Clash In Paris 2025: Quelque Chose De Sympa En Français
Clash In Paris 2025
Date: August 31, 2025
Location: Paris La Defense Arena, Paris, France
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett
We’re overseas again and that means it’s time for one heck of a hot crowd. If last year’s show in France is any indication, this could be something rather special. The show is big enough with the Raw World Title on the line in a four way, plus John Cena vs. Logan Paul in what could be an awesome showdown. Let’s get to it.
The opening video focuses on the idea of big moments, with the Starry Night motif for quite the unique style.
The set is rather awesome with the Eiffel Tower in the middle and more of the Starry Night look. That’s great.
Roman Reigns vs. Bronson Reed
Paul Heyman is here with Reed and they’re fighting over stolen shoes. The fans sing for Reigns to continue a rather cool trend around here. They stare at each other for a LONG time to start, with the lockup not taking place until over two minutes into the match. That goes nowhere so Reigns tries some running shoulders, which go nowhere. Reed tries to run the ropes but gets caught with an uppercut, allowing Reigns to knock him into the corner for some right hands (with the fans sounding like they’re counting in English).
Reigns loads up the Samoan drop and that’s just not going to work on someone’s Reed’s size. They go outside with Reed hitting a shoulder off the apron. Reigns manages a posting and loads up the announcers’ table, which takes a bit too long. A World’s Strongest Slam crushes Reigns and Reed hammers away back inside. The neck crank goes on followed by a chinlock until Reigns fights up, only to get knocked back down.
Reed slowly hammers away even more until Reigns makes another comeback and knocks him outside. The apron boot to the face connects and Reigns sends him into the post a few times. Back in and Reed plants him with a release Rock Bottom into a backsplash and things slow back down. The Death Valley Driver gives Reed two but he can’t hit a piledriver. Reigns is knocked outside, where he cuts off a dive with a Superman Punch.
Back in and another Superman Punch gets two but the spear is cut off and Reed knocks him outside for the suicide dive. The Tsunami misses though and Reigns tries another spear, which is countered into one heck of a sitout powerbomb for two. The Tsunami is loaded up again but Reigns is right there with a super Samoan drop. Now the spear can connect for the pin at 22:07.
Rating: B. This is one of those concepts that isn’t hard to figure out, as it was a pair of monsters beating on each other until one of them couldn’t get up. At the same time, it’s proof of how simple a wrestling story can be. In short, they were fighting over SHOES, but it turned into a personal feud where they beat the living daylights out of each other. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.
Post match Reigns gets his shoes back and Heyman realizes he’s in BIG trouble. Heyman tries to acknowledge his Tribal Chief but gets guillotined for his efforts. Reigns signs the shoes and throws them into the crowd for a nice touch. As he’s doing that though, Bron Breakker pops up to spear him off the table in an awesome visual. Reigns is slowly taken out, allowing Breakker to run down the aisle and spear him again. That’s enough for Reigns to be put on a stretcher, which allows Reed to hit a Tsunami.
Cue Jey Uso for the attempted save but Breakker spears him down again, with Reed hitting ANOTHER Tsunami, even splitting the security and agents in a heck of a visual. The stretcher is able to get Reigns out after quite the lengthy segment to get Reigns off WWE TV for the sake of Street Fighter.
Jelly Roll is here.
Adam Pearce ejects Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker, saying they’re suspended without pay if they come back.
Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. Wyatt Sicks
The Profits, with B-Fab, are challenging. Dawkins says he’ll start, which doesn’t seem to go well with Ford. Gacy gets knocked into the corner so it’s off to Lumis, with Ford rather aggressively tagging himself in. Ford tries to pick up the pace but Lumis drops down to shake him a bit. Everything breaks down and a double flapjack plants Gacy. Ford gets dropped from behind though and Gacy takes him into the corner, with some forearms not getting Ford very far.
