Credit: WWE.com

Final Picks for Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso and WWE Clash of Champions 2020 Card

Anthony Mango

Every championship on WWE's main roster will be on the line when Clash of Champions lands Sunday on WWE Network.

This card will feature Roman Reigns against his cousin Jey Uso for the Universal Championship, along with an Ambulance match and more.

Who will walk out of the WWE ThunderDome with gold around their waist? Which champions will fall short of retaining their titles?

Before the event kicks off at 6 p.m. ET, let's break down the card with one last round of predictions for WWE Clash of Champions 2020.

Women's Tag Team Championship Match: Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler vs. Riott Squad

Credit: WWE.com

Both teams vying for the women's tag titles haven't been cohesive in recent weeks.

Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott struggled to reform The Riott Squad and have had a few hiccups through not trusting each other 100 percent, even though they have matching gear and continually talk about how they have smoothed things out.

Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler continue to talk about how they don't like each other, but they work rather well as a combined force. Opposites must attract, or they are just simply too dominant not to succeed.

When it comes to this title defense, the true test is of WWE Creative rather than the champions being able to get the job done. This is where we see whether WWE's intention was to put the belts on Jax and Baszler for a quick goof and transition them to another team or whether the company is invested enough in them to keep this going a while longer.

The Riott Squad is one of the only true tag teams left, so if the titles don't go to them, it's a sign WWE wants to keep Baszler and Jax champions going into Survivor Series, if not 2021. If Morgan and Riott win, though, it's likely WWE can't wait to split up the current titleholders.

When in doubt, go with the champions having the advantage, especially when they are more physically dominant Superstars.

                   

Prediction: Baszler and Jax win.

Raw Tag Team Championship Match: The Street Profits vs. Andrade and Angel Garza

Credit: WWE.com

Whether in singles or tag team matches, Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford have fought Andrade and Angel Garza in some fashion 14 times this year. That doesn't include Bianca Belair against Zelina Vega, when both teams were looking on and got involved.

Many matches ago, it got past the point of anyone caring to see this again. For some reason, WWE decided yet another match was the best way to go instead of doing anything different.

It could have been The Street Profits against Dominik Mysterio and Humberto Carrillo, Seth Rollins and Murphy, The Hurt Business or a title unification against Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura, and it would have been more interesting.

Who cares who wins this? If The Street Profits retain yet again, they will probably just fight Sunday's challengers another 20 times. If the belts change hands, it's way past when it should have happened.

History shows The Street Profits are the favorites, but let's just say they lose because if not, there's even less reason for this match to happen.

                 

Prediction: Andrade and Garza win.

SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match: Cesaro and Nakamura vs. Lucha House Party

Credit: WWE.com

Lucha House Party have been losing to Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura for months. Every so often, they get a  victory to keep them in the title picture, but those wins mean little.

At the end of the day, they serve as cannon fodder for the champions, which is likely to happen here too.

Kalisto and Lince Dorado have been arguing so much that the trio is barely hanging on. Another loss at Clash of Champions will probably be what finally splits them up.

It's not impossible for the belts to change hands, but it's highly unlikely.

                   

Prediction: Cesaro and Nakamura win.

Raw Women's Championship Match: Asuka vs. Zelina Vega

Credit: WWE.com

WWE put in zero effort to make Zelina Vega a credible threat to Asuka. The setup for this match consisted only of Vega asking for a match and beating Mickie James to earn the title shot.

Interrupting Asuka's match with Peyton Royce didn't do enough to position Vega on Asuka's level. She simply doesn't have the track record to suggest The Empress of Tomorrow's title reign is in danger.

Since this will take place on the Kickoff, there is no chance whatsoever the title changes hands.

Vega is just the next person to be fed to Asuka so the title can be defended at an event where all the belts  are on the line.

                        

Prediction: Asuka wins.

SmackDown Women's Championship Match: Bayley vs. Nikki Cross

Credit: WWE.com

Bayley's past 18 months has pretty much consisted of beating Nikki Cross. The two have had more than 30 encounters when you throw Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss into the mix in tag team matches and the like.

Bayley vs. Cross was a tired concept by the end of last year, let alone this late into 2020.

This feud ran dry of worthwhile topics to talk about a long time ago. There's nothing to discuss beyond wondering whether Bliss will hit Cross with a Sister Abigail.

There's no way Bayley drops the title here, as she must remain champion to set up a match with The Boss. At this rate, however, we shouldn't expect that until 2050—if we're lucky.

                       

Prediction: Bayley wins.

United States Championship Match: Bobby Lashley vs. Apollo Crews

Credit: WWE.com

Like several other matches on this card, WWE opted to go with the easiest, least creative option for the United States Championship defense.

Instead of following through with the old promise of not having a rematch clause, Apollo Crews has a chance to win back this belt by facing the Superstar who took it from him a few weeks back, Bobby Lashley.

It wouldn't make much sense to just revert to having Crews as champion. He has less momentum than he did a month ago.

Expect Lashley to retain the title and for this to be nothing but a stalling tactic until settling on a new opponent for him going forward.

                       

Prediction: Lashley wins.

Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match

Credit: WWE.com

Sami Zayn claims to be the rightful intercontinental champion, as he was never beaten for the title before he went on hiatus. AJ Styles thinks he should still hold the gold, as he lost the match after being struck with a knee brace.

Jeff Hardy—the titleholder—is ready to prove himself to be a fighting champion after issuing a challenge for all three to duke it out in a ladder match.

Luckily for Hardy, he has much more experience in this type of match than the others. The IC champ has practically made his career on the back of jumping off ladders, so he should feel more at home.

It's a bit too early for him to drop the title, particularly to two people who have already had runs with the strap this year.

Styles and Zayn are more than capable of winning this match, but Hardy should have the fire and spirit to retain.

                

Prediction: Hardy wins.

Universal Championship Match: Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso

Credit: WWE.com

It's great to see something different going on in the Universal Championship picture, as Jey Uso has never had a world title shot before, let alone against his cousin Roman Reigns.

Unfortunately, that won't lead to a title win. Uso has no shot at dethroning The Tribal Chief.

Roman Reigns came back with massive momentum on his side at SummerSlam before taking out both Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt to capture this title. His new heel persona is far too intriguing for WWE to devalue him so fast, so he's holding on to this championship for the foreseeable future.

The earliest his reign should be in jeopardy is WrestleMania 37. Even then, The Big Dog might retain depending on his challenger.

For now, though, Uso should be a rather easy opponent for him to topple and look strong over.

                

Prediction: Reigns wins.

WWE Championship Ambulance Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton

Credit: WWE.com

An Ambulance match should have a definitive ending, but that won't be the case here.

This is more so about selling WWE's newest toy than settling the score between Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton. After all, Hell in a Cell is set to take place Oct. 25, and that would be a better match type for them to finish their feud in.

On Sunday, Retribution will interfere and take both McIntyre and Orton out of commission. That will be payback for McIntyre leading the charge against them in the main event of Monday's Raw.

An ending with both McIntyre and Orton being taken away will be not only WWE's attempt to hook fans into watching the next night's Raw to find out what happens next but also allow this feud to go on even longer. Then, come October, they will wrap things up inside Hell in a Cell.

              

Prediction: No-contest or draw.

              

Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.

   

Read 14 Comments

Download the app for comments Get the B/R app to join the conversation

Install the App
×
Bleacher Report
(120K+)