WWE Clash In Paris: Where Do We Go From Here?

Well, that was unexpected. WWE Clash in Paris gave us plenty of things to think about going forward. Now, we have our thoughts about Clash in Paris, as far as what went down, but we also have plenty to say about how WWE moves forward after this weekend's goings-on.

Where to begin? Well, Becky Lynch is apparently part of the Vision, the faction formed by her real-life husband, Seth Rollins, with Paul Heyman, Bron Breakker, and Bronson Reed. That alone is worth spending some time exploring, but add to it the fact that she interfered in the Fatal Four-Way for the World Heavyweight Championship — costing CM Punk what looked like a sure victory over Rollins — and things just got much more complicated.

Of course, quite separately, Lynch has her own Intercontinental Championship to worry about, having just beaten Nikki Bella a short while before the aforementioned interference. John Cena overcame Logan Paul and while that's not surprising, it leaves us to wonder about the next direction for his farewell tour, with fewer than 10 dates remaining. And after the Wyatt Sicks used their numbers to retain the SmackDown tag team titles, what's next for that division?

So we put our thinking caps on and assessed how WWE might go about moving forward with the storylines, titles and divisions in play this weekend. This is WWE Clash in Paris: Where Do We Go From Here?

The Wyatt Sicks are still WWE Tag Team Champions after defeating the Street Profits at Clash in Paris, and it looks like they'll continue to run through the "SmackDown" tag team division until one of the teams, hopefully one like Nathan Frazer and Axiom, or even Fenix and Andrade defeat them. After Joe Gacy and Dexter Lumis won the TLC match at SummerSlam and held on to their championships, it seemed likely that they would go back to facing each of the teams one-by-one. 

If they didn't lose in one of the hottest matches at "The Biggest Party of the Summer," it doesn't seem like they're dropping them anytime soon, especially during Halloween season when the Wyatt Sicks haunted house is still going strong at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal.

They could move on to the other teams who have tagged together for a long time, like the Profits, first. Next could be the Motor City Machine Guns or #DIY. It was surprising to see them defend the gold, and their match was added last minute, at a premium live event in a match that wasn't too big of a deal, so it's likely they'll defend the titles on "SmackDown" more than PLEs. The Wyatt Sicks could very well get a match on Wrestlepalooza, however, but only if WWE is stacking the card with more than five matches again to counter-program All Out.

Bo Dallas appearing backstage as himself rather than his Uncle Howdy character during Friday's episode of "WWE SmackDown" was interesting, and he seemed to have gotten in the heads of the Street Profits, which caused dissension between the pair at Clash. After they get away from the Wyatts, the Profits' heads could clear and they realize their mistakes, or, Dallas did really plant a seed for Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins to go their separate ways. It seems like that's Dallas' move to help protect his family and the tag titles going forward, getting in the minds of the other tag teams, which is going to be a unique aspect to "SmackDown" in coming weeks. 

Written by Daisy Ruth

Clash in Paris started off poorly for the Vision when Bronson Reed suffered a pinfall loss to Roman Reigns in the opening match on the card, with the "OTC" then exacting some revenge on Paul Heyman with a guillotine choke. 

That would not be the last say on the matter, however, as Reed and Bron Breakker continued their beatdown on Reigns after the bell to write him off of TV, and also doing further damage to Jey Uso before he challenged for the World Heavyweight Championship later on; that proved to be Reed and Breakker's last involvement in the event, with Adam Pearce making it abundantly clear they would not be in the building to deliver injustice in the main event. Ultimately, that turned out to be a non-factor for Seth Rollins, retaining his World Heavyweight title with the help of his wife Becky Lynch, but it doesn't change the fact that Reed and Breakker are not short of enemies coming out of the weekend. 

Assuming Reigns is sidelined, Uso can be expected to pick up the familial slack and continue the fight against the Vision, and one could bundle LA Knight and CM Punk into that mix as his fellow challengers. Reed and Breakker are sure to meet one of or all of those names at some stage or another, whether that be as a duo or in singles action. But naturally after a while there starts to be a question over whether they will be charged with bringing further gold to the group. 

That provokes another question over what kind of gold that would entail, with the Judgment Day's Dominik Mysterio, Finn Balor, and JD McDonagh holding the Intercontinental and World Tag titles respectively, all of the above open and ready for challengers whenever the time arises, although Mysterio is defending said title against AJ Styles on "WWE Raw," so there is a chance for the "Phenomenal One" to enter Reed or Breakker's cross-hairs should they choose that route. 

Written by Max Everett

John Cena's next opponent seemed to be set after he lost the Undisputed WWE Championship at SummerSlam, but Brock Lesnar's name wasn't brought up at all during Cena's post-show interview in the ring following Clash in Paris. That shouldn't be looked too far in to, however, as Lesnar reportedly hates traveling, and likely wouldn't want to make the trek to Paris just to do a run-in spot in what wasn't even the main event of the night. WWE more than likely didn't want to acknowledge the fact Lesnar wasn't there, so Cena said he "did best in an open challenge," and all he said was that he's going to Chicago next week, a place where he's had plenty of memorable matches. Two weeks ago, "SmackDown" General Manager Nick Aldis mentioned that he had heard from Lesnar, right before Cena got clocked by Paul backstage. Lesnar is waiting in the wings, and it's time to bring him back out once again.

