WWE Clash At The Castle 2024: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s annual (well, more like occasionally annual, since there wasn't one last year) review of WWE Clash at the Castle, a show that only saw two out of four people wrestling in their home country of Scotland disappointed! For WWE, that's a massive improvement. Anyway, as with most premium live events these days, this one only had five matches, so we are talking about each and every one of them here — and even having a fun little debate at the end! If you missed the show, we still highly recommend checking out our Clash at the Castle results page, so you can learn what actually happened. If you watched the show, however, or have already read the results page, this is the place to be next.

Why, you ask? Because this is where the WINC staff share their opinions of all Saturday's events. From AJ Styles quitting to Otis walking away, from a shocking title change to an anticipated title retention, and all the way around to a shocking title retention, here are three things we hated and three things we loved about WWE Clash at the Castle 2024.

AJ Styles said "I quit" in the most milquetoast of ways after talking all of the talk on Friday night's "WWE SmackDown," and it hampered an otherwise excellent match. It might be a testament to the standard set by matches of its type in recent years, but in a world where people are set on fire, wives are threatened, blood is spilled, and stage set ups are ransacked, it's just bemusing to believe the "Phenomenal" AJ Styles draws the line at steel steps.

This is the same AJ Styles that pushed Brock Lesnar to his limits, battled Roman Reigns in a much more violent Extreme Rules match, and bounced across a hexagonal ring in a manner of crazy bumps. But yeah, it's stairs that proved to be the Kryptonite in his last-gasp pursuit of the WWE Championship. To be clear, there is no issue with Styles taking the loss. But it's how he did it that killed things. The match felt like it was waiting for a big moment, a bit of violent icing on the cake, and to come to the realization that the moment was never arriving as AJ Styles uttered the words of finality, that was just disappointing. It made Styles look like a chump after recent weeks, somewhat blasphemous considering the level of competitor he is, and then he was hit with the steps anyway. Which, I might add, looked far more tame than the steel chair beating he had taken moments before and essentially told the champion where to go. Further just highlighting the weak finish to what would have been a fine match under any other stipulation.

Written by Max Everett

Professional wrestling was never meant to be predictable. It was always about what someone can do in the ring, and how the boundaries of traditional storytelling, performance, and athleticism can be pushed. Professional wrestling was never meant to be predictable, but was always meant to challenge our presumptions about what is possible.

Heading into Clash at the Castle, it was almost certain that Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair were walking out of the pay-per-view just as they walked in: champions. The match itself was decent — as capable as everyone in that ring was, there is only so much that they can do with all the moving parts. By the time the smoke cleared, however, it was Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn who were having their hands raised in the ring, with Samantha Irvin proclaiming them as the new WWE Women's Tag Team Champions. It was not the match or the finish itself that was exciting, but the implications of the result that are intriguing and exciting.

This is what wrestling is about. Fyre and Dawn's upset shocked us, and broke our world a little bit. In what universe do The Unholy Union, whose appearances have been few and far between, overcome the dominant team of Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill? Our perception of the roster was challenged and shifted by Dawn's sneaky win, and in that shattering of our glass assumptions, we have room to discuss and reform our thoughts of what is possible in the world of professional wrestling from here onward.

A broken mold provides the perfect ecosystem for dozens of possibilities and opportunities to thrive. If The Unholy Union have a good and lengthy reign — and that itself is a big if — then we may have the revival of Fyre as a dominant champion, just as she was as Kay Lee Ray in NXT UK, and the launch of Dawn as a mainstay of the roster. That possibility is incredibly exciting, and fitting as WWE moves toward a more global image. If The Unholy Union lose their titles almost immediately, then it can open up conversations about why they won in the first place, and the perceptions WWE themselves have in regards to the women's tag team division, and the women's locker room as a whole. If The Unholy Union's new reign falls anywhere in between, we can have any combination of those conversations. The possibilities to expand our knowledge about the world of professional wrestling is an exciting prospect, and it is only through upset finishes like tonight's that we have the opportunity to explore the most niche and theoretical corners of that knowledge.

Congratulations to The Unholy Union! Through this reign, may we learn more about the product we're all here to enjoy.

Written by Angeline Phu 

I enjoyed the in-ring aspect of the Intercontinental Championship match between Sami Zayn and Chad Gable, but I don't think the ending was the right outcome. I personally predicted Gable would take the title here, and now, he's lost three separate times, so where does the story go? Is he just going to continue to bully the Alpha Academy for no reason? In my eyes, he really doesn't have a leg to stand on to be a bully, with three separate losses when it comes to the IC title. I didn't think Zayn would look bad or anything for dropping the title here, because he can easily move on to the World Heavyweight Championship and nobody would think anything of it, especially because he's so over anywhere he goes and belongs in the main event scene.

Maxxine being the one to take the brunt of the Alpha Academy involvement in this match was great, with Zayn tripping Gable and sending him into her previously injured ankle while she was standing in a boot ringside. However, I think this is where Otis should have officially turned on Gable, especially if he wasn't winning and Zayn was keeping the title. Maxxine getting further injured should have been the catalyst for Otis to just absolutely snap and beat the heck out of Gable and leave him laying in the ring for a speechless Zayn to pin. That's not what we got, of course, with Otis scooping up Maxxine in his arms and heading up the ramp to the back. At least he physically turned his back on Gable, I guess? I just don't think it's as compelling of a story anymore, since Gable is a loser (I love him and I was really liking this story, but there's no other way to call it) just like he's calling his students.

