Clash at the Castle (2022) | Results & Grades

The following are the RESULTS and my GRADES for WWE Clash at the Castle 2022.

KICKOFF

Six-man Tag Team match

Madcap Moss & The Street Profits

def. Austin Theory & Alpha Academy

COMMENTS

Solid match for the kickoff. Glad Theory got his Austin back. Pretty straight forward six-man match, with some really good spots and the crowd was heavily invested! The UK crowd did not disappoint all night long. Good stuff.

GRADE: C

MAIN CARD

Six-Woman Tag Team Match

Bayley, Iyo Sky & Dakota Kai

def. Bianca Belair, Asuka & Alexa Bliss

COMMENTS

Really great match to start of the main card of the show! Not too much to say about it, it was a great way to kick off the main card and the crowd was really into Bayley the whole match... much to her character's demise. Bayley is too lovable for this heel character. Come on, WWE. Bayley picked up the pinfall over the Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair. Surely this gives us who faces Bianca next in her next title defense. Unless there is another plan in place.

GRADE: B+

Intercontinental Championship

Gunther (c) def. Sheamus

COMMENTS

This match was REALLY hard hitting from both men. Sheamus proved why he's one of the best in the business and company. Banger after banger after banger. Gunther showed why he's a dominant champion and why people should take him incredibly seriously. Gunther also brought back Imperium (the group he led in his NXT days). I loved that moment.

Crowd was heavily into the match and particularly into Sheamus' presence. The two slugged each other to death the whole time and just beat the shit out of each other. After the match, Sheamus got a HUGE standing ovation from the Cardiff crowd. Really good stuff. 

Oh, and before the match took place, Bret Hart was shown in the crowd with British Bulldog's family. WWE showed a clip of British Bulldog and Bret Hart's main event match from SummerSlam 1992 in the UK. Loved that moment.

GRADE: A+

WWE SmackDown Women's Championship

Liv Morgan (c) def. Shayna Baszler

COMMENTS

Technically speaking, this was Liv Morgan's best title defense/match since she became champion. Liv performed well, Shayna did her thing much like how she was presented in NXT. Really solid match and showing for both ladies! I was happy with this result. I'm glad Liv is getting more time as champion as well. Shayna will be back in the hunt, or she may continue feuding with Liv. We'll see.

GRADE: B

Tag Team Match

Edge & Rey Mysterio

def. Finn Balor & Damian Priest

(The Judgment Day)

COMMENTS

The streak of solid matches keeps rolling on with Edge and Mysterio against The Judgment Day! This was another solid match, with some great spots throughout. The 619 into the spear at the end for the win was a REALLY great spot! Very smooth and Balor played that off well.

After the match, Dominik Mysterio came in and celebrated with Rey and Edge, before kicking Edge in his dingleberries and then clotheslining his father - turning heel in the process.

Really great turn from Dom here and that clothesline to his dad looked TOO personal almost. Haha. Edge sold the turn really well with his facial expression following the kick to the hush puppies. All in all, we knew the turn was coming and it was done really well. Looking forward to seeing what a heel Dominik Mysterio will be in the coming months.

GRADE: B+

Singles Match

Seth "Freakin" Rollins def. Matt Riddle

COMMENTS

And yet again... another banger. Rollins. Riddle. Tore down the Castle. This was the co-main event of the evening and it delivered, not so shockingly. Rollins and Riddle traded a lot of hard hitting and well paced moves, sometimes using each other's own moves against the other. Rollins was trash talking the hell out of Riddle at one point and Riddle's performance and facial expressions were really well done.

In the end, Rollins hit a SUPER STOMP onto Riddle for the win. Great match.

GRADE: A

Undisputed WWE Universal Championship

Roman Reigns (c) (w/ Paul Heyman) def. Drew McIntyre

COMMENTS

Oh boy. Not taking away from a debuting Solo Sikoa, but this match did deliver for all but the ending. The ending of the match felt very underwhelming to me. Sikoa had a great debut, aiding his cousin Reigns to defeat McIntyre. McIntyre was built up incredibly strong for Reigns in this match, nothing taken from him. Great performance from Reigns and McIntyre the whole match.

There was a ton of hard hitting spots and Reigns' becoming really doubtful of his chances at retaining. Great touches on Reigns' part. In the end, Reigns got the aid from Solo Sikoa to defeat McIntyre and now Sikoa has aligned himself with Roman Reigns and The Bloodline. At one point during the match, towards the end, Austin Theory attempted to cash in his MITB, only to be knocked out cold by Tyson Fury at ringside. Really entertaining spot.

After the match, Fury shook Reigns' hand, Reigns walked off. Fury and McIntyre had a song celebration to end the entire show with the Cardiff crowd into the whole segment. That part felt very Vince McMahon-like of an ending. Weird. Wasn't too big of a fan of that, but it is what it is. If the crowd is happy with it, who cares right?

GRADE: A

SHOW GRADE: A