The chinlock doesn’t work either but Lumis comes back in to send Ford into the corner. Gacy takes him to the apron, where Ford is able to hit a suplex for a needed breather. The diving tag brings in Dawkins to pick up the pace, including a big running flip dive to the floor. Back in and Dawkins hits a Swanton for two on Gacy, who is back up with a belly to back neckbreaker combination getting two on Dawkins. Ford goes up but gets crotched on top, only to get back up for the Doomsday Blockbuster.
The frog splash misses though and Gacy flips Lumis onto Ford for two, with Dawkins making the save. Dawkins pounces Gacy into the barricade but stops for a staredown with Erick Rowan. Ford isn’t having that and flip dives over the post to take out Lumis and Rowan. Nikki Cross pops out from underneath the ring to grab Ford’s leg. That leaves Uncle Howdy to give Ford a Sister Abigail on the floor. Back in and a powerbomb/suplex combination finishes Ford to retain at 13:10.
Rating: C+. While it’s still better than its Raw counterparts, the Smackdown tag division isn’t the most interesting thing in the world at the moment. That was the case again here, as the Profits are suddenly having issues but they wind up losing due to the numbers game anyway. That’s a simple story for the Wyatts, but it’s also one that is going to get old in a hurry. Nice enough match here, but it was the definition of a cool down match.
We recap Becky Lynch defending the Women’s Intercontinental Title against Nikki Bella. Lynch beat Lyra Valkyria and started bragging so Bella issued the challenge. Personal insulted ensued and Bella seemed to get underneath her skin.
Women’s Intercontinental Title: Nikki Bella vs. Becky Lynch
Lynch is defending. Bella fires off forearms to start and Lynch bails to the floor, with Bella scoring off a dropkick to the knee. A dive misses though and Lynch sends her into the barricade to take over. Back in and Lynch stomps away in the corner before hitting her in the face. The chinlock goes on for a bit until Bella gets up and they slug it out.
Bella makes the clothesline comeback and dropkicks her out to the floor, setting up the baseball slide. Lynch’s hands are sent into the announcers’ tables over and over (that was terrible) before they go back inside….and HORRIBLY mistime Bella’s middle rope spinning kick to the face. As in Lynch was almost on the other side of the ring and Bella probably missed her by three feet. Thankfully Lynch is smart enough to just cover her for two and Bella gets to fire off the forearms.
Lynch catches her up top with a superplex for two but Bella is back with something like the STF (the Fearless Lock). That’s broken up as well but Lynch can’t get the Disarm-Her. Lynch misses something off the top and now the Fearless Lock goes on, with Lynch making the rope. They fight outside with Bella sending her into the post, followed by the Bella Buster onto the steps. Back in and Bella hits a half nelson slam (called the Manhandle Slam) for two but Lynch sends her throat first into the ropes and grabs a backslide to retain at 13:07.
Rating: D-. I don’t know if they were nervous, if Bella has forgotten how to wrestle or if Lynch took a sudden blow to the head before the match, but this was absolutely terrible. They were on such different pages that they were in different libraries and it never got anything close to good. It didn’t help that the fans were going nuts for Lynch and didn’t seem to care about Bella, which was ignored for the most part. I’m not a Bella fan, but I’ve seen enough of her time in the ring to know that this wasn’t her normal stuff. Talented wrestlers can have bad nights and I think we can chalk this up to that. At least hopefully.
We look at the Roman Reigns attack, but in different languages.
Jey Uso is banged up but insists he can still go.
We recap Sheamus vs. Rusev, who have been feuding for a good while now and brawling a lot, so it’s time for a Good Ol Fashioned Donnybrook.
Sheamus vs. Rusev
Donnybrook, meaning a street fight with Irish/Bulgarian themed weapons. They slug it out to start with Sheamus taking over. The fight heads outside, with Sheamus loading up some tables but having to suplex Rusev to cut him off. Rusev comes back with a kendo stick to the head and arms before a turnbuckle pad is ripped away. Sheamus manages an Irish Curse but gets sent into the corner.
