WWE Clash of Champions 2017 DVD Review

WWE have released the 2017 edition of Clash of Champions on DVD in the UK, available here. But is it any good? Lets take a look!  

Top Matches include: 

- Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn's WWE Contract // Special Guest Referees - Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon // Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn 

- WWE Championship // AJ Styles (C) vs. Jinder Mahal

- SmackDown Women's Championship // Lumberjack Match // Charlotte Flair (C) vs. Natalya 

The event kicks off with it's best match as a triple threat over the United States Championship, with Baron Corbin defending against Dolph Ziggler and Bobby Roode, features some great action, with the three combining their signature offence for a number of exciting sequences and surprisingly strong near falls. Backstage, Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon discuss both being the referee in the Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn match later on, without clearing up how the gimmick is actually going to work. After an interview with Dasha Fuentes, Baron Corbin threw a bin at a door. The good times keep rolling with an exciting Fatal Four-Way match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship with The Usos defending against Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable, Kofi Kingston & Big E of the New Day and Rusev & Aiden English, in a match that is helped by a crowd that is massively into Rusev & English. The beginning and ending, including a brilliant performance from Gable, feature some wonderful action, although the match is let down by some weird rules that have a member of each team in the ring at the same time, leading to some awkwardness during the middle portion. 

Charlotte Flair puts the SmackDown Women's Championship on the line against Natalya in a disjointed Lumberjack match, where the gimmick does more to hold the pair back than create any genuine excitement. There's some solid action in there, but there's also a lot of treading water, whilst every single lumberjack receiving their own entrance is over-kill. The Singh Brothers get interviewed by Fuentes, with the end result once again being that we find out nothing about their potential involvement in the Jinder Mahal vs. AJ Styles match later on. The Bludgeon Brothers (Harper & Rowan) vs. Breezango (Fandango & Tyler Breeze) doesn't stick around long, but has a couple of nice moments, whilst en route to the squash result. 

Fuentes (who is seemingly all over the place here) catches up with Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn backstage, with the duo their usual jovial selves until Dasha brings up that they could be fired if they lose their match against Orton & Nakamura. The match between Owens & Zayn and Orton & Nakamura features an overkill of stipulation with Shane McMahon & Daniel Bryan operating as special guest referees and Owens & Zayn getting fired if they lose the match. These stipulations are not conducive to producing a good match with a lot of time spent on setting out the dual referee gimmick and a number of hokey spots like McMahon & Bryan drawing a line down the middle of the ring, whilst the top talent end up going through the motions for, at least, fifteen minutes of the bout. The finishing stretch however does feature some engrossing action between Orton and Zayn, as well as a big spot on the outside featuring Owens and Nakamura, whilst a handful of nearfalls are worked in surrounding the dual refs situation. 

The WWE Championship match features Jinder Mahal's best performance of his main event run as he challenges AJ Styles for the brand's top prize. The action isn't always thrilling, but there's a strong narrative, with both men working over injures body parts, as well as a couple of sturdy near falls in the scrappy closing match. The Singh Brothers play their part well, including a brutal looking spot on the floor, before the contest comes to a satisfying conclusion that pays off the matches major story thread. The disc concludes with it's only special feature as Zack Ryder faces former tag team partner Mojo Rawley in a match that is exactly what it needed to be.

ATPW Scale Rating // 5.23/10

Written by James Marston // @IAmNotAlanDale 

WWE Royal Rumble 2018 Review // 28th January 2018

Ask a lot of WWE fans what their favourite night of the year is and it's highly likely that the majority will say the Royal Rumble. Yeah, WrestleMania is spectacular, but can often be a bit like Christmas, in that it's hyped to death and can often disappoint. Royal Rumble is more like 1st December, you've just started opening your advent calendar, you are yet to spend all your money on presents for people you don't really like and you've just heard Mariah Carey on the radio for the first time that year. The night before WWE had probably put on it's greatest ever show in Philadelphia, so the Rumble had a real job to do, even when you consider the difference in aims and target audience. The previous Rumbles in the city had been a mixed bag, with the 2004 and 2015 events taking place in Philly, but where would 2018 rank? Let's take a look 

At a glimpse

- Men's Royal Rumble Match // feat. John Cena, Randy Orton, The Miz, Cesaro, Rey Mysterio and more

- Women's Royal Rumble Match // feat. Sasha Banks, Trish Stratus, Natalya, Vickie Guerrero, Mickie James and more

- WWE Championship // Two on One Handicap Match // AJ Styles (C) vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn 

- Appearances from Kane, Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, RAW Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan, Cesaro & Sheamus and Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable.

Royal Rumble Match // Shinsuke Nakamura def. John Cena and Randy Orton and The Miz and Cesaro and Rey Mysterio and Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns and Matt Hardy and Dolph Ziggler and Sami Zayn and Sheamus and Kofi Kingston and Bray Wyatt and Goldust and Finn Balor and Rhyno and Rusev and The Hurricane and Baron Corbin and Big E and Heath Slater and Xavier Woods and Adam Cole and Jinder Mahal and Apollo Crews and Titus O'Neil and Andrade Almas and Aiden English and Elias

As expected the Rumble match received a good deal of build-up during the Kick-Off show. The longest portion of this saw 1992 Royal Rumble winner Ric Flair join the panel and just kind of talk for a bit. There was a charm to the way Flair spoke about the Rumble match and his career as a whole, as well as his discussion of the two main title matches. It was clear that Flair wasn't heavily briefed on what to say and the fact that he was talking from the heart lent itself well to getting over what the match means to performers past and present. Whilst Flair wasn't always clear on the details, it appeared that he is up on the current product and that was endearing to see as he discussed a match between Chad Gable and Jey Uso from the previous week's SmackDown. Also on the Kick-Off event were promos for The New Day and Rusev & Aiden English, as well as a Royal Rumble by the numbers vignette (which got replayed just before the match began). 

