Cody Rhodes once again defeated AJ Styles at WWE Clash at the Castle in Glasgow, Scotland. (Credit: … [+]
WWE Clash at the Castle 2024 was a memorable event for the fans in Glasgow, one highlighted by the return of CM Punk, a big loss for Drew McIntyre and another successful title defense for Cody Rhodes.
At WWE’s latest international event, four Scottish superstars entered the night with aspirations of winning a major title. However, it was only the pairing of Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn who left the OVO
Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF
While Clast at the Castle featured a number of big moments, like Fyre and Dawn’s big hometown win, overall the show was a step down from other recent overseas shows such as Backlash France. Some shortsighted creative calls—and disappointing matches—resulted in more questions than answers about the short-term and long-term futures of some of WWE’s biggest stars.
Here are the full results for the show:
- Cody Rhodes defeated AJ Styles in an “I Quit” match to retain the WWE Championship
- Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre won the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles by defeating Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair and the duo of Zoey Stark and Shayna Baszler in a triple threat match
- Sami Zayn beat Chad Gable to retain the Intercontinental Championship
- Bayley defeated Piper Niven to remain the WWE Women’s Champion
- Damian Priest retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Drew McIntyre
And let’s take a look at some of the most important highlights and takeaways from a newsworthy Clash at the Castle 2024 event.
Cody Rhodes Vs. Solo Sikoa The Likely Direction For WWE Championship
Rhodes defeated Styles in an “I Quit” match to retain the WWE Championship—just as expected. Perhaps the biggest story coming out of that match wasn’t the match itself but rather what happened afterward.
As Rhodes made his exit following his successful defense over Styles, he was confronted by Solo Sikoa and attacked by The Bloodline. Of course, Rhodes and The Bloodline have plenty of history, but this new incarnation of the faction—with Sikoa as its leader—is much different from the original stable.
Sikoa, in the absence of Roman Reigns, is the group’s clear No. 1 star and is reportedly planned as a future opponent for Rhodes. Given Rhodes’ second decisive victory over Styles at Clash at the Castle and the lack of other non-Bloodline heels on SmackDown, Rhodes vs. Sikoa appears to be coming sooner rather than later.
Expect that WWE Championship match either at Money in the Bank or SummerSlam but likely the latter.
Jade Cargill And Bianca Belair Loss Hurts WWE Women’s Tag Team Division
WWE pulled off quite the shocker when hometown heroes Fyre and Dawn won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship in Glasgow. That, of course, means that Cargill and Belair lost their titles roughly just six weeks after winning them.
The glass half full outlook here would be that Cargill and Belair will continue to focus on tag team wrestling and pursue a second reign. However, since the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship returned in 2019, there has been little to nothing to suggest that Belair and Cargill losing the belts is a good thing.
WWE has, time and time again, united star-studded duos—like Becky Lynch and Lita, for example—in what appeared to be an effort to elevate the titles. In reality, though, their championship reigns proved to be the exception rather than the rule, with very little overall impact on the often poorly booked women’s tag team division.
While Belair and Cargill could potentially stick around the division as challengers, WWE’s history would suggest that they’re instead going back to the singles scene—which could spell doom for Dawn, Fyre and the rest of the tag team division.
WWE Drops The Ball With Chad Gable’s Loss To Sami Zayn
Gable lost an Intercontinental title match. Stop if you’ve read that sentence before.
Yes, WWE dropped the ball yet again with another big loss for Gable, who fell short against Zayn in Glasgow. The question is: why? Gable just re-signed with WWE and was seemingly set for a major championship reign. Instead, he—just as he’s done throughout 2024—failed in his quest to win the Intercontinental title.
Whether he’s lost to Zayn or Gunther, this has been the running theme for Gable this year. When Gable was a babyface, those losses made sense. However, as a full-fledged heel who’s doing the best character work of his career, Gable was the ideal candidate to win the Intercontinental title at a time when his character is red hot.
Yet, he lost again, and it makes you wonder why WWE is continuing to delay his title win—if he’s even going to win it at all.
Despite Loss To Bayley, Piper Niven Proves She Belongs In Women’s Title Scene
Piper Niven never really had a chance in her WWE Women’s Championship match against Bayley. She was there to give her hometown fans in Scotland a big moment—and then lose.
But if WWE fans learned anything from Niven’s showing in Glasgow, it’s that the oft-overlooked star should be a mainstay in the women’s title picture. Niven and Bayley delivered a fantastic match at the latest WWE pay-per-view, with Niven looking like a formidable challenger and a possible future world champion.
At a time when WWE’s women’s division has been hampered by injuries and other departures, now is the perfect time for the creative team to focus on stars who are typically overlooked. Given her strong character work and top-notch performance at Clash at the Castle, Niven’s recent push should be more than a one-off.
She can talk, she can wrestle, and she can make the fans believe. Why not give her another chance?
Drew McIntyre Vs. CM Punk Likely For WWE SummerSlam
For the second time in as many tries, McIntyre lost a world title match at WWE Clash at the Castle. This time, however, it was thanks to interference from a returning CM Punk.
During McIntyre’s title match against Priest, an inadvertent referee bump gave Punk the opportunity to—while disguised as a ref himself—hit McIntyre with a lowblow and allow Priest to retain his title. For McIntyre, that was yet another disappointing world title match outcome, but it wasn’t at all surprising.
The clear and obvious direction for McIntyre has been a match with Punk, and with SummerSlam less than two months away, McIntyre vs. Punk should be one of the biggest matches on that event’s card. The unfortunate reality is that McIntyre had to lose to Priest in his home country in order to further his feud with Punk, which likely also sets up Gunther vs. Priest at SummerSlam after Gunther earned a title shot by winning the King of the Roung tournament.
Where that leaves McIntyre’s title aspirations is anyone’s guess, and for now, his second major Clash at the Castle title loss is a tough pill for him—and his fans—to swallow.