WWE Clash: Lynch vs. Banks was a strong sign of things to come

Perhaps the most hotly anticipated match to take place at WWE Clash of Champions was Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks for the Raw Women’s Championship. Even with a non-finish, the match lived up to expectations as a sign of things to come.

Last night’s Pay-Per-View was highlighted by Becky Lynch defending her WWE Raw Women’s Championship against a returning Sasha Banks in the latter’s first PPV match since WrestleMania. For 20 minutes, these two had a counter for practically every move and slugged it out to the point that much of the match felt more like a fight.

Fittingly enough, the match ended much more like a fight when Sasha Banks introduced a chair, only to be thwarted by Lynch, who took her chair and whacked the ref in attempting to do the same to Banks. As a result, Lynch was disqualified and forced to pay a $10,000 fine for hitting a referee. Which, Kevin Owens must be somewhere seething after being fired for the same offense, but I digress.

Not every fan or critic watching Clash of Champions last night was a fan of how Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch ended, and with good, understandable reason. I understand that in theory, when crowds pay top dollar entry into a PPV arena, they do it to see a conclusive finish and I understand why those same fans would feel robbed to be deprived of such. However, me personally, I loved the finish and am here to sing its praises, because I like to think that I can see the long term benefits of this booking decision. I’ll go even further by saying that I don’t think that finish hurts the match.

Some of my favorite matches ended with DQ non-finishes. Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind at In Your House: Mind Games. Kurt Angle vs. Stone Cold at SummerSlam 2001. The Rock vs. Triple H at Judgement Day 2000. All tremendous matches that are viewed as classics despite their endings, and I think Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks is bound to steer down that same road.

They had an excellent match – best match of the night, if you ask me – that ended in a way that opens the door for more excellent matches in the future. Raw hasn’t even aired yet (as of this writing) and the ending has already opened the door for a rematch inside of Hell in a Cell at next month’s PPV of the same name, which has potential to be another fantastic contest.

Furthermore, I can’t help but feel like there would have been more complaints if either competitor got a decisive victory last night. If Becky won, then everyone’s mad that Banks lost her first big match since her hiatus. If Banks won, then you’ve got people complaining that she immediately won the title after being gone for so many months.

What we got last night was natural story progression. In addition to keeping both women looking strong and opening doors for a rematch, Becky Lynch got her revenge for Banks decimating her on the night of her return. The champion remains looking strong while the challenger has a legitimate argument for another opportunity at the title. Everybody wins, including the fans who are bound to be in store for another great match between these two in the near future.