WWE Clash of Champions Review

The top story: WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens defeated Seth Rollins to retain the title. Owens needed interference from Chris Jericho, a referee bump, and the timely insertion of a second referee by Stephanie McMahon to attain the victory.

Also newsworthy: Roman Reigns won the U.S. Title from Rusev. ... The seventh and deciding match in the series between Sheamus and Cesaro decided nothing, as the match was ruled no contest after both men were deemed unable to continue. ... WWE Women's Champion Charlotte, WWE Tag Team Champions New Day and WWE Cruiserweight Champion TJ Perkins all successfully defended their titles.

Here's a match-by-match look at the show:

Nia Jax defeated Alicia Fox in 4:55: The match was laid out well in that it was a lopsided win for Jax but it wasn't a complete squash. Jax sold more in this match than she had since joining the main roster. Fox got a hope spot and hit a scissors kick for a near fall, but Jax came back with a Samoan Drop for the win. 

WWE Tag Team Champions New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston w/Xavier Woods) defeated Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in 6:44: The match started hot, with Gallows and Anderson going on the attack as soon as the bell sounded. The match continued at a fast pace throughout. Big E hit the Big Ending on Anderson just past the 6-minute mark, but Gallows made the save at the very last second. Shortly thereafter, Woods nailed Anderson with the trombone behind the referee's back, and Big E and Kingston finished off Anderson with Midnight Hour. I hate when babyfaces cheat to win. Since Gallows and Anderson have a legitimate gripe, I'm guessing they'll get another title shot. They haven't to beat New Day for the title at some point, right?

WWE Cruiserweight Champion TJ Perkins defeated Brian Kendrick in 10:31: Except for one botched spot, these two worked well together and had a very good match. At the 8-minute mark, Perkins hit a huracanrana from off the top rope inside the ring on to Kendrick, who was on the apron, and both men landed on the floor. Near the 10-minute mark, Kendrick hit Sliced Bread for a good near fall. Perkins then caught Kendrick in a knee bar, and Kendrick tapped out. Afterward, Kendrick, who had refused to shake Perkins' hand before the match, offered his hand to Perkins, but then he head-butted him.

Cesaro and Sheamus battled to a no contest in 16:36 in Match 7 in their best-of-seven series: These two beat the hell out of each other in what was easily the best match of their entertaining series. Unfortunately, the finish was terrible. Around the 6-minute mark, Cesaro did Rey Mysterio's 619. There was a very scary moment at 10:45, when Cesaro did a dive through the ropes and spiked his head on the floor. It looked really bad, but thankfully Cesaro appeared to be OK. Sheamus hit a Brogue Kick at 11:25, but Cesaro kicked out. A minute later, Sheamus kicked out of The Neutralizer. As the fight spilled outside the ring, Cesaro clotheslined Sheamus over the barricade and went over with him. Trainers checked on both men and determined that neither of them could continue.

Only WWE could have a best-of-seven series go the distance and not have a winner. I can see this going a few different ways. The most straight-forward scenario obviously is to just have another match to break the 3-3-1 tie. Or Raw GM Mick Foley could reward both men with a championship opportunity by making a Triple Threat Match for either the WWE Universal or U.S. titles. A third possibility would be Cesaro and Sheamus forming a tag team out of mutual respect and challenging for the WWE Tag Team Title. If Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson end up winning the title from New Day, a match pitting Cesaro and Sheamus against Gallows and Anderson could be really good.

Chris Jericho defeated Sami Zayn in 15:22: This was a good back-and-forth match. I was a little surprised that Zayn didn't win, but perhaps that means the program is continuing. There was a very good near fall at the 14:45 mark when Zayn caught Jericho coming off the top and hit a Blue Thunder Bomb. Jericho prevailed after hitting the Codebreaker.

WWE Women's Champion Charlotte (w/Dana Brooke) defeated Bayley and Sasha Banks in a Triple Threat Match in 15:26: All three women worked hard, but Charlotte was clearly the star of the match. Banks appeared to have the match won around the 12:30 mark when she had Charlotte in the Banks Statement, but Brooke pulled Charlotte out of the ring. Banks applied the Banks Statement to Charlotte again a minute later, and this time Banks thwarted Brooke's interference, but Bayley made the save. Banks then put Bayley in the Banks Statement, but Charlotte broke it up. At the 15-minute mark, Bayley caught Charlotte in an inside cradle for a near fall. For the finish, Charlotte shoved Bayley into Banks, who was on the apron, and then nailed Bayley with a boot to the face for the win. I liked this match a lot, but I was a little surprised that Bayley dropped the fall instead of Banks. That could mean we're getting Charlotte vs. Banks for the title at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view. Would Vince McMahon actually allow the women to work a Hell in a Cell match?

Roman Reigns defeated U.S. Champion Rusev (w/Lana) in 17:10: The match had a slow pace early on and the crowd seemed disinterested, but once the pace picked up, the crowd eventually came around. Just past the 14-minute mark, Reigns hit a spear on Rusev, but Lana pulled the referee out of the ring before he could complete the three-count. The ref sent Lana to the back. Rusev applied the Accolade at the 16-minute mark, but Reigns powered out. As Rusev attempted to charge Reigns, who was selling in the corner, Reigns shot out of the corner and nailed Rusev with another spear for the victory. Solid match.

WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens defeated Seth Rollins in 25:07: Considering the talent involved, this should've been a great match. Unfortunately, even though both guys worked hard, the fact that there was no legitimate babyface in the match prevented the crowd from fully investing in it. They just popped for big moves. I really don't understand why the powers that be haven't made any effort to get Rollins to connect with the crowd. Plus, the finish was overbooked, with a ref bump and interference from Chris Jericho. Rollins did work the match like a babyface, as he sold his ribs and knee and fought from underneath.

Near the 21-minute mark, Jericho came down to ringside and distracted Rollins, which led to Owens hitting a package piledriver for a near fall. A minute later, Rollins hit the Pedigree on Owens, but Jericho placed Owens' foot on the rope. Owens went for a pop-up powerbomb, but Rollins inadvertently collided with the referee as he leaped over Owens. Rollins hit another Pedigree, but the referee was down. As Rollins tried to revive the referee, Stephanie McMahon came out with a second referee. Rollins walked into a pop-up powerbomb, and the second referee made the three count. It took about two and a half minutes for Stephanie to send out another referee, so the question will be what took her so long. It appears on the surface that she wanted to give Owens time to recover from the second Pedigree.

Final thoughts: There wasn't a bad match on the show, so from a wrestling standpoint, it was very good. However, the show was marred by a couple of bad finishes (Cesaro vs. Sheamus, Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins) and the lack of a true babyface in the main event.