WWE Clash of Champions 2017 airs this Sunday on the WWE Network from the TD Garden in Boston, MA. Every title on the SmackDown brand will be on the line. Mojo Rawley will face Zack Ryder on the Kickoff Show. Here are 5 predictions for WWE Clash of Champions 2017:
Gable & Benjamin Will Win The Tag Titles
This match was originally supposed to be a Triple Threat, but Rusev and Aiden English earned their way into the match after defeating New Day on the December 5th edition of SmackDown.
Gable and Benjamin have had their shot against The Usos before but they were unable to cash in. There will be four Superstars in the ring at all times, so I can see Gable or Benjamin winning the match with a pinfall over Aiden English or Rusev.
The Usos deserve to hold onto the titles for a long time, but WWE likes to flip-flop the tag titles. It would be silly if the New Day recapture the titles so quickly after dropping them to The Usos. The two teams are just coming off of a long feud.
Rusev and Aiden English are a fun team and I wouldn’t mind seeing them steal a victory in this match. It would at least be something new on SmackDown. I think Gable and Benjamin make the most sense to walk out of this match victorious.
Charlotte Will Escape With The Women’s Championship
Charlotte will defend her SmackDown Women’s Championship tomorrow night against Natalya in a Lumberjack match. The Riott Squad, Carmella, Tamina, Naomi and Lana will surround the ring.
On this past Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown, Charlotte faced Ruby Riot. Natalya was on commentary for the match, but she wound up attacking Charlotte at ringside and Ruby Riott was disqualified.
The Riott Squad then beatdown Charlotte and launched her into the barricade. The trio was about to slam the steel steps on top of her when Naomi made her her return. Naomi chased off Riott, Logan and Morgan to the top of the entrance ramp. The remaining Lumberjacks then attacked the Riott Squad from behind.
I don’t see a scenario where Charlotte loses the title here. There will definitely be chaos throughout this match and the Lumberjacks will brawl with each other. I’m sure some of them will attack Charlotte at some point. There have also been rumors of a women’s Royal Rumble for some time now. It will be interesting to see if that comes to fruition over the next few weeks as the Royal Rumble PPV is next month.
Carmella does still have her MITB contract and maybe tomorrow night is the night that she finally cashes in. I still think that the most likely outcome is that Charlotte retains after the Lumberjacks take each other out ringside.
Dolph Ziggler Will Take The Pinfall
Baron Corbin will defend his United States Championship against Bobby Roode and Dolph Ziggler tomorrow night at Clash of Champions. Dolph Ziggler was a late addition to this match and it seems obvious that he is going to be the Superstar that gets pinned on Sunday.
If Bobby Roode pins Ziggler to win the title, Baron Corbin can complain that he was never pinned to the lose the title. If Corbin pins Ziggler, Bobby Roode can wiggle his way into another shot at the title because he was never pinned.
Everything about this match is wrong and I have very little interest in it. Roode is boring as hell as a face on SmackDown. Corbin looks like a monster, but every time he gets rolled up in a match I think he is going to lose. Dolph Ziggler is a terrific in-ring performer, but it seems like his purpose now is just to make the new Superstars look good during their matches. I think Corbin will wind up retaining at PPV and I’m confident he will pin Dolph Ziggler to do so.
AJ Styles Will Overcome Mahal & The Singh Brothers
AJ Styles will defend his WWE Championship against Jinder Mahal tomorrow night at Clash of Champions. The rematch was originally supposed to happen on an episode of SmackDown, but Mahal pushed it back to the PPV.
The Singh Brothers tried to convince AJ Styles that they no longer were associated with Mahal after he attacked them on a recent episode of SmackDown. AJ didn’t buy it and wound up beating down Samir and Sunil Singh this past Tuesday night as Mahal looked on from the entrance ramp.
AJ Styles should hold onto the title until WrestleMania. The only reason I can see WWE giving the title back to Mahal is if they want to have Cena versus Mahal at WrestleMania 34 for the WWE Championship. I’d much rather see AJ Styles have a dominant title run until we get to April 8th, 2018.
