackDown's first solo show created moving images as its own narratives climaxed.

Clash of Champions raised one's heart rate more and featured stronger in-ring work, but Backlash is the more significant of the two PPVs, the one that created more buzz, more intrigue. That's something Raw must consider moving forward in order to catch up to the blue brand.

Stories Connect 

In terms of making a lasting impact, the story of Heath Slater fighting desperately to land a job trumped anything that unfolded at Clash of Champions.

Slater's Cinderella run and tale of an underdog's career peak was one of the best things on WWE programming in 2016. It was easy to invest in him as he barely survived each tournament match and celebrated with explosive joy. 

There was nothing with that much heart at Raw's PPV.

At Backlash, The Usos showed off their newly villainous ways, Dolph Ziggler struggled to avoid another disappointment and AJ Styles took the low road to achieve his goal of sitting atop the SmackDown mountain. Those stories all had sturdy foundations thanks to good pre-PPV builds. They were all clear, simple, effective.

Clash of Champions often featured muddled narratives.

Heels Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson fell victim to cheating from their babyfaces foes. The New Day used an illegal object (Xavier Woods' trombone) to score the tainted victory. What was the purpose of heading in that direction?

Why make the crowd feel sorry for Gallows and Anderson? 

Nia Jax vs. Alicia Fox wasn't the display of dominance that it could have been. WhatCulture writer Adam Blampied commented on WWE's missed narrative opportunity there: 

And Raw swung and missed in its main event.

After weeks building the Owens-Rollins feud on Triple H's betrayal of the latter, WWE had him play no part in the match. Instead, Chris Jericho inserted himself into the action, turning the universal title bout into a mess. Ref bumps, Stephanie McMahon's involvement and overall chaos made for an overrun stage.

Slater's rise was straightforward and powerful. Owens vs. Rollins would have been far better had it followed that story's lead.

Making an Event Important

Cesaro and Sheamus delivered the best outing in their Best of Seven Series, a hard-hitting work of art. T.J. Perkins and Brian Kendrick impressed in cruiserweight action. Charlotte vs. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks stole the show.

Then why didn't Clash of Champions feel more significant?

Vaughn Johnson of Philly.com mentioned that he will probably forget what went down in the ring at the PPV:

Backlash reset the SmackDown world. The PPV crowned new tag team champs and saw Becky Lynch capture the brand-new SmackDown Women's Championship. Styles emerged as the new world titleholder. And in shifting its pieces like that, the brand established an identity as the New Era gets rolling.  

Raw's event featured a glut of sameness.

The New Day's yearlong reign is still going. Charlotte remained the dominant Superstar in the women's division. Sami Zayn failed to move past Chris Jericho on the WWE hierarchy. And after a no-contest in Match 7, the Cesaro-Sheamus series is still not over.

The biggest news item coming out of Clash of Champions is that Roman Reigns, who was world champion three times in the past year, is now the U.S. titleholder.

Every PPV doesn't need to feature a flurry of title changes, but fans need to feel as if stories have advanced in major ways, that chapters have come to an end, that there is something to buzz about other than skilled performers pulling off quality performances.

The Need for True Climaxes 

A key difference between TV and PPV events is that while Raw and SmackDown can mess around with fluky finishes and incomplete stories, fans expect something more definitive on major shows.

Clash of Champions too often did not deliver in that area. And it wasn't a case of WWE crafting a number of cliffhangers; the matches just fizzled out.

The New Day's title match with Gallows and Anderson ended with a trombone shot to the challengers. After all the buildup and animosity we have seen to this point, ending things that way is a surefire way to leave the audience dissatisfied. 

Credit: WWE.com

Sheamus vs. Cesaro ended without an official winner. Owens vs. Rollins wrapped up with an all-over-the-place finish that felt like the end to Raw.

Benjamin Tucker of PWTorch criticized the endings to the three bouts before Reigns vs. Rusev:

SmackDown, meanwhile, had more emphatic, clear final moments in many of Backlash's bouts.

Slater and Rhyno took home the tag title after The Man Beast hit Jimmy Uso with a Gore, allowing Slater to slip in and get the three-count. Lynch forced Carmella to tap out as she outlasted five foes en route to victory.

And even though Styles used a low blow to knock off Dean Ambrose, the world title bout was far more direct than what happened with Owens and Rollins.

Backlash offered a number of periods and exclamation points. Clash of Champions offered ellipses. 

Controversy and uncertainty marked the end of Clash of Champions. Even with Styles' underhanded technique, the headlines following Backlash were about the start of an era in earnest. 

Cesaro, Charlotte and Owens will surely continue to thrive when called upon. Raw, though, needs those scripting the action to start adopting SmackDown's playbook for the brand's PPVs to reach their apex.