WWE Clash of Champions 2016: 3 Questions to Address After the PPV

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Clash of Champions; Raw’s first PPV after the brand split ended with more questions than answers. Here is a look at few of the bigger head scratchers.

Clash of Champions provided the fans with great in-ring action. Cesaro and Sheamus amazed the audience with another visual spectacle. The triple threat match for the Women’s title was a work of art. Rollins and Kevin Owens tore the house down and the show ended with the crowd giving Rollins a standing ovation.

However, there were too many times the fans were left to take a guess. PPVs are supposed to give a logical conclusion to feuds. At the very least, they should build towards the next phase of the feud. Clash of Champions failed to deliver this at times during the show. The never-ending title reign of the New Day and their feud with The Club still continues. Sami Zayn fell to his idol during their first encounter.

At the very least, those two instances did set something towards the future. The following slides discuss some other moments from Clash of Champions that left the fans bewildered. These moments did not offer clarity in terms of storyline progression or feuds. The Clash of Champions PPV offered the fans more question marks than exclamation points in these cases.

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3. What is Next for Cesaro and Sheamus?

While it delivered solid in-ring action, the final bout of the best of seven series left the fans wondering what next? We have already seen these two stars slug it out for the seventh time in a row this Sunday at Clash Of Champions. But, we still don’t have a definite winner. The match ended as a no-contest after Cesaro hurt his arm and Sheamus was unable to stand. So who won?

Moreover, what is next for them? The commentators and the pre-show hosts did play up a title win for the winner. If so, who gets it? Does the promised title match go to both of them? Which title is it? United States title or the Universal title?

The only good thing that happened because of the pseudo-climax of the feud is that Sheamus is still intact. Had he lost 4 matches in a row to Cesaro after being 3-0 up, his trajectory would have gone into a downward spiral. At least, that didn’t happen. But the question still lingers – what is next for Cesaro and Sheamus?

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2. What is Next for Roman Reigns and Rusev?

Clash Of Champions saw the defending United States champion Rusev fall prey to Roman Reigns. Lana’s attempt at interference backfired as she was sent back to the locker room and Reigns capitalized on the confusion. WWE continues to arrogantly push Reigns as the stale babyface character despite vocal protest from the fans.

Losing to Rusev after a brave fight or a storyline injury would have done wonders for Reigns. Even winning via a count out would have kept things interesting. But now that creative has handed Reigns a clean victory over Rusev, what is next for him? Of course, Rusev will have his rematch. But if Rusev loses that one, where does he go then? WWE spent months building Rusev as a credible monster heel. Was all that effort just to have Reigns beat him?

If Rusev indeed beats Reigns during their Clash of Champions rematch, it would be like playing hot potato with Raw’s mid-card title. Where does Reigns go from here? Where does Rusev go from here? How will the WWE keep fans interested in Reigns’ title reign? The questions keep piling up!

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1. What Does the Future Hold for The Architect?

At WWE Clash of Champions, Seth Rollins failed to grab the Universal title for Kevin Owens. Wrestling INC perfectly captured the confusion of the entire climax of the match in one tweet.

2nd official comes out. Pop-up Power Bomb from Owens and he retains. Evil glare from Steph at the ramp. Oddly booked ending. #WWEClash

— WrestlingINC.com (@WrestlingInc) September 26, 2016

Before taking the pin, Rollins did manage to keep Owens down for more than 3 seconds while the first official was down. Would that give The Architect another shot at the title? Moreover, what was going on with Stephanie McMahon? Did she know all along what Triple H was up to? WWE added to the mix with another video that showed Stephanie meeting Triple H after Clash Of Champions.

Rollins received a standing ovation from the crowd after the match. That, and the image of a desperate challenger pinning the champ for more than 5 seconds and later dealing with the interference from Y2J completes the face turn for Rollins. The question is what lies ahead for him on Monday? Also, in what way does the General Manager of Raw Mick Foley play into the mix? Would we finally see a split between him and Stephanie as she begins to show her true colors?