WWE heads across the pond this weekend for its first major pay-per-view in the United Kingdom in more than 30 years.
The 70,000-seat Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, will host Clash at the Castle on Saturday. It’s WWE’s biggest event in the U.K. since SummerSlam 1992 was held at London’s Wembley Stadium.
While WWE’s return to the U.K. is historic in its own right, Clash at the Castle could also be where one of the longest world-championship reigns in company history comes to an end. The main event of the PPV will see Roman Reigns put his undisputed WWE universal championship on the line against Drew McIntyre. After a dominant two-year run as champion, this may be the right time and place for Reigns to lose his title.
Clash at the Castle will be (somewhat of) a homecoming for the Scottish-born McIntyre. Like the British Bulldog winning the intercontinental title from Bret Hart at SummerSlam 1992, there would be no better ending to Clash at the Castle than a triumphant McIntyre celebrating with the U.K. crowd. It’s a moment that McIntyre and the fans deserve. McIntyre is a two-time WWE champion, but both of his title wins happened during the pandemic era with no fans in attendance. He helped guide WWE through an uncertain time, going the extra mile to put on great matches even when the conditions weren’t favorable. It would be great to see McIntyre finally get a real coronation in front of a packed stadium. With some of the most passionate wrestling fans in the world, the U.K. has always been a strong market for WWE. Those fans have been patiently waiting for WWE to hold another PPV in their home country for so long. This just seems like the perfect moment for a title change.
Whichever way it goes, the result of Reigns vs. McIntyre will say a lot about WWE’s plans going forward. Though this year’s SummerSlam was the first PPV of the Paul “Triple H” Levesque era, that card was mostly booked prior to Vince McMahon’s retirement. Clash at the Castle is Levesque’s first real chance to put his stamp on the world-title picture. McMahon was content with Reigns still being champion despite now working a reduced schedule, but we don’t know whether Levesque feels the same way. A title change would indicate that part-time champions will be less commonplace under Levesque’s regime. If Reigns defeats Mcintyre, there’s no telling when Reigns’s time as champion will come to an end.
WWE has been a much better place since Levesque took over creative. Raw and SmackDown have improved, the roster has been bolstered, and SummerSlam gave hope that all WWE PPVs will now be must-watch events. Following that up with a successful and noteworthy Clash at the Castle would continue to show the audience that WWE’s new regime is worth investing in.
Clash at the Castle will stream live on Peacock/WWE Network at 1 p.m. ET Saturday. Here’s a full rundown of the card, along with predictions for each match:
Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre for the undisputed WWE universal championship
Reigns has been champion for so long that it’s hard to picture WWE with someone else on top. But this feels like a match that McIntyre needs to win. Failing on such a big stage in his homecoming is something that McIntyre might never totally recover from. He’ll always be one of the most pushed wrestlers in WWE, but this is an opportunity to fully elevate McIntyre to Reigns’s level. Ending Reigns’s historic title run would be the biggest win of McIntyre’s career.
McIntyre has already started a feud with Karrion Kross, who returned to WWE last month after being released in November. Kross would be a good first challenger for McIntyre while Reigns looks to regroup after losing the title.
Prediction: Drew McIntyre wins
Liv Morgan vs. Shayna Baszler for the SmackDown women’s championship
After cashing in on Ronda Rousey at Money in the Bank and then retaining in a disputed finish at SummerSlam, Liv Morgan is in need of the first legitimate win of her SmackDown women’s championship reign. When someone is a champion for the first time, it’s important that the fans see them as credible and don’t view their title win as a fluke. Morgan faced some backlash from the audience after she needed a mistake by the referee to beat Rousey at SummerSlam. She shouldn’t demolish an accomplished MMA fighter like Rousey or Shayna Baszler, but WWE needs to show at Clash at the Castle that Morgan is capable of wrestling with Baszler and outsmarting her.
Prediction: Liv Morgan retains
Matt Riddle vs. Seth Rollins
Once scheduled to take place at SummerSlam, WWE chose to delay things a bit and have Matt Riddle face Seth Rollins at Clash at the Castle instead. It’s proved to be a smart decision, with their rivalry really picking up in recent weeks. The heated war of words that Riddle and Rollins got into on Raw this Monday has made this one of the most anticipated matches on Saturday’s card. The exchange included WWE attempting to blur the lines between storyline and reality. After Riddle mentioned Rollins’s wife, Becky Lynch, Rollins said Riddle doesn’t have a family because Riddle’s wife divorced him, took their kids, and they don’t want to see him anymore. It’s the type of shot that turns their already intense rivalry into a blood feud.
It’s unlikely that this will be the last time Rollins and Riddle face each other. Rollins could use a high-profile win after his recent string of PPV losses. Rollins can defeat Riddle in Cardiff while still allowing Riddle to get his revenge at some point in the future.
Prediction: Seth Rollins wins
Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss and Asuka vs. Bayley, Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky
After their faction debuted at SummerSlam, Bayley, Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky will team together as a trio for the first time on Saturday. Bayley returning from injury, Kai being re-signed, and Sky getting called up to the main roster have provided an instant boost to WWE’s women’s division. They’re all so talented and fit together great as a group.
The result of this match should establish Bayley as the next challenger for Bianca Belair’s Raw women’s championship. It also wouldn’t be a surprise to see WWE continue adding talent to the women’s division. If Tegan Nox’s visa issues can be worked out, it would make sense for the Welsh Nox to return to WWE in her home country, either aligning with Bayley, Kai, and Sky or fighting against them.
Prediction: Bayley, Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky win
Gunther vs. Sheamus for the intercontinental title
There’s no match at Clash at the Castle that’s as guaranteed to deliver as Gunther vs. Sheamus. They’re two of the hardest-hitting wrestlers in the entire industry. There’s no way that a PPV title match between them will be anything less than excellent.
Under the previous management, WWE’s midcard titles were an afterthought and struggled to get a spot on PPV cards. Levesque has made a concerted effort to add importance to both the intercontinental and United States championships since taking charge. Booking Gunther vs. Sheamus is a statement that the midcard titles are now to be taken seriously.
The intercontinental title has eluded Sheamus during his entire WWE career. That’s a story that WWE has to pay off at some point, but the former Walter shouldn’t lose his first PPV defense as champion.
Prediction: Gunther retains
Edge and Rey Mysterio vs. The Judgment Day (Damian Priest & Finn Bálor)
Twenty years after they were tag-team champions together, Edge and Rey Mysterio will reunite to take on Edge’s former Judgment Day stablemates, Damian Priest and Finn Bálor. The Judgment Day have lost a lot of momentum since turning against Edge, going from a main-event-level act to solidly in the midcard. If they’re going to regain some of that credibility, Judgment Day must start picking up significant wins.
The Judgment Day have attempted to recruit Rey’s son Dominik Mysterio into their ranks—and that could finally come to fruition on Saturday. Dominik refused to hit Rhea Ripley with a kendo stick on the final Raw before Clash at the Castle. Whether it’s joining The Judgment Day or just another moment of hesitation, Dominik should cost his father the win here.
