Slap on your tights and ring the bell, it’s time for another weekend of heart-stopping action inside the squared circle! For the first time in WWE history, Scotland is getting its very own premium live event with WWE Clash at the Castle. And ahead of all the excitement and in-ring drama, you know I have to submit my predictions so that you may marvel at my match-guessing mastery.

Who Will Say “I Quit”?

Tensions have been brewing for weeks between WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and his latest challenger AJ Styles. After Styles duped Rhodes during his fake retirement promo on SmackDown, the Phenomenal One has proven that there is no depth he won’t stoop to in pursuit of the title.

However, it’s possible AJ’s actions may have opened Pandora’s box heading into Clash. Cody Rhodes has so far proven to be a fundamentally good, morally upright champion. But even the best of men have limits before the gloves come off, which is what compelled Rhodes to make their championship rematch an “I Quit” match, where the only way to win is to make your opponent utter those two humiliating words.

Will the American Nightmare make AJ say the words he should’ve said weeks ago? Or will the Phenomenal One finally reclaim the championship he hasn’t held in almost six years?

McIntyre’s Homecoming

As thrilling as the Rhodes/Styles rematch is sure to be, the match with perhaps the most intrigue going into this weekend is the World Heavyweight Championship contest between reigning champ Damian Priest, and the Scottish Warrior Drew McIntyre.

As a Scotland native, Drew has the distinct advantage of walking into Clash this weekend as the hometown favorite. McIntyre may have fallen out of favor with a lot of WWE fans stateside given his constant antagonizing of fan favorite CM Punk, but he’ll almost certainly be heralded as a hero amongst his fellow Scots.

While McIntyre is entering WWE Clash at the Castle on a wave of momentum, El Campeon Damian Priest seems to be on uneven footing as the defending champion. For weeks Priest has sought to prove that he is a worthy champion who doesn’t always need to rely on his Judgment Day cohorts to help him defend his title, but Finn Balor, “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh seem to have little faith in his ability.

This past Monday night on Raw, McIntyre faced Balor in a match with the stipulation that, if McIntyre won, the Judgment Day would be banned from ringside during the title match at Clash. Drew managed to beat Finn, thereby excising Damian’s fiendish friends from ringside ahead of their match on Saturday.

With the playing field now (seemingly) leveled, will Drew McIntyre walk out of Glasgow with his hand raised in victory? Or will El Campeon thwart his latest challenger for the gold?

My WWE Clash at the Castle Predictions

I’ll admit, my predictions for WWE’s last big event, King and Queen of the Ring, weren’t quite as foolproof as I thought. But I have recalibrated the numbers, I have reconfigured my mental algorithm, and I believe I can without a doubt reach prediction perfection this weekend.

Without further ado, here are my picks for WWE Clash at the Castle!

• Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill (C) vs. Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn vs. Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark - WWE Women's Tag Team Championship

  My pick: Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill

  For the first time since Jade Cargill’s thunderous WWE debut earlier this year, I’m actually a bit cautious in picking her to win a match. In my mind, with SummerSlam on the horizon, it would make sense to set up Jade for a one-on-one match for the biggest show of the summer. With that in mind, it’s hard for me to believe that they keep her relegated to tag team action for too much longer.

  But her pairing with the EST of WWE Bianca Belair has been exceptional thus far, and from what I can tell I see no reason to doubt the champs’ resolve heading into triple threat tag-team action. The champs retain this weekend, but Jade’s push as a singles star is coming sooner rather than later.

• Sami Zayn (C) vs. Chad Gable - Intercontinental Championship

  My pick: Chad Gable

  Picking Chad Gable to win the Intercontinental championship backfired on me at the last WWE show, so this may prove to be a lesson in not learning from one’s mistakes. But if the powers that be truly wanted Gable out of the title picture, they would’ve removed him by now right? Why have him face off against Sami three separate times if one of them wasn’t going to lead to some kind of payoff?

  There is the turmoil between Gable and his protege Otis to consider. While Otis has exhibited much conflict when it comes to helping his teacher cheat his way to success, I don’t think the blow up won’t come this weekend. And if it does, I think Gable might have a trick or two up his sleeve to counter it while he defeats Sami for the belt. If Gable loses yet again, however, that’s strike three.

• Bayley (C) vs. Piper Niven - WWE Women's Championship

  My pick: Bayley

  Similar to Damian Priest, the Role Model Bayley has an uphill battle this weekend when facing a Scotland native in Piper Niven. The Women’s Champ has been no stranger to adversity so far in 2024. After vanquishing her former friends-turned-foes in Damage CTRL at WrestleMania, Bayley has shown no fear or trepidation toward anyone who steps up for her title.

  Granted, Piper will have the numbers on her side with her bestie Chelsea Green no doubt at ringside. I don’t see that being enough of a threat for the wily champion though. Although Piper will have the homefield advantage, expect Bayley to roll through yet another challenger at Clash at the Castle.

• Cody Rhodes (C) vs. AJ Styles - "I Quit" Match for the Undisputed WWE Championship

  My pick: Cody Rhodes

  Since his triumphant return to WWE over two years ago, nothing that we’ve seen from Cody Rhodes so far suggests that he’s one to quit. Remember when he wrestled a Hell in a Cell match with a torn freakin’ pec? Remember him bouncing back from his crushing WrestleMania loss last year to finally beat Roman Reigns and the Bloodline for the WWE Championship?

  The American Nightmare isn’t a quitter, and I don’t see that changing this weekend no matter what AJ Styles throws his way. Rhodes retains.

• Damian Priest (C) vs. Drew McIntyre - World Heavyweight Championship

  My pick: Drew McIntyre

  It’s hard to scratch this feeling I have that this is finally Drew’s crowning moment. Sure, he won the WWE Championship at WrestleMania, but that moment was dampened without a live crowd to celebrate with him due to COVID restrictions.

  Sure, he won the world title at WrestleMania earlier this year too, but his reign lasted all of five minutes before Damian Priest cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on him (man, wrestling is weird).

  But now, in front of his friends, family and countrymen, McIntyre has the opportunity to right all those past wrongs. And with Judgment Day banned at ringside, he doesn’t have to worry about any outside interference costing him his opportunity.

  Damian’s first ever world title reign certainly hasn’t been a bad one, and he’s presented himself well as a credible threat and worthy champion. But, despite Drew’s recent attitude issues, you can’t help but root for him to win big this time. I foresee no broken dreams for Drew McIntyre at Clash at the Castle.

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