Clash of Champions (2020)

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Clash of Champions
Promotional poster featuring Drew McIntyre, Bayley, Asuka, and Roman Reigns
PromotionWWE
Brand(s)Raw
SmackDown
DateSeptember 27, 2020
CityOrlando, Florida
VenueAmway Center
Attendance0 (behind closed doors)
Tagline(s)Gold Rush[1]
WWE Network event chronology
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NXT TakeOver: 31
Clash of Champions chronology
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2019 		Next →
—

Clash of Champions is an ongoing professional wrestling pay-per-view and WWE Network event produced by WWE for their Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. It is taking place on September 27, 2020 (originally September 20) at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. It is the fourth event in the Clash of Champions chronology and feature WWE's virtual fan viewing experience called ThunderDome. As per the theme of the event, all championships across the Raw and SmackDown brands will be defended.

Production

Background

Clash of Champions is a recurring pay-per-view (PPV) event established by WWE in 2016. Similar to its predecessor Night of Champions, the concept of the show is that every active WWE championship for the brand divisions featured at the event are defended. The 2020 event will feature the Raw and SmackDown brands and their respective titles—Raw's WWE Championship, SmackDown's Universal Championship, the Raw Women's Championship, the SmackDown Women's Championship, Raw's United States Championship, SmackDown's Intercontinental Championship, the Raw Tag Team Championship, the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, the Women's Tag Team Championship, and the 24/7 Championship. The 2019 event had also featured the 205 Live brand and its Cruiserweight Championship, but that brand and title were merged under the NXT umbrella in late 2019.[2]

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, WWE presented the majority of its programming from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida since mid-March with no fans in attendance, although in late May, the promotion began using Performance Center trainees to serve as the live audience, which was further expanded to friends and family members of the wrestlers in mid-June. On August 17, WWE announced that all future shows and pay-per-views would be held at the Amway Center, a larger venue also located in Orlando, for the "foreseeable future", beginning with the August 21 episode of SmackDown. Furthermore, the shows now feature a new fan viewing experience called "ThunderDome", which utilizes drones, lasers, pyro, smoke, and projections. Approximately one thousand LED boards were installed in the Amway Center to allow fans to virtually attend the events for free and be seen on the rows and rows of LED boards. Arena audio is also mixed with that of the virtual fans so that chants from the fans can be heard.[3][4] Clash of Champions itself was originally scheduled for September 20, but was pushed back to September 27.[5][6]

Storylines

The show will include matches that result from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portray heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results are predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands,[7][8] while storylines are produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.[9]

At SummerSlam, Drew McIntyre defeated Randy Orton to retain the WWE Championship.[10] The following night on Raw, McIntyre gloated about his victory against "the greatest wrestler ever" with a backslide, and stated that he knew that Orton wanted a rematch. As McIntyre made his exit, Orton attacked McIntyre with two Punts. Later, Orton was confronted by former NXT wrestler Keith Lee, making his Raw debut. Lee, on behalf of McIntyre, challenged Orton to a match. The two faced each other that night; however, the match ended in a disqualification win for Orton after McIntyre attacked Orton. After the ensuing brawl, Orton performed a third Punt to McIntyre, taking him out for the next two weeks.[11] Lee then faced Orton in a rematch and on behalf of McIntyre once again at Payback where Lee defeated Orton.[12] On the following night's Raw, three singles matches were set up with the winners of each facing each other in a triple threat match that night to determine the number one contender for the WWE Championship at Clash of Champions. Orton, Lee, and Seth Rollins won their respective matches with Orton winning the ensuing triple threat to secure another title opportunity against McIntyre. Throughout the course of that night, McIntyre performed three Claymore kicks to Orton.[13] The following week, McIntyre changed the stipulation of their match to an ambulance match. Also that night, due to the uncertainty if Orton would make it to Clash of Champions as a result of McIntyre's attacks the previous week, Lee faced McIntyre in a non-title match where if Lee won, he would replace Orton in the event that Orton could not compete at Clash of Champions; the match, however, ended in a no contest when Retribution attacked both men.[14]

At Payback, Big E and Matt Riddle won their respective matches against Sheamus and King Corbin while in the main event, a now heel Roman Reigns, who aligned himself with Paul Heyman, won the Universal Championship.[12] On the following SmackDown, a fatal four-way match between Big E, Riddle, Corbin, and Sheamus was scheduled to determine the number one contender for the Universal Championship at Clash of Champions. However, Sheamus attacked Big E backstage, taking him out of the match. Big E was subsequently replaced by Reigns' own cousin Jey Uso, who won the fatal four-way to earn the title match against Reigns.[15]

