Behind every great man is a great woman. Behind Seth Rollins is "The Man" Becky Lynch. World heavyweight champion Seth Rollins escaped WWE Clash in Paris with his title thanks to a rare assist from his wife, Lynch, at CM Punk's expense.
Rollins had the deck stacked against him Sunday. Not only did he have to fend off three opponents -- Punk, Jey Uso and LA Knight -- but he had to do it without The Vision at his side. Instead, Rollins enlisted someone he could trust more than even his teammates, his wife. Rollins leaves Paris still the world heavyweight champion with the help of the women's intercontinental champ.
Clash in Paris also featured one of the better matches on John Cena's retirement tour, a great showcase involving Roman Reigns and a bruising bout between Rusev and Sheamus.
CBS Sports was with you the whole way through the event, providing updates and highlights as the action unfolded.
Roman Reigns slays 'Big' Bronson Reed
Reed's "Big" nickname shaped the match's early flow. Reigns lifted Reed onto his shoulders but, with hubris grander than his strength, crumbled under Reed's mass. Each time Reigns built something resembling momentum, Reed snuffed it out with power. WWE fans were firmly with Reigns as he fought from behind. The Parisian crowd, riled up by Reigns' encouragement and Reed's provocation, shouted more expletives at Reed than the Netflix censors could keep up with.
Reigns eventually executed sustained offense after an extended beatdown. "The OTC" staggered his foe with strikes, clotheslined him over the ropes and cracked him with a drive-by dropkick. Reigns' comeback didn't win him the match, but it created a 50/50 tussle for control. They repeatedly countered each other, with Reed's counterstrikes being particularly impressive. Reed's repertoire included a uranage into a senton, death valley driver, sit-out powerbomb, and a suicide dive performed with shocking smoothness and precision for a man billed as 350 pounds. Reed scaled the cornerpost for his finishing move, the Tsunami Splash. Reigns revived himself in time to intercept Reed and deliver a Samoan drop from the second rope. A stunned Reed staggered to his feet and turned into a match-ending spear.
Post-match, Reigns snatched a guillotine choke on his former Wiseman, Paul Heyman. Reigns choked Heyman unconscious, payback for Heyman's betrayal at WrestleMania 41. Reigns' subsequent celebration was spoiled by Bron Breakker, who speared Reigns off one announcers' table and through the other. Reigns' night went from bad to awful after he was hit with an additional spear and three Tsunami Splashes. Jey Uso tried to save Reigns but failed. WWE medical had to stretcher Reigns out of the arena.
The match's slow pace benefited from the crowd's emotional investment. Reigns winning was never in doubt, but Reed gained the most from this match. Reed turned in one of his best matches to date, looking powerful, technical and intimidating, while playing off the hot crowd. Bonus points for setting up a future match between Reigns and Breakker through the post-match attack. Reigns def. Reed via pinfall -- Grade: B+
The Wyatt Sicks swarm The Street Profits in successful title defense
Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford had unusual tension between them and argued over who would start the match. Dawkins physically stopped Ford from kicking things off, and Ford forcefully tagged himself in shortly after. B-Fab, their ringside valet, barked at them to get on the same page.
Things went smoother for the title challengers once the action kicked off. The bout was contested evenly, matching The Street Profits' athleticism and experience against The Wyatt Sicks' physicality and mind games. The Street Profits achieved the first nearfall with a doomsday blockbuster. A complex chain of tag team maneuvers and pinbreaks was marred by timing issues and miscues. Ringside, Dawkins was sent flying over the barricade after a distraction from Erick Rowan. Ford flattened Rowan and Dexter Lumis with a highlight reel leaping senton over the corner post.
The Wyatt Sicks' numbers advantage stifled Ford's building momentum. Nikki Cross snatched Ford's ankle from under the ring, leaving him vulnerable to Uncle Howdy's finisher, Sister Abigail. The referee missed the interference, allowing the tag champs to pick the bones. Joe Gacy and Lumis planted Ford with a double powerbomb called The Plague. A solid match that never kicked into next gear. The Wyatt Sicks def. The Street Profits via pinfall to retain the WWE tag team championships -- Grade: C+
Becky Lynch takes advantage of Nikki Bella's ring rust in women's intercontinental title match
Bella's ring rust was immediately evident. Lynch rushed Bella, who was competing in her second singles match since 2018, mauling her with relentless offense. Bella turned the corner by matching Lynch's intensity, landing a flurry of strikes and clotheslines. Bella whiffed badly on an aerial maneuver that emphasized her legitimate ring rust, not the story they were telling. Bella performed an enziguri off the second corner rope but missed Lynch by a mile. Lynch briefly stumbled back, despite the clear lack of contact, before pinning Bella. The rivals exchanged submission attempts before the match left the ring.
Lynch attempted to drive Bella onto the steel steps, but the challenger countered with a Bella Buster. Inside the ring, Bella planted Lynch with the champ's Man-Handle Slam before snatching an arm for the Dis-Arm-Her. Lynch countered the attempt and rolled Bella up for the surprise three-count. The quick finish supports the story being told about Bella's ring rust, but it was poorly executed. The superstars hadn't built up enough momentum for a sudden finish, so it fell flat. The brawling was half-baked and Bella's big miss unfortunately stands out. Lynch def. Bella to retain the women's intercontinental championship -- Grade: C
Rusev submits Sheamus in physical no DQ match
A good ol' fashion donnybrook match is meant to evoke an Irish pub brawl. Sheamus and Rusev got the memo, immediately exchanging hard punches. The physicality escalated as things progressed. Rusev left kendo stick-shaped welts across Sheamus' body and bruised his chest with 10 Beats of the Bodhran, Sheamus' signature move. An Irish curse backbreaker allowed Sheamus to retrieve the kendo stick, avenging the damage Rusev did earlier. Momentum again swung Rusev's way once he grabbed a steel chair and beat down his former League of Nations ally with it. The Parisian fans treated the world to a French lesson as they counted along with Sheamus' Beats of the Bodhran. In totality, Sheamus delivered 40 chest strikes -- half of which were aided by a shillelagh.
