10 HUGE WWE Clash Of Champions 2020 Predictions You Need To Know
Roman Reigns turns heel.
In much the same way Money In The Bank follows WrestleMania to try and make it seem like the next biggest show ever is just as important as the last one, Clash Of Champions often smacks of WWE trying to pretend like the product's got some pre-SummerSlam heat.
It's the time of year most associated with slumps in wrestling. A time of year where there's nothing so immediately pressing between the ropes that people will pick buying tickets, t-shirts or pay-per-views instead of squirrelling away some disposable income for the holiday season. A time Vince McMahon advised Chris Jericho to advise Cody and The Young Bucks not to promote ALL IN during because of it might not draw.
That show shifted the old Autumnal paradigm back in 2018, and AEW pounced on this period to run both ALL OUT and debut Dynamite the following year. But here, 12 months on in the hellscape known as 2020, all the rules have changed.
Seth Rollins had two belts to defend this time last year, but isn't even challenging for one on Sunday. Roman Reigns wasn't fighting for a title in 2019. 12 months later and he's the hottest heel in the WWE Universe and sporting the belt that bears its name. Bayley's axed her pony tail, her inflatable tube men and her friendship with Sasha Banks. 'The Boss' challenged Becky Lynch last year, but is too storyline injured to compete here.
It's all different. So why then, does so much of this show feel familiar...?
10. Asuka (c) Vs. Zelina Vega
The Raw Women's Title is First on the docket, but not because it's the least exciting of some of the rehashes on this card. But you already know that. Or worse, if you didn't, WWE have misinformed you by placing this one on the Kickoff.
Frustratingly for the 'Empress Of Tomorrow', it does arrive in something of a rare miss of a month for Asuka in 2020. Her defence against Mickie James was thrown off by a badly miscommunicated finish, and the set up to this match was the simplest of stories told in reverse. Zelina Vega abandoned her loser tag team (who won without her, but more on that later) to go and slap the Champion as a way to announce herself as the next number one contender, before winning the shot (against James, again) when the result wasn't really in any doubt.
The result's not in doubt, but if only we could assume that about the quality. Two rough matches and an uneven build doesn't exactly raise expectations, but here's hoping both raise their games to rebuff the pre-show slap in the face.
Winner - Asuka