6 Most Insane Things Happening In Wrestling Right Now (Dec 22)

4. A 2017 WWE Pay-Per-View WORSE Than Battleground

Braun Strowman Elf
WWE.com

Clash Of Champions was abysmal - a borderline parody of the worst of the authority figure trope, and a really strange brew of match layouts the likes of which make you wonder if Pat Patterson is even still there.

Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan were cast as inherently good people with conflicting ideas on how to be good people - while, just half an hour earlier, they essentially threw Charlotte into the coliseum. The constant lumberjack shenanigans both ruined the match and indirectly ruined the perception of McMahon and Bryan as good guys, if you think about it. Putting their babyface Women's Championship in harm's way by way of a school of heels was an abject lesson in how deep the WWE plot holes run.

A section of WWE fans: "Don't think about it, it's just a bit of fun. You ruin it when you overanalyse it."

The same section of WWE fans: "Indy wrestling is all spotfests with no psychology."

You can't expect hermetic storytelling from WWE, even though you should be able to, what with their resources and their own arrogant mythology-building. But this was a vehicle to prolong a programme that can only end in disappointment - and was a disappointment as it unfolded, given Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn may as well have been in there with Breezango. Either Daniel Bryan doesn't wrestle, and there's no payoff, or Bryan returns to face Shane McMahon at WrestleMania. Great.

When Dolph Ziggler actually steals the show, you know it was a long night.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!