WWE Clash of Champions live results: Rollins vs. Strowman
Ten championships will be on the line as the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina hosts Clash of Champions tonight.
Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman will both be in action twice at the pay-per-view. Rollins will defend his Universal Championship against Strowman, and they’ll also team together as they put their Raw Tag Team titles on the line against Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode.
Kofi Kingston defends his WWE Championship against Randy Orton, while The Revival challenge Kingston’s New Day stablemates for the SmackDown Tag Team titles.
After returning to WWE last month, Sasha Banks will challenge for Becky Lynch’s Raw Women’s Championship. Charlotte Flair will get a title shot in her hometown as she takes on SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley.
The other title matches set for tonight are: AJ Styles vs. Cedric Alexander for the United States Championship, Shinsuke Nakamura vs. The Miz for the Intercontinental title, Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville for the Women’s Tag Team titles, and Drew Gulak vs. Humberto Carrillo vs. Lince Dorado for the Cruiserweight title.
Plus, Roman Reigns faces off with Erick Rowan in a no DQ match.
Tonight’s pre-show begins at 6 p.m. Eastern time, with the main card starting an hour later.
**********
Drew Gulak defeated Humberto Carrillo and Lince Dorado to retain the Cruiserweight Title
A fun opener that the crowd respected, but didn’t react to for the most part. Carrillo and Dorado worked pretty well together. Gulak grounded and stretched both challengers, while Humberto and Lince took flight in their offense. Dorado hit a nice Springboard Dive to both men. At one point Gulak was on the floor with Dorado on his shoulders and Carrillo did a Suicide Dive to both. That got a brief “This is awesome” chant. Carrillo used a version of the Sharpsooter on Gulak, but Dorado turned into a submission on Carrillo. Dorado hit a Super Hurricarana on Carrillo. He went for a Shooting Star Press and Humberto almost rolled out of the way. Carrillo hit the Aztec Press, but Gulak stole the pin by throwing Humberto out of the ring and rolling up Dorado to retain the belt.
**********
AJ Styles pinned Cedric Alexander to retain the United States Title
Weird choice for the pre-show. AJ sent Gallows and Anderson to the back before the match.
Alexander, who is from Charlotte, almost won in the first 10 seconds of the match with a Michinoku Driver. AJ used a brain buster on the ring apron, which is the hardest part of the ring, and a Styles Clash on the floor. AJ picked Cedric up at 2 and used the ushigoroshi. Cedric got the ropes after a Calf Crusher. Cedric got a brief flurry, but AJ cut him off and hit the Phenomenal Forearm and a Styles Clash for the win. Whole match went 5 minutes. Who wants the hometown babyface getting over?
Gallows and Anderson ran down after the match to do a 3-on-1 beat down. No one made the save. This Cedric Alexander push sure has been something, huh?
**********
Bobby Roode & Dolph Ziggler defeated Seth Rollins & Braun Strowman to win the Raw Tag Team Title
Second time in four years Seth is defending two titles at Clash/Night of Champions.
The biggest surprise in this match was undoubtedly in the first 3 minutes when Strowman ran at Dolph and Dolph didn’t move out of the way. Instead the heels used smart tag team wrestling to get the heat on Rollins. Seth used a blockbuster on Roode and almost had the tag, but Dolph cut him off. Seth reversed a DDT into a Falcon Arrow and made the hot tag. Braun continued to run into Dolph. Finally, after Dolph got ran into 4 times, he moved out of the way and Braun shoulder blocked the ring post. The advantage didn’t last long as Rollins was back in and running wild on both challengers. The finish saw Strowman give Roode a running shoulder block, but Roode crashed into Rollins. Braun went after Dolph and Roode hit the Universal Champion with a Glorious DDT for the kind of surprising win.
**********
Braun emphatically told Charly backstage that he didn’t lose the Raw Tag Team Title, Seth did and later tonight Seth’s losing streak will continue.
**********
Becky Lynch told Kayla Braxton that tonight Sasha Banks has something to prove, not her. Becky has had the greatest one year in WWE history and all Sasha did was dye her hair. Becky said she earned everything, like the butt kicking Sasha earned tonight.
**********
Bayley pinned Charlotte Flair to retain the SmackDown Women’s Title
Bayley still has the Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm-Flailing Tube Men, but now she’s EVIL so she has a black jacket!
Charlotte used the Cedric Alexander strategy and tried to win in the first 10 seconds. Didn’t work for her either. This must be a Charlotte (the city) strategy. Charlotte (the wrestler) was a lot more aggressive as the match got going, as she beat on the champ all over the ringside area. Charlotte began working over the knee and then stomped on Bayley in the corner. The finish came quickly, as Bayley surreptitiously pulled off the bottom turbuckle pad, Bayley pulled Charlotte face-first into the exposed buckle and quickly pinned her. Bayley then ran away at top speed before anyone figured out what happened.
Both challengers from Charlotte (the city) lasted a total of about 9 minutes in their losses. Aren’t The Revival from North Carolina?