I have to say I was surprised to see the Men's Rumble match go on third, just under an hour into the show. It seems that these new marathon events have a whole new set of rules to learn and understand. I was worried that the match would feel less important in this role, as has often been the case when the Rumble match hasn't gone on last over the years. That didn't seem to have an effect on the match at all, as Philly remained hot for the majority of the match, rising towards the finish and providing a good backdrop for the surprises and twists throughout the contest. In fact, in a way, having the match begin the show took away some of the pressure that recent year's have been unable to get away from. It freed the bout up a little bit, lowered expectations and allowed the match to just do it's own thing. 

Beyond a lull about a third of the way in, the years match had more going on than has been the case for the Rumbles of the last few years at least. The contest seemed more focused and energetic than we've seen in the last few incarnations, with a solid smattering of spots and moments, with a couple of on-going stories. Baron Corbin's mad rampage after being eliminated was fun stuff, that also set up Elias' little concert which I popped big for, however I'd have popped more for Aiden English coming out next for duet. I had a lot of time for Heath Slater constantly getting beaten down, unable to get in the ring, before picking up an elimination on fellow ginge Sheamus and this showed that guys that are essentially filler performers in a Rumble can actually help to keep things interesting rather than being a drag on the contest. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn beating up Tye Dillinger backstage so Zayn could take his place, Kofi Kingston being saved by pancakes before getting an unbelievable leg-up from his New Day pals and Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy briefly joining forces also stood out as well. The eliminations of Aiden English (enzuigiri off the top from Finn Balor), Andrade Almas (springboard into RKO from Randy Orton), The Miz (Shield bomb to the outside from Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) and Seth Rollins (by Shield partner, Reigns) also deserve mentions.

This years surprises also seemed to be of a higher quality to recent years, with a heady mixture of NXT debutantes and returning stars. They were also well placed within the match with four of the five coming in the last ten entrants, allowing the excitement to build towards the closing stages and boost a tiring audience that needed a little shot of caffeine to rally for the stretch. The two NXT debuts got good reactions as NXT Champion Andrade Almas and The Undisputed ERA's Adam Cole turned up and both gave good showings of themselves. Almas got a big moment in the bout playing spoiler after Kofi Kingston's excellent elimination evasion and whilst Adam Cole didn't receive an elim, he did get to work a lovely sequence with one of the other surprise, Rey Mysterio. Mysterio was a genuine shocker for me, it hadn't even crossed my mind that he'd be appearing in the event. The former WWE Champion looked great out there as well, seeming to be in much better shape that his last few years with WWE and having a number of fun exchanges with younger talent. The Hurricane also turned up for the first time in WWE since 2010, which was brief, yet entertaining. Dolph Ziggler's return after a few month's away ended up being anti-climatic, as whilst he entered at #30 and had a cute sequence avoiding an RKO and Attitude Adjustment, he ended up lasting just two minutes. 

The closing stages were definitely the best part about this Rumble, as things began to get serious when the contest was down to it's final six participants. Finn Balor, Shinsuke Nakamura, John Cena, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio and Roman Reigns battled it out for the WrestleMania title shot. Even with Balor's stop/start booking, this was six top tier stars, four of which have competed in marquee bouts at WrestleMania's gone by. They provided a sound mixture of cool moments, storytelling and world-class professional wrestling that came together to create a glorious conclusion to what had already been a stellar Royal Rumble. Arguably the three biggest stars in the company for a time teaming up was great to see, as was Cena, Orton and Mysterio hitting their finishers in quick succession, before Reigns took out Orton and Mysterio was sent packing by Balor. If the final six had been good stuff, the scrap between the final four and then the final two was even better. Positioning Cena and Reigns as the heels was a masterstroke that the crowd ate up, whilst Balor and Nakamura shone in their sequence, before Nakkers did the same with John Cena, but it was the two favourites who were left in the ring at the end of it all, as Reigns and Nakamura remained. The pair bought physicality and intensity, selling well their desire to win as the crowd reacted to each movement. I particularly enjoyed the pair working in a number of "near falls" which added a heap of drama to proceedings that has been missed in a recent years. 

Shinsuke Nakamura was the bookies favourite heading into the match and therefore seeing the 3 time IWGP Champion as the last man remaining was hardly a surprise. Yet after a lacklustre run since joining the SmackDown brand in April, it has to be considered a bit of a surprise that WWE would decide to give Nakamura such a big win. All of Nakamura's PPV matches have fallen below the standard one would expect and even when you factor in having to face Jinder Mahal two shows in a row, it's not been a great start for the Artist. Beyond the match with John Cena on SmackDown it's difficult to pick out a memorable match from Nakamura's run, he's going to have to work hard to justify the faith shown in him over the next few months. That being said, Nakamura vs. AJ Styles has bags of potential as one of the top matches at WrestleMania and Nakker's popularity means he's probably the most popular Rumble winner with hardcore fans since Edge won in 2010. 

Royal Rumble Match // Asuka def. Sasha Banks and Trish Stratus and Natalya and Vickie Guerrero and Mickie James and Kelly Kelly and Nikki Bella and Lita and Becky Lynch and Beth Phoenix and Bayley and Brie Bella and Michelle McCool and Naomi and Torrie Wilson and Dana Brooke and Tamina and Nia Jax and Jacqueline and Lana and Carmella and Ember Moon and Kairi Sane and Molly Holly and Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan and Mandy Rose and Sarah Logan and Sonya Deville

Before we get into the ins and outs of the Women's Royal Rumble and the return of Ronda Rousey to WWE, let's chat about all the coverage and hype the match received during the rest of the show, because there was a good twenty minutes. The hype package played on the pre-show and before the match, whilst we also saw RAW Women's Champion Alexa Bliss, SmackDown Women's Champion and Hall of Famer Alundra Blayze all join the Kick-Off panel to discuss the match. The main thing I got from Bliss' interview was that Jerry Lawler appeared to be deeply in love with Little Miss Bliss, whilst Flair's interview involved her seemingly spoiling the appearance of Nikki Bella, when she listed her as one of the Women she'd like to see win the match. It was cool to see Blayze and she felt natural and at ease with the panel, giving real sounding answers and putting over a number of the competitors in the match. Having Maria Menounous as guest ring announcer (seriously, who the fuck is this woman and why does she keep cropping up in WWE?) rightly got blasted by the fans, whilst having Stephanie McMahon as guest ring announcer made it even clearer who this Royal Rumble was for.

