Pantoja’s WWE Clash at the Castle Review

WWE Clash at the Castle

September 3rd, 2022 | Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales | Attendance: 62,296

I must say, the venue looked great here and the crowd was HOT.

Alpha Academy and Austin Theory vs. Madcap Moss and The Street Profits

Kickoff Show action! Austin Theory got his first name back. Good for him. Dawkins has looked really good lately and his opening exchange with Gable here was impressive. I popped for Ford mocking Gable hitting the mat. You have to see it to understand why it was so good. Madcap got a hot tag and ran wild. He just needs something less generic for gear. He looks like a New Japan Young Lion. Michael Cole’s microphone also had issues during this. Gable hit a German suplex on Dawkins that was awesome. It got topped moments later by Ford’s sick Doomsday Blockbuster outside onto a big crowd. He added the frog splash inside on Gable to end this in 6:29. That was a really fun Kickoff match with tons of energy, a quick pace, and a ridiculous spot. [***¼]

Alexa Bliss, Asuka and Bianca Belair vs. Bayley, Dakota Kai and IYO SKY

I have been dying to see Damage Control team up for the first time. They have a theme together as well. Crowd was LOUDLY singing for Bayley and to quiet them, she got in a sneak attack on Asuka that sparked a brawl. Bayley made sure to include so many great character moments like talking smack to Michael Cole and trying to get the crowd to not be so positive for her. The crowd still wanted her above everyone else though. The heels worked very well together with Alexa taking the beating at the start of this. It didn’t last too long as Asuka came in and did her thing for a bit. That included an Asuka vs. IYO section that was cool, especially after Cole made a Triple Tails reference. What is this new WWE era? It’s a small thing but I loved the camerawork on a spot where Alexa did a somersault outside and Kai hit her with a big boot. The camera didn’t switch once. Alexa took the heat for a while and they found a way to keep cutting Bianca off. Bayley started limping at one point but was apparently faking it. The Asuka/IYO exchange late was fantastic. Bianca’s hot tag didn’t get the pop I hoped for but they built to it extremely well. The closing stretch with Bianca against Dakota was fantastic, giving Dakota a lot of time to shine. She survived Bianca and tagged Bayley. A barrage of offense led to Bayley pinning Bianca to win in 18:45. That was Bianca’s first pinfall loss in 2022. A tremendous opener boosted by the crowd. They paced it perfectly, had a lot of action, and was just fantastic all around. I was totally invested. I know I’m probably the high man on this but whatever, I loved it. Sue me for liking wrestling. [****¼]

They aired a long video package about Cody Rhodes.

After a SummerSlam ’92 vignette, British Bulldog’s family, including Bret Hart, was shown in the crowd.

WWE Intercontinental Championship: Gunther [c] vs. Sheamus

Giovanni Vinci was back with his old buddies and they were dubbed Imperium. GUNTHER HAD THE TRENCHCOAT TOO. I LOST MY SHIT. They did the thing again where the goons brawled as Gunther and Sheamus just stood there face to face. We were like 20 seconds into this and Sheamus’s chest was already red. This felt like a struggle from the start with them jockeying for position and battling for control, including Gunther avoiding the 10 Beats multiple times. Gunther took the upper hand first, lighting up Sheamus with chops and forearms. It was brutal. Sheamus got his ass kicked until he finally caught a chop and started returning the favor. He finally got the 10 Beats to work over the announce table, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. He added more on the apron and over the guardrail because we all love a good marathon. They did exactly what we all wanted, which was beat the shit out of each other. It wasn’t until White Noise nearly 15 minutes in that we got a near fall, which is something I really like. They got a standing ovation midway through. The close call on the Celtic Cross was pretty tremendous. Sheamus went for the Brogue Kick but his damaged back gave out and Gunther capitalized with a powerbomb. Both men got up hype and Gunther laid Sheamus out with a lariat to retain in 19:35. Incredible. That was everything I wanted and more, with Sheamus delivering another great match and Gunther continuing to prove that he’s one of the best on the planet. [****¾]

WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship: Liv Morgan [c] vs. Shayna Baszler

Liv was in some sweet all-white gear. Liv got a good pop despite her booking as champion. I love her to death but she’s getting the CM Punk 2008 post-cash-in title run and that’s not good. I liked Liv going for quick pins, knowing she’s in trouble. I also loved that she went for submissions and Shayna easily countered like this was a joke. Shayna dropped the injured arm over the top rope, giving her an even bigger target. Shayna kicked Liv’s ass with only a few hope spots from the champion but it frustrated the challenger that her opponent kept coming back for more. Liv rolled out of the attempted arm stomp and into a triangle choke that became an armbar. It looked good too. Still, I liked that Shayna was relaxed in the hold as if she knew she wasn’t in true danger. Liv survived the Kirifuda Clutch and hit the Codebreaker followed by Oblivion to retain in 11:01. That was really good and laid out wisely. Shayna was better for the most part but Liv refused to quit and had a smart strategy to make the best of her openings. [***¼]

