WWE Clash Of Champions predictions & preview: Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins
Just like that, we’re back again with some picks and a preview of a WWE PPV.
Raw takes their turn at holding their first brand-specific event with Clash Of Champions, live from Indianapolis, Indiana, headlined by Universal Champion Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins. US Champion Rusev battles Roman Reigns, while TJ Perkins defends his Cruiserweight gold for the first time, facing Brian Kendrick.
See what our team thinks will happen tonight with our Clash of Champions preview below.
Current prediction points rankings:
- Steve Khan: (WWE SmackDown Live Recapper) (48 points)
- Kyle S. Johnson: (Columnist) (47 points)
- Bryan Rose: (New Japan/CWC Reporter) (46 points)
- James Cox: (WWE Superstars Recapper & WWE DVD Reviewer) (44 points)
- Brian Hoops: (Daily Pro Wrestling History) (28 points)
- Jeremy Peeples: (Lucha Underground Recapper) (27 points)
- Ryan Frederick: (UFC Reporter) (18 points)
- PeachMachine: (University of Phoenix Online Mascot) (15 points)
- Paul “Gramps” Fontaine: (MMA Writer and Recapper and new grandfather) (9 points)
- Kevin LaRose: (WWE Main Event and Total Divas Recapper) (4 points)
- JJ Williams: (NXT/CWC Roving Reporter) (3 points)
Alicia Fox vs. Nia Jax
Bryan Rose: Jax is tall and new, so I don’t think Foxxy is winning here.
Winner: Nia Jax
James Cox: There’s no way they’re beating Jax yet and Fox is certainly not the first one to do it.
Winner: Nia Jax
Brian Hoops: This is actually one of their better booked feuds as they kept the story simple.
Winner: Nia Jax
PeachMachine: Foxy’s getting her revenge. Unleash the Cra-zay, bay bay!
Winner: The nutty Alicia Fox
Jeremy Peeples: Nia wins via destruction to continue a feud that peaked with a box hitting her face.
Winner: Nia Jax (who is unlike most girls, I hear)
Ryan Frederick: Jax is being pushed. Fox is not. It’s pretty simple: they aren’t building Nia for her to lose to Alicia.
Winner: Nia Jax
Steve Khan: Nia Jax.
Winner: Nia Jax.
Gramps Fontaine: I’m going with Fox after Nia gets DQ’d for kicking too much ass.
Winner: Alicia Fox
Sami Zayn vs. Chris Jericho
Bryan Rose: This should be pretty good. Jericho’s heel work is strong, and when given a chance, Zayn is one of the few faces that really connect with the crowd. This could be the best match of the night. Something tells me this feud will last longer than this PPV though, so Jericho gets a sneaky win.
Winner: Chris Jericho
James Cox: Looking forward to this. Jericho has probably wanted to work with Zayn and I bet this runs for the next few months. Booking sense says the heel wins the first match.
Winner: Chris Jericho
Brian Hoops: Jericho is great at playing heel and a loss here doesn’t hurt him. Zayn needs a win bad.
Winner: Zayn
PeachMachine: Sam and Chris are both from Canada, which will legalize weed in 2017.
Winner: Both
Jeremy Peeples: Jericho should lose this because he’s the veteran, and a win gives Sami another reason to face Owens again.
Winner: Sami Zayn
Ryan Frederick: I think they’ll have a good match. Jericho can always lose because it’s Jericho and he’s been a great heel. Zayn needs the win more and I think they can move this feud into a program with Kevin Owens, eventually. I don’t think this will be it for them.
Winner: Sami Zayn
Steve Khan: This could go either way even if the feud continues. My gut says Jericho through nefarious means.
Winner: Chris Jericho
Gramps Fontaine: Sami Zayn all the way. Should be one of the best matches on the show.
Winner: Sami Zayn
WWE Cruiserweight Champion TJ Perkins vs. Brian Kendrick
Bryan Rose: This should be good if given time. Kendrick looked great in the CWC and of course, Perkins shined bright as well. I don’t see Kendrick winning as this should be a highlight reel for Perkins to shine as Cruiserweight champion.
Winner: TJ Perkins
James Cox: The jury’s still out on how they will promote this division and how seriously they will take it. Really glad Kendrick has been signed after his performances on the CWC, but its too early to change the belt.
Winner: TJ Perkins
Brian Hoops: Kendrick is a good opponent for Perkins and the match should be excellent. It would be disastrous for the new champion to get pinned by someone who long time fans may remember as a job guy.
