Clash in Paris

Clash in Paris
Promotional poster featuring Roman Reigns, inspired by Vincent van Gogh's The Starry Night painting
Promotion	WWE
Brand(s)	Raw SmackDown
Date	August 31, 2025
City	Nanterre, France
Venue	Paris La Défense Arena
Attendance	30,343
WWE event chronology
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Clash in Paris was a 2025 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by the American company WWE. It took place on Sunday, August 31, 2025, at the Paris La Défense Arena in Nanterre, France, and was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. It marked WWE's second PPV and livestreaming event held in France after Backlash in May 2024, and the first in the Paris metropolitan area.

The event featured John Cena's first and only appearance at a PPV and livestreaming event in France as an in-ring performer due to his retirement from professional wrestling at the end of 2025. The event was also the last WWE main roster PPV and livestreaming event to air on Peacock in the United States, as these events will begin airing on ESPN's direct-to-consumer streaming service with September's Wrestlepalooza.

Six matches were contested at the event. In the main event, Seth Rollins defeated CM Punk, LA Knight, and Jey Uso in a fatal four-way match to retain Raw's World Heavyweight Championship. In other prominent matches, John Cena defeated Logan Paul and in the opening bout, Roman Reigns defeated Bronson Reed.

Following the critical and commercial success of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE's event Backlash in 2024, which was their first pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event held in France,^[1][2] WWE President Nick Khan announced at a January 16, 2025, event in Las Vegas, Nevada that the company would be returning to France for another PPV and livestreaming event sometime later that year.^[3] On January 29, WWE officially announced through their YouTube channel and website that they would return to France on Sunday, August 31, 2025, for an event titled Clash in Paris, held in La Défense, Nanterre at the Paris La Défense Arena, marking the company's first event in the Paris metropolitan area. It was also announced that the September 1 episode of Monday Night Raw would emanate from the same venue.^[4] An additional five nights of WWE Live shows in Europe and three televised broadcasts of WWE's weekly shows Raw and Friday Night SmackDown preceding Clash in Paris and Monday's Raw, were also scheduled as part of the "Road to Clash in Paris" tour, concluding with the Raw after Clash in Paris.^[5] Clash in Paris was held for wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brands.^[4]

In addition to airing on traditional PPV worldwide, it was available to livestream on Peacock in the United States, Netflix in most international markets, and the WWE Network in any remaining countries that had not yet transferred to Netflix due to pre-existing contracts.^[6] This was WWE's last main roster PPV and livestreaming event to air on Peacock, as ESPN's direct-to-consumer streaming service will begin broadcasting these events in the United States starting with Wrestlepalooza on September 20, 2025. This changeover had originally been slated to begin with WrestleMania 42 in April 2026 upon the expiration of WWE's contract with Peacock in March, but as WWE had done some extra events, including each WrestleMania on Peacock since 2021 being two nights, Evolution in July 2025, and making the 2025 SummerSlam two nights, this fulfilled WWE's obligations to Peacock early for the main roster PPV and livestreaming events, allowing them to switch to ESPN sooner; Peacock will still air NXT's livestreaming events until at least March 2026, and will maintain other content, such as Saturday Night's Main Event, for the next several years.^[7][8]

The event included six matches that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands,^[9][10] while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.^[11]

At Money in the Bank on June 7, a villainous John Cena and Logan Paul teamed together in a losing effort.^[12] On the August 8 episode of SmackDown, after turning face the previous week, a now heroic Cena reflected over his career and subsequently issued an open challenge, which was answered by Paul. After an exchange of words, Cena wanted to face Paul on that night's episode, which Paul refused, instead challenging Cena to a match at Clash in Paris, which Cena accepted.^[13]

