The WWE returned to the European market last week with a series of broadcasts that culminated in the Clash in Paris pay-per-view, an event that drew 30,000 fans. Granted, one of the reasons that the European tours generally draw very well is that the market doesn’t get regular events because of the logistics and travel involved for an American promotion, but it’s still an accomplishment to sell that many tickets at the notoriously higher ticket prices of the current era.
Still, this had the potential to be somewhat of a “lame duck” show so to speak, as it’s the last pay-per-view exclusively on Peacock before the WWE makes an early move to the new ESPN streaming platform on September 20th, an event that will be headlined by John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar in an effort to counter program AEW All Out.
Generally speaking, the Clash in Paris event wasn’t earth-shattering, but I wouldn’t call it a throw away show either, as there were a few key moments that could provide some intriguing insight into the direction of the promotion going forward.
The show opened with Roman Reigns vs. Bronson Reed, and similar to the Summer Slam PPV, it was still odd to see Roman at the start of the event. Obviously, kicking off the show at this type of event isn’t the same as Mike Sharpe jerking the curtain at a TV taping in Poughkeepsie (no disrespect meant to Iron Mike), but Roman was such a staple of the main event picture of WWE events for so long that it’s an unfamiliar dynamic to see him elsewhere.
The match itself was essentially what you’d expect from a Roman Reigns bout, it was a basic, well-done segment. It wasn’t anything too flashy and there’s nothing wrong with that. It was a quality performance and made Bronson Reed look like a bigger star in the process, as he earned a level of credibility for working a solid bout with one of the top guys in the company. Roman got the victory, but the finish was almost moot, as it was the post-match angle that was much more impactful to the direction of the product.
Bron Breakker speared Reigns a few times, and Bronson landed a few splashes from the top rope. The Paul Heyman faction put one of the biggest stars in the modern era on a stretcher to be carted away. That visual alone sends a statement about the future and the potential that Breakker in particular has as an eventual top star. In reality, this was a way to write Reigns out of the show for him to film the Street Fighter movie. It was said on Raw that Roman would be out of action “indefinitely,” implying that it could be at least a few months. That being said, while I think that Roman will remain impact as long as he has something to do with Heyman upon his return, it’s also possible that his frequent hiatuses from television could lead to diminishing returns. The audience has seen “the big Roman Reigns return” a few times since he dropped the title to Cody Rhodes at Wrestlemania a few years ago.
The Wyatt Sicks beat The Street Profits to retain the tag titles, and it should be noted that this was a television bout at best with nothing memorable or noteworthy throughout the segment. In fact, the argument could be made that some of the contest was illogical, as the baby faces used the numbers advantage with interference to get the win. The Street Profits heel turn has more or less left them dead in the water. Granted, the WWE still doesn’t put too much spotlight on the tag division, but The Street Profits are completely stagnant. The Wyatts retaining was the right decision, as at least it helps boost merchandise sales.
Becky Lynch vs. Nikki Bella was memorable for all the wrong reasons. Outside of the two glaring botches, the match was fine for what it was, but the mishaps were so over-the-top that this segment will be known for the Bella kick the missed by a mile, and when Becky didn’t come anywhere near the top for a spot where she was supposedly sent head first into the desk. Becky retained the belt, but there’s not much else to say about this bout.
The Donnybrook match was really solid, and it was the first time that Rusev looked like a credible star since he returned to the company following Wrestlemania in April. If management stays the course on that remains to be seen, but make no mistake about it, Rusev has the talent to be an asset to the roster if he’s given the chance to showcase him. The table spot was wild and the submission finish was very well done. It must be mentioned that Rusev had to get the win here if the office wanted to keep him above water as a performer that the audience should keep on this radar. The artificial debut pop is almost always easy, but given the lack of direction prior to this, you have to wonder if the writing team had a plan for him upon his return or if he was brought back to television simply because they needed something to surprise the crowd for the Raw after Wrestlemania.
The John Cena vs. Logan Paul match had a lot of moves, specifically as a nod to other performers on the roster that Cena worked with previously, and in that aspect, it was an entertaining segment. That being said, there was no reason that this match had to go more than 25 minutes, especially at this point in Cena’s career. Cena getting the win after a pair of Attitude Adjustments made sense, as it gave him a chance to take a bow for the European fans.
Up until the main event, with the exception of the stretcher job for Roman Reigns, this show was very paint-by-the-numbers, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but you could’ve almost made the argument that it would’ve been easier to watch the two-minute highlight video on Raw the next day than to sit through a nearly four-hour pay-per-view on a Sunday afternoon. It can’t be understated how it’s not a given that the causal fans are willing to sit through extended broadcasts of mostly a B-show.
The four-way match itself was action-packed and the quality of the segment was a reflection of the top-notch performers that were involved in it. However, it becomes a tough sell that it’s realistically possible that Seth Rollins would drop the title less than a month after the cash-in at Summer Slam. Because of that, it seems like the crowd knew that nothing of consequence was going to happen until the finish. Speaking of which, not that I’m trying to be too pessimistic, but while some of the overseas crowds are known for their wild enthusiasm, such as Puerto Rico a few years ago and Backlash last year in France, there’s a difference between a crowd reaction to the match, and the crowd singing just to try to get noticed by the viewing audience at home. There was definitely some of that on the recent European tour and almost seems counter productive to actually enjoying the show they paid to see, but it’s an effect of the social media age.
Becky Lynch interfering to save Seth Rollins’ championship adds another layer to his feud with CM Punk, and considering that it’s well known that Becky and Seth are married in real-life, it would make sense to add her to the Heyman stable. Taking into account the segment on Raw where Becky slapped Punk and he didn’t retaliate, implying that he won’t strike a woman, it appears that opens the door for an AJ Lee return. Punk’s real-life wife returning to confront Seth’s real-life wife is a story that writes itself. That being said, I’m not sure how much cache an AJ Lee return beyond her initial appearance. The reason being is that she was only on the main roster roughly five years before she departed the company in 2015. AJ Lee has been away from the WWE twice as long as she was there, and it’s possible that the newer fans are only vaguely familiar with her. That isn’t meant as a jab against her skills, as she was one of the most dynamic characters in the entire company during the majority of her tenure and she always maximized her minutes on television, but comparatively speaking she had a relatively short run with a decade away from the company so it remains to be seen how she would work within the current product.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
Email [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
