10 Must-See Matches, Moments, And Segments From WWE This Week
The Miz and Chris Jericho continue to bring it.
It was a busy week in WWE, with the very first Raw-only pay-per-view of Brand Split 2.0 adding to the usual back-to-back-to-back regular shows (Raw, SmackDown, and NXT).
PPV continues to be WWE's strongest product, and Clash of Champions was a good show. How many matches and moments from the special event earned their way onto this week's can't-miss list?
Raw offered but a few things of note, while SmackDown continued its run of strong episodes. What were the most engaging matches and promos of either show? Did the Ambrose-Styles rematch top the list for Match of the Week ahead of strong competition from Raw's PPV? Could Jericho retain Segment of the Week honors or did a pair of hungry renaissance men steal his thunder?
A few less positive happenings made the list this week. A white hot division has already cooled down, and a former pair of prospects confirmed their status as to-date disappointments.
Nevertheless, there were plenty of good things going on in WWE this week. Machka something and read along!
10. Vince McMahon: “From Here On, Cruiserweights Get Four-Minutes.”
At Clash of Champions, the Cruiserweight Title was defended for the first time in nearly a decade, but TJP’s bout against Brian Kendrick was not the show-enhancing performance that most expected and that the division arguably needed.
The Cruiserweight division exists to offer a unique type of wrestling, one that inherently carries with it a higher degree of risk in its matches. Kendrick and Perkins were chosen to set the right tone for the division at Clash of Champions, but their lack of in-ring chemistry during a match replete with several timing and execution issues largely negated the positives from an otherwise strong story told.
It may not bode well for the division’s future.
Remember: Triple H was in charge of the Cruiserweight Classic, but Vince McMahon was in charge of Raw’s first brand-only pay-per-view.
It was a borderline train wreck and, though we can hope that it is viewed as the exception and not the rule, if suddenly the cruiserweights become afterthoughts, this match may be viewed as the reason why.