In June, Seth Rollins began feuding with LA Knight, with both competing in the Money in the Bank ladder match at the eponymous event, where Rollins won the briefcase after Rollins's stablemates Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed interfered.^[12] Knight and Rollins continued feuding, leading to a match at Saturday Night's Main Event XL, where Knight won after Rollins seemingly injured his knee.^[14] After that, Breakker competed in a number one contender's gauntlet match for a World Heavyweight Championship match at SummerSlam. During the match, Breakker eliminated all competitors, including Knight and Jey Uso, who also had his own problems with Rollins's group since after WrestleMania 41, and also wanted to win back the World Heavyweight Championship he had lost back on June. However, Breakker was eliminated by Rollins's longtime rival CM Punk, who earned the title match.^[15] On Night 1 of SummerSlam, Uso teamed with his cousin Roman Reigns to defeat Breakker and Reed in a tag team match, while later that night in the main event, Punk won the World Heavyweight Championship, only for Rollins to appear and reveal he had feigned his knee injury and subsequently cashed-in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Punk to win the championship.^[16] On the following episode of Raw, Rollins's group name was revealed as The Vision, and later that evening, Knight faced Rollins for the championship with Breakker and Reed banned from ringside, but it ended in a disqualification win for Rollins after Punk attacked him. The Vision subsequently got the upper hand on Punk and Knight.^[17] The following episode, Punk and Knight defeated Breakker and Reed by disqualification after Rollins attacked Punk. Uso then appeared to help Knight and Punk, brawling with The Vision. Raw General Manager Adam Pearce then announced that Rollins would defend the championship against Punk, Knight, and Uso in a fatal four-way match at Clash in Paris.^[18]

On the May 26 episode of Raw, after Rusev defeated Akira Tozawa, Rusev continued to attack Tozawa, with Sheamus making the save.^[19] Three weeks later, both Rusev and Sheamus competed in a King of the Ring tournament fatal-four way qualifying match, but neither won.^[20] They subsequently faced each other on the June 30 episode, where Rusev won,^[21] with a rematch taking place on the July 21 episode, where Sheamus won.^[22] A third match between both men took place on the August 4 episode, which ended in a double countout.^[17] On the August 18 episode, after several confrontations, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce announced that Sheamus and Rusev would face each other in a Good Ol' Fashioned Donnybrook match at Clash in Paris.^[23]

At Survivor Series: WarGames in November 2024, Roman Reigns and Bronson Reed were both apart of the men's WarGames match, where Reigns' team defeated Reed's team.^[24] Reed would take a hiatus due to an injury he sustained during the match, whilst Reigns would go on to main event Night 1 of WrestleMania 41 in April 2025, where Reigns was defeated by Seth Rollins in a triple threat match also involving CM Punk after Paul Heyman betrayed Reigns and Punk.^[25] Two nights later on Raw, Bron Breakker joined Rollins and Heyman's alliance and attacked Reigns, taking him out indefinitely.^[26] During this time, at Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIX, Reed was also recruited into Rollins' group. Reigns would return on the July 14 episode of Raw, saving Punk and his cousin Jey Uso from a post-match assault by Reed and Breakker. Reigns and Uso subsequently defeated both Reed and Breakker in a tag team match at Night 1 of SummerSlam.^[16] Two nights later on Raw, Reigns was viciously attacked by Rollins' group, now known as The Vision, with Reed stealing Reigns' shoes after the assault, something Reed had also done a few weeks ago.^[17] Two weeks later on the August 18 episode, Reed and Rollins attempted to interfere in an Extreme Rules match between Uso and Breakker, only for Reigns to come out and thwart them, helping Uso defeat Breakker. After that, Reigns challenged Reed to a match at Clash in Paris, which Reed accepted.^[23] The match was subsequently made official by Raw General Manager Adam Pearce.^[27]

On the August 4 episode of Raw, Becky Lynch gloated over her successful defense of the WWE Women's Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam, before being interrupted by Nikki Bella, who called Lynch a disappointment. After some exchange of words, Lynch punched Bella.^[17] Two weeks later, Lynch successfully defended the title against Natalya, who had taken issues with Lynch after her disrespect of Bella. After the match, Lynch attacked Natalya, but Bella appeared to make the save.^[23] On the next episode, Bella and Lynch engaged in another verbal confrontation, with Bella challenging Lynch for a match with the title on the line, which Lynch initially refused; however, she eventually agreed to defend the title against Bella at Clash in Paris.^[28]

