WWE Clash of Champions 2017: What we learned, takeaways, future projections

Shinsuke Nakamura & Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn

What we learned: We didn’t really learn too much here because we already knew what was going to happen. The special referees were going to be the main focus of the match, and that’s exactly what happened, which seems like a waste given the talent of the four men involved in the actual bout. I suppose that if we actually learned anything here, it’s the fact that we’re just going to have to get used to Randy Orton having hair again.

I was interested to see how the two-ref thing was going to work as it pertains to actually calling the match, and it seemed to take a few minutes for them to figure it out as well before it turned into Shane McMahon calling one half of the ring while Bryan called the other. Who didn’t see that becoming an issue? It seemed that every near-fall got a complaint, and that took away from the flow, if there really ever was any to begin with. I won’t say that there were no good spots during the match, but I got bored after a while and was just waiting to see how the finish was going to play out. We all knew that there was no way that Owens and Zayn were going to get “fired,” but how that was going to be done was the only interest here.

After Nakamura was taken out, which actually was smart booking, Orton was left to fend off Owens and Zayn and seemingly had the match after hitting an RKO on Sami. However, as Shane was counting, Owens pushed Bryan, who fell into Shane to break up the count, which led to the end sequence after Shane and DB started spatting. Orton hit an RKO on Owens and sent him out of the ring as Zayn rolled up Orton. Shane counted the 1-2 and then stopped, and Bryan obviously didn’t approve. I was just waiting for the middle fingers from Shane a la Survivor Series ’98 when he screwed Stone Cold Steve Austin.

More shoving from the two refs allowed Zayn to eventually roll up Orton and Bryan counted a really fast 1-2-3 (take notes, Nick Patrick) as Shane tried to stop it to no avail. Owens and Zayn keep their jobs and the drama continues.

What’s next: Well, we obviously know that the animosity between Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan is just getting started. There’s that small part of everyone, I’m sure, that is hoping that Bryan will somehow get medically cleared and be able to actually wrestle Shane, perhaps at WrestleMania 34. It’s in New Orleans this year, the site of Bryan’s biggest triumph, and that would obviously be the best thing that could happen, but let’s not hold our breath for that.

There’s also the Randy Orton factor here. He and Bryan have a long history, including that match at WrestleMania XXX in New Orleans, and Daniel screwing him out of a win might not sit well. This looks like a Bryan heel turn but I actually don’t see it that way. Bryan was just trying to do the right thing and Shane is the one who acted unprofessionally. With Bryan still being so over and one of the most popular people in WWE, Orton may end up turning heel by default by attacking him at some point.

As for Owens and Zayn, they need to break away from this thing. It might go for a little while longer as we build toward the Royal Rumble, which they should factor into, but a run at the tag titles could be fun as well.

Lost in the shuffle here was Nakamura and again, I think that might have been a good thing. Let him stay in the background for the next few weeks and then give him the win at the Royal Rumble, which would obviously create the matchup we’ve all been waiting for.