At Payback, Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, while during the Kickoff pre-show, The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan) defeated The IIconics (Peyton Royce and Billie Kay).[12] The following night on Raw, The Riott Squad faced The IIconics in a rematch with the added stipulation that the winning team would earn a shot at the Women's Tag Team Championship while the losing team would disband. The Riott Squad won the match and the title opportunity, while The IIconics had to disband as a team.[13] On the September 14 episode of Raw, it was announced that Jax and Baszler will defend the title against The Riott Squad at Clash of Champions.[14] Hours before the event, however, WWE announced that both Jax and Baszler were "not medically cleared" to compete, and the match was cancelled as a result.[16]

On the September 11 episode of SmackDown, Lucha House Party's Kalisto and Gran Metalik (accompanied by their fellow team member Lince Dorado) defeated SmackDown Tag Team Champions, Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura in a non-title match.[17] The following week, Cesaro and Nakamura were scheduled to defend the title against Lucha House Party at Clash of Champions.[18]

In May 2020, Sami Zayn was stripped of the Intercontinental Championship after refraining from competing during the COVID-19 pandemic.[19] A tournament to determine a new champion was then won by AJ Styles on the June 12 episode of SmackDown.[20] Jeff Hardy then defeated Styles to win the title on the August 21 episode; prior to the match, Styles attacked Hardy's leg which led to medical personnel placing a leg brace on Hardy's injured leg.[21] The following week, Styles interrupted Hardy, feeling that Hardy had cheated in their match as Hardy kicked Styles with his knee brace. As Hardy was leaving, however, Zayn returned with his own title belt, claiming that he was the true champion as he was never defeated. Zayn then attacked Hardy as Styles watched on and taunted Hardy afterwards.[22] Over the next few weeks, all three would bicker and state their claim on who was the real champion. The rivalry eventually reached a boiling point on the September 18 episode when an enraged Hardy announced that he would defend the Intercontinental Championship against Styles and Zayn in a triple threat ladder match at Clash of Champions.[18] The following week, it was announced that in order to win the match, the winner must retrieve both title belts to be declared the undisputed Intercontinental Champion.[23]

Event

Other on-screen personnel
Role: Name:
English commentators Michael Cole (SmackDown)
Corey Graves (SmackDown)
Tom Phillips (Raw)
Samoa Joe (Raw)
Byron Saxton (Raw)
Spanish commentator Carlos Cabrera
Ring announcers Greg Hamilton (SmackDown)
Mike Rome (Raw)
Referees Jessika Carr
Chad Patton
Ryan Tran
Drake Wuertz
Rod Zapata
Interviewers Kayla Braxton
Alyse Ashton
Pre-show panel Charly Caruso
John "Bradshaw" Layfield
Peter Rosenberg
Booker T

Pre-show

During the Clash of Champions Kickoff Show, it was announced that Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, and Nikki Cross were not medically cleared to compete at the event, meaning their matches would not go ahead.

Preliminary matches

Main event

Results

No.Matches*StipulationsTimes[32][33]
1Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura (c) defeated Lucha House Party (Kalisto and Lince Dorado) (with Gran Metalik)Tag team match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship[24]10:45
2Sami Zayn defeated Jeff Hardy (c) and AJ StylesTriple threat ladder match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship[25]26:35
3Asuka (c) defeated Zelina VegaSingles match for the WWE Raw Women's Championship[26]—
4Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Randy OrtonAmbulance match for the WWE Championship[27]—
5Roman Reigns (c) (with Paul Heyman) vs. Jey UsoSingles match for the WWE Universal Championship[28]—
6Bayley (c) vs. TBASingles match for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship[29]—
7The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) (c) vs. Andrade and Angel GarzaTag team match for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship[30]—
8Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Apollo CrewsSingles match for the WWE United States Championship[31]—
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match
*Card subject to change