As for Jinder Mahal, I thought all along that this would have worked better if he was the United States Champion. The whole thing would have made much more sense and I would have enjoyed it more. I honestly wouldn’t even care if Mahal became the United States Champion next Tuesday night on SmackDown. It would be more interesting that what is going on with that title now. I think it is time for AJ Styles to be in the main event every week on SmackDown and for Jinder Mahal to slide back to the midcard for now.
Owens & Zayn vs Orton & Nakamura Will End In Controversy
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn will face Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura at WWE Clash of Champions this Sunday. Shane McMahon announced that he will be the special guest referee for this match and that if Owens and Zayn lose, they will be fired from all WWE. SmackDown GM Daniel Bryan announced on this past Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown that he will serve as a second referee in the match.
It seems obvious that it will and the storyline will continue after Sunday’s PPV. Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon haven’t been seeing eye-to-eye recently on SmackDown. It all started when Shane McMahon invaded RAW with the SmackDown roster before Survivor Series. The SmackDown Commissioner failed to inform the SmackDown GM of his plan to invade RAW.
Owens and Zayn have been a thorn in Shane McMahon’s side as of late. Owens brutally attacked Vince McMahon back in September. This led to Shane McMahon facing Owens at WWE Hell in a Cell. Sami Zayn interfered in that match to save his best friend, Kevin Owens. Zayn and Owens were then left off of Team SmackDown for Survivor Series.
Owens and Zayn interfered in the Survivor Series main event and Orton and Shane chased the two Superstars off. Since then, Shane McMahon has made it a mission to make Owens and Zayn’s life a living hell. He recently barred Sami Zayn from ringside during a match between Kevin Owens and Randy Orton. Sami Zayn found a loophole and attacked Orton on the entrance ramp.
Sami Zayn then had to face Randy Orton while Kevin Owens was handcuffed to the ring ropes on the December 5th episode of SmackDown. Owens used bolt cutters from under the ring to break free, but Nakamura came down to the ring to make the save. Orton and Nakamura then beat down Zayn and Owens. It was after that when Shane announced this match and stated that Owens and Zayn will be wrestling for their careers. Daniel Bryan once again didn’t seem to agree with Shane’s decision.
On this past Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn started the “Yep! Movement”. They handed out flyers calling for Shane McMahon to be ousted as SmackDown Commissioner. Daniel Bryan came down to the ring and announced that he will be the second referee in the tag match at Clash of Champions to ensure it is a fair match.
Daniel Bryan then joined commentary during the main event between Kevin Owens and Shinsuke Nakamura. Byron Saxton repetitively accused Daniel Bryan of betraying Shane McMahon and siding with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. During the match, the referee was knocked down and Daniel Bryan ripped off his referee shirt and put it on. Bryan then refereed the rest of the match that saw Kevin Owens get the victory over Nakamura with a Pop-Up Powerbomb. Nakamura was distracted by Sami Zayn hopping up on the ring apron and Kevin Owens took advantage. Daniel Bryan counted to three as Saxon shouted that this proves that he will side with Owens and Zayn at the PPV.
This match is all about the power dynamic between Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon in my opinion. Shane McMahon wants nothing more than to get Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn off of SmackDown. Daniel Bryan thinks Shane McMahon is starting to abuse his power and thus has inserted himself in this match.
I don’t think we are going to see anything crazy during this match on Sunday night. I doubt we are going to see Daniel Bryan hit the running knee to Shane McMahon’s face out of nowhere. I think that Sami Zayn or Kevin Owens is going to take out Shane McMahon while Daniel Bryan is distracted. Daniel Bryan will then be left as the lone referee in the match and Owens and Zayn will pick up the victory. The storyline will then continue as Shane McMahon thinks Daniel Bryan is against him, even though he simply didn’t see that Owens and Zayn attacked him.