Review for WWE Clash at the Castle 2022

Clash at the Castle is the first major PPV show in the UK since Summerslam 1992. Though there had been other shows over the years this was the first one which was promoted like Crown Jewel or Super Showdown.
The show starts with a great match between Raw Champion Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss, and Asuka against Bayley, Io Sky, and Dakota Kai. I was pleasantly surprised how much time this match was given, and everyone involved contributed to make the match enjoyable. Plus, it is always great to have Bayley back in the ring.
For the Intercontinental Championship Gunther faces against Sheamus in a truly brutal match, Seeing Sheamus chest turn from white to pink to blood-red was a sight to behold. I expected this to be more technical from the two, but the slugfest was brutal, and the ending came out of nowhere. I was not surprised that the match received Five Stars from Dave Meltzer as both worked well with each other throughout the match.

When I saw that Liv Morgan was going to putting her Smackdown Women’s Championship on the line against Shayna Baszler, I thought this was either going to be a squash or a very odd match. It was neither and I must say I was surprised by the performance of both, and this was the match Liv needed to prove that she deserved the belt after all.

Edge and Rey Mysterio against Finn Balor and Damian Priest was another great tag match and the story going into made it feel even more special. It could be argued that Edge and Rey feel like just two guys thrown together, but when they work this well together, I will not argue with this and the 619 into a Spear is one of the best things I have seen in a long while.

Riddle against Seth Rollins was destined to be a technical masterpiece and I think it probably would have been match of the night if Sheamus and Gunther hadn’t been on too. This felt like a very Cruiserweight-style match, so quick and impactful, but everything meant something and that’s why it felt so good.

Finally, in the main event we have the Undisputed Universal Champion Roman Reigns against Drew McIntyre in what should have been the Celtic Warrior upsetting the Tribal Chief. Instead, this is a fantastic match and though I can’t deny that Roman Reigns is not amazing, I must admit that it is time for a change. However, the match was great, the use of Tyson Fury was fantastic and despite the ending it was still a great match.

Considering how much promo-work went into this show I was stunned how little of it was used. The second disk should have been filled with all the interviews, promo videos and things that were done. They do include the complete Kickoff show which also featured Austin Theory and Alpha Academy vs Madcap Moss and The Street Profits which was a great match between them all. Also included is a Smackdown match between Sami Zayn and Drew McIntyre which is also great and two promos segments with a faceoff between Reigns and McIntyre and Reigns’ Two Year Celebration. I had completely forgotten that he has held the Universal Championship for two years and this is an astounding achievement.

Clash at the Castle is without doubt the best WWE PPV I have watched in a long time. Every single match was fantastic and there is nothing here that is skippable and I would recommend this to anyone who wants to watch three hours of the best Wrestlemania-quality wrestling. I am hoping this becomes a regular thing and there can be more UK clashes in the future.