WWE: Clash of Champions should replace Survivor Series as a Big 4 PPV

A fairly recent addition to the WWE Pay-Per-View calendar in name only (it’s predecessor, Night of Champions, had the exact same premise; “every active championship must be defended”), Clash of Champions has settled into the late-September slot between SummerSlam and Survivor Series nicely. Since the brand split came into effect in 2016, Clash of Champions has been exclusive to either Raw or SmackDown in each of it’s appearances; this is something that has changed for the upcoming 2019 installment, which is cross-brand, incorporating 205 Live as well.

The “every active championship must be defended” premise is one with a great deal of promise, especially now that WWE have made the PPV cross-brand. It should absolutely stay that way; the idea of seeing every title defended in one night carries much more gravitas when it applies to every main roster championship, not just the ones on one of the two major brands.

The concept is one that WWE could easily market as intimidating; the idea that no matter how brave a babyface champion has been and how much of a break they deserve, or no matter how sneaky and cowardly a heel champion has been, there’s no escaping Clash of Champions; if you’re injured (in kayfabe, of course), then a rule could even be put into place that you forfeit the championship you’ve worked so hard to win and keep.

It has the potential to give fans a real, organic reason to rally around babyface champions, as well as a reason to look forward to seeing the smarmy heel champion get their comeuppance.

Even as it stands, without any changes, Clash of Champions could comfortably replace the now-irrelevant Survivor Series with nothing but stronger booking, because the concept of the Pay Per View is one that, should said stronger booking happen, fans would naturally begin to associate with Importance.

The idea of every last title being defended should be one that inspires wonder, excitement and genuine intrigue; with every title on the line, WWE are (in theory) free to use Clash of Champions as a soft reset of sorts, should they wish to, as at least three or four titles would be able to change hands without even so much as a murmur of “too much all at once”.

The placement of the revamped PPV, in the precise same yearly slot that Survivor Series currently enjoys, would contribute to it’s renewed importance and significance, too. Although only two months later in the year than it sits currently, a late November slot for Clash of Champions would give the company enough time after SummerSlam, and more significantly enough time after WrestleMania, for WWE to be able to use it as an event where they can right the wrongs that they’ve invariably created throughout the spring and summer.

Ruined a babyface push by having them drop the belt too early at SummerSlam? Keep the feud simmering until Clash of Champions, where the heel has no choice but to defend. Given the Universal Championship to someone who’s turned out to be cold as ice and isn’t holding fan interest in the slightest? Here, have a PPV ready-made for you to right those wrongs.

A Pay-Per-View where every title is defended sounds important, and would undoubtedly be one of the biggest nights of the year in any other promotion. It’s time WWE start treating Clash of Champions with the respect.

The reverence it could so very easily command if they were to let it and the way to do so that would benefit them most would be to replace the outdated and frankly unimportant Survivor Series. As the rest of the industry moves with the times, WWE could very much do with refreshing their PPV calendar in a major way.