On the July 11 episode of SmackDown, The Wyatt Sicks (Dexter Lumis and Joe Gacy) defeated The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) to win the WWE Tag Team Championship.^[29] After that, The Street Profits vowed to regain the championship, and they competed in a Six-Pack Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match for the title at Night 2 of SummerSlam, where The Wyatt Sicks retained.^[30] On the subsequent episodes of SmackDown, both Melo Don't Miz (Carmelo Hayes and The Miz) and The Street Profits won their respective tag team matches;^[31][32] this led to a match between them on the August 29 episode in which the winning team would earn a WWE Tag Team Championship match. There, The Wyatt Sicks (Lumis, Gacy, Uncle Howdy, Erick Rowan, and Nikki Cross) distracted Miz, allowing The Street Profits to win the match and challenge Lumis and Gacy for the championship at Clash in Paris.^[33]

At the all-women's event Evolution, Raw's Stephanie Vaquer won the Evolution Battle Royal to earn a women's world championship match at Clash in Paris.^[34][35] The next night on Raw, it was confirmed that the match would be for Raw's Women's World Championship.^[15] Subsequently at SummerSlam the following month, Naomi retained the title, thus confirming that Naomi would defend the Women's World Championship against Vaquer at Clash in Paris.^[30] However, on the August 18 episode of Raw, Naomi had to relinquish the title due to maternity leave as Naomi announced she was pregnant with her first child.^[23] The following week, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce announced that there would not be a match for the vacant Women's World Championship at Clash in Paris, and instead, Vaquer would challenge a to be announced opponent at a later date to determine the new champion.^[28] Vaquer's opponent was confirmed as Iyo Sky with the title match taking place at Wrestlepalooza on September 20.^[36]

The event began with Roman Reigns taking on Bronson Reed (accompanied by Paul Heyman). During the match, Reigns attempted a Samoan Drop on Reed only to collapse under Reed's weight. Reed slammed Reigns onto the announce table. Reigns responded by spamming Reed onto the ring post. Reed performed a slam on Reigns inside the ring for a near fall. Reed applied a chokehold on Reigns managed to escape only for Reed to perform a Samoan drop on Reigns for a nearfall. Reigns performed a clothesline on Reed sending him over the top rope and out of the ring and sent Reed into the ring post and steel steps. Back in the ring, As Reigns attempted a Superman Punch, Reed countered into an uranage senton combo for a nearfall. Reigns attempted another Superman Punch on Reed only to counter into the Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Reigns eventually performed a Superman Punch on Reed for a nearfall. Reed performed a suicide dive on Reigns who was outside the ring. Reed countered a spear from Reigns into a powerbomb for a nearfall. In the end, as Reed climbed to the top rope, Reigns performed a Superman Punch and followed up with a second-rope Samoan Drop on Reed. Reigns then performed a spear on Reed to win the match. Following the match, Heyman acknowledged Reigns and handed the shoes back to him. Reigns responded by applying a Guillotine Choke on Heyman. Reigns then stood on an announce table, signed his shoes and tossed it into the crowd only for Bron Breakker to intercept Reigns with a spear through the announce table. Security personnel assisted Reigns to his feet while Breaker assisted Reed and Heyman in the ring. Breakker then performed another Spear on Reigns. Reed threw Reigns back into the ring and perform a Tsunami on Reigns. As medical personnel strapped Reigns onto a stretcher, Reed performed another Tsunami on Reigns. Jey Uso appeared, performed superkicks on Reed and Breakker, and tended to Reigns, after which, Breakker performed a Spear on Uso. Reed then performed a third Tsunami on Reigns.^[37]

In a backstage segment, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce banned Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed from ringside during the World Heavyweight Championship match and if they showed up, they would be suspended indefinitely.^[37]

In the second match, The Wyatt Sicks (Dexter Lumis and Joe Gacy, accompanied by Erick Rowan, Uncle Howdy, and Nikki Cross) defended SmackDown's WWE Tag Team Championship against The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford, accompanied by B-Fab). In the end, while the referee was distracted, Howdy performed Sister Abigail on Ford at ringside. Lumis threw Ford back into the ring and he and Gacy performed The Plague on Ford to retain the title.^[37]

After that, Becky Lynch defended Raw's Women's Intercontinental Championship against Nikki Bella. During the match, Bella performed the Bella Buster on Lynch onto the steel steps. Inside the ring, Bella performed the Manhandle Slam on Lynch for a nearfall. In the end, as Bella attempted the Dis-arm-her, Lynch countered into a backslide (which she calls the Lynch Pin) to retain the title.^[37]

