BALTIMORE — Things are pretty complicated as it is between Seth Rollins & Braun Strowman — they’ll battle over Rollins’ Universal Title and defend the Raw Tag Team Titles together at WWE Clash of Champions — but was shaping up to be a relatively straightforward contract signing quickly grew into something thornier when The O.C. interfered, leading to an impromptu tag team match between the two squads that highlighted both the strengths and weaknesses of the still-young pairing.
The impetus for the good brothers’ arrival was the frustration of United States Champion AJ Styles, the O.C. head honcho who believed he had a better claim to a title match than Strowman, who only had to glance at Rollins’ championship to get a match. (Adding to Styles’ frustration: As of yet, he has no challenger for Clash of Champions.)
The Phenomenal One voiced his gripes by tearing up Rollins’ and Strowman’s signed contract, and Strowman responded by flinging the table into AJ’s face, setting off a brawl between the two sides. In the ensuing matchup, Rollins & Strowman used a unique combination of speed and strength to claim the victory. The chemistry faltered beyond that, however, as Strowman inadvertently trucked Rollins in a post-match scrum, leading to a combined beating from the full O.C. and Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode, who will challenge Rollins & Strowman at Clash of Champions.
The 5-on-2 odds proved too much, as Rollins was dispatched with a superkick and Glorious DDT, while Strowman met his end with a super-sized Magic Killer and Phenomenal Forearm from Styles. To say the night ended in disaster for Rollins & Strowman would be an understatement, but perhaps there is a silver lining: For all the lingering tension over their Universal Title Match, the shared beatdown might only serve to make them a stronger team in the long run. If nothing else, they’re each the enemy of each other’s enemy. And that might be more than enough.
Article source: WWE.com