WWE Battleground Review
First of all, I want to point out that the official name of the show is WWE Battleground (which I've used in all of my previous articless), but I'm just going to stick with Battleground because it's a lot easier to type. Now that that's taken care of, we can get down to business. A few nights ago, the second-ever Battleground PPV took place. Last year's event was regarded as one of the worst pay-per-views in recent years. The main event (Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton for the vacant WWE title) ended in a no contest and none of the other matches were really good, except for the tag match between the Rhodes Brothers and The Shield's Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, which was one of the best matches of the year. Also, there was an amazing spot in which Cesaro swung The Great Khali, but the whole event was a dud. This year's edition was definitely better, but it still wasn't a hit. In this article, we'll break down each match and segment to figure out why. Needless to say, this article will be a little long.
Fandango vs. Adam Rose- For the first time ever, we saw two matches during the pre-show. This one wasn't even advertised. I was expecting an Adam Rose/Damien Sandow match, but this one makes sense as well, seeing as how Fandango's two former flames (Summer Rae and Layla) are now Rosebuds. The match itself was nothing memorable, with Rose getting the win. The WWE is still trying to push him, but expect that to end soon. I can see him getting a match at SummerSlam (the biggest party of the summer), but will probably lose after that (he's the only undefeated superstar on the roster) and slowly slip down the card. As for Fandango, he did a good job acting out his role, but didn't get to do much else. Hopefully we see a better use for him in the future, as he is a talented wrestler.
Naomi vs. Cameron- Unlike the previous match, this one was actually advertised beforehand. The backstory here: Cameron turned on Naomi because she felt she (Cameron) wasn't getting enough attention. Readers of The Wrestling Examiner know I'm a Naomi fan and not so big on Cameron. To her credit though, Cameron actually sold Naomi's moves well and actually put on a decent outing. Though I thought Naomi would win, having Cameron win was a good idea, as it furthers the rivalry. With the AJ/Paige rivalry ongoing (more on that later) and a possible Stephanie McMahon/ Brie Bella feud, keeping this rivalry going keeps both divas relevant.
Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose- Techincally, Seth Rollins won by forfeit, as this match never actually occurred. Instead, we got a few different segments of the two brawling. The first took place backstage, after Ambrose ambushed Rollins during an interview. In response to that, Triple H cancelled the match and threw Ambrose out of the stadium. The second took place after Rollins was declared the winner by forfeit and Ambrose attacked him. The final fight took place after Rollins tried to leave the arena. Ambrose jumped out of a car trunk and attacked Rollins, but Rollins was able to drop him. The fact that the match didn't take place disappointed a lot of fans, as they were really looking forward to it. Nonetheless, I think WWE made the right call here. They understood how big this match was, so they saved it for the next PPV. In doing so, they also lengthened the rivalry.
Rusev vs. Jack Swagger- Let me start by saying this: there was great buildup for this match. First, Swagger turned face, then we got to see the two superstars face off. Last week's Raw segment between the two was especially good. The match itself was pretty good, with Rusev winning via countout. There will probably be a rematch at SummerSlam, and it's very possible Swagger will win and hand Rusev his first singles loss. There are two important notes for this match: Swagger kept his face momentum and Rusev proved he could have a longer match. Both of these things show that there's bigger things in their future.
Bray Wyatt vs. Chris Jericho- A couple of months ago, absolutely no one saw this match coming. No one even thought Jericho would be back. These two clashed in May of last year, and it was one of the best NXT matches of the year. This match wasn't as great, but it was still good. It fell a little short of expectations, especially for fans who saw their first clash. The chemistry between the two was a little off, which was kind of surprising. At no point in the match (except the end), was the crowd really into it. It seemed like a very standard match. We're used to Wyatt's matches being more exciting.This will definitely not go down as one of his best performances. It looks like there will be a rematch next month, so hopefully that one will be better. Though Jericho won the match (the final segment was the best of the match), expect Wyatt to win the rivalry, as Y2J has a recent history of putting opponents over (such as Dolph Ziggler and Fandango).
AJ Lee vs. Paige- This is the third time these two have met for the Divas title in the last three months, but this is the first time they had a PPV match. It was also the first match in which the title didn't change hands. When Paige first won the title, fans who had seen her work in NXT were hoping for a great title reign. Unfortunately, that didn't come to fruition, although she had one of the best diva matches of the year with Naomi last month. Paige's fans were hoping a prolonged rivalry with AJ would give her career a boost, but so far that hasn't happened. For one thing, both of them are still faces. Paige even cheers AJ on during matches. This rivalry should continue for at least another two months, so Paige could turn heel in that time. As for the match itself, it fell short of expectations. There were some good spots, but nothing really stood out. As they work more and more together, expect better matches. A rematch will probably occur at SummerSlam and maybe even at Night of Champions, though I would prefer to see a Fatal 4-Way between AJ, Paige, Naomi, and Cameron (or even Brie Bella).