In the fourth match, Rusev took on Sheamus in a Good Ol' Fashioned Donnybrook Match. Throughout the match, Rusev and Sheamus dismantled each other with shillelaghs, kendo sticks, steel stairs, and whiskey barrels. Sheamus performed White Noise on Rusev from a whiskey barrel through tables and performed a Brogue Kick inside the ring for a nearfall. After Rusev snatched a shillelagh across Sheamus' back for a nearfall, Rusev snapped it in half and applied the Accolade while wedging it between Sheamus' teeth, forcing Sheamus to submit.^[37]

In the penultimate match, John Cena took on Logan Paul. Paul performed a pop-up European Uppercut on Cena. Cena attempted an Attitude Adjustment, but Paul countered into a buckshot lariat for a nearfall. Paul's attempt at a Paul From Grace was countered into an Attitude Adjustment by Cena for a nearfall. Cena performed a Tornado DDT on Paul for a nearfall. Paul performed a Zig-Zag on Cena for a nearfall. Paul performed a swanton and a standing moonsault on Cena for another nearfall. As Paul attempted Cena's "five moves of doom", Cena performed another Attitude Adjustment on Paul for a nearfall. Paul performed a Knockout Punch and a Paul from Grace on Cena, with both resulting in nearfalls. Cena performed a Styles Clash on Paul for a nearfall. In the end, Paul performed a middle-rope crossbody on Cena, who rolled through and performed the Attitude Adjustment two more times on Paul to win the match.^[37]

In the main event, Seth Rollins defended Raw's World Heavyweight Championship against CM Punk, LA Knight, and Jey Uso in a fatal four-way match. As Rollins attempted a Phoenix Splash, Uso moved out of the way and performed a superkick and an Uso Splash on Rollins. Punk broke up the pin and performed the GTS on Uso. Rollins broke it up with a stomp, but Punk kicked out. Rollins then performed stomps on Uso and Knight outside the ring. The ending came when Punk countered a stomp by Rollins through a chair and performed the GTS on Rollins but as he attempted a second GTS, Becky Lynch, Rollins' real-life wife, ran in to perform a low blow on Punk. Rollins pinned Punk following the Stomp onto a chair to retain the title.^[37]

With the attendance record of 30,343, WWE claims that Clash in Paris has set the single event gate in this arena beating out Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour in 2024 although the exact gate figures are unclear.^[38]

Writing for the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer rated the opening bout 3.5 stars, the WWE Tag Team Championship match 2.75 stars, the Women's Intercontinental Championship match 2 stars, the Good Ol' Fashioned Donnybrook match 4.25 stars, John Cena vs. Logan Paul 4.5 stars, and the World Heavyweight Championship fatal four-way main event 4.25 stars.^[39]

On the following episode of Raw, it was announced that Roman Reigns would be out of action indefinitely with multiple fractured ribs, while Paul Heyman suffered a larynx contusion (in reality, Reigns' "injury" was used to write him off television which allowed him to take time off to film Street Fighter).^[40][41]

Also on Raw, CM Punk wanted another shot at World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins for revenge. Punk was confronted by Women's Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch. Lynch gloated about Rollins' accomplishments and what she and Rollins did to get WWE to where it was now. Rollins then appeared, inviting Punk to say whatever he had to say to him. Lynch then slapped Punk multiple times before wishing him well.^[40]

Jey Uso and LA Knight addressed their failure to win the World Heavyweight Championship when The Vision (Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker) interrupted. Breakker then scheduled a tag team match featuring himself and Reed against Uso and Knight for that episode's main event, which The Vision won. Following the match, Reed and Breakker attacked Jey which prompted his own twin bother, Jimmy Uso, to come out and aid Jey.^[40] The following week, it was confirmed that The Usos would face Reed and Breakker at Wrestlepalooza.^[42]

On the following SmackDown, which emanated from Chicago, CM Punk's hometown, World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins introduced Women's Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch in the crowd. Lynch taunted the Chicago crowd, until Punk himself interrupted. Lynch slapped Punk again before Punk brought in his wife AJ Lee, making her return to WWE after over 10 years. Lee attacked Lynch before embracing Punk.^[43] Three days later on Raw, a mixed tag team match featuring Rollins and Lynch against Punk and Lee was scheduled for Wrestlepalooza.^[42]

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