WWE Clash at the Castle 2024 has a hometown hero theme throughout the show, with Scotland’s own Alba Fyre, Isla Dawn, Drew McIntyre and Piper Niven all challenging for championships in Glasgow.
Will it be a memorable homecoming for those stars? Or will it be a nightmare return? Well, all of those stars will enter Clash at the Castle with the odds stacked firmly against them. Fyre and Dawn are massive underdogs in their WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match while the same is true of Niven as she challenges Bayley for the WWE Women’s title.
McIntyre will have more than just Damian Priest to deal with it, as his longtime rival CM Punk figures to play a prominent role in his World Heavyweight Championship match. While McIntyre and WWE’s Scottish stars could win plenty of gold in Glasgow, WWE’s booking has hinted at other long-term stories ahead for their Clash at the Castle opponents.
So, how will WWE book its latest international show? Here are five smart booking moves WWE must make at Clash at the Castle 2024.
Bianca Belair And Jade Cargill Continue Their Dominance
Belair and Cargill will defend the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship against not just Fyre and Dawn but also the duo of Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark in a triple threat match. Is there even a little chance that Belair and Cargill lose? No, not really, and that’s precisely the way it should be.
Dominant title reigns have proven to be very effective in WWE in recent years. That’s been evidenced by lengthy championship runs for stars like Gunther, Rhea Ripley and Roman Reigns. What has been lacking, of course, is a similar reign for a women’s tag team in a division that’s really been hampered by injuries and creative upheaval since its return in 2019.
In order to get the division back on track for good, however, Belair and Cargill are the right women to steer the ship. If WWE truly wants to make the women’s tag titles matter more than they ever have, there’s no better choice to help elevate everyone involved in the title picture than the powerhouse duo of main event caliber stars.
And that necessitates a win at Clash at the Castle as Belair and Cargill continue their early stretch of tag title dominance.
Bayley Retains The WWE Women’s Title Against Piper Niven
When WWE hosts international shows, the company typically focuses heavily on stars from that particular country if and when possible. Exhibit A: Niven getting a WWE Women’s title shot against Bayley in her native Scotland.
While Niven is an underrated performer who’s much better in the ring than she’s typically given the opportunity to showcase, history suggests that her out-of-nowhere push is likely just a short-term thing. WWE did something similar with Zelina Vega vs. Rhea Ripley in Puerto Rico in 2023, and even Vega herself admitted that there really wasn’t any follow-up to her pre-event push and strong performance on the show.
WWE fans can expect something similar with Niven in Scotland. Despite the fact that Niven—who was surprised to learn that Triple H had planned her match at Clash at the Castle before she even had a chance to pitch it—is technically a heel, she will undoubtedly be treated like a babyface by her hometown fans. But that isn’t going to result in WWE calling an audible and having Niven defeat Bayley—nor should it.
The long-term direction is, quite clearly, Bayley vs. Nia Jax for the title at SummerSlam, which means that Bayley must win at Clash at the Castle.
AJ Styles Vs. Cody Rhodes Continues
WWE has a problem on SmackDown, and that’s a clear lack of top heels outside of The Bloodline.
That’s why it isn’t surprising that, after Cody Rhodes briefly feuded with Logan Paul, WWE instantly reverted back to Rhodes vs. AJ Styles even though Rhodes beat Styles fair and square at Backlash last month. WWE has since gone all in on Styles’ new heel character following his epic retirement fakeout, and Styles feels fresher than he has in years.
While it remains unlikely that Styles will actually dethrone Rhodes, that doesn’t mean that their rivalry has to end at Clash at the Castle, even in an “I Quit” match. In fact, given the lack of other heel options for Rhodes to feud with on SmackDown—plus the reality that both Money in the Bank and SummerSlam are right around the corner—WWE would be much better off letting this feud simmer.
That means that it should extend well beyond this pay-per-view, ideally with Rhodes retaining after a controversial finish that leads to Rhodes vs. Styles III. Admittedly, however, booking a questionable ending in an “I Quit” match is tricky, which may mean that Styles wins under shady circumstances.
However, either way, the lack of options on SmackDown should result in Rhodes vs. Styles continuing beyond Clash at the Castle as the feud is simply too hot to cool it off now.
Chad Gable Finally Topples Sami Zayn
A look at Chad Gable’s WWE match statistics show that he’s spent the vast majority of 2024 losing to Sami Zayn. It’s time to change that.
Gable’s WWE contract was reportedly set to expire last week, and the fact that he’s still facing Zayn at Clash at the Castle indicates that he’s reached some sort of extension with the company. In fact, at last word, WWE officials believed Gable was staying put. Is it long-term or short-term? Well, the outcome of the Intercontinental title match between Gable and Zayn will certainly shed some light on that.
If Gable is leaving, he’s losing, much like Becky Lynch recently did. But if he’s staying—and WWE absolutely should not let him go—this is a must-win scenario for Gable. He failed time and time again to win the Intercontinental title as a babyface, so it’s only fitting that he finally does so as a loathed heel.
The ideal scenario would see Gable resort to underhanded tactics to defeat Zayn at Clash at the Castle, then move on to a feud with Otis in the months ahead.
Drew McIntyre Wins The WWE World Heavyweight Championship
McIntyre vs. Priest at the Clash at the Castle sure feels like deja vu. It was, after all, not even two years ago in September 2022 that McIntyre tried—and failed—to defeat Roman Reigns for the Universal title at the first-ever Clash at the Castle event in Cardiff, Wales.
Going into that bout, the widespread expectation was that McIntyre would be the one who finally ended Reigns’ lengthy championship reign. Until he didn’t. McIntyre lost, and his defeat really kicked off his downward spiral as a babyface, one that only ended when he finally turned heel.
Much like Niven, McIntyre will enter his Clash at the Castle 2024 title match as a villain, but with Priest a villain himself, McIntyre will be the overwhelming fan favorite in Glasgow. Surely, WWE isn’t going to have McIntyre lose another major title match in front of his hometown fans, right? With the rest of Priest’s The Judgment Day stable barred from ringside, a scenario in which CM Punk interferes and costs McIntyre the title is certainly feasible. That, however, would do more harm than good.
McIntyre shouldn’t lose another massive title match, especially after the way he lost the title in just five minutes at WrestleMania 40. He must win the World Heavyweight title at Clash in the Castle—preferably in decisive fashion.