**********
The Revival defeated The New Day to win the SmackDown Tag Team Title
The Revival IS from North Carolina. The North Carolina curse ended. It helped that they’re not from Charlotte.
Xavier has a brace on his knee to sell the injury he got from Randy Orton & The Revival last month. Wilder gave Big E a running clothesline off the apron and E may have smacked the back of his head off the ring steps. Xavier also got laid out, which made this a Handicap Match as the top guys got the heat on Big E. Xavier dragged himself to the apron just in time for a hot tag, which only worked momentarily until his knee gave out. A series of reversals on the outside of the ring led to Big E being laid out with a Shatter Machine. On the inside Xavier did another fiery comeback, but Dawson chop blocked his knee. Revival hit another Shatter Machine, but instead of going for the cover they ripped off Xavier’s knee brace. Dawson slapped on his reverse Figure Four and Woods had to tap out.
Revival became the first team to win the NXT, Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Titles. Both Chad Gable and Jason Jordan did this as well, but they both won the Raw Titles with different partners.
Revival cut a promo after the match and announced that after Randy Orton wins the WWE Title tonight, it will finally be a new day.
**********
Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross were cutting a promo when the boom mic suddenly appeared on the screen. Turns out it was R-Truth. Alexa took the boom and alerted everyone in the back that Truth was there and the promo ended with everyone running off screen.
**********
Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross defeated Fire & Desire to retain the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles
Nikki threw Mandy around at the start, which was payback for Mandy saying mean things on Tuesday. Alexa slapped Mandy right in the face, which caused Mandy to complain to the referee.
Just as the match started the fall apart with Mandy and Alexa in there, R-Truth, Carmella and all the midcarders ran in. Alexa rolled R-Truth up for a 2 count and the 24/7 people ran off. Corey made a reference to Mean Girls, which is a great movie, but came out 15 years ago. Not sure if Mandy is just really bad or if her and Alexa have really bad chemistry. Nikki got the hot tag and worked pretty well with Sonya. Alexa got crotched on the top turnbuckle by accident and Mandy almost pinned her after a High/Low double team, but Nikki broke it up. Mandy missed a running knee and Nikki pinned her with a twisting neckbreaker.
The match could have been a lot worse, but weakest so far.
**********
Shinsuke Nakamura pinned The Miz to retain the Intercontinental Title
Sami Zayn came out in a neck brace and said The Undertaker is disrespecting him by chokeslamming him at Madison Square Garden. He introduced Nakamura. Nakamura now wears a cape. Capes rule! Zayn did commentary over the PA system early on, but someone shut it off. Miz grabbed Sami’s mic and threw it across the arena, which is when Namakura took over with a high kick. Nakamura worked over Miz’s arm, while Miz weakened the knee of the champion. Shin used a snap German Suplex while Miz was sitting in the ropes. Miz side-stepped a Kinshasa and slapped on the Figure Four. The crowd really got into that, but Nakamura got the ropes. Zayn distracted Miz, so Nakamura hit the Kinshasa, but Miz kicked out. Nakamura went for it the second time, but Miz blocked it and hit a Skull Crushing Finale. Zayn jumped on the apron to prevent the cover. Miz chased Zayn around the ring, but got caught with the Kinshasa. Nakamura hit another on in the ring to retain the title.
**********
Sasha Banks defeated Becky Lynch via disqualification, so Becky retains the Raw Women’s Title
In case anyone cares, they called Becky “The Man” about 75 times during this match. We had a pretty good dueling chant going during the match. The Lynch fans were a tad louder. Sasha was a great heel and Becky was her normal awesome self, so this was a great match. Both girls hit some really nice knees. Sasha partially got on the Banks Statement when Lynch was coming off the ropes, but Becky got out since it wasn’t fully applied. Sasha used the Meteora from the middle rope, which enough people bought as the finish, for a great near fall. After a series of reversals Becky got on the Dis-Arm-Her, but Sasha got her foot on the ropes. Sasha hit a pair of Back Stabbers and got on the Banks Statement fully. Becky clawed towards the ropes, but rolled through into the ropes. Sasha pushed a chair into the ring to distract the referee, so she hit Becky in the ribs with a second one and hit a Shining Wizard for a near fall. Sasha brought another chair into the ring, but Becky got it and swung, however Sasha ducked and Becky nailed the referee.
Becky went after Sasha and they fought into the crowd and up the stairs. Becky slapped on the Dis-Arm-Her on the steps and Sasha tapped, for whatever that’s worth. Sasha went running into the concourse and concession stand area. Becky dumped mustard on Sasha, as they fought down a different set of stairs. The referee, mind you, is still out. Sasha finally got the advantage back when they went back over the dasher boards and Sasha speared Becky into the barricades. Even though there was no bell and there has been no announcement and there are no other officials, the match is over and Sasha wins by DQ.
