WWE Clash of Champions 2017 Matches: Final Picks and Predictions for Match Card
WWE Clash of Champions 2017 is set to go live Sunday with a kickoff at 7 p.m. ET from TD Garden in Boston.
As the name suggests, the event will feature all of SmackDown's champions defending their titles, meaning this is essentially the last major chance for WWE to correct course heading into 2018.
While the card is not the most exciting, it does present the chance for some big changes to the landscape in terms of new champions being crowned and even the potential of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn being fired.
It is important for WWE to end the year with a bang, particularly so fans anticipate great things on the Road to WrestleMania, so how will this show build momentum?
Here is a breakdown of the match card and some final picks on what we may be in store at Clash of Champions.
Kickoff Match: Zack Ryder vs. Mojo Rawley
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It would have been a shame for Mojo Rawley's heel turn to start without a match at the next pay-per-view, so while it's on the kickoff, it's at least good WWE didn't ignore this feud.
Zack Ryder should be looking for revenge after his teammate turned on him, while Rawley will be seeking to prove he was right in saying Long Island Iced Z kept him down.
Once they lock horns, the truth of the matter will be discovered. And it needs to end by demonstrating Rawley was justified.
Ryder has probably achieved all the major success he ever will in WWE and would be better used trying to put Rawley over to help him reach a new level.
If the hyped-up Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner comes up short, it would effectively neuter his push immediately, proving he's not up to the task of entering the midcard scene.
A loss to Ryder on the pre-show would demonstrate WWE views Rawley as an unworthy sideshow who will probably job out to bigger talent over the next few months—if he's lucky enough to even find himself on the card.
While a win won't put him in contention to become the next United States champion, it would at least be a start.
Prediction: Mojo Rawley wins.
United States Championship Triple Threat Match
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Regardless of how it felt as though Dolph Ziggler and Bobby Roode were done feuding, Baron Corbin finds himself defending his United States Championship against both men in a Triple Threat match.
Since this has primarily revolved around Roode and Corbin trading shots with each other, with little focus on Ziggler, it raises suspicions that The Showoff is only included here to take the fall.
If that's the case, the easy prediction is The Lone Wolf will somehow steal the victory after Roode hits his finisher on Ziggler.
In that scenario, the audience knows Roode had the match won but that Corbin was able to retain the title and gloat afterward like a heel naturally would, setting up a one-on-one encounter between the two.
When that happens, Corbin's title reign will be in much more danger, but at Clash of Champions, he should be able to squeak by with a win through typical heel shenanigans.
Prediction: Baron Corbin wins.
The Bludgeon Brothers vs. Breezango
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It took six months, but it's finally here: the end of the 2B Fashion Files saga.
At the very least, that is the theme going on, even though it's likely to continue with various matches between Breezango and The Bludgeon Brothers on SmackDown Live.
Somewhere along the way, The Ascension are going to have to come into the mix, with Konnor and Viktor fighting on behalf of their best buddies, who will be destroyed by Rowan and Harper in this match.
There is no way The Fashion Police win this match, even with the surge in popularity Tyler Breeze and Fandango have received since adopting this gimmick last year.
On one side, there is a comedy team. On the other side is supposed to be a pair of serious monsters.
For the sake of the tag team division, The Bludgeon Brothers need to put on an impressive showing of brute strength and domination.
Prediction: The Bludgeon Brothers are soundly victorious.
SmackDown Tag Team Championships Fatal 4-Way Match
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Two of these tag teams are big enough they can head into WrestleMania 34 as the champions of SmackDown Live, while the other two stand almost no chance at winning the belts.
Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin could have reached that status if there had been more of an effort to push them from the start, but they did not hit the ground running, and their heel turn was slow and confusing.
The crowd doesn't seem to know whether to boo or cheer them and hasn't been given enough of a reason to do either of those things, so it just doesn't react much at all, virtually killing the team's hopes of winning the gold.
With Rusev and Aiden English, the two weren't even included in this match when it was first announced.
