WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event
The 2019 Clash of Champions was the third Clash of Champions professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brand divisions. The event took place on September 15, 2019, at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. As per the theme of the event, all championships available across the Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brands at the time were defended.
Eleven matches were contested at the event, including two on the Kickoff pre-show. In the main event, Seth Rollins defeated Braun Strowman to retain Raw's Universal Championship. In other prominent matches, Kofi Kingston retained SmackDown's WWE Championship against Randy Orton, Bayley defeated Charlotte Flair to retain the SmackDown Women's Championship, and the Raw Women's Championship match between Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks ended in a disqualification win for Banks, but with Lynch retaining. In the only non-title match on the card, Erick Rowan defeated Roman Reigns in a No Disqualification match thanks to the returning Luke Harper.
Of WWE's eleven championships across Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live, only the Raw Tag Team Championship and SmackDown Tag Team Championship changed hands. Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode defeated Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman to win the Raw championship, while The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder) defeated The New Day's Big E and Xavier Woods to win the SmackDown championship.
Production.
Background.
Clash of Champions was a professional wrestling event first produced by WWE in 2016. The theme of the event was that every active championship available to each brand division featured at the event were defended. The 2016 event was Raw-exclusive while the 2017 event was SmackDown-exclusive. A Clash of Champions event did not occur in 2018, as it was replaced by Evolution, but following WrestleMania 34 that year, WWE discontinued brand-exclusive pay-per-views (PPV). On June 17, 2019, Clash of Champions was reinstated and all WWE titles available to Raw and SmackDown at the time, as well as 205 Live, were defended. These included the four championships on Raw—the Universal Championship, the Raw Women's Championship, the United States Championship, and the Raw Tag Team Championship—the four championships on SmackDown—the WWE Championship, the SmackDown Women's Championship, the Intercontinental Championship, and the SmackDown Tag Team Championship—205 Live's sole championship—the WWE Cruiserweight Championship—and the promotion's two non-exclusive titles—the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship and the 24/7 Championship. After the 2017 event was held in December, the 2019 event returned Clash of Champions to the September slot and it was held on September 15, 2019, at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event aired on pay-per-view worldwide and was available to livestream on the WWE Network. Tickets went on sale on June 21 through Ticketmaster.
Storylines.
The event comprised 11 matches, including two on the Kickoff pre-show, which resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brands, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, "Monday Night Raw", "SmackDown Live", and the cruiserweight-exclusive "205 Live".
On the August 12 episode of "Raw", Universal Champion Seth Rollins faced United States Champion and O.C. member AJ Styles in a non-title champion versus champion match, which resulted in a brawl with fellow O.C. members Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson with Braun Strowman coming to Rollins' aid. The following week, Rollins and Strowman defeated Gallows and Anderson to win the Raw Tag Team Championship. Rollins was then scheduled to defend both the Universal and Raw Tag Team championships at Clash of Champions. On the August 26 episode of "Raw", Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler won a Tag Team Turmoil to earn a Raw Tag Team Championship match at the event, while later that same night, Strowman challenged Rollins for the Universal Championship, which Rollins accepted.
At SummerSlam, Becky Lynch defeated Natalya in a submission match to retain the Raw Women's Championship. On the following "Raw", Lynch stated she respected Natalya and put out a warning to the rest of the women's division. Natalya later came out with her arm in a sling and stated they would face each other again. She was then interrupted by the returning Sasha Banks (in her first appearance since WrestleMania 35 in April). Banks and Natalya embraced only for Banks to attack Natalya, thus turning heel. Lynch came to Natalya's aid but was attacked by Banks with a chair. On the September 2 episode, after defeating Natalya a week prior, Banks challenged Lynch for the title at Clash of Champions, and Lynch accepted.
During the WWE Championship match at SummerSlam, Randy Orton attempted to target Kofi Kingston's family, who were at ringside. Kingston brawled with Orton outside the ring, resulting in both men being counted out; thus Kingston retained the title, but he continued to attack Orton. On the following episode of "SmackDown", The New Day (Kingston and SmackDown Tag Team Champions Big E and Xavier Woods) faced the team of Orton and The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder) in which the latter won, after which, Orton performed an RKO on all three members of New Day. On the following "Raw", Big E and Woods defeated The Revival via disqualification due to interference from Orton. Kingston came to their aid only for Orton to attack Kingston, while The Revival and Orton temporarily injured Woods' leg. On August 27, a WWE Championship rematch was scheduled between the two for Clash of Champions, while Big E and Woods were scheduled to defend the SmackDown Tag Team Championship against The Revival at the event.
Feeling that she deserved an opportunity for the SmackDown Women's Championship for her win over Trish Stratus at SummerSlam, Charlotte Flair issued a challenge to reigning champion Bayley during "A Moment of Bliss" on the August 20 episode of "SmackDown". Bayley accepted the challenge for Clash of Champions.
On the August 20 episode of "SmackDown", Sami Zayn was a guest on "Miz TV". Zayn stated that after months of losing matches, he realized that he would be better suited to helping people on SmackDown and introduced his first client, Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura. The Miz questioned why Nakamura would associate himself with Zayn, who said that Nakamura was unable to express himself because of the language barrier and that he would communicate for Nakamura. Miz then received a beatdown from Nakamura and Zayn. The following week, Miz challenged Nakamura for the Intercontinental Championship at Clash of Champions and Miz received yet another beatdown. Later, the title match was made official.
