5 Biggest Winners & Losers From WWE Clash Of Champions 2016

Raw's first Brand Split PPV stumbles over the finish line.

Kevin Owens WWE Universal Title
WWE.com

If you want to understand WWE's post-Draft landscape, you need only look at the New Era's first two brand-exclusive pay-per-views.

SmackDown's Backlash was a highly-entertaining night of action highlighted by a set of excellent singles titles matches. There wasn't a bad match on the card, and while Bray Wyatt's impromptu match with Kane was an odd booking choice, the blue brand's debut PPV defied expectations to produce one of the year's most enjoyable shows

Clash of Champions? Not so much.

On paper, last night's show had a vastly superior card to Backlash, but Raw couldn't match SmackDown's standards. There was some exciting in-ring action to be found, but Clash was plagued by a series of confusing creative decisions that greatly diminished the PPV's flow. The result was a stop-start night of action for an audience with a decibel level closer to a church congregation than a wrestling crowd, further cementing Raw's status as second-best in the pecking order.

While SmackDown moves forward with smart, logical booking, Raw's wheels are spinning. Matches like Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins and the Women's Title Triple Threat should've guaranteed an excellent night, but it was undone by the writers, and Clash of Champions came-out mediocre. It wasn't bad, but Clash should've been so much more.

Though a number of Raw superstars left Clash as they'd arrived last night, plenty of wrestlers found forward motion, while others fell further behind. Here are the 5 biggest winners and losers from WWE Clash of Champions 2016.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.