WWE Clash in Paris 2025

WWE Clash in Paris 2025

Nanterre, France - August 2025

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the WWE World Heavyweight Champion was Seth Rollins, the WWE Champion was Cody Rhodes, the Intercontinental Champion was Dominik Mysterio, the US Champion was Sami Zayn, the WWE World Tag Team Champions were the Judgment Day's Finn Balor and JD McDonagh, Tiffany Stratton was the WWE Women's Champion, Dexter Lumis and Joe Gacy of the Wyatt Sicks held the WWE Tag Team Championships, Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair were the Women's World Tag Team Champions, Giulia was the Women's United States Champion, Becky Lynch was the Women's Intercontinental Champion, and the Women's World Championship was vacant due to Naomi's pregnancy. 

Roman Reigns vs. Bronson Reed was the opener. I don't think they needed to go 20+ minutes, but the crowd was into this and Reed was impressive in his first real spotlight PLE match in quite awhile. Reigns spent most of the match taking a beating, coming back multiple times only to get cut off by Reed's size, strength, and surprising quickness. I think they could've tightened things up a bit and it took awhile before they really got into a groove, but that's to be expected in a Roman match. The post-match saw Reigns get obliterated by Bron Breakker and Reed for several minutes before Jey Uso finally came out to try to make the save. With the pre-match introductions, the lengthy match itself, and then the 10+ minute post-match segment, this felt very longwinded to me. I'm guessing this was done to write Roman off TV for awhile. (3/5) 

The Street Profits challenged The Wyatt Sicks (Lumis and Gacy) for the World Tag Team Championships in the next match. The Profits came out in ridiculous Borderlands-inspired gear, including spiked codpieces and bizarre masks. From the very start they teased tension between them and it has been widely speculated that the Profits are heading for a split. Another good match that showcased both teams' chemistry. There were some nifty double-team maneuvers throughout, including Dawkins practically tossing one of the Sicks into a Montez back suplex and then a Doomsday Blockbuster minutes later. Ford eventually got hit with a Sister Abigail on the floor by Uncle Howdy, leading to Gacy and Lumis hitting their combo finish to end the match. A solid match. (3/5)

Nikki Bella challenged Becky Lynch for the Women's Intercontinental Championship match in the next match. Despite being the heel, Lynch seemed to be more popular with the French fans. This was never going to be a battle of technicality and it was generally decent until Nikki started slamming Becky's head into the announce table and Becky very lazily and obviously used both hands to "slap" the desk instead of even trying to make it look good at all. Back in the ring, Nikki missed Becky entirely with a jump kick off the second rope and looked like an idiot in the process. They got things back on track in the minutes that followed, though Nikki's lack of urgency was noticeable and some of the telegraphing was too. I liked Nikki trying to use Becky's own signature moves against her and Lynch eventually using an unorthodox pin to defeat Nikki (the same one that she used at Evolution according to Barrett), though, and thought that while the execution of some of the maneuvers and sequences were a little sloppy or slowly, both women portrayed their characters well and told a clear story that felt like a title match. (2.5/5)