Damian Priest and Finn Bálor vs. Edge and Rey Mysterio

The reaction for Edge was wild. AND HE HAD A LUCHA MASK. The crowd also sang his theme. This got off to a hot start with a great reaction for Edge and then a big spot where Rey was launched outside onto the heels. Things slowed down as expected as Priest and Balor cut the ring in half and isolated Mysterio. Perfect booking there as Rey is great at taking a beating and the reaction for the eventual Edge hot tag would be huge. Priest was a wild man for teasing a Razor’s Edge on the guardrail and his sell of getting crotched on the guardrail was 10/10. Edge’s hot tag indeed got a great reaction and he hit his own version of the 619 that didn’t look that great but was still fun. Edge took out Priest with a Big E level Spear off the apron in a dope spot. When Judgment Day had this possibly won, Dominik provided a heel-like distraction to turn the tide, so Rhea beat his ass. The finish saw a solid back and forth between Finn and Rey that led to the 619 into a Spear after 12:33. Another quality match that used tag formula well, gave Edge the moments the crowd wanted, and had a cool ending. [***½]

Post-match, Dominik kicked Edge low and yelled at home as Rey tried to talk sense into him. He then clotheslined his dad to top it off. The reaction from Judgment Day was funny. Dominik figured getting his ass beat by Rhea was better than teaming with his dad and I respect that.

Riddle vs. Seth Rollins

Seth rocked some Elton John-style gear and I loved it. Despite the goofy entrances, they went right at it at the bell as they should’ve given the nature of the feud. They kept up that pace for the most part. Even with Riddle doing something like a rana, it was only to set up a chokehold as he wanted to really make Seth hurt. Seth responded with stuff like a powerbomb into the guardrail. Riddle made sure that his kicks had more snap to them than usual, adding a bit extra to everything. The Bro 2 Sleep followed by knee strikes was pretty great for a near fall as well. I loved Seth barely surviving the triangle choke and turning it into his own Bro Derek for two. More mind games from someone who is great at it. They kept surviving big blows thrown at one another like the Pedigree, which got a great reaction from the crowd. Seth went into Orton offense with the hanging DDT and then wasted time pounding the mat like Orton for an RKO, allowing Riddle to catch him in a choke and kick his ass. Riddle even tried to use a chair but Seth avoided it and delivered the Curb Stomp as he slid back in the ring. Seth added a Bret’s rope Curb Stomp to win in 17:20. I loved that finish as Seth used Riddle’s own aggression against him. An outstanding match from start to finish. [****¼]

Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns [c] vs. Drew McIntyre

This has a big match feel like almost nothing else in WWE in a long time. Drew got the “Broken Dreams” intro complete with old clips before going into his current theme for his actual entrance. Huge reaction for Drew. Roman came out without the Bloodline. The lockup to start this felt special and Drew overpowered Roman, causing him to take a powder. Roman did a masterful job of playing off of the crowd reaction and Drew having the upper hand. He was rattled and without Heyman, needed to fix that quickly. Karrion Kross and Scarlett were in the crowd, distracting Drew and turning the tide in Roman’s favor. That gave us our Roman heat segment and he manages to always make these so good. I loved how Roman regained confidence during this section of the match. Roman got a microphone and demanded the fans acknowledge him, opening the door for Drew to hit the Glasgow Kiss. That gave us a fun Drew run complete with the kip-up. Drew’s bridge on the spinebuster was sick too. They started throwing bombs with Reigns avoiding the Claymore and hitting the Superman Punch for two. Drew survived a Spear and then put Reigns through the barricade with one of his own. I liked that flip on the tired spot. I also loved Drew immediately rolling Roman inside to capitalize. The fact that it led to a Spear near fall was really good. I don’t love finisher kick outs but it makes sense in a big match like this as long as you don’t overdo it. Drew finally hit the Claymore but it also knocked the referee out as Roman fell into him. Austin Theory’s music hit for the cash-in. HILARIOUSLY, Tyson Fury knocked Theory out when he tried to cash in. Drew hit a second Claymore but that only got two. That led to both guys just trading shots in the middle of the ring. Drew hit the Spear and had this won with a Claymore but Solo Sikoa pulled the referee out of the ring to save the title. The distraction led to the Spear and Roman retained in 30:46. That deflated the crowd. I was totally into that emotionally as I felt Drew should’ve won. Regardless, the match was a banger though I didn’t love that many finisher kick outs. [****¼]

Roman left with Solo Sikoa and then we got the WEIRDEST ending to a PPV ever as Drew sang with Tyson Fury as if he didn’t just lose an important match.

9.0

The final score: review Amazing

The 411

Honestly, that was an all-time great WWE PPV with an all-time bad ending. Everything was at least good and several matches were legitimately great with a hot crowd throughout. It was also remarkably well paced and made the most of seven matches.