This angle will of course continue Monday on "WWE Raw," but now, I'm just no longer as interested. Giving the championship to Gable to continue to be a bully would have added fuel to the Alpha Academy fire, but now, Gable just feels like a loser. I definitely don't want him to continue to chase Zayn, Zayn needs to move on and find a new, more compelling challenger. While this wasn't the worst thing on the show, by far, it was the first thing that really irked me. I love Zayn no matter what, but I really think Gable needed the championship to continue his great character work, and now, it feels like things have just hit a wall.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Despite a prediction to the contrary, I had something pop into my brain earlier today that said Piper Niven might come out of Clash at the Castle with WWE Women's Championship gold. Instead, she came out with just about as much in the way of increased stock value as she would have in a winning effort, despite Bayley retaining her title in what was a contender for match of the night. Add to that the brilliance that is Chelsea Green, doing phenomenal work no matter the task and no matter the time allotted, and all three of these ladies will be returning to the United States big time winners from their performances in Scotland.

Bayley, at this point, deserves all the accolades. Just rain them down upon her forevermore, first ballot Hall of Famer that she undoubtedly is. She doesn't need a title to continue her legendary career in a positive direction, but it sure seems right on her, now and for however long she may hold it in this current run. Niven, in a match she apparently requested of Paul Levesque directly, was given plenty of spotlight and shined therein. One has to think that a championship run is in the cards for her as well before too long.

And speaking of champions, I'd like to anoint Green the overall champion of the universe in that every time she is on screen, she entertains to no end. She looks the part, plays the part, and knocks the part, whatever it is, well out of the park every single time. Today, she did all of that and then some, turning the tried and true referee's "You're outta here" spot into something more than its been in some time, hilariously returning in a Rey Mysterio luchador(a) mask to elevate things even further and masterfully capitalizing on a handful of bumps from an attacking Bayley in turn. Chelsea's got great things in store for her as long as she wants to continue in this business. So does Piper. And Bayley's greatness simply endures. We are not worthy!

Written by Jon Jordan

Maybe it does make more sense, within the fiction of WWE, to have CM Punk screw Drew McIntyre out of another world title victory. It was certainly the obvious call to make, assuming you're setting up Punk vs. McIntyre at SummerSlam and you don't want to cut the legs out from under Damian Priest's title reign after two months. From that perspective, I get it.

From literally every other perspective, though, it just really sucks. Priest was already having a touch-and-go run as champion, and having McIntyre get a LONG visual pin on him only to win the match through no fault of his own is not going to do his reign any favors. I don't really see how the move puts more heat on the Punk vs. McIntyre feud beyond just reminding people that Punk exists; there was a world of creative options available with Punk in Scotland, but they went with "he does the same thing he did at WrestleMania." And now you've send the crowd home pissed off at not one, but both of your modern United Kingdom shows. And that's not even speaking to the fact that Priest was potentially badly injured during this match! If there was ever a time to call an audible, this was it.

I don't know, maybe it's just because Punk isn't much of a draw for me these days, but this ending didn't make me more excited for Punk vs. McIntyre, it made me less excited to watch WWE in general. You can tell the company knew this was going to go over like a lead balloon — hence babyfaces winning all four previous matches and Glasgow getting a different hometown title win in the form of Unholy Union — but to me, none of the other match results really mattered the way this one mattered. It was the only match on the card that WWE had to get right, and they got it wrong. Again.

Written by Mile Schneiderman

CM Punk pulled off the most hilarious thing that could have happened as Glasgow got ready for Drew McIntyre's moment tonight. McIntyre looked poised to right the wrong of WrestleMania 40 in April, losing the WWE World title moments after he'd won it after a ringside scuffle with Punk, especially after Damian Priest almost mangled his ankle tied up in the ropes. Alas, their vendetta reared its head once more, the referee down as the challenger delivered a killing blow to the champion. A stand-in referee made their way down to the ring, '1-2...', an abrupt halt as the referee is revealed to be none another than CM Punk. The pair tussled, with Punk going low to the ire of the Glaswegian audience, and Damian Priest hobbled his way to victory. Drew McIntyre had been screwed over in what he had billed as a redo of the first Clash at the Castle, yet another screwjob at the hands of the Bloodline, in a rematch for the title he'd lost in a screwjob of-sorts back in April.

The fact of the matter is that McIntyre is never going to get his moment while Punk hangs in his rear view, and in retrospect maybe it was silly to think anything else would happen. But for the most part, we did believe this was the night, and there was CM Punk to leave eggs on our faces. It may not have been the most palatable outcome, but it was certainly logical. Drew made it his mission to screw CM Punk out of his WrestleMania moment, which he did, and then went on to take the title in lieu of Punk. Drew then went on to gloat about the fact he had hurt his nemesis, and maybe he should have considered who that was. No one could accuse CM Punk of not being consistent, he holds his grudges and Drew McIntyre learned that the hard way. Besides, one might even argue that Punk couldn't make the count because of the injury McIntyre caused; makes you think. Either way, it was a screwjob for Bret Hart to be proud of.

Written by Max Everett