WWE Clash of Champions 2019 Results, Highlights, and Grades

Seth Rollins (c) vs. Braun Strowman – WWE Universal Championship

Continuing the trend of fast starts tonight, Braun Strowman immediately shoulder-tackled Seth Rollins to start the Universal Title main event. Strowman is pissed after he believes Rollins lost their Raw Tag Team Titles to star the night, as Rollins was the one pinned by Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode from Roode’s Glorious DDT. But it was also Strowman who ran into Rollins to cause the loss.Rollins quickly turned the tables by trying to take out the big man’s legs, even getting an early nearfall with a frog splash after a flurry of superkicks.

But Strowman kicked out so forcefully within one second that he caught Rollins by surprise. The Beastslayer attempted a Stomp in response, but Strowman countered and just started tossing the champion all over the ring to impose his dominance. He goaded the champ, yelling “C’mon Seth, you’re tougher than this!”

But when Braun charged at Rollins the corner, The Beastslayer side-stepped The Monster Among Men and hit a springboard knee. Rollins went for a second one and got cleaner contact, so he then moved up to the top rope again. A third knee failed to connect, as Braun scouted Seth’s move out, sending the champions flying out of the ring to briefly regroup.

Strowman started charging on the outside and absolutely bulldozed Rollins again, damaging the Universal Champion badly before rolling him into the ring. But Rollins immediately rolled out to try and regroup AGAIN on the outside. In response, Braun tried to run at him again…and it worked. Rollins was powerless to stop the running bulldozer that is Braun Strowman, who is hungry to win his first Universal Title.

After launching Rollins into the barricade, Strowman sent Rollins back into the ring, only for Rollins to once again roll out of the ring. Strowman was unamused by this perceived cowardice, and he charged at Rollins a third time.

He got greedy. Seth bated him and showed that the third time’s a charm, using a brilliant drop-toe hold to send Strowman flying into the announce table. And that’s why they call Rollins “The Architect”. The man is a genius.Rollins hit a HUGE suicide dive that sent Strowman flying into the announce table, ribs-first, and then went for a second one that had an even more devastating effect. In fact, the whole announce table collapsed from the impact of the second suicide dive!

And Rollins tried to go for a third signature move…he almost paid for it, too! But he countered Strowman’s Running Powerslam, hit a super kick, and had Strowman draped on the announce table. The crazy Rollins, willing to put his body on the line to keep his title, ascended the top rope for a Shane McMahon-esque dive on the announce table.

However, Strowman caught up to him on the top rope, himself trying to perform a move up there. But the quicker Rollins got there, too, setting up for an ambitious superplex. Strowman wisely sat down, eliminating any risk of being hurt by tossing Rollins down. He then ascended the top rope, barely kept his balance, and crushed Rollins’s chests with a CRAZY splash. Sadly for Strowman, he may have done more damage to himself, hurting his knee.

Braun came close to getting a pinfall off the damaging splash, but perhaps he suffered just as much agony as the resilient champion.In an attempt to wear down Strowman, Rollins used a Sleeper Hold that took out The Monster Among Men’s oxygen.

But Braun powered up, tossing off Rollins. Rollins hit a Stomp…but Strowman kicked out at one!! AT ONE! FROM THE STOMP! WHAT!

Seth hit a second Stomp, but Strowman kicked out AGAIN! At this point, Rollins was understandably shocked, wondering if he’d have to hit a third or even fourth Stomp just to win.And Rollins hit a third, slowly moving for the cover. The WWE Universe, worried three straight stomps would end this great match-up, booed, but then quickly cheered when Braun kicked out at the last possible second.

As Renee Young astutely pointed out, three stomps were enough to beat Brock Lesnar, but Braun Strowman wouldn’t be put down by them.So what does Rollins have to do? Rollins went for a Pedigree, followed it up with a fourth stomp, and then retained the Universal Title. There was speculation that Rollins could lose the title, but, to the relief of many fans, Rollins’s reign will continue.

What happened after the match was much better. All of a sudden, the lights went out, the screech happened, The Fiend appeared, and Sister Abigail was hit on Rollins on the stage. Claw. Fin.

Final Thoughts: Fans who don’t like finisher-fests will hate this match, but it was a solid effort from both that showed some great athletic ability. And the purpose was to make Strowman strong, as it took even more finishers (four stomps and a Pedigree) to beat Braun than it did for Rollins to beat Lesnar. The Fiend/Rollins stuff was incredibly well-done.

Grade: B, This was a good match, and it was likely the main event due to the slow nature of Randy Orton’s match and the DQ finish to the Match of the Night between Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch. Rollins is done with Strowman, and now The Fiend will have what will likely be a stellar Hell in a Cell match with Rollins soon. The build to that match will be can’t-miss, and The Fiend is a real threat to win the Universal Title.