Clash of Champions 2017: The Usos Deliver the Best Match While SmackDown Ends the Year in Neutral

The opener benefits from treating Ziggler like an opportunist instead of the center of the original feud. Corbin uses size and power, Roode supplies the cleaner babyface sequences, and Ziggler keeps inserting himself whenever one of the other two seems close to finishing. The pace stays high because triple threats remove the need for long control stretches. Roode's spinebuster and Glorious DDT attempts create several believable near falls, while Corbin's power spots keep him dangerous without dominating every exchange. The finish is excellent. Corbin catches Roode for End of Days, Ziggler hits Corbin with the Zig Zag during the move, and Corbin takes the fall. Ziggler wins the championship in a way that feels surprising and completely legal.

The tag-title match embraces its unusual four-men-legal format and turns the ring into controlled chaos without losing track of the champions. New Day provide speed and familiarity, Gable and Benjamin add explosive suplexes, and Rusev and English ride the loudest crowd connection of the match. The Usos spend stretches outside the center, which lets challengers convince Boston that a title change is possible. Gable's German suplex sequences are the physical highlight, while Rusev's Accolade creates the strongest false finish. The champions eventually reassert themselves with superkicks, isolate Gable, and finish with the Samoan Splash. Twelve minutes feels short only because the combinations stay fresh throughout. It is easily the best wrestling on the card.

Charlotte and Natalya have enough familiarity to produce competent exchanges, but the lumberjack stipulation constantly pulls attention away from them. Riott Squad, Naomi, Carmella, Lana, and Tamina create the expected ringside chaos, and every trip to the floor becomes more important than the work inside. Charlotte's moonsault onto the group provides the largest visual, while Carmella's attempted Money in the Bank cash-in briefly creates genuine suspense before Ruby Riott stops it. Once the lumberjacks brawl away, the actual championship finish is straightforward. Natalya tries the Sharpshooter, Charlotte counters, and the Figure Eight forces the submission. The champion retains cleanly, but ten minutes of interruptions never improves a rivalry that already needed a stronger emotional hook.

Harper and Rowan are here to establish violence, not competition. Breezango try a few quick attacks and immediately discover that the new team is stronger, faster, and completely uninterested in giving them room to build a match. Harper's big boot and Rowan's power offense wipe out the early resistance, and the double crucifix powerbomb ends things in under two minutes. As character presentation, the segment works because the Bludgeon Brothers look dangerous and their post-match promo reinforces the push. As pay-per-view wrestling, there is almost nothing to evaluate. Breezango never create a credible comeback, the result is obvious before the bell, and the entire bout functions as a televised squash transferred onto a premium event.

The wrestling is secondary from the moment two authority figures put on referee shirts. Owens and Zayn need the win to keep their jobs, while Orton and Nakamura are mostly vehicles for the Bryan-Shane conflict. The match has useful moments, including Owens splashing Nakamura through the announce table and Orton catching Zayn with the RKO, but every major sequence waits for a referee decision. Shane intentionally stops his count at two, Bryan confronts him, and the argument becomes the real climax. Zayn later rolls up Orton and Bryan responds with a fast count that saves the heels' jobs. The story advances, but the wrestlers never escape the feeling that management is the actual main event. Twenty-one minutes is too long for that imbalance.

Styles works hard to make Mahal feel dangerous by selling the ribs and allowing the former champion to control long stretches with power. Mahal's offense is deliberate enough that the first half becomes quiet, but Styles' movement keeps the match from becoming static. Singh Brothers interference creates the expected obstacle, and Styles clears both men before the final sequence begins. Mahal's Khallas near fall produces the first moment where a title change feels remotely possible. He then makes the mistake of trying Styles' own move. Styles escapes the attempted Styles Clash, attacks the leg, and traps Mahal in the Calf Crusher for the submission. The last five minutes are strong, but twenty-three total minutes expose how little suspense exists before them.