They fight over a chair, with Rusev spinwheel kicking it into Sheamus’ face for one. Rusev loads up a chair in the corner but Sheamus tells him to bring it. A jumping knee to the face gives Sheamus two and he fires off the forearms to the chest. Back up and Rusev sends him over a bar at ringside, with Sheamus fighting back for more forearms. Rusev tries to escape into the crowd so Sheamus gives him more forearms, this time with a shillelagh.
Back in and the High Cross gives Sheamus two but Rusev bails outside before the Brogue Kick can launch. That’s fine with Sheamus, who goes up but dives into a kendo stick shot to the ribs. Rusev beats him down again before grabbing the Accolade, with Sheamus getting up and dropping back onto some chairs for the escape. They go outside again, with Rusev dropping him onto some whiskey barrels and grabbing the Accolade up there.
That’s broken up as well but this time Sheamus gives him an Irish Curse off the barrels and through some tables for the massive crash. The Brogue Kick gets two back inside and they trade strikes to the face. Rusev hits his jumping superkick in the corner and grabs the Shillelagh for the Accolade (bending all the way back onto his own back) and the tap at 20:06.
Rating: B. Well, it was as advertised, as these guys beat the fire out of each other until one of them couldn’t get up anymore. That being said, it went on a bit too long and I’m still not sold on Rusev. The problem is that he’s getting into the same circumstances as Alberto Del Rio: there is little to define him other than “he’s a heel from X country”. What is there to Rusev other than he’s a heel from Bulgaria? He needs more than that, and I don’t see it happening anytime soon.
We recap John Cena vs. Logan Paul. Cena is good again but Paul doesn’t like the fact that he isn’t getting enough respect. That led Cena to say that Paul could be great but won’t put in the effort. Therefore, it’s time to fight for honor and such.
John Cena vs. Logan Paul
Paul grabs a headlock to start so Cena reverses into one of his own. Cena wins a test of strength so Paul steps on his feet and hammers away in the corner. Back up and Cena fires off his own rights in the corner and tries a monkey flip, with Paul sticking the landing and knocking him down again. Paul mocks the fans a lot so Cena drops him with the running clothesline.
Back up and Paul hits a blockbuster into a chinlock, with Cena powering out. That earns him a gutwrench powerbomb for two and Paul gets to laugh at the fans a bit more. Back up and they collide for a double down, with the fans getting WAY behind Cena again. Cena fights up and hits the flying shoulders into the ProtoBomb but the AA is countered. Paul’s Buckshot Lariat gets two but the frog splash hits knees.
The AA gets two but Paul sticks the landing, meaning it’s off to an Octopus hold. That’s reversed into the STF, which is broken up as well so Cena hits the middle rope DDT for two. They both need a breather before Paul is back up with a Zig Zag for two of his own. Back up and Cena hits a Downward Spiral for two but Paul drops him again and gets a quick standing moonsault for two more.
Back up and they slug it out until Paul hits a pop up uppercut of all things for another near fall. With nothing else working (and his nose busted), Paul initiates Cena’s finishing sequence but takes too long on the Shuffle, allowing Cena to hit another AA for two. Cena’s Code Red gets two but Paul is back with the big right hand for the next near fall. A pair of frog splashes give Paul two and he hits his own Shuffle. The AA is countered into a Styles Clash of all things to give Cena two and they’re both spent. Back up and Paul hits the big right hand but Cena ducks another shot and hits the AA for the pin at 26:21.
Rating: A-. Oh of course this was great, as Cena knows this style as well as anyone else and Paul knows how to bring it on the big stage like almost no one else. I’m not sure if Paul should have lost here, but there was pretty much no way that Cena was going to lose in another high profile match so soon after Summerslam. These guys stole the show, which is impressive as some of the other matches have been rather snazzy as well.
The official attendance is 30,343, breaking the gate record set by Taylor Swift.
Seth Rollins doesn’t want to hear about the odds being stacked against him. He’s won with his back to the wall before though because he’s one of the best ever. It’s time to remind people what he can do. If he can’t keep the title by himself, maybe he doesn’t deserve to be champion. Oh yeah someone is going to be helping him. Rollins seemed a bit shaken up by the odds having been changed.