The Usos vs. Luke Harper and Erick Rowan- Make no mistake about it, this was the match of the night. Not only that, it will go down as one of the best tag matches of the year. From the moment these two teams started working together, they've shown incredible chemistry. Granted, that chemistry was a little off at times at Battleground, but it wasn't too big of a problem. These two teams have now given us two great matches at two straight PPVs. There is absolutely no reason for the feud to stop now. Here's what I propose: a ladder match at SummerSlam also involving RybAxel and Goldust & Stardust (to make things more interesting). Harper and Rowan win the titles there, and go on to retain them against Jimmy and Jey at Night of Champions in a tornado tag match. That would definitely keep the rivalry fresh and exciting.
Intercontinental Championship Battle Royal- In a previous article (http://wrestlingexaminer.blogspot.com/2014/07/10-reasons-bo-dallas-should-be-next.html), I wrote that Bo Dallas should be the next IC champ. Unfortunately, that didn't quite happen. Instead, the guy I picked to win (my full predictions will be listed in the conclusion) won instead. As far as the actual match goes, it was actually pretty entertaining. Many purist fans don't like battle royals, as not a lot of technical wrestling takes place, but I think they're fun. Some of the high points of the match: Heath Slater eliminated Cesaro, Kofi Kingston escaped elimination by jumping on Big E, and Dolph Ziggler eliminating Sheamus. The Miz was the eventual winner, probably to get him some traction. His whole Hollywood gimmick hasn't really caught on yet, but being IC champ will help him get heat. The other guys who made the final six (Ziggler, Sheamus, Dallas, Slater, and Cesaro) all deserved to make it that far. The bad part of this match: Miz spent almost the entire match lying on the ground next to the ring. This is done far too often, and the WWE Universe is sick of it. The last time it was done successfully was in the 2011 Royal Rumble with Santino Marella. Nonetheless, the match overall was exciting. It looks like Miz's first rival will be Ziggler, who beat him on Raw.
John Cena vs. Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns vs. Kane- This was the main event of the show, and not a lot of people were very excited for it. On paper, it sounds intriguing. John Cena, the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, taking on two men he's clashed with in the past and Roman Reigns, who is looking to become the alpha dog of the WWE. In reality though, it's much less exciting. Everyone knew John Cena was going to win, as he was going to face Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. The match itself was pretty good, but nothing truly special. Kudos to the WWE however, they made both Reigns and Cena look strong.
Before I give my overall conclusion, I just want to apologize for not posting my predictions for this event, I completely forgot. For the record, I went 5 for 8 in this event (I missed out on Cameron, Chris Jericho, and Seth Rollins). Now, I'm 25 for 30 overall. I'm on a bit of a downward streak, so hopefully that changes soon.
Fandango vs. Adam Rose- For the first time ever, we saw two matches during the pre-show. This one wasn't even advertised. I was expecting an Adam Rose/Damien Sandow match, but this one makes sense as well, seeing as how Fandango's two former flames (Summer Rae and Layla) are now Rosebuds. The match itself was nothing memorable, with Rose getting the win. The WWE is still trying to push him, but expect that to end soon. I can see him getting a match at SummerSlam (the biggest party of the summer), but will probably lose after that (he's the only undefeated superstar on the roster) and slowly slip down the card. As for Fandango, he did a good job acting out his role, but didn't get to do much else. Hopefully we see a better use for him in the future, as he is a talented wrestler.
Naomi vs. Cameron- Unlike the previous match, this one was actually advertised beforehand. The backstory here: Cameron turned on Naomi because she felt she (Cameron) wasn't getting enough attention. Readers of The Wrestling Examiner know I'm a Naomi fan and not so big on Cameron. To her credit though, Cameron actually sold Naomi's moves well and actually put on a decent outing. Though I thought Naomi would win, having Cameron win was a good idea, as it furthers the rivalry. With the AJ/Paige rivalry ongoing (more on that later) and a possible Stephanie McMahon/ Brie Bella feud, keeping this rivalry going keeps both divas relevant.
Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose- Techincally, Seth Rollins won by forfeit, as this match never actually occurred. Instead, we got a few different segments of the two brawling. The first took place backstage, after Ambrose ambushed Rollins during an interview. In response to that, Triple H cancelled the match and threw Ambrose out of the stadium. The second took place after Rollins was declared the winner by forfeit and Ambrose attacked him. The final fight took place after Rollins tried to leave the arena. Ambrose jumped out of a car trunk and attacked Rollins, but Rollins was able to drop him. The fact that the match didn't take place disappointed a lot of fans, as they were really looking forward to it. Nonetheless, I think WWE made the right call here. They understood how big this match was, so they saved it for the next PPV. In doing so, they also lengthened the rivalry.