Part of this matches charm was the sheer amount of non-regulars that were involved. Everyone loves a Royal Rumble return or debut and with nowhere near 30 women on the main roster they were always going to need to fill the bout with returns and/or debuts. So we got Lita, Kairi Sane, Torrie Wilson, Molly Holly, Michelle McCool, Vickie Guerrero, Kelly Kelly, Jacqueline, Ember Moon, Beth Phoenix, Nikki Bella, Brie Bella and Trish Stratus turn up. The majority of these weren't massive surprise as we'd seen most the returnees on RAW 25 on Monday and with Adam Cole and Andrade Almas in the Men's Rumble having a couple of NXT Women wasn't a crazy surprise either. Lita, Vickie Guerrero and Molly Holly were the three that I popped for, for obvious reasons. Holly hitting the Molly-go-Round was a pretty spectacular moment, whilst Lita's moonsault onto Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch was also sweet. Some of the women bought back in where clearly not up to scratch however with Wilson and Kelly in particular looking out of their depth in such a match-up. Also, why on earth did Michelle McCool get the most eliminations in the match? What purpose does that serve?

The bouts booking didn't feel as tight and focused as the men's contest, with the match often relying on a constant flow of surprises to pop the crowd and keep things feeling interesting. There were few pieces of storytelling throughout the contest and often when a narrative did present itself it was forgotten relatively quickly. Carmella getting attacked with her own briefcase by Vickie Guerrero felt bafflingly random (although at least meant that Guerrero's last WWE appearance wasn't getting covered in possibly shit), but was then rendered even more bizarre by Carmella's no-sell of the attack a few moments later when she just got in the ring and starting hitting moves. The use of the Riott Squad and Absolution was also a strange one, as after arriving with so much fanfare just two month's ago, all five women in those teams felt like afterthoughts here, with very little interaction between the partners due to the entry numbers and only Riott and Deville notching eliminations. The two groups could have been used as a real driving force for the match at different points and beefed up the story as well. 

The bouts most memorable spot was Naomi's Kofi Kingston-esque moment, running across the barricade after landing on a bunch of Nia Jax eliminations on the floor and then using a wheely chair to keep her feet off the floor as she walked on her hands to get back in the ring. It didn't feel completely original, but was still an impressive display from the former SmackDown Women's Champion. Jax getting a string of eliminations upon her entry was cool, especially after her inconsistent booking this year. Beth Phoenix and Natalya reuniting as the Divas of Doom, a shining light during the dark days of 2011, was a lovely moment and them tagging up to fight Jax worked well, especially with Natty quickly getting her heat back by lobbing Phoenix out of the match. There was a similar moment with the show down between Trish Stratus and Mickie James which got a great reaction from the crowd, with the two women doing a solid job of signposting what was about to happen so the crowd could begin to get excited about it. My personal favourite part of the match however was the exchange between Asuka and Ember Moon, as Moon sold the arm that had been the focus of her match with Shayna Baszler the previous night as NXT Takeover: Philadelphia and Asuka even used the injury to eliminate her old rival.

There were parts of the finish that I enjoyed and parts that I felt could have been handled better. I'm still unsure how I feel about The Bella Twins being in the final three, because their involvement did create a rather nice piece of storytelling and provided Asuka with two opponents unpopular with the vocal hardcore audience, but also their presence somewhat undermined the majority of the regular roster members. Could any of the regulars have worked as well in the role they were placed in? I'm not sure, but I think I would've rather seen them in there and given the chance to try. What I did enjoy was Sasha Banks' involvement in the closing stages. In fact, Banks deserves massive credit for wrestling for over 50 minutes, which I'd have to assume is a record for a female performer in WWE. Banks eliminating Bayley and then Trish Stratus, following by helping the Bella Twins beatdown Asuka seemed to lay the groundwork for a Banks heel-turn, a role which the Boss excels in. It was clear that Banks was having a great time once again and appeared to have more energy than she's had on television for quite some time. Asuka and Nikki Bella's final showdown was well handled, with a couple of "near falls" and momentum swings, before Asuka was able to send Bella crashing to the floor and pick up the victory.

It would be incorrect to finish this review without chatting a little bit about the return of Ronda Rousey. Many had speculated that she would be involved in the match, in fact, Rousey had been the favourite with bookies until relatively close to the event, so it wasn't a massive surprise when she headed out to the ring just as Asuka was choosing between Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair as her WrestleMania opponent. It was a clever move to have Rousey arrive after the match, working in a similar way to when WWE will flash up the copyright symbol, as I'd decided we just weren't getting Rousey as soon as Trish Stratus came out as the thirtieth entrant and I think many people had done the same. It also meant that Rousey wasn't exposed to an unfamiliar environment like a Rumble before even having a regular pro wrestling match and arguably preserved her mystique for a big time WrestleMania match. Cue lots of pointing at the WrestleMania sign and lots of open questions for RAW and SmackDown to answer. 

WWE Championship // Two on One Handicap Match // AJ Styles (C) def. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn // Pinfall

This match was miles better than it deserved to be. This was mainly do to the bout being tightly structured, the relationship between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn and the brilliance of AJ Styles. The section that saw Styles repeatedly out-wrestling both opponents, sending them rushing for the tag in the corner after taking a big move was well-done, lifting the energy and doing a strong job of showing off the tag gimmick that was being used. The monkey flip from Owens to Styles into the champ giving Zayn a hurricanrana was one of the best spots on the entire show, with that spot alone being a case for the match having been made a three way. There were also a couple of near falls for Styles off a Phenomenal Forearm and Calf Crusher. I think the bout could have been improved upon by increased focus on the ankle injury that Owens had been shown to suffer on SmackDown the week before, but at least it was used slightly here.

