The 2016 Clash of Champions was the inaugural

Clash of Champions ''Clash of the Champions'' is an American series of professional wrestling television specials that were produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) in conjunction with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). T ...

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program g ...

and

livestreaming Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but n ...

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of ev ...

produced by WWE. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw brand division. The event took place on September 25, 2016, at the

Bankers Life Fieldhouse A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becaus ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

. Clash of Champions replaced WWE's previously annual event,

Night of Champions Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends on ...

, and it was the first Raw-branded event following the reintroduction of the brand split in July 2016. As per the theme of the event, all championships exclusive to Raw at the time were defended. Eight matches were contested at the event, including one on the Kickoff pre-show. In the main event,

Kevin Owens Kevin Steen (born May 7, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Kevin Owens. Steen began his career in 2000, at the age of 16. Prior to joining WWE in lat ...

defeated

Seth Rollins Colby Daniel Lopez (born May 28, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Seth Rollins (often referred to as Seth "Freakin" Rollins). Prior to signing ...

to retain the

WWE Universal Championship The WWE Universal Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two world titles for WWE's main roster, a ...

. Of the five Raw-exclusive championships, only the United States Championship changed hands, with

Roman Reigns Leati Joseph "Joe" Anoa'i (born May 25, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and former football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Roman Reigns. He is the leader of The B ...

defeating defending champion, Rusev.

Production

Background

From 2007 to 2015, WWE ran an annual event titled

, a

(PPV) and

WWE Network WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television t ...

event in which the concept was that every main roster championship promoted by WWE during those years was defended. In mid-2016, the promotion reintroduced the

brand extension Brand extension or brand stretching is a marketing strategy in which a firm marketing a product with a well-developed image uses the same brand name in a different product category. The new product is called a spin-off. Organizations use thi ...

, again splitting its main roster between the Raw and

SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes sim ...

brands where wrestlers were exclusively assigned to perform. Along with the brand split came brand-exclusive PPVs. Night of Champions was in turn replaced by

, which was established as a Raw-exclusive PPV that year, and subsequently the first Raw-branded event of the second brand extension. The event was established on a similar concept as Night of Champions, with every title exclusive to Raw at the time defended. These were the

, the

Raw Women's Championship The WWE Raw Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the Raw brand division. It is one of two women's world titles for WWE's main roster, along ...

, the United States Championship, the

Raw Tag Team Championship The WWE Raw Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two male tag team championships for WWE's main rost ...

, and the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. The event was held on September 25, 2016, at the

Storylines

The card comprised eight matches, including one on the Kickoff pre-show. The matches resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes,

villains A villain (also known as a " black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character ...

, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches, with results predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw brand. Storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television show ''

Monday Night Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network in the United States. The show ...

''. At

SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's secon ...

Finn Bálor Fergal Devitt (born 25 July 1981) is an Irish professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Finn Bálor (), and is a member of The Judgment Day. Devitt is widely known for his t ...

became the first WWE Universal Champion by defeating

. However, he was forced to vacate the championship the next night on ''Raw'' due to suffering a

legit ''Legit'' is a slang abbreviation of '' legitimate''. It may also refer to: * Legit (professional wrestling) * ''Legit'' (2006 TV series), Scottish sitcom * ''Legit'' (2013 TV series), created by comedian Jim Jefferies * Legit Ballin', a record ...

shoulder injury during the match. Rollins,

Big Cass William Morrissey (born August 16, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. He currently performs in All Elite Wrestling, where he is a member of The Firm, under the ring name Big Bill. He is also known for his tenures with WWE (where he per ...

, and

all won matches to qualify for a

four-way elimination match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

the next week on ''Raw'' for the vacant Universal Championship. After Owens eliminated Cass, a returning

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as ...

helped Rollins eliminate Reigns, before turning on Rollins and helping Owens win the championship. The next week, Rollins turned

face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...

and attacked Owens during his celebration ceremony. Raw general manager

Mick Foley Michael Francis Foley (born June 7, 1965) is an American actor, author, retired professional wrestler, and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE under the company's Legends program, acting as a company ambassador. Foley worked for m ...

then scheduled Owens to defend his championship against Rollins at Clash of Champions. Rusev had been scheduled to defend the United States Championship against Roman Reigns at SummerSlam, but the match didn't happen because the two brawled before the match, with Reigns standing tall in the end. Having been deprived of his chance at the WWE Universal Championship in the four-way elimination match, Reigns confronted Owens on the September 5 episode of ''Raw''. General Manager Mick Foley promised to add Reigns to the title match at Clash of Champions if he could defeat Owens in a non-title match the following week. Reigns lost the match, first by disqualification when Seth Rollins attacked Owens. Foley then restarted the match, but Rusev came down to the ring and distracted Reigns, allowing Owens to score a pinfall. The following week, a match between Rollins and Rusev, which had been booked as punishment for their interference the previous week, ended in a double countout. Reigns was then granted a rematch against Rusev for the U.S. title at Clash of Champions. At SummerSlam, The New Day (

Kofi Kingston Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah (born August 14, 1981) is a Ghanaian-born American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Kofi Kingston. He appeared on WWE's NXT brand as one-ha ...

and

Xavier Woods Austin Watson (born September 4, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Xavier Woods. He appeared on WWE's NXT brand as one-half of the current NXT Tag ...

