3 extra stipulations to make Clash of Champions 2017 more exciting
The final WWE pay-per-view of 2017 is almost upon us. On 17 December, every SmackDown Live title will be on the line when the blue brand closes off the year with the Clash of Champions event in Boston, Massachusetts.
All four title matches for the event have been confirmed: WWE champion AJ Styles will defend against Jinder Mahal, United States champion Baron Corbin will face Bobby Roode and Dolph Ziggler, The Usos will defend their Tag Team gold in a Fatal-4-Way match, and Women’s champion Charlotte Flair will take on Natalya.
Another featured match on the card will see Shane McMahon act as special guest referee when Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura take on Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, whose careers in WWE will be over if they lose.
With that stipulation in mind, plus the announcement that lumberjacks will surround the ring for the Women’s Championship match, we take a look at potential stipulations that can be added to the rest of the card.
#1 Dolph Ziggler loses future title opportunities
If you look at the wrestling world outside of WWE, you’ll see every so often that a championship match will carry the stipulation that the challenger will never be allowed to have a future title opportunity again if he or she is defeated.
Of course, that doesn’t count for much – they can always win another match to reverse the stipulation, as is the way with wrestling storylines – but it still adds an extra layer of intrigue heading into the title match.
WWE hasn’t used this stipulation much over the years, but if ever there was a time to do it, it’s during the United States title match between Baron Corbin, Bobby Roode and Dolph Ziggler at Clash of Champions.
Ziggler has become a high-profile serial loser over the last 12 months and, going by his recent storylines, the assumption is that he’s only been added to the match so he can take the pinfall loss from either Corbin or Roode.
To up the stakes and lessen the predictability, it would be nice if WWE stipulated that “The Show-Off” will never be allowed to challenge for a title again if he is pinned in the match. He could still lose and have title matches in the future, but only if Corbin or Roode get pinned or made to submit.