The finish was more than a tad confusing however, with this not being helped by the commentary team who seemed to have no idea what was going on. Zayn had reached for the tag after lengthy period in the match, but had clearly missed, Zayn was then sent to the floor, allowing Owens to ambush Styles with a superkick, only for the champion to reverse a Pop-Up Powerbomb attempt and get a roll-up for the win. If this was an out for taking a loss in a two on one match it wasn't a particularly good one, as Owens still took the pin and only shouldn't have lost on a technicality. If the bout needed an out anyway, why not simply book this as a triple threat, with perhaps an elimination stipulation to differentiate it from the Universal title match? I don't know. Whatever the plans are next for Owens and Zayn, we'd see them later arguing with Shane McMahon about the result and then attacking Tye Dillinger during the Rumble with Sami taking the Perfect Ten's spot. 

WWE Universal Championship // Brock Lesnar (C) def. Kane and Braun Strowman // Pinfall

This match was a hot mess, a car crash and a beautiful disaster. Rudimentary elements of good wrestling matches, things like timing and finesse went out of the window and instead we were treated to ten minutes of three 265-385lb men lobbing things at each other and lobbing each other at things. It would be hard to make an argument that this was a good match, especially when compared to Brock Lesnar's three-way classic over the last few years, including the doozy from the same event in 2015, but I still felt this was an entertaining watch for the most part. I mean you can't really go wrong with big lads hitting each other with steel chairs, throwing each other through tables and whacking each other the steps...well, apart from when Strowman had to put himself through a table and the commentary team hung him out to dry. The main problem with all the big spots was that the finish ended up being anti-climactic, as Strowman was pushed off the apron before Kane succumbed to an F5 onto a chair. 

Braun Strowman continued to be positioned as a potential threat to the Beast, having recovered well from the disappointing match and loss at No Mercy in September, which was pleasing to see as he's had an incredible twelve months. Strowman dominated the match at points, taking part in the majority of the big spots, including multiple powerslams to Lesnar. Whilst the ease of the move was impressive, I have to say it's time for Strowman to find something new to use as the running powerslam just doesn't feel impactful enough as a finish and now even less so after Lesnar took so many. Two moments that stood out for me were Strowman delivering a German suplex to Lesnar for a nice pop, as well as when Strowman recovered from having the announce table toppled onto him, rising from the ashes like a big massive Phoenix with the intention of fucking shit up. The matches main problem then was that Kane never felt like anything but a warm body in the contest, a warm body that was there to take a pinfall.

RAW Tag Team Championship // Cesaro & Sheamus def. Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan (C) // Pinfall (20:10)

After Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan had shared a great segment with Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable earlier in the night, unfortunately Rollins & Jordan's RAW Tag Team Championship defence against Cesaro & Sheamus couldn't match up. That being said a lot of that had nothing to do with the four performers in the ring and a lot to do with some questionable booking decisions, especially when it came to the finish. The story was built around Rollins fighting from underneath against Cesaro & Sheamus, with the bruising European tandem working over the Iowan for the majority of the matches thirteen minutes. This is usually a role that Rollins works well in, due to his top selling and scrappy offence and on this occasion it was again effect. Rollins had a number of nice hope spots, including sending Sheamus into the post, before getting cut off. The contest for the most part had good energy, but then came the finish and it all fell apart. 

Jason Jordan had been taken out earlier in the match, so when Rollins made the hot tag following a double frog splash, Jordan was unable to stay in the match, selling a head injury. Rollins would then quickly fall to a Brogue Kick and White Noise/Diving Neckbreaker combination. I had quite a few problems with this. Firstly, with a handicap match already having taken place, it seemed silly to book this match as a Handicap match in anything but name. Yes, the storytelling was a little different, but it really wasn't different enough to justify it's position on the card. Secondly, I felt really uncomfortable with how Jordan was either made to look like a pussy for being unable to compete due to what looked like a concussion. Rollins shouting at him after tagging out of the match in particular felt in poor taste. Credit to WWE for attempting to tell a different type of tag team story, but this simply didn't work.

SmackDown Tag Team Championship // Two Out of Three Falls Match // Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso (C) def. Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable // Pinfall and Pinfall

This was another strangely booked contest. I've got a lot of time for both these teams, but I can't help but feel they were let down by the booking of the second fall. This saw Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable on fire after taking the first fall, hitting their Powerbomb/Diving Clothesline combination off the steel steps on Uso #1, only for Uso #2 to escape the same move inside the ring and get a roll-up for the second fall. Not a terrible finish for a regular match, but as the second and therefore final fall after a first fall that was absolutely electric it felt incredibly flat. Let's chat about that first fall though because it was brilliant stuff. It was packed with lovely fast-paced wrestling, beginning with multiple signature move attempts and building into a series of false finishes. The near falls were made even sweeter by the Two out of Three Falls gimmick, which has often lead to secondary moves getting a fall, so when these lads were kicking out of their top bin moves it was thrilling to watch. Throw in a series of planchas from Jey Uso and Gable pulling out a tiger suplex and sick moonsault and the first fall on it's own was a bloody good tag team match. It's a real shame the lads didn't get more time and two more falls as it felt like the first fall was building towards something spectacular later on, that didn't materialise. 

Kalisto & Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado def. TJP & Gentleman Jack Gallagher & Drew Gulak // Pinfall

It may have played out in front of about sixty-five people, occurring not long after the doors in the arena, but this was the best match on the pre-show. Whilst the lack of crowd noise probably meant the 205 Live sextet felt right at home, they bought a solid six man tag with an energetic conclusion to begin the show. The heels were methodical working over Lince Dorado, after Dorado had worked a lovely sequence with TJP, before the Lucha Trio got to a grand showcase of their talents, with a flip filled, fast-paced comeback. Amongst the big highspots, including a triple moonsault to the floor, the highlight of the match for me was a little bit of character work. This saw Jack Gallagher climb to the second rope, only to be told to get down by his partner, the dive-shy Drew Gulak, with the Gentleman then repeating the phrase "It's fine, it's fine" for what felt like an eternity, even after getting down from the rope, before Dorado was able to counter and find the hot tag. The match showed how much talent and potential there is within the Cruiserweight division, but the fact remains that WWE's audience is still only to get behind the division if WWE decide to do so themselves. 