Winner: Perkins
PeachMachine: This match should get 20 minutes. Instead it will get 2.
Winner: THE Bryan Kendrick.
Jeremy Peeples: They’ve bungled the cruiserweights so far, but if they can get things right on the PPV, they can rebound. Kendrick is a good name for a first title defense even if the story they’re telling with him doesn’t fit him actually getting a shot. TJP should still win this one.
Winner: TJ Perkins
Ryan Frederick: I hope they give them time as it’s the only way the division is going to get over. They need it to get over, and it would be a shame if it didn’t. Give these two time and they can have a great match. I like the redemption story for Kendrick, and he’s the perfect first opponent for Perkins. It’s too early to change the title.
Winner: TJ Perkins
Steve Khan: There’s no way Perkins should lose on his first night, especially after that tournament.
Winner: TJ Perkins
Gramps Fontaine: Obviously Perkins isn’t losing the title in his first defence. Hopefully they have a long, competitive match that doesn’t ruin Kendrick cause there’s still something to do with him down the road.
Winner: TJ Perkins
WWE United States Champion Rusev vs. Roman Reigns
Bryan Rose: Reigns should win this, right? I don’t see him getting the actual title, though. So lets say a DQ win, but a decisive one that finishes off the feud.
Winner: Roman Reigns
James Cox: Reigns wins to a shower of boos.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Brian Hoops: The plan to rehab Reigns seems to be to get him cheered against the evil Russian menace. Good plan, but not sure it will work.
Winner: Reigns
PeachMachine: I predict some angle with Rusev not standing for the National Anthem.
Winner: THE Guy
Jeremy Peeples: It’s the Bulgarian Brute versus The Big Dog and he’s hungry for revenge! You’d think he can snack on all the boos, but sadly, they’re a bit high in sodium. This feud has been built up reasonably well overall, but the lack of focus on it over the past month hurts. Roman should probably win this since he beat the top champion on the free show…before getting a shot at the secondary title…as you do.
Winner: The Big Dog Roman Reigns
Ryan Frederick: I’m up-and-down on whether they should give the US title to Reigns. Obviously the direction is him with the Universal Title, and they can keep the feud fresh with a title change. Either way, Roman wins.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Steve Khan: I can’t imagine Reigns holding the US title belt, and it’s kind of funny that Rollins and Ambrose are both in higher profile matches. I’ll go with Reigns technically getting the win, although I’m not sure he’ll win the title.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Gramps Fontaine: It’s time for Roman to win the belt and hold it for awhile. He’ll probably defend against Rusev through Survivor Series and he could even keep it through Mania.
Winner: Roman Reigns
WWE Raw Women’s Champion Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley
Bryan Rose: I would say this is right for Sasha to regain the title, but for some reason, it seems they are dead set on doing an eventual Charlotte/Dana split for a match at Wrestlemania. Charlotte retains and will probably hold the title for the rest of the year.
Winner: Charlotte
James Cox: If this wasn’t a three-way, I’d say they’d do a title switch, but Charlotte retains here.
Winner: Charlotte
Brian Hoops: The smart long term plan is for Bayley to chase the title, overcoming odds and playing the babyface role. She could chase either Bayley or Charlotte and has had good matches with both.
Winner: Banks
PeachMachine: Banks really played these last few months pretty poorly. Thus, she’s going over.
Winner: THE Banker
Jeremy Peeples: Bayley has been just a side act on Raw the last few weeks, but I’d say Charlotte retains to keep everyone else on the treadmill.
Winner: Charlotte
Ryan Frederick: Unfortunately, the match will probably revolve around the continuation of the eventual breakup of Charlotte and Dana. This could be great if they are given the chance. Charlotte retains somehow.
Winner: Charlotte
Steve Khan: They should turn Banks heel, but perhaps it’s too early for that. I’ll go with Charlotte squeezing out a win here.
Winner: Charlotte
Gramps Fontaine: Somehow Dana’s going to be involved in the finish and somehow Charlotte will retain. I can’t quite place how exactly those two pieces fit together though.
Winner: Charlotte
WWE Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day vs. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
Bryan Rose: If Anderson and Gallows don’t win this, they are just dudes on the roster which they already nearly are already.
Winner: Anderson and Gallows
James Cox: It’s time to change the titles, but wow, has WWE ruined these two.
Winner: Gallows and Anderson
Brian Hoops: They are past the point of time to get the belts off New Day and let Gallows and Anderson be kick ass heel champions. Better late than never.
Winner: Gallows/Anderson
PeachMachine: Somehow I see the Ascension getting involved and costing New Day the gold.
