9 WWE Clash Of Champions 2020: Gold Rush Impulse Reactions
8. Jeff Hardy (c) Vs. AJ Styles Vs. Sami Zayn
There was an extremely earnest quality about the booking of all of this.
The WWE ladder match was defined by two Intercontinental Championship belts hanging above the implement of destruction, while the fairly unique chemistry between AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy and the recent returnee Sami Zayn gave this opener the rarest of qualities - it felt fresh.
The three predictably beat the sh*t out of each other with the ladders, taking some bruising bumps along the way. Zayn went back first onto one before Hardy topped it with an eye-watering splat onto the join between another. The violence graduated, but as did the creativity in what gradually grew into one of the best matches in years and best ladder matches in f*cking forever.
Keeping his cards close to his chest and handcuffs and keys closer still, Zayn prevailed with both belts after locking Hardy's earlobe to a ladder and Styles, briefly, to himself. An intricate and delicious way to pay off three industry icons beating the living sh*t of each other, this creativity elevated something already very good into something great. In an era seemingly immune to actual magic, this was a rare organic "moment" to treasure from this tumultuous year.