To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t really sure about doing this since Battleground isn’t exactly your top shelf PPV but given the circumstances (especially with the draft and all), I think it has shaped up to be a rather interesting PPV after all and worth the time and effort. That being said, here we go:
Sasha Banks + Mystery Parnter vs. Charlotte and Dana Brook
While the mystery remains as to who Sasha will team up with, I feel the most important aspect of this match is the outcome. A lot of people are speculating about Bayley being the one, however from day one I’ve personally given my reasoning as to why I feel the timing is horrible for such a move and in addition to that, Bayley wasn’t even drafted on Tuesday (which tells me they probably still want her to stick around at NXT for just a bit longer) while in the mean time Sasha Banks herself has made it perfectly clear on social media that Bayley ain’t going to be the one. Personally, unless I see a returning Lita or Trish Stratus (believe me, I’d be doing a lot more than just marking out), I honestly don’t care.
Once again, I feel the most important issue here is the outcome and obviously Sasha has to come out a winner here. Better yet, I’d say she should pin Charlotte cleanly, thus setting up their 1 on 1 matchup at Summerslam for the title. Sure, they could always play the “fuck up card” with Brook (she certainly excels when it comes to fucking up anyway) but I don’t think shenanigans are necessary here. Oh, small detail, I’d have Sasha simply pin Charlotte and hold on to the tapping out for Summerslam.
The New Day vs. The Wyatt Family
Based on the fact that during the compound segment it was the Wyatts that eventually got over, I think New Day come out winners at the PPV. Aside from the typical 50-50 WWE booking, I feel this is a case in which a loss wouldn’t really hurt the Wyatts at this particular time since they’re kind of splitting up anyway, with Stromann now on RAW. Furthermore, New Day have also been drafted to RAW so with Bray and Rowan on Smackdown, all these guys go their separate ways eventually. One could call this an abrupt ending to this feud but it is what is and it’s not like they can’t revisit it somewhere down the road.
Just to sum it up, if both these teams were on the same show, I’d be going with the Wyatts but given that’s not the case anymore, I feel New Day come out of Battleground victorious.
Looking ahead, in all honesty WWE have me really baffled in regards to what direction the tag team gold is headed. I’ve personally stated months ago that New Day vs. Enzo and Cass is the way to go for Summerslam, with these two face teams literally rocking the house (I can already listen to the New Day rocks chants being countered by how u doin in an electric atmosphere) and while WWE have teased this possibility in a promo or two these past few weeks, it is still unclear what will happen after all. Does splitting the club, for example, maybe mean that Gallows and Anderson enter the picture? Could be, but it just doesn’t feel right; not now anyway…
The Highlight Reel with Randy Orton
It certainly is nice to have Orton back again and one should think that this won’t end up being just a simple conversation.
Now, given the situation Brock is in with the doping violation, I can’t really see him making a surprise appearance and, well, as much as I love surprises, I’m sure WWE would have made sure to promote it so the best thing I can think of is maybe Brock’s music does hit during the segment, getting everyone excited but with only Paul Heymann coming out. Perhaps Heymann can cut a promo, start hyping the match at Summerslam and maybe it comes to a point where he receives an RKO just to get this feud started? That’s one way to do it…
Rusev vs. Zack Ryder, United States Championship
Rusev retains. That simple and frankly, he should destroy Ryder within a few minutes before moving on to what hopefully will be a more meaningful feud. Furthermore, given what took place at the draft, it only makes sense for Rusev to retain (not that it wouldn’t anyway) so that the title stays on RAW, just like the IC title will stay on Smackdown. Speaking of:
Miz vs. Darren Young, Intercontinental Championship
Miz retains. When this match was first made, my initial thought was that maybe they give Young the belt. At the time, it felt like the only reasonable options if there are to be any title changes in this PPV but, again, based on how the draft went down, it only makes sense that Miz retains so the belt can stay as an exclusive for Smackdown and besides, I find it hard to believe that they would have Miz tap out twice in one week to Young. Likeliest scenario, some iffy finish where maybe Miz cheats his way to victory (what else is new) but either way, Miz holds on to the gold for at least another month.
