WWE Clash Of Champions 2017: Star Ratings For All 7 Matches
6. Baron Corbin Vs. Dolph Ziggler Vs. Bobby Roode - United States Championship Triple Threat Match
Proof, if it were needed, that SmackDown operates completely backwards in 2017, this un-fancied glorified TV match somehow emerged, by miles, as the best bout of the night.
Rapturously received by an enthusiastic crowd - before they were subsequently pummelled into submission with painful booking - the searing heat compensated for the lack of genuine emotional heft. What it also lacked in imagination, the three performers compensated for with a smooth and often thrilling match worked well enough to conceal the usual Triple Threat contrivances of suspiciously protracted selling and choreographed three-man spots.
Every available dramatic wrinkle was wrenched to keep the crowd guessing; a choice, pivotal spot saw Roode, in hitherto unseen superb babyface form, reverse Baron Corbin's Irish whip to the outside right at the death before initiating a suspenseful climactic sequence. It was as impressive as it was uplifting; purely through the strength of their performance, all three men exited the ring with more credibility and currency than they entered it. For an opener, with such cold personnel, this was a top-to-bottom triumph.
WWE restored the lost art of the hot opener here. Pity they cooled that enthusiasm for virtually the entire remainder of what - again, by miles - was the worst pay-per-view of the year.
Star Rating: ***1/2