Clash at the castle review

Just over thirty years after Bret Hart and The British Bulldog put on a classic at Wembley Stadium for the main event of Summer Slam, WWE brass followed a somewhat similar formula when Drew McIntyre was booked for the main event of a live pay-per-view at a stadium at Cardiff. As I mentioned in a column two weeks ago, because of the time difference it wasn't usually feasible for the WWE to run live pay-per-views overseas, but the expanded technology of streaming on Peacock, including the ability to replay the broadcast on-demand, made it a more realistic option.

Clearly, the demand for a live pay-per-view is strong in the UK, as over 60,000 fans were in attendance. Granted, some of that is because of the rare trips made to Europe with the extensive transportation and expense that is involved with a live event there, but a packed stadium is still an accomplishment. That said, particularly in the aftermath, you have to ask, did management make the right call?

The show opened with the women's tag bout of Bayley, Dakota Kai, and Io Sky vs. Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss, and Asuka. More than anything, this match proved just how valuable the division is and how much talent is included on the female roster. This contest was all action and outside of a slight mishap mid-match everything was very well done. This was a solid way to start the event and the talent on display showed that the WWE probably has the best women's division in the world. The options that management has to mix and match rivalries going forward gives the division the potential to be quite possibly the top draw for the organization. Bayley's faction got the win when Belair was pinned, which was somewhat surprising, but that might be a way to set up a feud for the championship.

Gunther vs. Sheamus was one of the most physical matches in recent memory and arguably the best match on the show. Gunther's offense looked brutal and in an organization where you could say that everything is overproduced to look a little too glamorous, Gunther is the most believable wrestler on the roster. This match looked like a fight, not a choreographed sequence of moves. They attempted to beat each other to the punch rather than just waiting for their opponent to throw the next strike, and small details like that are what truly make the difference that bring a sense of realism to the contest. Sheamus sold like a pro and made Gunther look like a monster. Speaking of Sheamus, it seems like sometimes he gets somewhat overlooked because he was given silly gimmicks or got lost in the shuffle over the years, including when he and Cesaro made The Bar a very good team despite being throwing together when the writing team didn't have anything better for either of them. However, Sheamus can go in the ring and it's rare that you will see a subpar match from him. He almost quietly put together a very impressive resume over the past decade or so. Gunter got the win to retain the IC title, which was the right decision, but prehaps the bigger story is that for the first time in years, the championship seems to have some level of importance in the company.

Liv Morgan defeated Shayna Baszler to retain the Smackdown Women's champion. The match was fine, but it was more of a TV match than something from a major pay-per-view. There wasn't really any point in the match where it looked like Baszler might actually win the title. Liv Morgan has done well, but the narrative of her character should really start to evolve to something beyond the under dog that wasn't supposed to win as a way to give her credibility as an established champion.

Rey Mysterio and Edge vs. The Judgment Day was very entertaining and the crowd followed everything. The much bigger takeaway was Dominik's heel turn after the match. Sure, Rey and Edge got the win for the baby face pop from the crowd, which is fine, but Dominik made himself more than just someone that's in the background because he's Rey's son with the way he portrayed the heel turn. The expressions and the body language showed that there's more to him as a performer than just a generic baby face. I'm sure sure how far up the card Dominik will make it long term, but it should be interesting to see how his heel persona develops on Raw.

Seth Rollins vs. Matt Riddle was a very good match. Both of these guys are some of the key players on Raw for a reason, and particularly Rollins continues to prove he's such a well-rounded performer, despite some of the silly booking at times. Rollins got the victory, which was needed, considering that he hasn't won a major pay-per-view match recently. That said, I think there's more left for this feud so it's tough to determine how successful it will be for either of them on Raw right now.

As far as the in-ring action, the main event was great and it showed why both Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre are such polished stars in the industry. This had the drama and the atmosphere of a stadium main event. The crowd followed the action as it tilted back and fourth and it made you wonder if Drew was actually going to be the competitor to dethrone Roman. The Austin Theory spot was clever since it gave viewers the impression that prehaps that's how they could get around Roman dropping the title if the contest became a triple threat and then Theory was pinned for an unsuccessful cash-in attempt for the conclusion of  the event. However, the finish is where things went wrong. As I said before, I think the office booked themselves into a corner because they put the hometown guy in the main event in a stadium against Roman Reigns for the championship. For that crowd at that show it would've been the right move to book Drew to win the title. But, for the bigger picture, Cody Rhodes has the story that's worth the feud where he finally beats Roman to win the belt in honor of his dad. The narrative of Drew winning in his hometown was reinforced because much of the build up of the match was compared to Bulldog's previously mentioned victory. The fact that Drew lost in his hometown on such a big stage is not only somewhat of a letdown, but it more or less cements him as just an upper mid-card star, not a main event talent. Don't get me wrong, in the grand scheme of things, it's the right call to wait for Cody to defeat Reigns, but that's the reason not to book Drew against Roman in the first place.

As an alternative, Drew vs. Gunther for the IC title would've been a suitable main event for Cardiff, it could've been another way to use the Summer Slam history, and Drew could've won to send the crowd home happy. I honestly don't think a defeat would've hindered Gunther, and it might've actually elevated his status to main event a stadium show. Instead, to send the crowd home happy, Tyson Fury and Drew sang American Pie in the ring. I understand that Fury is a major star in the UK,. selling out stadiums himself for title defenses as the heavyweight champion in boxing, but Drew just lost a chance at the Undisputed championship in his hometown, why would he want to sing? Overall, Clash at the Castle was a very solid pay-per-view with a very underwhelming conclusion.