WWE Clash of Champions 2019: Full match card and predictions

3 of 6

Becky Lynch (c) vs. Sasha Banks [Raw Women’s Championship]

Becky Lynch, the Man of the WWE, has been breaking down fourth walls and glass ceilings to remain on top of the Raw Women’s Division. After being on the cover of WWE 2k20 and being showcased on ESPN month by month, Becky has embodied the magnificence behind the women’s evolution in the WWE.

Sasha Banks, the Boss of the WWE, is the first legitimate threat to Lynch’s title reign since Lynch won the championship from Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 35. She is WWE’s trailblazer in every sense of the word and has broken down barriers as well but to a lesser extent than Lynch has done in 2018-2019.

After being relegated to as well as losing the women’s tag team championship match at WrestleMania 35, Banks was infuriated with her unjustified position in the company and took a four-month hiatus from the WWE to clear her mind. As a fellow trendsetter for the women’s revolution, Banks was always focused on main eventing WrestleMania and being left out of the first women’s main event had to sting.

Despite this disappointment, Banks was not willing to give up and decided to repackage her character in order to revamp the fans’ interest. She proceeded to shockingly return to the WWE last month, relentlessly turn heel on Natalya, enviously turn heel on Lynch, fulfillingly reunite with Bayley, emphatically take the women’s division by storm, and solemnly swear to end Lynch’s reign once and for all with the spotlight solely on her.

On the go-home show of Raw, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair defeated Sasha Banks and Bayley. If we’re playing WWE’s historical momentum game correctly, that match result could be a sign that Banks and Bayley will revert that momentum into victories at Clash of Champions.

Albeit bold, Banks should be a safe bet to win the match but not necessarily dethrone Lynch to become the new Raw Women’s Champion just yet. Considering that Banks attacked both Natalya and Lynch upon her return, this match could end in a disqualification due to Natalya’s interference.

After losing to Lynch at SummerSlam 2019, Natalya has been relegated to grudge matches with Lacey Evans weekly on Raw, so it’s very unlikely that she has forgotten about what Banks and Lynch have done to her in the past two months. Nonetheless, Banks is ravenous for the meat that ‘The Man’ left at the dining table in her house, and it’s only a matter of time until Banks kicks ‘The Man’ out of her house and has enough meat left to store for winter time.

It’s time for the greatest women’s wrestler to actually be great, not take any more back seats, and soon hold onto that championship long enough to showcase her greatness in a more intricate manner. However, they’ll probably save her moment for Hell in a Cell in October to give enough time to include Natalya in this championship feud and salvage Lynch from losing cleanly so soon after being the one to defeat the baddest woman on the planet at WrestleMania 35.

Banks did tell Natalya to go to hell and tell Jim Neidhart that she said “hi.” With this mention of ‘hell,’ a triple threat match featuring Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, and Natalya could be in the works for October’s Hell in a Cell, which is where Lynch can remain looking strong while Banks pins or submits Natalya to finally win the Raw Women’s Championship.

Prediction: Sasha Banks (by DQ due to Natalya’s interference)

Bayley (c) vs. Charlotte Flair [SmackDown Women’s Championship]

The greedy Charlotte Flair is evidently overpushed, and it’s not because Bayley ‘pushed’ her off her chair during a Moment of Bliss segment. Charlotte is essentially given way too many championship opportunities to count, and this is why Bayley labels Charlotte as “selfish.” Indeed, since joining the main roster, Charlotte Flair has become a nine-time Women’s Champion and has plenty of memorable highlights in her career.

At WrestleMania 32, she was the inaugural Raw Women’s Champion after the Divas Championship was relinquished and vacated. At WrestleMania 34, she defeated Asuka’s undefeated streak to retain the SmackDown Women’s Championship. At WrestleMania 35, she was one of the very first women to partake in the main event of WrestleMania for both the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Championships. Finally, at SummerSlam 2019, she defeated the legendary seven-time Women’s Champion Trish Stratus in a show-stealing match.

More from Daily DDT

Although Charlotte is very talented and deserving of her accomplishments, she has had an excessive amount of accolades thus far. Almost everyone in the SmackDown women’s division remains in Charlotte’s shadow; this mode of action is merely a testament to her character as The Queen, where she is put on a pedestal that is too high for any to surpass.

She’s put on this pedestal not only because she has a famous last name, but also because that famous last name challenges her to surpass expectations and prove that she earns everything she receives. Despite this understandable mindset, she is still not capable of having Bayley’s perspective of starting from scratch and making a name for herself.

While Charlotte Flair’s ‘queen’ character is built to look down on others, Bayley’s ‘huggable’ character has been built to climb the ladder and look up at her future aspirations, just like she did when she climbed that ladder to win the MITB Briefcase in May 2019. On another comparative note, Charlotte is a more marketable and respected Superstar than Bayley, hence why she’s showcased on red carpets, magazine covers, movie premieres, ESPN interviews, and even international media.

For these reasons, Charlotte considers herself the face of the SmackDown Women’s Division despite the fact that Bayley is the champion. However, it’s quite irksome that someone who looks and talks like Charlotte Flair is the only person who can be champion multiple times and not feel like a one-hit-wonder or an afterthought.

With her side pony-tail and down-to-earth underdog persona, Bayley represents a strong part of the fanbase that is tired of the ongoing status quo. Although her new heel character may persuade many to question her down-to-earth underdog-like persona, she still maintains that persona and only committed to heel-like tactics in recent weeks because of her profound loyalty to Sasha Banks.

From a booking standpoint, Bayley also turned heel so that the fanbase in Charlotte, North Carolina can rightfully cheer for their hometown hero, Charlotte Flair. Although Charlotte is in no way as good a babyface as she is a heel, it was the only way to remain in sync with the eventual crowd reactions at Clash of Champions.

Nonetheless, Bayley can still be seen as an anti-hero superstar whom the fanbase can look up to for her good morals of loyalty and ambition. The WWE fanbase needs to see someone like her succeed so that they can be inspired and motivated to accomplish their goals and satisfy their ambitions in their everyday lives.

No matter how pyrrhic the victory may be, Bayley must vanquish Charlotte and eliminate her from the title picture to permit other ambitions in the shadows to be brought to light because Charlotte Flair’s royalty is too selfish and is not as honorable as Bayley’s loyalty to the SmackDown Women’s Championship and SmackDown Women’s Division. At the end of the day, the heel Bayley must nefariously yet subtly retain her championship at Clash of Champions in Charlotte’s hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina.

A nefarious yet subtle way for Bayley to defeat Charlotte would be to pin Charlotte successfully for a 3-count while Charlotte’s foot is on the rope. This will make the babyface Charlotte seem robbed of her title opportunity without looking weak in defeat and elicit some justifiable empathy for her as she seeks another title opportunity at Hell in a Cell in October.

Prediction: Bayley

Home/WWE