6 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE Clash At The Castle: Scotland (Results & Review)

by Scott Carlson

1. Cody Gets Vicious

WWE Clash at the Castle 2024 AJ Styles Cody Rhodes
WWE

Cody Rhodes’ world title reign is going to have certain markers along the way that determine how successful it is (or will be regarded in the aftermath). A vicious, bloody, personal no-DQ match is one of those types that can help define a title run.

The American Nightmare got that match Saturday night when he defended the Undisputed WWE Championship against AJ Styles in an “I Quit” match. Rhodes would find himself busted open, handcuffed and battered with a chair and kendo stick, refusing to give up. He stumbled around the ring, looking like he was one knockout shot away from being toast.

And then Cody made his triumphant comeback, turning one thrown chair into a giant opening that allowed Rhodes to completely unload on Styles with a vicious glee, at one point telling the referee to not ask AJ if he quit so he could inflict more punishment. That’s a righteously violent side that babyfaces in WWE don’t get to show very often – that and smashing Styles with the ring steps after he quit.

This was a fantastic match, probably Styles’ best in a while, and it’s one that added some gravitas to Rhodes’ title reign.

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Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.