The next match was billed as a Donnybrook Match (essentially make it No DQ) - Rusev vs. Sheamus. These two wasted little times throwing hands, brawling back and forth and out of the ring (where both men set up tables). Rusev used a kendo stick before the tables could be brought into play, raising some noticeably bright red welts on the Celtic Warrior's side and back. Sheamus came back with an Irish Curse backbreaker and went to work with the kendo stick himself. Sheamus brought some chairs into the mix but ate a heel kick before he could use any and Rusev struck him with some hard chair shots to the back and side before positioning one in the corner. Sheamus no-sold some kicks, blocked a chairshot attempt, and hit a huge running knee off the ropes to a big pop. After hitting his trademark blows on the apron, they went back to the floor and Rusev tossed Sheamus over the wooden bar...only for Sheamus to climb up and hit him with another 10 blows on the bar! Fun spot there. Rusev climbed over the barricade, but Sheamus hunted him down and hit him in the chest with 10 shilleleigh shots! Back in the ring, Sheamus delivered a Celtic Cross powerbomb for 2 and signaled for a Brogue Kick but Rusev ducked under the ropes to avoid it. Sheamus went for a splash off the rope but Rusev hit him in the chest with the kendo stick and then whipped him into the steps. Rusev nailed him with a section of the steps and then re-positioned the toppled-over bar, slamming Sheamus through the thing! Rusev slid him back into the ring and applied the Accolade, but Sheamus somehow got to his feet and fell back onto a pair of chairs! Good stuff there. Sheamus sent Rusev into the timekeeper's area over the barricade and then brought him up with him on a stack of whiskey barrels. Rusev pulled his feet out from under him and re-applied the Accolade on top of the barrels! Sheamus escaped with some elbows to the jaw and hit the White Noise off the whiskey barrels through the tables! Wow. Terrific spot! They managed to make it back in the ring where Rusev grabbed hold of the shilleleigh but ate a Brogue Kick! Sheamus made the cover but only got 2.9! Rusev hit one of his own signature kicks, ate a knee, and then hit another in the corner. Rusev nailed Sheamus with the shilleleigh across the back for another nearfall, breaking the thing, and then reapplied the Accolade for the third time (this time with the shilleleigh pulled across his mouth), forcing Sheamus to tap out. Clearly the best match on the show up till this point and maybe even a top 10 MOTY for the WWE due to how hard these two went at it and how fun some of the spots were. Worth checking out. (4/5)

John Cena and Logan Paul went at it in the next match. This was an epic “PWG style” match where Cena and Paul dished out every single move they both knew for over 25 minutes. I theorized that Cena was “washed” during his heel run, that he was physically incapable of performing this style of match. I was proven wrong here, though I do think they went a bit too far with how many times Paul kicked out of Cena’s AA. Speaking of Paul, if I had to nitpick, his first Hangman-lifted slingshot clothesline looked a little awkward with what seemed like a half-second hesitation and his Five Knuckle Shuffle made zero contact, but this was an excellent showing out of him and even suggests a possible babyface run in his future as he did not resort to any heel tactics or run-ins. I’m not sure the full audience will ever get behind him, though Paul vs. Lesnar could be the ticket (unless fans boo both) if they position him right. (4/5)

The night's main event was a Fatal Fourway for the World Heavyweight Championship held Seth Rollins as he took on CM Punk, LA Knight, and Jey Uso. This wasn't an all-time classic or anything, but I thought it was smartly worked with everyone gunning for each other and very "locked-in" on the stakes. Any time Punk, Knight, or Uso looked like they might for a brief alliance, they almost immediately cut each other off, which fits all three's personalities and histories with one another. I don't think anyone predicted a title change, but they made up for a lack of suspense with constant action and quality high spots (including a little bit of furniture damage and Rollins bringing a chair into the mix). The big story of the match was the finish, though, as a "mystery man" (revealed to be Becky Lynch) cost CM Punk the match with a low-blow. It got great heat and did feel like a genuine shocker while also being one that made a ton of logical sense as Becky has been a heel for quite awhile and has been brought up multiple times by Punk and on commentary as Rollins' wife. Not a must-see match, but a must-see angle and set-up with rumors that this is all going to lead to the return of AJ Lee (Punk's real-life wife). (3.5/5)

A much, much better show than most people may have expected, Clash in Paris showed that the WWE roster is still capable of producing great things in 2025 even when IYO SKY, Gunther, and Rhea Ripley aren't on the card. This show benefited considerably from the variety it offered: a rare tag team title match, a fun No DQ bout, a Fatal Fourway, a workrate epic in Cena/Paul, a hot opener (thanks to the star power of Roman Reigns) followed by a lengthy, heat-inducing angle, and a thrilling, shocking "capper" that made the next night's Raw a must-watch (though I didn't personally watch it till close to a week later on YouTube). Earning a strong Kwang Rating of 3.33-out-of-5, Clash in Paris 2025 was a strong show and hopefully the template for future WWE PLEs. 

FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote In Hand