11 Match Star Ratings For WWE Clash Of Champions 2019

7. The New Day Vs. The Revival - SmackDown Tag Team Title Match

Randy Orton Kofi Kingston
WWE.com

In which we saw a cherished glimpse of the NXT Revival before a weird and protracted finish almost ruined a hot and clever finish sequence.

It was bizarre. Dawson and Wilder had neutralised Big E with a Shatter Machine on the outside in a spot that was worked towards magnificently. The strategising and timing on the part of the Revival was tremendous here—a true echo of a team once so good it was thought they might hold the key to changing the complexion of tag team wrestling in WWE forever. This didn’t happen. They instead scooted across the ring with burning hot a**holes.

They looked, for a moment, only slightly dumber here.

WWE fans are so conditioned to this sort of chicanery that everybody to a man groaned when they took their time to put Xavier Woods away with the utmost cruelty. Instead of pinning him with their awesome-looking and protected finish, they waited, and plotted to compound the injury that added considerable, authentic drama to a match that, because of its duration, never really soared.

An indictment of WWE’s wider booking mentality, in which so many performers are made to look foolish? Or simply a problem with the execution?

Regardless, it wasn’t so glaring as to kill the very good work that led to it.

Star Rating: ***1/4

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 current Undisputed WWE 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!