It’s a homecoming for Drew McIntyre and Piper Niven at WWE Clash at the Castle. The Scottish superstars hope to rise to the occasion as they challenge for world titles in front of their friends and families on June 15.
McIntyre looks to right several wrongs at Clash at the Castle. Damian Priest stole McIntyre’s WrestleMania moment in April, cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase to end McIntyre’s world heavyweight title reign after five minutes and 46 seconds. Looking back further, McIntyre can make up a difficult loss in 2022. McIntyre delivered a thrilling performance against undisputed WWE universal champion Roman Reigns at the inaugural Clash at the Castle event. It appeared McIntyre might pull the upset but Solo Sikoa’s debut left him empty-handed. The spiteful Scotsman can erase it all by winning the title in front of his home nation.
Scotland is well represented at Clash at the Castle. Piper Niven’s renewed mean streak came at the expense of WWE women’s champion Bayley. Niven — flanked by Chelsea Green — and Bayley will settle the score in Scotland.
Look below at the confirmed matches for Clash at the Castle and glance at the crystal ball of what may come. The event streams live on Peacock on June 15 with the main card starting at noon ET.
2024 WWE Clash at the Castle matches
World Heavyweight Championship — Damian Priest (c) vs. Drew McIntyre: WWE chief content officer Paul Levesque announced Priest vs. McIntyre during King and Queen of the Ring. McIntyre defeated Seth Rollins to become world champion at WrestleMania 40. A physical altercation between McIntyre and CM Punk post-match opened the door for Priest to steal McIntyre’s moment. McIntyre’s obsession with Punk burned him and Priest’s patience paid off.
WWE Women’s Championship — Bayley (c) vs. Piper Niven: Niven and Green have repeatedly attacked Bayley on SmackDown. Naomi tried to even the odds but the friends could not halt Niven and Green’s momentum. The WWE women’s champion looks to settle the score with her powerhouse bully on Niven’s home turf.
Intercontinental Championship — Sami Zayn (c) vs. Chad Gable: Gable was instrumental in preparing Zayn to end Gunther’s record intercontinental title reign but Gable’s envy got the better of him. The friends-turned-rivals had a ripper of an intercontinental title match in Montreal, the night Gable turned on Zayn. Much of the rematch focuses on Gable’s abusive treatment of his Alpha Academy faction and Zayn’s failed efforts to help them break free.
2024 WWE Clash at the Castle predictions
Undisputed WWE Championship — Cody Rhodes (c) vs. AJ Styles: Rhodes and Styles’ first match at WWE Backlash was worth the wait. The sequel looks to be even better. Rhodes and Styles performed for a rabid French crowd that literally shook the arena. Their Backlash main event was spirited but they clearly left some tricks in their bags. It’s a good thing they did because Rhodes vs. Styles II is a huge upgrade story-wise. Styles — desperately aware his career is winding down — faked his retirement on the May 31 episode of SmackDown to lay a beating onto an unsuspecting Rhodes. Expect the fighting champion to stake his title in a rematch that now delivers in and out of the ring.
United States Championship — Logan Paul (c) vs. LA Knight vs. Carmelo Hayes: Knight has spent weeks looking for Paul, eager to challenge for the U.S. championship. Paul is nowhere to be seen but Knight has repeatedly run into former NXT champion Hayes, another man intent on challenging Paul. Any permutation of these three men seems possible. Either challenger could meet Paul at Clash at the Castle or Knight and Hayes could compete in a No. 1 contenders match. It’s unlikely Paul loses the title before SummerSlam in his hometown of Cleveland on Aug. 3 so WWE may play the long game here.
Solo Sikoa vs. Kevin Owens: Sikoa made his main roster debut at Clash at the Castle in 2022. Having him wrestle in Scotland would be a different kind of homecoming. In two years, Sikoa graduated from The Bloodline’s enforcer to its stand-in Tribal Chief. Owens is the group’s number one enemy so a match between the two could be on the horizon.
Sheamus vs. Ludwig Kaiser: Kaiser scored arguably the biggest win of his career on the June 3 episode of Raw, defeating a compromised Sheamus. Their tense rivalry doesn’t appear to be over and could extend to Clash at the Castle. It would be great to feature more European stars on the Scotland card. WWE could pivot to Sheamus vs. Gunther, a pair that always produces fireworks, but there’s another match on the horizon for the King of the Ring.
Gunther vs. Randy Orton: Gunther won the King of the Ring tournament but not without controversy. Orton’s shoulder was visibly off the mat when Gunther pinned him in the tournament finals on May 25. It appeared to be a legitimate error but WWE wisely folded it into their television program. Gunther vs. Orton was arguably the Match of the Night in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia so running it back makes sense. Gunther isn’t occupied and Orton can pivot from The Bloodline for one more night.
Ilja Dragunov vs. Ricochet vs. Bron Breakker: Breakker is a menace. The former NXT champion has repeatedly terrorized Dragunov and Ricochet out of sheer anger. Breakker was not included in the King of the Ring tournament so he’s making the entire roster pay for it. Dragunov and Ricochet had a pair of tremendous matches, something Breakker only adds to. WWE likes to keep their international cards tight so there’s no way all these predictions will come true. The triple threat match is probably one of the smaller ticket items but it features a European star in Dragunov and has the potential to be a show stealer.