The big spots escalated from there. Rusev intercepted Sheamus mid-air with a kendostick to the ribs, before driving him off steel steps through a wooden bar. Sheamus countered a camel clutch into White Noise, driving both men off high-stacked whiskey barrels through two tables ringside. Back between the ropes, Sheamus countered Rusev with a Brogue Kick for a deep two-count. Rusev responded by snapping the shillelagh across Sheamus' back for his own nearfall. Rusev snatched half the shillelagh, wedged it between Sheamus' teeth and cranked back on The Accolade submission for the win. WWE commentator Michael Cole noted that it was only the second time Sheamus had tapped out in his 16-year main roster career. Big, meaty men doing big, meaty men stuff. The match elicited multiple "This is awesome" chants, and the big spots were executed well. Rusev def. Sheamus via submission. Grade: A-
'Big match' John Cena uses new tricks to overcome Logan Paul
Cena dug deep into his bag of tricks at Clash at Paris, introducing new moves and revisiting rare ones. Paul weaponized his youth and athleticism against an aging Cena, but taking on the legendary 17-time world champion on pay-per-view is a tall task for anyone. Cena bullied his opponent early with technique, but couldn't sustain the output. Paul, 18 years his opponent's junior, used explosive strikes and athletic moves to chew up the legend. A blockbuster, slingshot lariat and octopus submission were among the tools in Paul's arsenal. Cena played the greatest hits to great fanfare from the French crowd. A five knuckle shuffle and Attitude Adjustment nearly blew the roof off of Paris La Défense Arena, but Paul kicked out.
The action went back and forth down the stretch. Paul scored with a clean flipping senton, and Cena pulled out a rare Angel's Wings, the lifting double underhook facebuster innovated by Christopher Daniels. Cena also used Baron Corbin's End of Days. Paul caught Cena off guard by mimicking his shoulder block series. Paul grinned, his face smeared with blood, before attempting a five-knuckle shuffle. The egomaniac took too long pandering and was laid out with a second Attitude Adjustment for another nearfall. Cena continued to whip out less traditional moves from his repertoire, including a hurricanrana and Code Red. Paul nailed Cena with his titanium punch and two frog splashes, but only mustered two counts. Cena surprised Paul down the stretch by borrowing the Styles Clash, the finisher belonging to his popular rival AJ Styles. A pair of Attitude Adjustments sealed the deal for the future Hall of Famer. A strong finishing stretch elevates this as one of the better matches on Cena's retirement tour. Cena definitely thrives performing as a fan favorite. Cena def. Paul via pinfall -- Grade: B+
Becky Lynch shocks CM Punk, saves Seth Rollins in successful title defense
Rollins' Vision extends beyond his faction. Rollins' infrastructure was rocked after allies Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed were ejected from the building due to their earlier assault on Roman Reigns. But Rollins had a back-up plan: his wife and fellow future Hall of Famer Lynch.
Rollins was public enemy No. 1, but his challengers' combined egos overshadowed him. Jey Uso proposed a three-on-one attack on the champion; however, CM Punk cold-cocked Uso as a receipt for what happened between them on Raw. Rollins wisely fled, allowing his three opponents to fight each other while the champion picked his spots. After an exchange of quick pin attempts, the challengers were later united by their shared hatred for Rollins. Punk, LA Knight and Uso swarmed Rollins and beat him down in the corner. Knight called for temporary allies to put Rollins through a table. Punk and Uso agreed; however, Uso -- acknowledging Reigns' advice to look out for himself -- dropped Punk with a superkick. All four superstars brawled into the crowd before returning to the ring.
The first nearfall came after Rollins dropped Punk with a pedigree. Knight had an extended offensive flurry, but ended after Punk drove him and Uso to the mat with a tower of doom. Knight, the only superstar in the match never to win a world title, nearly broke his curse with a BFT to Rollins. Unfortunately for the "megstar," Uso broke up the pin. The doomsday tower clipped Knight's wings, but what happened next put him down for good. Knight took a leap of faith off the top rope, but a planned elbow drop through the announcers' table ended disastrously after Knight moved out of the way.
Inside the ring, Rollins and Uso exchanged finishing moves for nearfalls. Rollins limited variables by hitting Uso and Knight with curb stomps ringside. Punk dodged a steel chair-assisted curb stomp and lined up the champion up for a GTS. Before Punk could land a critical blow, a masked assailant struck Punk in the groin. Lynch revealed herself as the attacker, setting up her husband Rollins for a match-winning GTS. A very good four-man match with a solid conclusion. Rollins and Lynch haven't been featured on television together often, but their current character arcs make perfect sense for an on-screen reunion. Knight, who continues to be the bridesmaid and never the bride, looked very strong tonight. Rollins def Punk, Knight and Uso via pinfall to retain the world heavyweight championship. Grade: A-