This might have been on purpose, with WWE wanting to swerve everyone by adding them into the mix later as a surprise, or it could have been a byproduct of realizing the writers had nothing else for them to do and might as well have them compete here.
If it were a different time of the year, it would raise some eyebrows that maybe they would win the titles, but in December, it doesn't seem as feasible.
Instead, this boils down to The Usos retaining or The New Day taking back the titles for yet another reign.
Since those two teams have had many matches together over the past few months and they are both the babyfaces here, it would make sense for The New Day to score a pin on either of the heel units to make for an easier transition between face champions.
Then The Usos could get a rematch on SmackDown Live and come up short, leaving The New Day with the belts heading into WrestleMania, as the trio is still the bigger team and didn't get a chance to compete on last year's show.
Prediction: The New Day become champions yet again.
SmackDown Women's Championship Lumberjack Match
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At face value, this is an easy prediction to make, with Charlotte Flair obviously retaining her title and Natalya going back to the end of the line.
However, the addition of the lumberjacks ringside poses some interesting questions on just what is planned for the rest of the women's division.
The SmackDown Women's Championship makes much more sense on Flair than Natalya, as there are only three babyfaces on the brand and seven heels.
With that in mind, there are more options for a babyface champion to fight over the course of the next few months, particularly with The Riott Squad taking a major chunk of the spotlight.
Natalya is old news and will be disposed of in favor of Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan, who will likely get the best out of Naomi, Lana, Tamina and Carmella on the outside while Flair makes The Queen of Harts submit.
After that, the next challenger will need to step up.
Prediction: Charlotte Flair retains her championship.
Shinsuke Nakamura and Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
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A pessimist will go into this match thinking it's a guarantee Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn will win because WWE wouldn't dare fire them from the company.
An optimist, though, would follow that up with a question: "How is that going to happen?"
That is the intriguing element to this segment, as there are plenty of ways this could go down.
Obviously, Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan's inclusions as special guest referees means the two of them will have some kind of confrontation that will influence the finale of this match.
There's a chance Bryan turns heel, aligning himself with Owens and Zayn and purposefully keeping them in the company for whatever benefits he sees worth the effort.
Since that has been hinted at, there's always a chance it was a misdirection and that, for some reason, McMahon will be the one who turns the tide for the heels, either on purpose or inadvertently.
Then there's also Randy Orton. The Viper frequently turns heel on his partners, so he could set up a feud for himself with Shinsuke Nakamura heading into WrestleMania season.
Without knowing what WWE's plans are for the start of 2018, it's hard to say what is the smart best for how it happens, but the easy call to make is to put the win in the column of Owens and Zayn so this story can continue.
Prediction: Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn somehow win this match.
WWE Championship Match: AJ Styles vs. Jinder Mahal
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There is no way WWE learned its lesson with Jinder Mahal, put the title on AJ Styles before Survivor Series to give everybody a much bigger match and split The Modern Day Maharaja from The Singh Brothers only to give the belt back to him at Clash of Champions.
Anything can happen, so there are never 100 percent guarantees, but it would be ludicrous to play hot potato with the title like that.
The right move is to keep Styles as the WWE champion, not just for the end of 2017 but all the way until WrestleMania 34 in April.
It's been teased that he and Shinsuke Nakamura will have a match there, meaning Nakamura will be one of the top picks to win the Royal Rumble match to set that up—a much better outcome than giving the win to Roman Reigns in order to usher in his fight with Brock Lesnar, which the fans would boo out of the building.
Mahal's title reign was lackluster and problematic, so unless there is a decree that he must have the WWE Championship in order to drop it to John Cena for his 17th world title reign at WrestleMania, there's no way Styles loses this match.
Given all the circumstances, this should be the easiest call to make as far as predictions go, with The Phenomenal One a clear and decisive victor.
Prediction: AJ Styles retains the WWE Championship.
What do you think will happen at Clash of Champions 2017? Tell us your predictions 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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