We recap the main event of Seth Rollins defending the Raw World Title in a four way. Rollins is champion, having cashed in on CM Punk at Summerslam. Jey Uso is the former champion who is owed a rematch, while LA Knight pinned Rollins before he won the title. The challengers want the title but keep fighting among themselves.
Raw World Title: Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk vs. Jey Uso vs. LA Knight
Rollins is defending and Uso is banged up from earlier tonight. Uso gets kicked out to the floor to start so Punk and Knight go after Rollins. Knight rolls Punk up for two and they slug it out but Uso is back in with a high crossbody to Rollins. Punk clotheslines Uso down and mocks the YEET but gets knocked outside. Uso and Knight start double teaming Rollins, who fights back and stomps away at all three.
That doesn’t last long though as he’s quickly surrounded and triple teamed, with Knight saying we need a table. Punk: “JEY! GET THE TABLES!” That doesn’t last long as they start fighting again, with Rollins joining them for a trip through the crowd. Back in and Punk grabs a swinging neckbreaker on Rollins, followed by the running knee in the corner. Uso drops Rollins, Knight drops Uso, Punk drops Knight and Rollins Pedigrees Punk for two to leave everyone down.
Rollins is back up with a buckle bomb for two on Knight, followed by a frog splash for the same on Uso. Knight gets stomped down in the corner but makes a comeback, including the slam to Punk and a DDT to Rollins. The top rope elbow connects but Uso is there with a superkick to put Knight down. Punk is back up for a Tower Of Doom to leave everyone else down, allowing him to pick his targets.
Back up and Punk poses on the apron, allowing Knight to knock him…well almost through the table at inside. The BFT gives Knight two on Rollins and he slugs it out with Uso. Knight takes Rollins outside for some rams onto the announcers’ table (better than Rollins’ wife from earlier) but the top rope elbow sends Knight crashing through said table. Back up and Uso dives onto Rollins, who reverses the spear into a Pedigree for two back inside. Rollins’ Phoenix splash misses though and now Uso can connect with the spear.
The Superfly Splash gets two but Punk is back in with a GTS for two on Uso. Rollins is back in and yells at Punk before grabbing a chair. A Stomp on the floor drops Uso and another takes out Knight. Back in and Rollins tries to Stomp Punk’s neck into a chair but Punk slips out and hits a GTS. Another is loaded up but cue a woman in a hoodie to hit Punk low. And yeah it’s Becky Lynch, which is so logical that it’s surprising. Rollins Stomps Punk onto the chair to retain at 24:30.
Rating: B. Well the ending was a surprise, and I’m impressed by how simple it really was. Rollins needed help but his lackeys were gone, but his wife, who happens to be a top star, comes in to save him. Other than that, you had your usual good brawl with everyone working hard, but it got into the pattern of “two in the ring, two out on the floor” and that got a bit tedious. Still though, solid main event here and I’m a bit surprised that Knight didn’t take the fall.
Rollins and Lynch celebrate to end the show.
Overall Rating: B. Call it four and a half out of six, which is a pretty good result for a show. The Paul vs. Cena match stole the show, while the main event and opener were more than worth a look. If you get rid of the horrible women’s match (again, that felt like a horrible off night where they just couldn’t get it together) and replace it with anything even average, this is probably in contention for show of the year. As it is, it’s just a rather good show with Cena and Paul putting in a great one.
Results
Roman Reigns b. Bronson Reed – Spear
Wyatt Sicks b. Street Profits – Powerbomb/suplex combination to Ford
Becky Lynch b. Nikki Bella – Backslide
Rusev b. Sheamus – Accolade
John Cena b. Logan Paul – AA
Seth Rollins b. CM Punk, Logan Paul and Jey Uso – Stomp onto a chair to Punk
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Gah 6 months of John Cena wasted. It was like every match he was trying to figure out how to wrestle as a heel.