WWE United States Championship // Bobby Roode (C) def. Mojo Rawley // Pinfall

It appears there is two types of open challenge in professional wrestling. The first being "We've got a super cool surprise opponent" and the second being "If we announced this match then nobody would want to watch, so lets create some intrigue another way". This was very much entrenched in the latter category. I could not give two flying arseholes about Mojo Rawley. If you do care about Mojo Rawley (as a performer, not a human being) then you are wrong to do so. This match was pretty similar to the Semi-Final of the US title tournament the two had a few weeks back on SmackyD. Rawley dominated for most of the match with a variety of dull offence that was at least had some intensity behind it, before Roode blocked Rawley's running forearm in the corner and nailed an elevated Glorious DDT for the win. Even though he dominated the match, at no point did Rawley feel like a threat to Roode's fledgling US title reign and at no point did I give a fuck about this match.

Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder def. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson // Pinfall

This was certainly a match that happened. Not a bad match, not a good match, but it certainly was a match. That's probably a little harsh, because there was some decent tag team wrestling on display here, but it was clear that the segment on RAW last week had hurt the Revival in the eyes of the fans and hadn't done much for Gallows and Anderson either, as the match played out to near silence in Philadelphia. Dawson and Wilder are great when it comes to adding little touches and moments to their matches and that was my main takeaway from the contest as they worked over Karl Anderson and targeted his leg, something which had become their MO when they were on NXT and during their initial appearances on RAW. Everything from Gallows lacklustre hot tag onwards felt flat, with the finish in particular (really a chop block for the win?) having a lack of energy and conviction. These two teams could put on a better match, but after a months of being treated as losers and side-acts it's difficult to get behind or invest to much time into two acts WWE doesn't seem interested in doing the same with. I would've appreciated another Women's match on the Kick Off event instead of this (perhaps a scramble for a spot in the Rumble?) 

Also

The Kick-Off show included a look back at past Rumble including highlights from the first Royal Rumble with comments from winner "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, Ric Flair winning the 1992 Royal Rumble, Shawn Michaels' win in '95, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin taking it in '97 and John Cena's surprise return and victory in '08...We got highlights of something called the KFC Colonel Rumble, which was won by Ric Flair...There was also a package looking at the success of the previous night's NXT Takeover: Philadelphia event which saw Andrade Almas retain the NXT Championship against Johnny Gargano, Aleister Black go over Adam Cole in an Extreme Rules match, The Undisputed ERA's Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly retain the NXT Tag Team Championship against Akam and Rezar, the Authors of Pain, Kassius Ohno put over The Velveteen Dream and Ember Moon keep hold of the NXT Women's Championship against Shayna Baszler... There was backstage segment with RAW Commissioner Stephanie McMahon and RAW General Manager Kurt Angle interacting with SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon and SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan, it was pretty empty and didn't leave a whole lot to talk about...

Finally... 

For me, the Men's Rumble was the best match on the show, having more depth than the Women's match, with tighter booking and better storytelling. However, the Women's match was still a good outing with a number of strong performances, particularly from Sasha Banks. The Two-on-One Handicap match was much better than it had any right to be as well, whilst the Universal Championship was mostly an entertaining watch, even if it was also a complete mess. Outside of that there was some good action in the tag team title clashes, but both were let down by the booking, whilst all three of the Kick-Off matches were forgettable and apart from the Cruiserweight match, pretty dull as well. 

Overall, considering the length of the Rumble matches, this was a solid entry into the Rumble chronology, with the Men's Rumble being one of the best in years. I don't think the event as a whole will be remembered as one of the best, but it will almost certainly be rememebered for the historical first Women's Rumble. Whether they'll do another, after WWE threw pretty much all their potential future surprises into this one match, is yet to be seen.

Clash of Champions 2017 Review // AJ Styles vs. Jinder Mahal // WWE Championship

The final WWE PPV of the year had come around with very little fanfare, as the Clash of Champions card read more like a standard house show line-up, full of feuds that appeared to have ended and very little else. The SmackDown branded event saw Jinder Mahal receive his expected WWE Championship rematch against AJ Styles, desperately seeking a match that would be described with brighter terms than "average" in the main event. The upper end of the card featured Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn tagging up to face Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura in a match piled high with gimmicks and stipulations as Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan operated as dual special guest referees and a potential loss for Owens & Zayn would result in their WWE contracts being terminated, whilst Charlotte Flair put the SmackDown Women's title up against Natalya in an oddly balanced Lumberjack Match. Could Clash of Champions recover from it's half-arsed build? Lets take a freaking look, hen.

WWE Championship // AJ Styles (C) def. Jinder Mahal // Submission 

As always we begin our review with the main event, a contest which saw Jinder Mahal provide a career best performance, opposite the superlative AJ Styles. I'm not going to go overboard, but this was a good match and, considering Mahal's previous PPV efforts against Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura, should be considered a Christmas miracle and further prove that Styles is the best professional wrestler in WWE right now. The bout's story was the cliche "simple, told well" situation, with Styles locking in a Calf Crusher early, before a limping Mahal turned the tide by dropping the champion midriff first across the top rope. Mahal would focus on the ribs for the rest of the match, before Styles was once again able to lock in his signature submission, when Mahal abandoned his game-plan and went for a Styles Clash and, after a sustained period in the hold, Jinder was finally forced to submit. Mahal did a solid job of selling his right leg just enough to keep the injury in the back of the viewer's mind, whilst I felt Styles was on fine form when fighting from underneath.

The contest was maybe a little long (making up for a six match card), coming in as Mahal's longest non-gimmick PPV bout, but there was good feeling of momentum throughout, even during the Canadian's lengthy periods in control. Mahal bought a good intensity, that was missing from some of his earlier matches, whilst also mixing up his moveset, pulling out a double knee gutbuster and a variation on Ryback's Shellshocked, as he continued to work over Styles' ribs. I also got a kick out of the little touches from Styles as he tried to fight through the injury, highlighted by the creative Ushigoroshi where the Phenomenal One bounced Mahal off the ropes first in order to be able to get him up for the Fireman's carry part of the move. After playing a big part in the build up, the Singh Brothers' involvement was kept to a minimum and whilst the bumping bad boys have generally been the best element of any Mahal main event, it allowed for a much more satisfying contest and meant Jinder's intensity could come through. They did however provide the bouts best near fall after getting battered by the WWE Champ on the floor and allowing Mahal to land a Khallas for a long two, calling back to every Jinder match since May. 