Winner: THE Machine Gun Karl Anderson and Doc G.
Jeremy Peeples: Thank God they’ve nixed The Club as comedy acts — now they’re just a solid team that isn’t taken seriously because they were comedy acts. They’re pushing the Demolition title reign so much that they have to be waiting to take the titles off until they beat that record, and The Club has no credibility anyway.
Winners: The New Day
Ryan Frederick: If they don’t do the title change here, Anderson and Gallows are deader than dead. The time is right and they need to take this up a notch by switching the belts through nefarious ways.
Winners: Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
Steve Khan: If they want to salvage Gallows and Anderson, they really need to win this. That doesn’t mean it will happen, but since this is the first Raw PPV of the new era, the timing seems right.
Winner: Gallows & Anderson
Gramps Fontaine: New Day is going to break Demolition’s record. The Club is so much less over when this feud began that I can’t even see them getting a DQ win to continue the feud.
Winner: The New Day
Final Match in Best of Seven Series: Cesaro vs. Sheamus
Bryan Rose: Let’s make people happy with a Cesaro win. Sheamus is absolutely not over in any way, and at least people react to Cesaro, so it only makes sense. I know I completely jinxed things by saying that, but I think that’s what will happen.
Winner: Cesaro
James Cox: For whatever reason, they love Sheamus and don’t see Cesaro as a main event player. I think this could be an outstanding match if Cesaro wants it to be.
Winner: Sheamus
Brian Hoops: This would gain more interest if presented with a stipulation like “loser leaves Raw.”
Winner: Cesaro
PeachMachine: Tie
Winner: This series is going to game 8!
Jeremy Peeples: Cesaro has more to gain from the vague title shot stipulation, while Sheamus is just floundering horribly. A move to SD would probably be a good move for him. Maybe they can trade The Red Queen for The Pale King.
Winner: Cesaro
Ryan Frederick: The right choice is Cesaro, especially if the title shot stipulation is for the Universal Title. If it’s for the US Title, I could see Sheamus winning to feud with Roman. Cesaro is the correct choice. Push him!
Winner: Cesaro
Steve Khan: Sheamus is a dead character either way, but Cesaro might have something to gain with a win.
Winner: Cesaro
Gramps Fontaine: If Reigns is going to win the US title, I gotta go with Sheamus here, although it would be fun to see a Reigns/Cesaro US title program and especially the fans reaction to it. I really want to see that actually. All the more reason WWE won’t do it.
Winner: Sheamus
WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins
Bryan Rose: Owens just got the title. Seth ain’t winning this one which is funny because it adds to the narrative they’ve been pushing that Rollins has been a total loser since his return in May. Great way to build your top babyface!
Winner: Kevin Owens
James Cox: I expect a dirty heel finish here. Clearly, they need to give Owens a chance to show what he can do as champion. Who knows what they want to do with Seth now. I hope this is good, but I’m not convinced it will be.
Winner: Kevin Owens
Brian Hoops: In hindsight, and what was common sense at the time, Rollins should have stayed babyface when he returned from his knee surgery. Now they have flipped him and he has had a very uneventful run with the belt, diminishing his value. If the plan is to go back to Balor when he returns, they should have a heel carry the title until then to build up the credibility.
Winner: Owens
PeachMachine: This will be a stinker. They should put Becky Lynch in there and make this a three way dance! Then I’d shoot myself.
Winner: Vin Owens
Jeremy Peeples: It’s a battle of the worst-booked world champion of 2016 versus the worst-booked world champion of 2015 – truly a battle for the ages. These men are outstanding in the ring, but butchered by poor booking. Owens needs a win and Seth can’t really be losing clean, so we’re getting some kind of BS finish, possibly involving HHH so he can show up to further the storyline without appearing on Raw when it’s doomed to die in the ratings.
Winner: Win Owens Win
Ryan Frederick: I hope they have the match they are capable of having, but it’ll probably be overbooked. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if Triple H shows up as it feels like the right time. It’s the wrong time to take the title off of Owens. I think this feud is one-and-done for right now with Owens winning and Rollins moving on to something revolving around Stephanie, Mick Foley and HHH.
Winner: Kevin Owens
Steve Khan: Should be the best match on the show, probably by a lot. Owens will retain.
Winner: Kevin Owens
Gramps Fontaine: Someone’s gotta pay the price for the terrible ratings and methinks it’s gonna be the fat man. It will be a great match which Rollins will win. Trips lays him out after the match to set up intrigue for RAW on Monday night.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Catch our live coverage tonight!