Becky had the chair and it was Revenge Time, as she bent it around the spine of The Boss. We got another Dis-Arm-Her, this time in a chair, before referees ran in to break it up. The fans, who didn’t know the match had ended, booed and chanted “Let them fight”. Finally Becky got her title and left as the announcement was finally made. Even before the finish there was something missing to keep this from going to the next level of great.
**********
A commercial for the Gears 5 video game, featuring Batista, aired.
**********
Kofi Kingston pinned Randy Orton to retain the WWE Championship
A very slow pace to start, it picked up when Kofi got a flurry, but he punched Orton right in the face, so Randy rolled outside and regained his composure. With Kofi on the apron Randy necked up by pulling down on his hair and then did a running shoulder block, which sent Kofi crashing into the barricade. Orton gave Kofi a suplex on the floor and a back suplex on the German announce table. Oh mein Gott! Kofi gave Randy a pretty good dropkick to the shoulder. Not sure if it was meant to be to the shoulder, but it worked for the match. The fans started to get behind Kofi when Orton threw him into the ring steps. Kofi went for Trouble In Paradise, but Orton turned it into his backbreaker. Kofi backdropped Randy out of the ring and Orton may have twisted his ankle. This is a bad match for Randy’s health. Orton raked Kofi’s eyes, but got caught with an SOS. Orton hit his power slam for a near fall. He got frustrated even though in 17 years he has never won a match with the power slam. Randy hit the RKO Outta Nowhere, but Kofi got his foot on the ropes. Orton backed up for The Punt, but he missed, Kofi hit the Trouble In Paradise and retained the title.
**********
Street Profits are backstage and promote Raw tomorrow. Both picked Chad Gable to win King Of The Ring and Montez Ford started comparing this to the opening scene from The Lion King. King Booker showed up to predict the KOTR finals. Angelo Dawkins cut him off and asked to be Knighted because he wants to be The Dark Knight. Booker took his crown off and told them both to smarten up.
**********
Erick Rowan pinned Roman Reigns in a No Disqualification Match, after interference by Luke Harper
They didn’t last long in the ring, as Rowan drove Roman’s head into the German announce table. Roman got hold of a Kendo Stick, but the master of the Stairs Match used the stairs to assault Roman and send him into the audience. Rowan hit Roman with a plastic garbage can and asked Roman how he liked that. Roman didn’t answer, but I imagine it wasn’t a positive reply. Roman cleared off the English announce table, but Rowan ran him over before anything could happen. The crowd entertained themselves by chanting for tables, but Rowan was a good heel and shook his head. Rowan ripped apart the LED board and smashed Roman face-first on the apron, which is the hardest part of the ring. Rowan heaved the steps into the ring and then charged at Roman, but Reigns ducked down and muscled Rowan up into a Samoan Drop. Roman went for a running Superman Punch, but Rowan caught him and power bombed him through the English announce table. He threw Reigns back in the ring quick enough that people bought it as a finish, which it wasn’t. They fought through the other half of the arena and Rowan gave him the Claw Slam through another table. Rowan began literally carrying Roman and then they hit each other with production equipment. Making their way back down the aisle, Roman went for a running Spear when….Luke Harper cut him off? Luke Harper, last seen quitting WWE in April, laid out Roman with a big boot. In the ring Rowan pinned Roman with an Iron Claw Slam.
That was unexpected.
**********
Seth Rollins told Charly that he doesn’t give a damn about what Braun Strowman thinks, He can’t worry about the past, he has to worry about the future. Tonight is not Braun’s time and it’s time to add a Monster to his collection.
**********
Seth Rollins pinned Braun Strowman to retain the Universal Championship
Braun ran over Seth at the bell. Braun hit a series of shoulder blocks and went for the Running Powerslam, but Seth got out of it. Seth hit 3 superkicks and a Frog Splash, but Braun caught him when he went for the Curb Stomp. Shockingly Braun ran shoulder-first into the ring post. Seth hit a pair of Springboard Knees, but Braun caught him again and dropped forearms across his chest. Braun twice took a lap around the ring and ran over Seth. However on the third one, Seth side-stepped it send sent Braun over the German announce table. Those poor Germans. Seth gave Braun a Suicide Dive, which somehow caused the German table to fall apart. Seth superkicked Braun onto the Spanish announce table. OH DIOS MIO! Seth went for Something, but Braun came back and knocked him off the top rope. Braun decided he should come off the top rope too, so he did a diving splash, but only got a 2 count. He did that once against Roman, but Roman had rolled out of the way. Seth hit a Curb Stomp and only got a 1 count. He got a 2nd one and got a 2 count. Seth hit a third one, but that also only got a 2 count. Rollins hit a Pedigree and a 4th Curb Stomp for the win.
The fans had been booing Seth towards the end, but they popped for the finish. No one left the arena because everyone knew what was about to happen. As Seth was celebrating on top of the stage, the lights went out and The Fiend showed up, giving Seth the Sister Abigail and then the Mandible Claw. The fans, who didn’t react too loud for much on this show, popped huge for this.
There’s your Hell In A Cell main event. Thank you for reading tonight and check out all the radio shows recapping the show later tonight.