Despite what seemed like a fake-out of having Paul as Cena's next opponent despite Lesnar making his shocking return at SummerSlam, it really does seem like Lesnar is officially Cena's next opponent this time, thanks to Wrestlepalooza and WWE's counter-programming of AEW's All Out that day, as well as the fact it's WWE's first show on ESPN's new streaming service. Wrestlepalooza has to be big, and WWE knew that before fans did, so that could be why Paul was slotted in here in Paris if it wasn't the plan all along.

Cena and Lesnar are more than likely going one-on-one at Wrestlepalooza for the first time in more than a decade. It's going to be a big deal, and September 20 in Indianapolis at Wrestlepalooza is the time and place to do it if WWE wants all eyes on them. That's only a few weeks from now, so Lesnar can get back on television, possibly starting on Friday from Chicago, for a few shows to set things up further with Cena. 

"The Leader of the Cenation" only has single digits left on his retirement tour, so two television dates before Wrestlepalooza should be plenty to get things set up, as many fans already want to see that match. The pair could square off Friday in Chicago and Lesnar could take Cena out for a week, then Cena shows back up the "SmackDown" before the big PLE to hype up the match... and the fact WWE fans are going to need to figure out the new ESPN streaming service to see it.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Women's Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch not only successfully defended her gold against WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella, she also seemingly joined forces with the Vision and her husband, World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins. If she's now officially part of the faction, Lynch is going to want to hold on to that gold for awhile longer, and it works, because it really legitimizes the belt. Lynch and Rollins standing side-by-side with their titles is a good look, and even though the Women's IC Championship is a mid-card title, Lynch carries herself like a rockstar, and that aura is only going to be heightened beside Rollins. She makes the title feel important, and bringing it to the main event scene with "her hot husband" can only be a good thing.

Bayley could be a likely contender for the title when she comes back, and it would surprisingly be a fresh match despite these women facing each other recently. By the looks of her recent video vignettes, we don't know exact what version of Bayley could be coming back. It would be interesting to see her "Hugger" character against this heel version of Lynch. There are a few other names floating around on the "Raw" roster Lynch hasn't defended against yet who aren't already involved in storylines, including Roxanne Perez and Ivy Nile. Natalya could be another good opponent for "The Man" if WWE finally pulls the trigger on her "Low Key Legend" Nattie character. There are also plenty of names on "WWE NXT" who are more than ready to come up to the main roster, if only for a brief showcase match against Lynch , like Jaida Parker, Sol Ruca, or even Jordynne Grace.

It would be a mistake not to mention the possibility of AJ Lee returning to WWE to take on Rollins and Lynch alongside her husband, CM Punk. That would be a huge Wrestlepalooza match, so if Lynch isn't defending against anyone else on the "Raw" roster, she very well could face Lee one-on-one in a dream match somewhere down the line. The tag match could also be a big Survivor Series bout, as that's where Punk returned and Rollins threw a viral fit about it, so it could mark the anniversary in a big way. Lynch could defend her title against a few other women before she would get to Lee, if that ever happens, but it's certainly something worth dreaming about, as rumors are going to be abundant in the coming weeks.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Clash in Paris saw Seth Rollins survive with the World Heavyweight Championship after a four-way against arch-rival CM Punk, LA Knight, and Jey Uso in the main event – albeit with the help of his wife and Intercontinental Champion, Becky Lynch – to ensure his first PLE defense of the title ended in victory. 

Rollins captured the title mere moments after Punk had dethroned Gunther at SummerSlam, cashing in his Money in the Bank contract and ensuring that for the second 'Big Four' event in a row, he had been the architect of his nemeses' demise — having previously aligned with Paul Heyman to defeat Punk and Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania 40. In the time that has passed since then, Rollins has grown his faction to include Bronson Reed, Bron Breakker, and now seemingly Lynch, though that doesn't change the level of competition pursuing both him and the gold he carries. 

All three of his challengers in Paris have more than enough arguments to make as to why they should be stood opposite him in the foreseeable future, whether that be Uso as a former champion and arguably screwed over by Reed and Breakker's attack earlier in the night, or Knight who has been trying and failing to get Rollins in a singles match for the past couple of months. 

Punk was pinned in the match, but he is almost certain to argue that fact considering he was only pinned after getting a low-blow from Lynch. There is also the small matter of the rest of the "WWE Raw" division, including the aforementioned Gunther who has been absent since SummerSlam, as well as the aforementioned Reigns — even if he was seemingly written off in Paris — just to name a couple. Dominik Mysterio has done some favors for Rollins by, presumably, whittling down the field of challengers as he feuds with AJ Styles for the Intercontinental Championship currently, and has also feuded with the likes of Penta and Dragon Lee over recent months. But coming out of Paris with the three top challengers available handed a technical defeat, the field is honestly wide open for anyone to step up. As such, only time will tell who that turns out to be. 

Written by Max Everett