But one to forget for Rusev, Gallows and Anderson
Tuesday 27 September 2016 16:45, UK
But who left Indianapolis in good shape and who endured a night of struggle? Read on as we look at the event's winners and losers…
WINNERS
Charlotte
Plenty of Charlotte's victories on the main roster have come via nefarious means, firstly when her father, Ric Flair, was by her side and now because she often gets Dana Brooke to do her dirty work. What cannot be disputed, though, is her success on the grandest stages. Charlotte's record at WWE pay-per-views while competing solo is an unblemished 12-0, with Sunday's triumph over Sasha Banks and Bayley following, amongst others, wins over Natalya and Becky Lynch, as well as a Triple Threat success over Banks and Lynch at WrestleMania. Charlotte's sole PPV loss came when she and Brooke were beaten by Bayley and Banks at Battleground in July.
The New Day
Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods will be celebrating their 400th day as Raw Tag Team Champions on Monday evening, having dismissed Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in pretty decisive fashion at Clash of Champions, albeit with the aid of Woods' trombone. Since the faction grabbed the titles for a second time at SummerSlam 2015 - they won a Fatal Four-Way against then-champions Prime-Time Players as well as The Lucha Dragons and Los Matadores - the likes of The Dudley Boyz, The Usos and The League of Nations have all failed to dethrone them. Big E, Kingston and Woods' shtick is also as entertaining as ever, so an even lengthier reign beckons.
TJ Perkins
WWE's cruiserweight section was forgotten circa 2007 and 2008 but the recent Cruiserweight Classic showed a healthy appetite remains for smaller wrestlers and Perkins, the winner of that tournament, impressed again this weekend while successfully defending the Cruiserweight Championship against Brian Kendrick. He has all the attributes to be the standard-bearer of this revamped division in that he is a perfect hybrid competitor, capable of the flashy spots as well as the technical submission manoeuvres. His funky Philippines flag-inspired trousers also make him hard to ignore, so check him out every week on Raw, along with Kendrick, Gran Metalik et al.
LOSERS
Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
Gallows and Anderson were winners in Japan, seizing the IWGP Tag Team Titles on three occasions, but they have yet to really burst into life since signing for WWE. Time teaming with AJ Styles gave them a slice of momentum, but while Styles has shone on Smackdown - winning the WWE World Title at Backlash - Gallows and Anderson have struggled for big wins, the duo failing to take The New Day's Tag Team Titles at SummerSlam and now falling short at Clash of Champions in pretty quick-fire fashion. Finn Balor remains a fair way from fitness but when he is back, perhaps a reunion with their ex-Bullet Club pal could be the boost they need.
Seth Rollins
The Architect is having a tough time when it comes the world titles at present. Since being forced to vacate the WWE World Title in November 2014 after sustaining a severe knee injury, Rollins' pursuits of gold have been pretty futile. He did beat Roman Reigns for the WWE Title at Money in the Bank but shipped it minutes later to Dean Ambrose, while he has since lost a Universal Title bout to Balor at SummerSlam and then been denied that very same strap by a combination of current champion Kevin Owens, former ally Triple H, Chris Jericho and a stricken referee - the latter two costing him on Sunday night. Rollins could do with a change of fortune.
Rusev
Rusev was the only title holder to ship their belt at Clash of Champions. That's not to say he put in a shoddy display in Indianapolis - he had Roman Reigns on the ropes for patches of their United States Title scuffle with some potent kicks and an Accolade - but when his wife, Lana, was banned from ringside, he was never fully able to recover and saw his second reign with the championship come to a grinding halt at 126 days. Reigns has proven to be somewhat of a nemesis for the Bulgarian over recent years, though, most memorably by eliminating him last from the 2015 Royal Rumble and ending his hopes of main-eventing WrestleMania.
Missed WWE Clash of Champions? Then catch a repeat on Sky Sports Box Office (channel 491) between 10am on Monday, September 26 and 10pm on Thursday, September 29 - the show is priced £14.95 for UK customers and €21.95 for viewers in the Republic of Ireland.
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