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

Photo Source: WWE.com

WWE Championship Match

AJ Styles (c) vs. Jinder Mahal (w/ The Singh Brothers)

Result: AJ Styles defeated Jinder Mahal via submission

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

Considering that this match followed a convoluted mess and a squash match, it had a lot to do to salvage the pay per view. Truthfully, this show was heavily front loaded, with the KO/Zayn tag match being a disappointment. And who among us would pick Jinder Mahal to be one of the show’s saviors?

Well, whether surprising or not, that’s what happened. Styles could make a match against a mannequin look good, but it was Mahal here who really took a huge step forward and carried this match. It’s what the story necessitated, so it’s not like AJ was slacking off. But Jinder got to show off power, ring smarts, resilience, preparedness – you name it, he did it.

Mahal spent the vast majority of the match working on AJ’s ribs. If you’re going to target a body part, that’s a good one to go for. Core strength being compromised makes the simplest things nearly impossible. Think of AJ’s offense – the Styles Clash requires core strength to lift; the Phenomenal Forearm requires core strength for the springboard; the Pele kick requires core strength to get up and over. Look at the springboard 450 – Styles didn’t quite get enough rotation on it. Was it a less than perfect execution? Or totally planned to further sell the rib injury?

So we got Mahal just tossing Styles rib first onto anything and everything. A big chunk of the match took place on the floor, with the challenger wisely breaking the ten count to keep the match going. Significantly, the Singh Brothers did not get involved at any point during Jinder’s onslaught. It was just Jinder wearing down the champ.

But AJ is being booked as the underdog champion, so finding a way to come back was never really in doubt. While Jinder worked the ribs, Styles worked the left leg of the challenger. After Styles took out the Singhs outside the ring after they finally attempted to interfere, he kicked out of a Khallas before locking in the Calf Crusher on the weakened leg. Mahal nearly got to the ropes, but Styles repositioned himself and forced the Maharajah to tap out.

Next: 25 Greatest Pay Per Views in WWE History

With the show over, Clash of Champions was very uneven. The first two or three matches were pretty good, but there were some disappointments in the middle before the main event ended things on a good note. What are your thoughts of the show?