Cody Rhodes and Real Winners and Losers of WWE Clash at the Castle 2024 Match Card

The OVO Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland was rocking for Clash at the Castle: Scotland. It was a special night for a country that WWE has rarely visited over the years.

Scotland experienced a wild night with shocking title changes and strong performances from some of the best Scottish wrestlers in the world.

Cody Rhodes made AJ Styles quit to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship in a brutal battle that showed The American Nightmare’s will was far stronger than The Phenomenal One’s.

Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn pulled off a shocking upset, winning the Women’s Tag Team Championships by stealing the pinfall from Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill.

Drama at ringside cost Chad Gable his final shot at the Intercontinental Championship and possibly the trust of Alpha Academy.

Bayley survived the best tactics of Piper Niven and Chelsea Green to knock off her toughest challenger yet.

Drew McIntyre gave it his all in front of a loud and welcoming Scottish crowd, but CM Punk cost The Scottish Warrior everything once again, sealing the win for Damian Priest.

It was a wild night in a great environment that created some clear winners and losers going into the summer season.

Cody Rhodes continues to deliver where it matters most. Even on a night where he was not the central focus of the show, The American Nightmare kept up his momentum while showing his grit.

AJ Styles drew blood from the Undisputed WWE champion, allowing Rhodes to push the limits of what WWE will allow even without The Rock involved.

More importantly for his long-term success, Rhodes was the second most popular performer in Scotland (behind Drew McIntyre) despite how many Scottish natives were on the card.

The crowd enjoyed singing along to his theme in full as well as belting out his name during the action.

There was an argument to be made that Rhodes should lose in this moment to give The Phenomenal One a final world title run. However, WWE is completely committed to the top babyface in this business.

A post-match attack from The Bloodline foreshadowed what lies ahead for the champion.

AJ Styles put everything on the line for this rematch with Cody Rhodes. It is very possible this was the last world championship opportunity of his career, and he ended it definitively giving up.

In the biggest moment, he was a coward, putting over Rhodes’s viciousness rather than keeping his promise to show he never quits.

This was always the most likely outcome as The American Nightmare is far from done as Undisputed WWE champion. However, the likely result still very much hurt The Phenomenal One.

It is hard to predict where Styles will land from here. The O.C. has invaded NXT while barely impacting SmackDown. The Phenomenal One needs a rival that can rebuild his mystique as a dangerous heel.

That will take time and focus. He still can clearly wrestle at a high level despite over 20 years of wear-and-tear on his body. His credibility is where he struggles lately.

It has been a tough couple years for Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn. Since losing her NXT UK Women’s Champion, the former Kay Lee Ray has had trouble finding a consistent spot in WWE.

She and Dawn formed a tag team that led them to the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships, gold they held for a couple months before losing them in a one-sided battle that ended the legacy of those titles.

For almost a full year, the two could not get on television before a surprise return in the build up to Clash at the Castle: Scotland that led all the way to the Women’s Tag Team Championships.

While it does not seem likely that this title reign will last long, this moment will live on in the legacy of these two Scottish women. WWE hopefully will carry that momentum forward for the future.

It was great to see Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn get their moment, but the win does continue an unfortunate trend of short reigns for Women’s tag team champions.

Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair were supposed to redefine the women’s tag division. Instead, their reign ended at 42 days after just two televised title defenses.

The Storm also struggled in this match more than she ever has in WWE, showcasing her inexperience in long contests.

Belair and Cargill should regain the gold sooner rather than later. However, a nice moment in Scotland may ultimately have hurt the women’s tag division more than helped it given WWE’s long-term plans.

Chad Gable has guaranteed wins time and again that he cannot deliver. Once again, he lost to Sami Zayn, falling to a single Helluva Kick.

It was a fairly definitive result, even if it was after some obvious outside distractions.

While the Alpha Academy drama has been the hottest angle on Monday Night Raw, this latest loss may put any hopes of a Gable title reign in the near-future to bed.

Unless WWE can contrive a reason that The Master would get one more shot at a man that has defeated him three times, this is a disappointing end to one of the best title chases in WWE today.

Gable has plenty more interesting stories to tell, though. He will find a way to consistently deliver no matter what spot he finds on the WWE roster. Gable confirmed before the show that he will be sticking with WWE for the long haul.

Today was Bayley’s birthday, and she enjoyed the night by giving Piper Niven her best match on the main roster by a wide margin while successfully defending her WWE Women’s Championship.

After one big upset from a Scottish duo, a Niven win was not completely out of the question. WWE held firm though, as The Role Model has yet to fully tell her story as champion.

She pulled off one of the most memorable finishes of the year with a beautiful crucifix bomb.

WWE can still do more to elevate Bayley as champion with major spotlights and a memorable build for her match to come against Nia Jax.

As long as she gets the opportunity, The Role Model will deliver.

Drew McIntyre was the biggest babyface in the audience on this night. Scotland was behind their man, and the crowd was not happy to see him fall.

The Scottish Warrior gave Damian Priest the best match of his career before a finish that took away some of the magic of the moment.

CM Punk’s arrival was expected, but intentionally cutting off referee help for McIntyre and hitting him with a low blow was far from proper behavior from the man who is supposed to be the hero of this story.

WWE will not likely be returning to Scotland any time soon, so there will not be another chance like this to crown McIntyre in front of his home country audience.

This moment will live long in the legacy of The Scottish Warrior. Hopefully, the plan to come will get him back on track with a healthy Punk in action again.