{"id":162111,"date":"2026-05-28T07:00:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T11:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=162111"},"modified":"2026-05-27T22:24:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T02:24:01","slug":"wwe-clash-5-greatest-matches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/05\/28\/wwe-clash-5-greatest-matches\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE Clash Series: 5 Greatest Matches From the Event"},"content":{"rendered":"

WWE\u2019s emergence into the international market has been booming. They have always had a presence outside of the United States, but only in the past few years has that grown. WWE has produced a string of PLEs across Europe, dubbed the WWE Clash PLEs. \u00a0These shows have become a staple of WWE\u2019s overseas trips, with massive crowds in attendance.<\/p>\n

The WWE Clash PLEs are some of the most anticipated shows of the year, and for good reason. The PLEs have contained incredible matches. Matches that have been highlights of every show, brought the audience to its feet, and created a buzz that has kept the WWE Clash PLEs going strong.<\/p>\n

WWE could have chosen any name, but keeping this moniker is a testament to the aura these great matches have created. There have been many great matches at the Clash\u2019s PLE, and we will look at the 5 best of these below.<\/p>\n

Gunther v Sheamus<\/a> (Intercontinental Championship Match; WWE Clash at the Castle 2022)\u00a0 <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Gunther\u2019s reign with the Intercontinental Championship was historic. He set records, brought prestige to the championship, and had incredible matches all over the world. Perhaps the best showing during this reign was this banger against Sheamus.<\/p>\n

Both Gunther and Sheamus were known for their stiff styles, and that was on full display here. They chopped one another into oblivion, with their bodies covered in red welts as the match went on. It was incredible how much punishment was dished out. Punishment that would have put lesser men down,<\/p>\n

but had Gunther and Sheamus coming back for more. In the end, the Ring General was too much for Sheamus, putting the Celtic Warrior down with a powerbomb lariat combination. It was an incredible ending to one of the best matches of 2022. One that prompted the Cardiff crowd to give Sheamus a well-deserved standing ovation.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Roman Reigns v Drew McIntyre <\/a>(Undisputed Universal Championship Match; WWE Clash at the Castle 2022) <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Drew McIntyre won a Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook match to get a shot at Roman Reigns’ Universal Championship. It was a dream match of epic proportions, and what better place to settle this contest than in Drew McIntyre\u2019s backyard? \u00a0The Cardiff crowd was absolutely rabid for Drew McIntyre, bringing the atmosphere of this match to a whole other level.<\/p>\n

\"WWE
A WWE Clash at the Castle featuring Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns. (Photo Credit: WWE)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If anyone wants to see how to produce a compelling wrestling match, this contest is the example to look to. Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre put on a wrestling clinic for 30 minutes. It was a story of power taking on power, and while it contained a slower pace, there was no point where the match wasn\u2019t captivating.<\/p>\n

Reigns was deep into his historic title reign, and it looked as if Drew McIntyre would be the man to end it. The false finishes had the whole world believing McIntyre was going to win, and all our hearts broke when Solo Sikoa made his presence felt. The air was taken out of Principality Stadium when Roman Reigns cheated his way to victory. The wrestling world believed that this was Drew McIntyre’s night.<\/p>\n

Cody Rhodes v A.J. Styles<\/a> (I Quit Match for the WWE Championship; WWE Clash at the Castle 2024)<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Once Cody Rhodes finished his story, wrestlers were lining up to take down the new champ. A.J. Styles was the first man to challenge Rhodes, but fell short. Styles was not one to take that loss lightly, and after a well-timed fake retirement angle, an \u201c I Quit\u201d match was booked for WWE Clash at the Castle.<\/p>\n

It should never be questioned whether these two would wrestle a great match. Styles and Rhodes had been putting on classics all over the world, and their Backlash encounter was fantastic. They needed to ramp up the intensity, and Styles’ fake retirement and vicious attack made that possible.<\/p>\n

They worked well within the I Quit stipulation, taking the action out of the ring and even into the back. The creative use of handcuffs helped set the match apart, and Style\u2019s verbal jabbing with Cody Rhodes’s mother added yet another layer of emotion.<\/p>\n

The emotion that led Rhodes to trap Styles and threaten him with the steel steps to force the utterance of \u201cI Quit\u201d. Opening up Clash at the Castle with this match was a great move by WWE, and one that started the night on the right foot.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

John Cena v Logan Paul<\/a> (WWE Clash in Paris 2025) <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Once John Cena dropped the WWE Championship and turned babyface, the wrestling world could get back to a proper John Cena farewell tour. There were many dream matches \u00a0WWE wanted to produce, but it was Logan Paul who got the first shot.<\/p>\n

This was a dream match for many as it featured two media sensations, one who was a WWE stalwart, and another who had just started his WWE career. Cena was the man the world wanted to see stick it to Logan Paul.<\/p>\n

John Cena still had some gas left in the tank, and the younger Paul brought the best out of him. There was an energy to this match that we hadn\u2019t seen on the retirement tour. John Cena had wanted to work with Logan Paul, and that was reflected by the work that he put in at WWE Clash in Paris.<\/p>\n

This was reminiscent of John Cena\u2019s old matches, with the heel getting tons of offense in before Cena made his comeback. It was fun to see both men pull off moves from other wrestlers of Cena\u2019s past. This was a love letter to wrestling, and it was perfectly executed.<\/p>\n

\"WWE
Official WWE Clash in Paris poster (Photo Credit: WWE)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

Sami Zayn v Chad Gable <\/a>(Intercontinental Championship Match; WWE Clash at the Castle 2024) <\/strong><\/h2>\n

The heel turn of Chad Gable was a thing of beauty. After a loss to Sami Zayn, he lost his cool and proceeded to give the champ a vicious beatdown. That led to weeks of the Alpha Academy leader berating his stablemates and also weaseling his way into another shot at the Intercontinental Championship at WWE Clash at the Castle.<\/p>\n

This match was a fitting addition to the history of the Intercontinental Championship. It was an incredibly worked match from two of the best wrestlers on the roster.<\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

The chain wrestling that we saw was fantastic. Sami Zayn was, as advertised, the underdog babyface, with Chad Gable leaning further into his heel role. It\u2019s something to note that Chad Gable has the best German Suplexes in the world. The strength it takes to pull those off is amazing, and Zayn folding in half is the perfect sell.<\/p>\n

The drama surrounding the Alpha Academy dominated the finish of this match, but that\u2019s not a terrible thing. Otis turning his back on Chad Gable to assist Maxxine Dupri got a massive reaction from the crowd.<\/p>\n

That is more a testament to how great Chad Gable was as a heel than to how anyone turning against him was going to get a great reaction. This was a perfectly executed finish that capped off a tremendous wrestling match.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WWE\u2019s emergence into the international market has been booming. They have always had a presence outside of the United States, but only in the past few years has that grown. WWE has produced a string of PLEs across Europe, dubbed the WWE Clash PLEs. \u00a0These shows have become a staple of WWE\u2019s overseas trips, with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4518,"featured_media":162155,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,2,2192,3],"tags":[686,8238,165,7612,77,399,8899,9656,9444],"class_list":["post-162111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wwe","category-featured","category-wrestling","category-wwe-universe","tag-drew-mcintyre","tag-gunther","tag-john-cena","tag-logan-paul","tag-roman-reigns","tag-sheamus","tag-wwe-clash-at-the-castle","tag-wwe-clash-in-italy","tag-wwe-clash-in-paris"],"modified_by":"Michael Joseph Sugue, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4518"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162111"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":162157,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162111\/revisions\/162157"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}