8 Match Star Ratings For WWE Clash Of Champions 2020
5. Asuka Vs. Zelina Vega - RAW Women's Title Match
Samoa Joe acts as very helpful guide of sorts on WWE programming, which is often so repetitive and meaningless that it's easier to tune out than pay attention to.
He also hasn't (yet) been drained of his enthusiasm by the grind of it all, and has thus retained his credibility. Still very much in the "If it's good enough for Joe..." honeymoon phase, the audience at home can take him seriously, so when he gets fired up by something unfolding on his monitor, you know that sh*t's good. You pay strict attention.
And Joe most often gets fired up by exhilarating, fast-paced submission trade-offs, the drama in which he conveys with a winning aural bloodlust. Incredibly, the curious Asuka Vs. Zelina Vega mismatch summoned this feeling within him at Clash of Champions.
After an unconvincing early control sequence, Vega showed out and elevated her stock considerably with an improbably good showing. In the fiction of the match at least, she graduated to Asuka's level by the time of a furious finishing sequence and earned, through her tenacity and untapped skill, a scorching score of near-falls.
She's still far better at the valet role the booking has ruthlessly undermined, but she needs a long stint in the PC (or a better training school) on the strength of this lowkey undercard highlight.
Star Rating: ★★★