WWE returns to the United Kingdom for Clash At The Castle on Saturday, September 3rd at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
The event is a special occasion as it is the first major stadium event to take place in the UK in 30 years. The last time WWE ran such a show was SummerSlam at Wembley Stadium in 1992.
Obviously, there is a wave of excitement surrounding the show and the card is gearing up to match the fan anticipation. So far, WWE has announced the following matches with plenty more to follow in the coming weeks.
- Roman Reigns (c) vs. Drew McIntyre – Undisputed WWE Universal Championship
- Liv Morgan (c) vs. Shayna Baszler – Smackdown Women’s Championship
- Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss & Asuka vs. Bayley, Dakota Kai & IYO SKY
- Riddle vs. Seth Rollins
- Gunter (c) vs. Sheamus – Intercontinental Title
- Edge & Rey Mysterio vs. Finn Balor & Damian Priest
Here are 5 shocking things we want to see at WWE Clash At The Castle.
5. A Surprise Appearance From Tyson Fury
As you may have heard, Clash At The Castle is set to be the biggest wrestling event hosted in the United Kingdom for a very, very long time.
To put into context just how long UK fans have waited for another stadium show, when SummerSlam 1992 was held, Rhythm is a Dancer was number one in the charts, Twitter was 14 years away, Triple H had been wrestling for five months and Austin Theory, Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley weren’t even born.
So what better way to mark the return of a bona-fide WWE super-show than with an appearance from one of the most high-profile sports people in the world? Oh and he just so happens to be British, with experience working with WWE.
While Fury’s boxing career remains up in the air Clash At The Castle presents the perfect opportunity for the star to keep his name in lights. While many had suggested that Fury might face Drew McIntyre at the event following their barbs on social media, the Scottish Warrior is now scheduled for meeting with Roman Reigns at the British event.
Back in July it was reported that Fury was in talks with WWE over a return, although no concrete plans had been confirmed.
Tyson Fury made his first appearance with WWE back in early October 2019. The undefeated fighter confronted Braun Strowman during an episode of SmackDown while he was watching as a ‘fan’ before eventually going on to face Strowman at Crown Jewel.
In Saudi Arabia, Fury won the match knocking out his rival. Fury later briefly teamed with Strowman at a SmackDown taping in Manchester, England the following month.
4. The Return Of Pete Dunne
Pete Dunne is widely acknowledged as one of the best professional wrestlers in the world. During his run in NXT UK the entire brand was based around him as one of the stalwarts of British wrestling.
A co-founder of British Strong Style, his look, attitude and fighting style made him an instant standout. Boasting a mixture of smash-mouth, catch-as-catch-can and joint manipulation he encapsulated the new wave of innovation on the independent wrestling scene. He became a star and carried the WWE’s European brand to new heights holding the NXT UK Championship for 685 days.
Following his move to NXT he unveiled a new physique and went back to his hellish ways seemingly preparing for a role on the main roster, but when it came it was far from what anyone envisaged.
Dunne’s WWE main roster debut instantly drew criticism from those who knew him before. His arrival on SmackDown as Sheamus and Ridge Holland’s Scrappy-Do-esque buddy, Butch was hilarious, but for all the wrong reasons. His “old-timey” English thug attire complete with flat cap and braces makes him look more like a cartoon character than anything resembling his former Bruiserweight persona that twisted limbs and snapped fingers.
To be fair, Dunne put 100% into the character and made it work to an extent, but it is a far cry from Pete Dunne who tore the house down with Tyler Bate at NXT TakeOver: Chicago.
The character is just one of the many examples of the disconnect between NXT and the main roster, which resulted in the NXT 2.0 rebrand. Now, with Triple H in charge of creative and WWE returning to the UK for the first time in thirty years it would be the perfect place for the return of Pete Dunne.
3. Shayne Baszler Defeats Liv Morgan Becomes SmackDown Women’s Champion
The Queen of Spades Shaya Baszler is out for Liv Morgan’s SmackDown Women’s Championship. Baszler defeated six other Superstars in a Gauntlet Match to become the Number One Contender at Clash At The Castle.
A championship challenge has been a long time coming for Baszler, who made her Raw debut by attacking and biting the neck of then Raw Women’s Champion, Becky Lynch. Upon debuting, Baszler tore through the entire women’s division. At 2020’s Elimination Chamber, she destroyed Asuka, Liv Morgan, Natalya, Ruby Riott, and Sarah Logan in emphatic fashion to challenge Lynch at WrestleMania 36.
At the strangest WrestleMania of all time, Baszler lost to Lynch in a hard-hitting match and has never been around the title scene since. A member of the main roster for over two years, and despite a somewhat entertaining partnership with Nia Jax, which resulted in a two-time Women’s Tag Team Championship reign, WWE has failed to show Baszler in the most effective way.
Under Triple H’s rule in the NXT of old Baszler was everything she should have been and more. She was a legit fighter who owned the women’s roster from day one. She captured the NXT Women’s Championship and ruled supreme for over six hundred days. Her matches were, methodical, and brutally realistic, which gave her a competitive edge against nearly everyone she faced inside the ring.
With Triple H now in charge of the main roster he could easily begin to book Baszler as the type of wrestler she was when he ran NXT and as Morgan’s championship run has unfortunately fallen flat it would be the perfect time to re-establish Baszler as the killer she used to be.
2. Seth Rollins To Get His First PLE Win Since Royal Rumble
Riddle and Rollins were originally set to face off at SummerSlam, but an injury to the Orignal Bro meant the match was called off. However, the two enemies did get into it on the show when an impromptu fight broke out between them. Now they will get to settle their differences at Clash At The Castle.
Riddle has been on a tremendous run as of late. His tag team with Randy Orton was highly-entertaining and his match against Roman Reigns was excellent. It seems as though WWE has big plans for him in the future and placing him in a programme with Rollins is another step to a brighter future. But his match against the Architect offers up a predicament in that neither of them can really lose this battle as Riddle is on the rise while Rollins requires a big win.
Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins is one of WWE’s biggest Superstars. He is a Grand Slam champion who has been involved in some of the company’s biggest moments over the years, but he hasn’t won a match on a Premier Live Event since Royal Rumble. The win came via disqualification so Rollins hasn’t actually pinned someone on PLE since defeating Cesaro at Hell In A Cell 2021.
Although the losses have done little to harm Rollins’ position within the promotional it is most certainly not a record the Architect wants to continue.
1. Roman Reigns Retains The Unified WWE Universal Championship Against Drew McIntyre
There can little argument that Roman Reigns is currently in “God Mode”. Ever since his return at SummerSlam 2020 he has reigned supreme on way to becoming one of the most dominant Superstars in WWE history. His domination over the roster has seen him vanquish every opponent placed in front of him, and now Drew McIntyre steps up to challenge.
McIntyre has been on fire in the lead up to his match against the Head of the Table. His matches are amazing, his promos are excellent and with Clash At The Castle being his big homecoming event the overwhelming feeling is that he will dethrone the unified champion.
However, the recent return of Karrion Kross may have thrown a spanner in the works. His surprise comeback saw him attack McIntyre and set his sights on Reigns via the ominous Scarlett and her sands of time. Kross’ presence spells trouble for both the champion and the challenger, but his focus seems to be on the latter in order to get a clear run at Reigns.
Kross and Scarlett’s return was a major statement by Triple H. They were one of his top projects in NXT. Their epic and movie-esque entrance and fast-track to the NXT championship portrayed them as megastars, and now they get the opportunity to do it on the main roster.
Kross gets involved during the championship match costing McIntyre his chance of a lifetime and setting up a highly charged main event feud, while Reigns continues his legendary title run.