After the match, my main feeling was that AJ Styles had looked like an absolute star throughout the event. Following back to back losses on PPV to Finn Balor and Brock Lesnar (as well as dropping the US title to Baron Corbin in a three way), his performance here, both in and out of kayfabe, was a pleasing sight. In story he took an arse-kicking, dug deep and used his technical prowess to outsmart an act who'd got the better of Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura on multiple occasions and out of it, he helped a limited performer to the best bout of his career. His interview on Talking Smack added to Styles aura as a special talent, as he put over Mahal's effort, bought up some interesting points about the Singh Brothers' involvement and just generally came across as a star. After a disappointing feud with Kevin Owens cooled Styles' summer, his form in the last three months of 2017 has been outstanding, putting on top tier matches with Balor and Lesnar in October and November, before seeing the year out by pulling a talent to a match that many thought he was incapable of achieving, even with the companies best.  

Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn WWE Contracts on the Line // Special Guest Referees: Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon // Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn def. Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura // Pinfall 

What seemed like a needlessly overbooked match heading into the show ended up being just that as Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Shinsuke Nakamura and Randy Orton went through the motions, whilst Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan pissed around as special guest referees. Despite previously mentioning in a backstage segment that they would discuss how they would deal with the match "in private", Bryan and McMahon almost instantly began arguing over who should be counting the falls. What the fuck did they talk about? Dad things, probs. Whilst Orton was busy looking like he'd rather be anywhere else for most of the match and Nakamura was running through a tepid tag (like a hot tag, but not...that hot?), we were treated to McMahon and Bryan splitting the ring in half to decide who should count the pinfalls. This took way way too long to achieve, meant there was very little meaningful action and didn't amount to much anyway. 

The bout was saved from being a complete dud by a fun closing section. This featured some decent near falls for both sides and a number of soap-opera style moments, even if there was a lack of anything genuinely surprising. Saying that, Daniel Bryan did kind of take a bump in WWE in 2017, almost certainly leading to a thousand opinion pieces predicting an imminent 2018 return, as Owens pushed him on McMahon to deny Orton the win after an RKO on Zayn. Shane flatout refusing to count the pinfall for the heel team got a strong reaction, whilst the fast-count from Bryan should lead to some interest surrounding Tuesday's SmackDown. There was also a cool highspot where Zayn aided Owens in hitting Nakamura with a running splash from one announce table to another. However, two minutes of quirky back and forth, doesn't a good twenty minute match make. 

I'll let it be known that I'm not interested in seeing a Shane McMahon vs. Daniel Bryan feud on SmackDown, perhaps if I was then I'd have enjoyed this clash a little bit more and be more hyped following it's conclusion. McMahon has been featured way too heavy for my liking on SD Live in 2017 and whilst I'll give him some leeway for having a very good match with AJ Styles at WrestleMania 33, it's been a case of diminishing returns when he's been pushed into storylines with other top talents. If WWE are willing to let Bryan compete again, it will definitely be on a limited basis and when you have a roster packed with better in-ring talent than WWE has ever had, it would be extremely wasteful to put The American Dragon in their with the boss' son. That being said I'd take McMahon vs. Bryan over the rumoured Bryan vs. Cody (Rhodes) contest on the indies! (Just realised I've barely talked about any of that actual competitors in the match, but that's pretty much how the match was put together, so there) 

SmackDown Women's Championship // Lumberjack Match // Charlotte Flair (C) def. Natalya // Submission

A hot mess of a Lumberjack match, that was dominated by it's gimmick and featured very little of anything else. Beyond the finish, I couldn't name one sequence that Natalya and Charlotte Flair had with each other, as most the bout's action was one throwing the other to the outside and that person either getting beaten up by the rag tag Riott Squad and the rag tag bunch of Carmella, Lana and Tamina or the bout's sole babyface lumberjack Naomi. Mixed into the generic lumberjack antics we had whomever put the match together throwing shit at the wall and seeing what stuck as we got the two heel groups squabbling over who got to beat up Flair leading to a springboard crossbody from Naomi to take everyone out, a teased Money in the Bank cash-in from Carmella before the Lumberjacks stormed the ring for no particular reason and then Flair nailing a beautiful moonsault to the floor onto everyone but Lana, who bumped anyway, seemingly out of sheer FOMO.

With the entire Women's division involved (and bizarrely every Lumberjack getting their own entrance), one would've expected an element of storyline progression or something to justify everyone being involved. Unfortunately, that wasn't present, with most of the match simply...just kind of happening. I'm not quite sure what Natalya's promo was all about after the match, but maybe Lana has a point on Total Divas (seriously, that might be my favourite feud in all of WWE right now). On the other side of the coin, Charlotte Flair owned her appearance on Talking Smack, once again making me sad that the show is no longer a weekly affair, as even with notorious dweeb Sam Roberts hosting this was a fun watch. With a visible mark on her face from her scrap and real emotion in her voice throughout, Flair talked about wanting to become an irreplaceable attraction in WWE and it was wonderful. Real emotion is so important for driving professional wrestling television and WWE needs to be harnessing this more often, as Flair came across as a relateable and likeable human being, something which isn't always the case on SmackDown.

SmackDown Tag Team Championships // The Usos (C) def. Big E & Kofi Kingston and Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable and Rusev & Aiden English // Pinfall

Standing out amongst the pack, the four way tag bout was my favourite contest of the night. Following two entertaining promos from Rusev & Aiden English and The Usos, the match kept the crowd hot with multiple spills to the floor in the early goings, before settling down and then launching into a great closing stretch. Rusev and English might not be the Best Boys, but their probably in the top twelve and their extended period of near falls and Accolades was handled nicely, with the live crowd hot for every moment. Chad Gable looked like the Gable we chanted about during that first UK NXT tour (remember that?) and just kept hitting Chaos Theories on anyone in sight, including one that appeared to have straight up murdered English. Those last three, four or five minutes was some of the most fun I've had watching WWE this year. The bout wasn't without it's own problems however, as having four lads in at one time lead to a little clunkiness, seen notably with an awkward double faces in peril sequence transitioning into an Uso and Big E simultaneous hot tag that didn't come across as well as I think it could have. 