) lost to Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson by disqualification when Big E returned from injury and interfered in the match. However, The New Day remained Raw Tag Team Champions. On the September 5 episode of ''Raw'', a rematch was scheduled for Clash of Champions. On the September 12 episode, Kingston and Woods lost a non-title rematch against Gallows and Anderson. At SummerSlam,

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

defeated

Sasha Banks Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado (born January 26, 1992) is an American professional wrestler and actress. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sasha Banks. Banks previously wrestled on ...

to regain the Raw Women's Championship. During the match, Banks suffered a legit back injury and then took time off to heal. On the September 5 episode of ''Raw'', Bayley defeated Charlotte after a failed distraction from Charlotte's valet,

Dana Brooke Ashley Mae Sebera (born November 29, 1988) is an American professional wrestler, bodybuilder, gymnast, fitness competitor, and model. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Dana Brooke and is a fifteen-ti ...

. Banks teased a retirement, but then revealed that she would be cleared to compete by Clash of Champions and invoked her rematch clause for the championship at the event. The next week, a confrontation between all four women led to a

triple threat match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

to decide Charlotte's challenger at Clash of Champions. Banks defeated Bayley and Brooke to secure her title opportunity, but a week later, after replays showed Banks's shoulders being down as well as Bayley's when she pinned her, Bayley was added to the title match, making it a triple threat match. On the September 12 episode of ''Raw'',

Sami Zayn Rami Sebei ( ar, رامي سبعي; born July 12, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sami Zayn, and is a member of The Bloodline. Prior to jo ...

was the guest on

Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Jerich ...

's "Highlight Reel". After both men insulted each other, Jericho attacked Zayn with a cell phone and a Codebreaker. Later, a match between the two was scheduled for Clash of Champions. A best of seven-series between Cesaro and

Sheamus Stephen Farrelly (born 28 January 1978) is an Irish professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sheamus. Prior to joining WWE, he wrestled on the European i ...

began at SummerSlam. Sheamus won the first three matches at SummerSlam and on the August 29 and September 5 episodes of ''Raw'' to lead the series 3–0. However, Cesaro won the next three matches on a September 7 house show and on the September 12 and 19 episodes of ''Raw'' to even the series at 3–3. The seventh match to decide the series was set for Clash of Champions. T. J. Perkins won the inaugural

Cruiserweight Classic The Cruiserweight Classic, formerly the Global Cruiserweight Series, was a professional wrestling tournament and WWE Network event produced by WWE. All participants were billed at a weight of 205 lbs or less to determine the inaugural WWE Cruis ...

and became the inaugural WWE Cruiserweight Champion by defeating

Gran Metalik Máscara Dorada (born August 24, 1988) is the ring name of a Mexican '' luchador'' '' enmascarado'' (masked professional wrestler) currently working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). He is best known for his time in WWE where he perfo ...

in the final. On the September 19 episode of ''Raw'',

The Brian Kendrick Brian David Kendrick (born May 29, 1979) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE. Kendrick is also known for his appearances with Ring of Honor (ROH), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), New Japan Pro-Wrestli ...

defeated Metalik,

Cedric Alexander Cedric Alexander Johnson (born August 16, 1989) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Alexander worked for Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2010 until 2016. He started as part of C&C Factory, ...

, and

Rich Swann Richard Allen Swann (born February 15, 1991) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling. He is a former Impact World Champion, TNA World Heavyweight Champion, Impact X Division Champion and Impact Digital Media Cha ...

in a fatal four-way match to earn a title match against Perkins at Clash of Champions. On the September 12 episode of ''Raw'', a match between

Alicia Fox Victoria Crawford (born June 30, 1986) is an American retired professional wrestler and former model known for her time with WWE under the ring name Alicia Fox. Crawford debuted on '' SmackDown'' on June 13, 2008, using the Alicia Fox name and ...

and

Nia Jax Savelina Fanene (born May 29, 1984) is an Australian-born American professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Nia Jax from 2014 to 2021 and became a one-time Raw Women's Champion and tw ...

ended in a no contest when Jax tackled Fox through the barricade. On September 19, a rematch was scheduled for the Clash of Champions Kickoff pre-show.

Event

Pre-show

During the Clash of Champions Kickoff pre-show, Nia Jax faced Alicia Fox. During the match, Fox was able to hit Jax with a crossbody from the top rope and followed it up with a Scissors Kick, but Jax kicked out of the pin. The end came when Jax executed a Samoan Drop on Fox to win the match.

