WWE Clash of Champions 2017 Results: Highlights, Analysis, and Grades

Photo Source: WWE.com

Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn (Special Guest Referees Shane McMahon & Daniel Bryan)

Result: Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn defeated Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura via pinfall

Rating: 2.75 out of 5 stars

It’s shocking to me that this match isn’t the main event. You have two guys fighting for their careers, a legend teaming up with one of the more popular superstars on SmackDown, and both the brand’s authority figures involved in this one. Sure, going in it was bound to be an overbooked, convoluted mess. But it still screamed “main event,” title match still ahead or not.

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And overbooked this was. It took the first few minutes of the match for Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan to even figure out how not to get in each other’s way. In fact, even more so than the four competitors in the ring, the major focus of this match (and SmackDown Live in general as of late) was on Shane and Bryan.

Normally, Daniel Bryan being the focus of a show wouldn’t be a problem. But there’s been no indication whatsoever that he’s getting cleared to compete any time soon. So to focus things on him and Shane is a little absurd. Especially with four active superstars like Zayn, Owens, Orton, and Nakamura in the ring.

The frog splash spot through the table was nice, but in the overall context of the match it felt like nothing more than fan service. That table spot existed solely to make the WWE Universe okay with two referees fighting over pinfall attempts. Just moments after Nakamura was incapacitated under the remains of the table, Shane got bumped by Bryan after the latter was pushed by Owens, which kicked off the terrible ending to this one.

Bryan making the fast count was interesting, at least, since it wasn’t so much helping Owens and Zayn as it was going against Shane. The absolute worst part of the closing minutes of the match, though, was Shane just blatantly stopping the count. At what point does someone in the company (like Vince, or the mythical “Board of Directors”) step in to punish Shane for such an abuse of power. Obviously he’s trying to get rid of superstars with little to no reason or cause.

But now a guy who can’t wrestle has run afoul of a guy who shouldn’t be wrestling, all at the expense of four guys who are really good at wrestling. Hey, at least Sami and Kevin get to stick around for a while.