Reviewing Top Highlights and Low Points of WWE Clash of Champions 2017
As the final event of the year, Clash of Champions 2017 was under pressure to deliver in the wake of the impressive Survivor Series while also setting up SmackDown's side of the build to the Royal Rumble.
Strangely, the lineup of matches ran the line of being interesting but not particularly stellar.
There was no major selling point for the pay-per-view, but that didn't stop it from looking like it had the potential to be a solid event and a fun night of entertainment.
Now that the dust has settled and the show is over, how did it all pan out?
Let's look back on what happened and assess the damage, talk about the ups and downs and see where the chips fell with a recap of the biggest highlights and low points of the evening.
Presented in order of appearance, here are those standout segments of the show, for better or worse.
Low Point: Kickoff Pre-Show
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As expected, the pre-show was rather uneventful, consisting of recaps, video packages, interviews and analysis, making it a waste of an hour if you're not a fan of the catch-up vibe.
Normally, what makes or breaks the kickoff as being above normal instead of something you can skip is the match booked, with this one being Mojo Rawley vs. Zack Ryder.
To give credit where it's due, WWE needed to have this match on the card as the feud had enough of a build that it could have sparked some interest from the crowd.
On top of that, the right call was made by having Rawley be victorious, as his stock would have dropped considerably had he lost.
The sad realization, though, is this simply wasn't good enough to be the only thing to sustain the feud.
Rawley's win fell flatter than it should have, which won't give him the momentum to move on to something else.
If this program is going to continue going forward, there will need to be a true effort in upping the intensity and giving these two more to sink their teeth into.
Changing Rawley's theme to something even more mediocre than before isn't good enough, particularly as he felt like the same character he's always been but without a smile on his face.
Highlight: United States Championship Triple Threat Match
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Multi-man matches can be a complete mess if the participants aren't able to mesh well, but these three found the perfect rhythm to pull off a great fight.
There was a great balance between the trio, with Dolph Ziggler and Bobby Roode focusing on speed and finesse while Baron Corbin would insert himself for power moves.
From start to finish, it was a great dance and no point further illustrated this better than the subversion of Corbin trying to steal Roode's Glorious DDT pinfall, only to be thrown out of the ring and pull Roode off Ziggler.
To make things even more interesting, the wrestler who easily could have been viewed as the least likely option to win somehow pulled out the victory, meaning The Showoff is the new United States champion.
It could have been a simple call to make for Corbin to retain or to transition straight to Roode, but with Ziggler holding the title, the trajectory of this championship is not so certain, making things more interesting going forward.
This was a fantastic way to start the night with a lot of momentum.
Highlight: SmackDown Tag Team Championship Fatal 4-Way Match
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Much in the same vein as the match before it, this avoided the problem of being a chaotic mess and ended up being a fun, frenetic bout.
Any time there are people such as Kofi Kingston and Chad Gable in a match, the energy is going to be bouncing off the walls, so there was rarely a moment that didn't have something happening here.
Admittedly, there were a few times when it seemed like Rusev and Aiden English might have been the odd men out, but considering they weren't even originally scheduled for this match to begin with, perhaps they just haven't worked with the others enough to sync better.
Despite those hiccups, the majority of it was a spectacle that kept the pace of the pay-per-view to a lively enthusiasm.
By the end of the match, The Usos retained the title and the status quo was held, yet the audience celebrated as if new champions had been crowned.
Low Point: SmackDown Women's Championship Lumberjack Match
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If you've seen Charlotte Flair and Natalya fight any of the numerous times they've locked up, you know it won't be terrible, but it might just be a repeat.
The only difference this time was they were beholden to the Lumberjack Match stipulation, which actually hindered them more than it helped.
The problem with these gimmicks is how they can easily become what this was: a rinse and repeat of someone being thrown to the outside to get wailed on by the women ringside.
Basically, they would fight for a minute before one of them would be tossed out, beaten down, thrown back into the ring and it would cycle over and over again.
Meanwhile, The Riott Squad—the newcomers to the brand—did nothing to stand out, blending in just as much as Tamina, Lana, Carmella and Naomi.
This calls into question why WWE brought them up at the same time as Absolution just to be carbon copies and not have anything planned for them at the next pay-per-view.
When the best part of the match is the tease of a cash-in that lasts roughly 30 seconds, that isn't saying too much, particularly when the competitors involved have shown in the past how they can do much better.
This was by no means some candidate for the worst match of the year—it just wasn't up to par with the highlights that came earlier in the night.
Mixed Bag: Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Randy Orton
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In what could have been the main event of the night, there were a handful of positives and negatives, equaling out to neither a full low point or highlight.
The match was entertaining enough but nothing too special at any point.
At times, it was a bit messy, which may have been the intention, given the gimmick attached to it.
The downside to this kind of a setup is that fans are mostly just curious how it will end, so everything leading up to the final minutes doesn't feel like it matters all that much.
Once that kicked into gear and Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan began arguing, the interest picked up, but it ended in a rather simple way.
It felt rather obvious Bryan would end up siding with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn after some kind of disagreement, which is exactly how things went down.
A different twist on this would have had more impact in the long run, while this merely got the story to the next logical point that everybody saw coming from a mile away.
Low Point: WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Jinder Mahal
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This was almost a no-win scenario for WWE, as it made perfect sense to book this match, but there weren't many—if any—expectations going into it.
Had Jinder Mahal won the title, people would have been upset that a weaker champion was the head of SmackDown once more, upsetting the fan favorite.
With AJ Styles retaining, it opens the segment to criticism that it was a predictable outcome.
Since the match was nowhere close to must-see, this was the type of main event that should have been the best part of the night, but it didn't meet that goal.
Instead, if you skipped it, all you missed out on was a less enthusiastic crowd compared to earlier matches, seemingly bored with everything that wasn't a bigger move or the finale.
In the end, Styles retaining is the best thing for SmackDown, but we all know he has better things in store for the title than continuing this feud with Mahal.
How do you feel about Clash of Champions? What do you think were the highlights and low points?
Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.
Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.
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