As Roman Reigns was getting ready to announce his SummerSlam opponent on the July 30 episode of "SmackDown", an unidentified person pushed lighting equipment on top of Reigns backstage. The attacker was originally alleged to be Samoa Joe due to their previous rivalry, however, Joe was proven innocent during a hit and run on Reigns in which Joe was a witness. Buddy Murphy then became a suspect as he was spotted in the background in the footage of the original attack, prompting Reigns to confront Murphy backstage. After Reigns brawled with Murphy, Murphy eventually revealed that the attacker was Erick Rowan. On the SummerSlam Kickoff pre-show, Rowan attacked Murphy for the accusation. Rowan and his tag team partner Daniel Bryan then forced Murphy to claim that he was lying and Bryan and Rowan conducted their own investigation to find out that Reigns' attacker was a man that looked like Rowan. However, Reigns found additional footage that showed Rowan pushing over the equipment. This caused Bryan and Rowan to split due to Rowan lying, and a match between Reigns and Rowan was scheduled for Clash of Champions. On the September 10 episode, after Reigns and Rowan brawled throughout the arena with Rowan standing tall after striking Reigns with a jib camera, the match stipulation was changed to a No Disqualification match.
On the August 5 episode of "Raw", Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross defeated defending champions The IIconics (Peyton Royce and Billie Kay), The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane), and Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville in a fatal four-way tag team elimination match to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. On the September 3 episode of "SmackDown", Rose and Deville challenged Bliss and Cross for the titles at Clash of Champions. Bliss claimed that they did not deserve an opportunity, however, Cross accepted a non-title match for that night, which Rose and Deville won. A title match was then scheduled between the two teams for Clash of Champions.
On the September 9 episode of "Raw", Cedric Alexander faced O.C. member AJ Styles for the United States Championship, only for the match to end via disqualification due to interference from fellow O.C. members, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Later that night, Alexander pinned Styles in a ten-man tag team match. Styles was then scheduled to defend the title in a rematch against Alexander on the Clash of Champions Kickoff pre-show.
On the August 20 episode of "205 Live", Team Oney Lorcan won the Captain's Challenge against Team Drew Gulak with Humberto Carrillo and Lorcan being the last remaining members of their team. The following week, 205 Live General Manager Drake Maverick scheduled Carrillo and Lorcan to compete in a number one contender's match to face Gulak for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship on the Clash of Champions Kickoff pre-show, which Carrillo won. On the September 3 episode, Lince Dorado defeated Carrillo, thus making it a triple threat match for the title.
Canceled and rescheduled match.
In August 2019, the King of the Ring tournament was revived—the first time since the 2015 tournament—with the finals originally scheduled for Clash of Champions. However, on September 11, the finals were rescheduled for the September 16 episode of "Raw", where Raw's Baron Corbin defeated SmackDown's Chad Gable to become the King of the Ring, thus changing his ring name to King Corbin.
Event.
Pre-show.
Two matches were contested on the Clash of Champions Kickoff pre-show. In the first match, Drew Gulak defended the Cruiserweight Championship against Humberto Carrillo and Lince Dorado in a triple threat match. In the end, Carrillo performed an Aztec press on Dorado, however, Gulak threw Carrillo into the ring post and pinned Dorado to retain the title.
In the second pre-show match, The O.C's AJ Styles defended the United States Championship against Cedric Alexander. At the start of the match, Alexander performed a Michinoku Driver on Styles for a nearfall. After Alexander managed another nearfall, the momentum shifted when Styles intercepted Alexander's springboard attempt. Styles then suplexed Alexander on the ring apron and followed up with a Styles Clash outside the ring. In the end, Styles performed a Phenomenal Forearm and a second Styles Clash on Alexander to retain the title. Following the match, Styles and his fellow O.C. members, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, attacked Alexander.
Preliminary matches.
The actual pay-per-view began with Universal Champion Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman defending the Raw Tag Team Championship against Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode. In the end, Strowman tackled Roode, who collided with Rollins. Ziggler then sent Strowman out of the ring, and Roode performed a Glorious DDT on Rollins to win the titles.
Next, Bayley defended the SmackDown Women's Championship against Charlotte Flair. At the start of the match, Flair performed a Big Boot on Bayley for a nearfall. In the end, Bayley exposed the bottom turnbuckle while the referee backed Flair off. Bayley threw Flair into the exposed turnbuckle and pinned her to retain the title. Immediately afterwards, Bayley grabbed her title and ran backstage.
After that, The New Day (Big E and Xavier Woods) defended the SmackDown Tag Team Championship against The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder). In the climax, Dawson and Wilder performed Shatter Machine on Big E outside the ring before doing the same to Woods back inside. However, instead of pinning Woods, Dawson forced him to submit to an Inverted Figure Four Leglock to win the titles.
In the fourth match, Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross defended the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship against Fire and Desire (Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville). During the match, an impromptu 24/7 Championship defense occurred when reigning champion R-Truth ran out to the ring, being chased by several wrestlers. Bliss pinned Truth with a roll up for a nearfall. Truth then rushed