Preliminary matches

The actual pay-per-view opened with The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) defending the Raw Tag Team Championship against Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. In the end, Xavier Woods struck Anderson with The New Day's trombone, allowing Big E and Kingston to execute the "Midnight Hour" on him to retain the title. Next, T. J. Perkins defended the WWE Cruiserweight Championship against The Brian Kendrick. Perkins forced Kendrick to submit to a Kneebar to retain the title. After the match, Perkins offered to shake hands with Kendrick, who responded with a headbutt. After that, Cesaro faced Sheamus in the final match of the best-of-seven series. In the climax of the match, Cesaro performed a Clothesline on Sheamus, knocking them over the barricade. After the ringside doctor ruled that the match could not continue, the match was declared a no-contest. In the fourth match, Chris Jericho faced Sami Zayn. The match ended when Jericho executed a "Codebreaker" on Zayn to win the match. In the fifth match, Charlotte defended the Raw Women's Championship against Sasha Banks and Bayley. During the match, Banks applied the "Bank Statement" on Charlotte, but Bayley broke up the hold. Banks applied Bayley in the "Bank Statement", but Charlotte broke up the hold. In the end, Charlotte executed a "Queen's Boot" to Bayley, knocking her into Banks, who was on the ring apron. Charlotte executed another "Queen's Boot" on Bayley to retain the title. Later, Rusev defended the United States Championship against Roman Reigns. During the match, Reigns performed a spear on Rusev, only for

Lana Lana may refer to: *Lana (given name) *Francesco Lana de Terzi (1631–1687), Italian Jesuit priest and scientist *Lana (wrestler), professional wrestler and pro wrestling manager *''Wild Energy. Lana'', a 2006 Ukrainian fantasy novel Sciences *L ...

to pull the referee out of the ring, for which she was ejected from ringside. As Rusev applied The Accolade on Reigns, Reigns escaped and executed a spear on Rusev to win the title.

Main event

In the main event, Kevin Owens defended the WWE Universal Championship against Seth Rollins. During the match, Owens attempted a Running Senton on Rollins through a broadcast table, but Rollins rolled off and Owens crashed through the table. Chris Jericho then appeared to distract the referee. Rollins executed a "Pedigree" on Owens, but Jericho placed Owens's foot on the bottom rope, avoiding the pinfall. Rollins chased Jericho and accidentally knocked down the referee. Rollins executed another "Pedigree" on Owens. but as the referee was still down and could not count the pinfall. Jericho attacked Rollins, who fought him off and executed suicide dives on both Jericho and Owens. Rollins tried to revive the official and

Stephanie McMahon Stephanie McMahon Levesque (born Stephanie Marie McMahon; ; September 24, 1976) is an American businesswoman and retired professional wrestler. She is the current chairwoman and co-chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the world's largest prof ...

sent another referee to officiate the match. As Rollins re-entered the ring, Owens executed a Pop Up Powerbomb on Rollins to retain the title.

Aftermath

Seth Rollins suffered a legitimate rib injury stemming from Kevin Owens's Gutbuster off the second rope, leading to him not being medically cleared to compete. A

Hell in a Cell match Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a five-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link fenc ...

between Rollins and Owens for the

would later be scheduled for

Hell in a Cell Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a five-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link fen ...

. The following night, ''Raw'' opened with a rematch between Roman Reigns and Rusev for the United States Championship. The match ended in a double countout. Afterwards, Reigns attacked Rusev with a chair, thus standing tall. The following week, a Hell in a Cell match between the two for the title was scheduled for Hell in a Cell. Also on ''Raw'', Sasha Banks demanded a one-on-one rematch for the Raw Women's Championship as she had not been pinned at Clash of Champions. Charlotte agreed to the rematch to take place the following week on ''Raw'', where she lost the title to Banks. The following week, a rematch between the two for the title was scheduled for Hell in a Cell, which was further stipulated as a Hell in a Cell match. The 2016 Clash of Champions would be the only in the event's chronology to be Raw-exclusive as the 2017 event was SmackDown-exclusive, and while a Clash of Champions event did not occur in 2018, brand-exclusive pay-per-views were discontinued that year following

WrestleMania 34 WrestleMania 34 was the 34th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on April 8, 2 ...

. The event returned in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, with all titles available to Raw, SmackDown, and

205 Live ''WWE 205 Live'' is an American professional wrestling streaming television program that was produced by WWE. It premiered on November 29, 2016, and ended on February 11, 2022. The show originally aired exclusively on the WWE Network until March ...

defended. The 2020 event just featured Raw and SmackDown as 205 Live merged under

NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...

in late 2019. This would be the final Clash of Champions as the originally planned 2021 event was canceled and replaced by that year's Extreme Rules.

Results

References

External links

* {{WWEPPV, Clash of Champions

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

2016 WWE Network events Events in Indianapolis 2016 in Indiana Professional wrestling in Indianapolis 2016 WWE pay-per-view events September 2016 events in the United States WWE Raw