References

  1. ^ Johnson, Mike (September 4, 2020). "Second WWE Clash of Champions Main Event Is..." PWInsider. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  2. ^ Martinez, Phillip (September 10, 2019). "Triple H discusses the continued evolution of NXT as it moves to USA". Newsweek.
  3. ^ "WWE introducing new state-of-the-art viewing experience with WWE ThunderDome". WWE. August 17, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  4. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (August 17, 2020). "WWE Announces ThunderDome Arena; Enhanced Fan Experience, Residency At Amway Center; First Look Video Shown". Fightful. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  5. ^ Johnson, Mike (August 26, 2020). "CLASH OF CHAMPIONS PPV PUSHED BACK". PWInsider. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  6. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (August 30, 2020). "WWE Announces Clash Of Champions For September". Fightful. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  7. ^ Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  8. ^ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  9. ^ Steinberg, Brian (May 25, 2016). "WWE's 'Smackdown' Will Move To Live Broadcast On USA (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on May 26, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  10. ^ Powell, Jason (August 23, 2020). "WWE SummerSlam results: Powell's review of Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship, Braun Strowman vs. The Fiend for the WWE Universal Championship, Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville in a No DQ, loser leaves WWE match, Asuka challenges for two titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  11. ^ Powell, Jason (August 24, 2020). "8/24 WWE Raw Results: Powell's live review of Keith Lee's debut, Drew McIntyre's opening segment, Apollo Crews vs. Bobby Lashley in an arm wrestling contest officiated by Mark Henry, SummerSlam fallout and WWE Payback hype". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  12. ^ a b c Powell, Jason (August 30, 2020). "WWE Payback results: Powell's review of The Fiend vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman in a Triple Threat for the WWE Universal Championship, Keith Lee vs. Randy Orton, Sasha Banks and Bayley vs. Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax for the WWE Women's Tag Titles, Matt Riddle vs. King Corbin". Pro Wreslting Dot Net. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  13. ^ a b Powell, Jason (August 31, 2020). "8/31 WWE Raw Results: Powell's live review of Dominik Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins, Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens, and Keith Lee vs. Dolph Ziggler become No. 1 contender to the WWE Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  14. ^ a b Powell, Jason (September 14, 2020). "9/14 WWE Raw Results: Powell's live review of Drew McIntyre vs. Keith Lee in a non-title match, Seth Rollins vs. Dominik Mysterio in a cage match, Asuka vs. Mickie James for the Raw Women's Championship, The Street Profits vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro in a champions vs. champions match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  15. ^ Powell, Jason (September 4, 2020). "9/4 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman addressing the fans, Matt Riddle vs. Sheamus vs. King Corbin vs. Jey Uso for a shot at the WWE Championship at Clash of Champions, Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax vs. Sasha Banks and Bayley for the WWE Women's Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  16. ^ Defelice, Robert (September 27, 2020). "WWE Says Nikki Cross, Shayna Baszler, And Nia Jax Are Not Medically Cleared For Clash Of Champions". Fightful. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  17. ^ Powell, Jason (September 11, 2020). "9/11 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of Jeff Hardy vs. AJ Styles for the Intercontinental Championship, Bayley addresses her attack on Sasha Banks, Bray Wyatt unveils his newest creation on the Firefly Funhouse". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  18. ^ a b Barnett, Jake (September 18, 2020). "9/18 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Barnett's review of Roman Reigns and Jey Uso vs. Sheamus and King Corbin in a Samoan Street Fight, Sasha Banks returns, Sami Zayn vs. AJ Styles, Nikki Cross on A Moment of Bliss". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  19. ^ WWE.com Staff (May 13, 2020). "Intercontinental Title declared vacant; tournament to begin on SmackDown this Friday". WWE. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  20. ^ Powell, Jason (June 12, 2020). "6/12 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan in the tournament final to become new Intercontinental Champion, Braun Strowman and Heavy Machinery vs. The Miz, John Morrison, and Dolph Ziggler, final hype for WWE Backlash". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  21. ^ Powell, Jason (August 21, 2020). "8/21 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of ThunderDome, AJ Styles vs. Jeff Hardy for the Intercontinental Title, Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro vs. Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado for the Smackdown Tag Titles, Big E vs. Sheamus, final hype for SummerSlam". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  22. ^ Powell, Jason (August 28, 2020). "8/28 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of the contract signing for "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman for the WWE Universal Championship at Payback, Big E on Miz TV". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  23. ^ Powell, Jason (September 25, 2020). "9/25 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of Roman Reigns in-ring interview, Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy vs. Sami Zayn in a non-title match, Alexa Bliss vs. Lacey Evans, the final push for Clash of Champions". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  24. ^ "SmackDown Tag Team Champions Shinsuke Nakamura & Cesaro vs. Lucha House Party (Kickoff Match)". WWE. September 18, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  25. ^ "Jeff Hardy vs. AJ Styles vs. Sami Zayn – Intercontinental Championship Triple Threat Winner Take All Ladder Match". WWE. September 19, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  26. ^ "Asuka vs. Zelina Vega – Raw Women's Championship Match". WWE. September 21, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  27. ^ Zak, Brad (August 31, 2020). "WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton (Ambulance Match)". WWE. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  28. ^ Melok, Bobby (September 4, 2020). "Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso". WWE. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  29. ^ Zak, Brad (September 11, 2020). "Bayley vs. Nikki Cross – SmackDown Women's Championship Match". WWE. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  30. ^ "The Street Profits vs. Andrade & Angel Garza – Raw Tag Team Championship Match". WWE. September 21, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  31. ^ "Bobby Lashley vs. Apollo Crews – United States Championship Match". WWE. September 21, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  32. ^ Powell, Jason (September 27, 2020). "WWE Clash of Champions Kickoff Show results: Powell's review of Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro vs. Lucha House Party for the Smackdown Tag Titles, three wrestlers pulled from the main show". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  33. ^ Powell, Jason (September 27, 2020). "WWE Clash of Champions results: Powell's review of Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton in an Ambulance Match for the WWE Championship, Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso for the WWE Universal Championship, Jeff Hardy vs. AJ Styles vs. Sami Zayn in a Triple Threat ladder match for the Intercontinental Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 27, 2020.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Clash_of_Champions_(2020)&oldid=980706737"