WWE Clash of Champions: Cesaro vs. Sheamus full match preview

Match Seven

The Celtic Warrior had all the momentum, but the tides have turned completely. Will Cesaro be able to win his fourth straight to finish off WWE's first best-of-seven series in years?

The Road to Clash of Champions

After battling twice in early August, the powers that be on Raw decided they would continue to motivate a couple of talented workers who didn't have much else going on with a series of matches. The winner would receive a "championship opportunity".

Hey, it kind of worked in when they put Sheamus & Cesaro against each other in those days right after the brand split, right? We got to see a couple of agile hosses stiff each other, and the King of Swing ended up with a U.S. title match against Rusev... where we again got to see a couple of athletic big guys beat the crap out of each other.

The Bulgarian Brute's win, and ongoing feud with Roman Reigns, precipitated the start of this best-of-seven. That the two men had already wrestled one another quite a bit, and the announcement the series would start on the SummerSlam pre-show, didn't enthuse fans. But that didn't stop these guys from busting their asses to make the bouts entertaining.

A few angles developed. The major one was the Irishman winning the first three matches. Cesaro was in the kind of hole people/teams don't usually climb out of in non-scripted sports. Plus, he suffered a back "injury" in the second contest. The much put-upon fan favorite now had a couple of additional mountains to climb.

A win at the London house show in the fourth match kept the Swiss Supeman alive, while a foot on the ropes the following Monday really got things rolling for his shot at a miracle comeback.

His victory this past Monday (Sept. 19) was perhaps the least dramatic of the their nearly two months worth of battles, but it set the stage for a winner-take-all finale in Indianapolis on WWE Network.

What's at stake?

That vaguely defined "championship opportunity".

Having Sheamus pull out the win here seems like a long shot, but you never know. He has a résumé full of titles which gives him instant credibility as a challenger. But putting him in the running for either of the Raw singles straps for which he's eligible would probably require a change in who's holding United States or Universal gold.

It's more likely that Cesaro will complete the comeback and move on to something bigger. But will this be the time they push him into a main event program for anything more than a one-off match? Or would even victory here just earn him another match for a secondary on a Monday night before he shuffles back into mid-card purgartory for the umpteenth time in his WWE career?

We'll find out at Clash of Champions. And probably get one more slobberknocker as part of the deal.

Find out how it goes down tomorrow night, right here at Cageside Seats!