In a night where AJ Styles seemed to be finally cemented in a top role in WWE, I got a similar feeling when The Usos overcame significant challenges to walk out with the blue and silver belts once again. Considering the breakout performance from Chad Gable and how many near falls the popular Rusev and Aiden English tandem got, it felt like The Usos had come up against a significant threat, faced kayfabe career best performances and walked out with the tag titles anyway, making the most of an slip-up by Gable and, perhaps most importantly, winning with their finishing sequence. It would have been easy to hot shot the belts onto Rusev and English, who are riding a wave of Rusev Day-based euphoria, but Jimmy and Jey have had a magnificent 2017, in the ring and on the microphone, winning fans over with their Uso Penitentiary gimmick and completely earned this showpiece victory. It would seem like the duo will work a programme with the Bludgeon Brothers in early 2018 (a team they had two good matches with back in the summer of 2014), with this being hinted at during Talking Smack.

United States Championship // Dolph Ziggler def. "The Glorious" Bobby Roode and Baron Corbin (C) // Pinfall

Whilst the match came together for seemingly no reason, Dolph Ziggler, Bobby Roode and Baron Corbin outworked the prior booking, putting on a good opener with a surprising ending. The early stages weren't doing much for me and whilst the one in, one out style was okay, it lacked pace and any real story to get my teeth into. Then seemingly out of nowhere the three were all in the ring together and put together a flowing back and forth sequence including a Ziggler dropkick and concluding with a lovely Deep Six from Corbin. After that we were off to the races, with a classic tower of doom spot and a very good near fall for Roode off a Glorious DDT to Ziggler. The finish was a difficult-looking spot, timed to perfection, as Corbin got Roode up for an End of Days, only for Ziggler to slide in from behind and hit the then US Champion with a Zig Zag for an unanticipated victory. Perhaps we shouldn't be too surprised that The Show-Off finally regained the belt he lost to Zack Ryder six years ago as WWE has developed a habit of having guys who have no right to be in multi-man contests walk out with the win over the last couple of years. Ryder's Intercontinental Championship win at WrestleMania 32 and Jinder Mahal becoming #1 Contender to the WWE title in April spring to mind.

Side note: Later on, we'd see Corbin launch a plastic bin at a door. 

Mojo Rawley def. Zack Ryder // Pinfall

My expectations weren't high for this one, but you know what it was exactly what it needed to be. Zack Ryder worked hard and Mojo Rawley looked like a bastard. Ryder starting proceedings by furiously going after his former tag team partner got over the personal issue between the two arguably better than any other match on the card, with the clothesline over the top rope punctuating things well. The bump from the top rope to the floor that Ryder took was well placed just before the break as well. The finish seemingly coming out of nowhere put over Rawley's explosive power, as he cut short a Ryder comeback with a chop block to the knee that had cost the team a tag title shot, before twatting his old pal with a running forearm shot in the corner to seal the deal. Rawley has potential as a heel, after years as a dull blue-eye, but not everyone will bump around for him like Ryder did here and not every match will hide his weaknesses so well.

The Bludgeon Brothers def. Breezango // Pinfall 

A pretty straight-forward squash match with Harper and Rowan having a counter for everything and anything that Tyler Breeze and Fandango had to offer, before winning with the double crucifix powerbomb.

Finally... 

Looking down the card and having watched the build, it was difficult to remember that Clash of Champions was even taking place. Yet, when I finished watching the show I realised I'd had a much better time watching it than I was expecting to. Whilst the Owens & Zayn vs. Nakkers & Orton and the Women's Lumberjack match were booked to death, almost everything else delivered above expectations. The Four Way tag was top of the pile, but Jinder Mahal pulling a good main event out made me bizarrely happy and fuzzy inside, as well. Yes, it could have been booked better and the time could have been used better (two Women's matches, surely?), but I spent more time thinking "Oh that was quite nice" than thinking "What the fuck is this happening for?" which hasn't always been the case with WWE this year. 

SmackDown 953 Review // Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. Kofi Kingston & Big E // Lumberjack Match

The first SmackDown after Survivor Series 2017 had Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn all over the episode, as the fallout from their interference in the show's main event began. The show's main storyline was whether the duo would be fired by Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan, with the duo featuring in the main event, a Lumberjack match against Kofi Kingston & Big E from the New Day, whilst the show's other big story included the debuts of Ruby Riot, Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan and their appearance during a SmackDown Women's Championship match between champion Charlotte Flair and Natalya. But was it any good? Let's take a look!

Daniel Bryan intervened before Shane McMahon could fire Kevin Owens [Kevin Steen] and Sami Zayn [El Generico]

Then...

Lumberjack Match // Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn def. Kofi Kingston & Big E // Pinfall

As an opening segment, Daniel Bryan saving Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn from being fired and setting up a Lumberjack match main event did it's job. It had elements of drama and built well to Bryan's interruption of Shane McMahon, gave us a main event to look forward to, as well as a storyline that would run throughout the show in multiple backstage segments. That being said, not everything hit it's mark. The main thing that didn't work brilliantly was McMahon coming out and talking up how well SmackDown performed at Survivor Series, despite losing the Series 4-3. Honestly, (and here's a niche reference) it reminded me of my football team, Walsall's manager, Jon Whitney during post-match interviews, trying to make excuses and putting elements of performance over results. McMahon came across as a bit of a loser and he would've been better off flying into calling out Owens and Zayn to get over how furious he was at their interference. Zayn however was on excellent form as he hammed it up, clearly enjoying his recent character shift, whilst getting a strong reaction when being told to "Shut up" repeatedly by Daniel Bryan.