Rusev vs. Jack Swagger- Let me start by saying this: there was great buildup for this match. First, Swagger turned face, then we got to see the two superstars face off. Last week's Raw segment between the two was especially good. The match itself was pretty good, with Rusev winning via countout. There will probably be a rematch at SummerSlam, and it's very possible Swagger will win and hand Rusev his first singles loss. There are two important notes for this match: Swagger kept his face momentum and Rusev proved he could have a longer match. Both of these things show that there's bigger things in their future.
Bray Wyatt vs. Chris Jericho- A couple of months ago, absolutely no one saw this match coming. No one even thought Jericho would be back. These two clashed in May of last year, and it was one of the best NXT matches of the year. This match wasn't as great, but it was still good. It fell a little short of expectations, especially for fans who saw their first clash. The chemistry between the two was a little off, which was kind of surprising. At no point in the match (except the end), was the crowd really into it. It seemed like a very standard match. We're used to Wyatt's matches being more exciting.This will definitely not go down as one of his best performances. It looks like there will be a rematch next month, so hopefully that one will be better. Though Jericho won the match (the final segment was the best of the match), expect Wyatt to win the rivalry, as Y2J has a recent history of putting opponents over (such as Dolph Ziggler and Fandango).
AJ Lee vs. Paige- This is the third time these two have met for the Divas title in the last three months, but this is the first time they had a PPV match. It was also the first match in which the title didn't change hands. When Paige first won the title, fans who had seen her work in NXT were hoping for a great title reign. Unfortunately, that didn't come to fruition, although she had one of the best diva matches of the year with Naomi last month. Paige's fans were hoping a prolonged rivalry with AJ would give her career a boost, but so far that hasn't happened. For one thing, both of them are still faces. Paige even cheers AJ on during matches. This rivalry should continue for at least another two months, so Paige could turn heel in that time. As for the match itself, it fell short of expectations. There were some good spots, but nothing really stood out. As they work more and more together, expect better matches. A rematch will probably occur at SummerSlam and maybe even at Night of Champions, though I would prefer to see a Fatal 4-Way between AJ, Paige, Naomi, and Cameron (or even Brie Bella).
The Usos vs. Luke Harper and Erick Rowan- Make no mistake about it, this was the match of the night. Not only that, it will go down as one of the best tag matches of the year. From the moment these two teams started working together, they've shown incredible chemistry. Granted, that chemistry was a little off at times at Battleground, but it wasn't too big of a problem. These two teams have now given us two great matches at two straight PPVs. There is absolutely no reason for the feud to stop now. Here's what I propose: a ladder match at SummerSlam also involving RybAxel and Goldust & Stardust (to make things more interesting). Harper and Rowan win the titles there, and go on to retain them against Jimmy and Jey at Night of Champions in a tornado tag match. That would definitely keep the rivalry fresh and exciting.
Intercontinental Championship Battle Royal- In a previous article (http://wrestlingexaminer.blogspot.com/2014/07/10-reasons-bo-dallas-should-be-next.html), I wrote that Bo Dallas should be the next IC champ. Unfortunately, that didn't quite happen. Instead, the guy I picked to win (my full predictions will be listed in the conclusion) won instead. As far as the actual match goes, it was actually pretty entertaining. Many purist fans don't like battle royals, as not a lot of technical wrestling takes place, but I think they're fun. Some of the high points of the match: Heath Slater eliminated Cesaro, Kofi Kingston escaped elimination by jumping on Big E, and Dolph Ziggler eliminating Sheamus. The Miz was the eventual winner, probably to get him some traction. His whole Hollywood gimmick hasn't really caught on yet, but being IC champ will help him get heat. The other guys who made the final six (Ziggler, Sheamus, Dallas, Slater, and Cesaro) all deserved to make it that far. The bad part of this match: Miz spent almost the entire match lying on the ground next to the ring. This is done far too often, and the WWE Universe is sick of it. The last time it was done successfully was in the 2011 Royal Rumble with Santino Marella. Nonetheless, the match overall was exciting. It looks like Miz's first rival will be Ziggler, who beat him on Raw.
John Cena vs. Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns vs. Kane- This was the main event of the show, and not a lot of people were very excited for it. On paper, it sounds intriguing. John Cena, the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, taking on two men he's clashed with in the past and Roman Reigns, who is looking to become the alpha dog of the WWE. In reality though, it's much less exciting. Everyone knew John Cena was going to win, as he was going to face Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. The match itself was pretty good, but nothing truly special. Kudos to the WWE however, they made both Reigns and Cena look strong.
Before I give my overall conclusion, I just want to apologize for not posting my predictions for this event, I completely forgot. For the record, I went 5 for 8 in this event (I missed out on Cameron, Chris Jericho, and Seth Rollins). Now, I'm 25 for 30 overall. I'm on a bit of a downward streak, so hopefully that changes soon.
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