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn petitioned Baron Corbin and Bobby Roode to help them out in the Lumberjack match with both men telling them where to go...Shane McMahon complimented Daniel Bryan on booking the Lumberjack match, before leaving with his backpack, with the expectation that Bryan would be firing Owens & Zayn after the match was over...Owens and Zayn continued to look for allies and seemed to have some support after speaking to Rusev and Aiden English...Owens & Zayn then interrupted Dasha Fuentes' interview with Bryan, telling the SmackDown General Manager if he fired them tonight then it would be the biggest mistake he'd ever made...

A solid main event, that soldiered along with a simplistic story and featured a wild finish. The idea that the lumberjacks were willing to attack Sami Zayn or Kevin Owens, but that Big E and Kofi Kingston had a pass was put over early and continued to be the theme throughout. It was a logical narrative, following up from Survivor Series, but it could have been improved by using Rusev and Aiden English as rebellious lumberjacks, because having Owens and Zayn fighting against the entire roster risked turning them babyface, through the sheer odds stacked against them by those in charge. Whilst the commentary team was saying weird things like "Sharks don't have hands, Saxton", the tag team action was decent and basic, highlighted by Big E's wonderful hot tag sequence, all belly to belly suplexes and big splashes. The finish seemed to come out of nowhere though with Kingston sending Zayn to the outside onto a group of lumberjacks and after a Baron Corbin punch aimed for Zayn connected with Bobby Roode, a mass brawl broke out and rolled through the ring with everyone seemingly getting involved and when the dust settled, Zayn took advantage and got a roll-up on Kingston for the win. Thinking about it there was more than a few similarities between this finish and the one seen on RAW in Manchester a few weeks ago when The New Day's invasion caused Cesaro & Sheamus to walk out with the RAW Tag Team Championships! 

After the match, The New Day circled on Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn, but after Owens escaped through the crowd after a little help from Rusev, Zayn ended up taking the brunt of the attack, as The New Day got their revenge and seemingly brought their involvement in the storyline to an end...The show closed with Kevin Owens on his knees backstage begging Daniel Bryan for his job, before getting booked in a match with Randy Orton (who Shane McMahon had mentioned he'd had to send home because he was so furious with Owens & Zayn in the opening segment) for next week.

Liv Morgan, Ruby Riot [Heidi Lovelace] and Sarah Logan [Crazy Mary Dobson] caused chaos during the SmackDown Women's Championship Match

Liv Morgan, Ruby Riot and Sarah Logan made their SmackDown debuts attacking Naomi and Becky Lynch in a violent backstage segment, that concluded with Lynch getting sandwiched in between a double door...Natalya told Dasha Fuentes that the only change that matters in WWE is the title change that will happen later tonight and also called Ric Flair a "hot mess"...

Before Liv Morgan, Ruby Riot and Sarah Logan interfered, Charlotte Flair and Natalya were actually having a pretty good SmackDown Women's Championship, in front of a crowd that was invested in Flair as the champion. A wicked sitout powerbomb, a long spell in the sharpshooter for Flair and a cool combination backbreaker and flatliner into the top turnbuckle combination from Charlotte, lead us into a Natalya spilling to the floor following a spear and the introduction of the three most recent NXT graduates as they jumped Natalya on the floor.

After the match, Ruby Riot, Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan battered Natalya on the outside, before turning their focus to Charlotte Flair, taking turns to hit some signature offence on the SmackDown Women's Champion, in a mirror image of Paige, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville's appearance on RAW the previous evening.

Jinder Mahal tried to get a leg up on AJ Styles

It was no surprise to me that out of all of the losers from Survivor Series, AJ Styles did the best job of addressing his loss in a promo. Styles talked about how despite the praise he'd received for his effort in the match, there were no prizes for second place. It was refreshing to see acknowledgement of disappointment and it makes Styles even more of a likeable babyface, whilst a reference to Rocky II and a potential rematch with Brock Lesnar means that if that match comes around again it will feel even more electric than the first time round. Jinder Mahal decided to turn up on the screen and tell Styles that he was "up here" again, despite Styles already staring at the ramp...someone should really tell Mahal that the screen isn't on the ceiling. Mahal's promo was shaky and garbled, but the long and short of it was that we're getting Styles vs. Mahal for the title at Clash of Champions on 17th December. I was hoping we'd get the rematch on television and a bigger, more interesting clash for the final PPV of the year,. but what are you gonna do? The segment concluded with the Singh Brothers attempting to attack Styles from behind, only for the WWE Champion to easily fend them off, nailing Samir Singh with a crowd-pleasing Styles Clash.

Shelton Benjamin def. Jey Uso // Pinfall

For a match that went less than five minutes on television, I thought this was a great outing from Shelton Benjamin and Jey Uso. The bout featured some hard strikes, a massive leaping knee from Benjamin to knock Uso off the top rope to the floor, as well as a good series of near falls after Chad Gable and Jimmy Uso started scrapping at ringside, before Benjamin was able to pick up the win with Paydirt after Uso missed a Superfly Splash.

The Usos turned up later on to shill some merch, ahead of Black Friday...

The Bludgeon Brothers def. The Hype Bros // Pinfall

For the final time, the Bludgeon Brother received a short vignette, before the message "Tonight" appeared on screen...

Harper and Rowan murdered Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley, picking up a quick squash win with a two-man crucifix powerbomb on Rawley.

Finally...

It was cool to have storyline flow throughout a show this week, with the various backstage segments with Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn, Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon complimenting the moments that book-ended the show involving those guys and The New Day. The addition of Liv Morgan, Ruby Riot and Sarah Logan shakes up the Women's division on the blue brand, although the similarities between Paige, Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville doing the same on RAW are obvious. The two shorter matches were fun with Jey Uso and Shelton Benjamin doing well with their time and The Bludgeon Brothers looking impressive in their intense and dominant debut. Even though I'm not thrilled by the prospect of another Jinder Mahal PPV title match, I wouldn't say there was anything on this show that I actively disliked as a whole segment, being able to find more than a few things I liked about everything that went down this week. With just three more episodes before Clash of Champions I'm looking forward to seeing how the brand goes about fleshing out that card with only AJ Styles vs. Jinder Mahal currently scheduled.

Review by James Marston