Becky Lynch vs. Natalya
Given that both were drafted to Smackdown, this ain’t going to be a one off thing so based on that fact alone, I feel Natalya gets the first win given that she just turned heel and this being really her first match ever since. One can of course argue that Becky needs the win just as much but the timing I feel favors Natalya and, besides, it’s not like this is going to be the end of it anyway…
Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens
For a while now, I’ve been calling for some kind of stipulation in order to make this match even more interesting. I personally felt that these guys would have been separated by the end of the draft but as it turned out, they both landed on the same show again so I guess this means that this never ending feud will…keep walking just like Johnny Walker; not that I mind, don’t get me wrong.
As far as the outcome, this is a match that can easily go either way and it’s probably the most difficult one on the card to predict. In my humble opinion, it comes down to whom needs the win more and right now, that person is Zayn.
John Cena, Enzo & Cass vs. The Club
I think the face team comes out victorious here and I’m pretty sure it will be done in great fashion here, not only because…Cena but more so I feel because of Enzo and Cass who are literally on fire. If indeed WWE are going for Enzo and Cass vs. New Day at Summerslam, then there’s really no other outcome this Sunday and aside from that, Cena has been beaten up enough times already.
Furthermore, we once more have the draft effect and in this case, the Club being no more, so for them it doesn’t really matter in the great scheme of things, does it? On the flipside, could this match lead to a Balor appearance? Hmm…
Triple Threat WWE Championship
Who would have thought that we’d be finally getting this dream match and it would feel so rushed, like the timing being awkward? Many have said this should have been a Summerslam main event and others have even gone as far as a Wrestlemania main event; can’t really argue either case...
Nevertheless, it’s happening at Battleground and it all comes down to what WWE are planning to do with the belts. Does the WWE Championship go back to RAW via Rollins, forcing Smackdown to present a new world title belt or will it be vice versa, Ambrose retaining and RAW being the one forced to present a new title? That, pretty much, is the million dollar question because either way, we will eventually get two champs (one for each show) whether we like it or not.
Into the match itself, one would assume that Roman Reigns is to be excluded from the equation as a possible winner, given his recent violation and all. I mean, WWE couldn’t be that stupid, could they? The fact alone that he is still in this match is already too much in my opinion and as I’ve already mentioned in previous posts recently, he should at least eat the pin so I’m sticking to that. Hmm, now that I think of it, maybe that’s the reason he’s still in the match to begin with.
So, between Ambrose and Rollins, who would have the edge?
Personally, I’d like to see Ambrose continue his reign. Ever since Money in the Bank, Ambrose has been on fire and booked to look as good as it gets, with excellent promos and overall great performances in the ring. It took WWE several months to figure it out but at least they got it right after a feud with Lesnar that did nothing for Dean in the long run and a feud with Jericho that was simply silly, based on a fucking potted plant and a stupid jacket.
Many claim that Dean got lucky and caught a break due to Roman Reigns doings (violation and all) and is only a transitional champion. To that, I respond “good for him” because he got a hold of an opportunity and is simply running with it and making the most of it and frankly, I doubt WWE are dissapointed with how this is going.
On the other hand, Seth Rollins of course has his own claims and rightfully so. He never lost the title to begin with and as of Tuesday, he’s the number one draft pick on the flagship show and let's not forget he beat Roman Reigns clean at MITB but was caught off guard when Ambrose cashed in from behind. The flipside is that he already had two failed attempts this week, both on RAW and Smackdown and this is perhaps why he may have a slight advantage after all because statistically, there’s no way WWE books Rollins to have three failed attempts in less than a week, right? That wouldn’t be good for your number one draft pick, right? Unless…
…Ambrose pins Reigns, thus giving Rollins the opportunity to continue his strong claims while playing up his character and in the process, they turn Reigns heel by attacking Ambrose post match. The way I see it, the story just writes itself: Rollins has Ambrose in position for the pedigree but…superman punch by Roman and then spear to Rollins; but as Reigns goes to pin Rollins, Ambrose catches him from behind, dirty deeds, one two three, ring the bell, Ambrose retains. Seth kind of rolls out of the ring all furious that he came so close but got screwed yet again, meanwhile Ambrose is celebrating his successful title defense when…spear from Roman to his brother of a friend and let the beatdown begin. Given that Reigns will receive nuclear heat upon his entrance (if you thought before was bad with the booing, it’s about to get a whole lot worse) I honestly can’t see any better timing to make the move. WWE know it, they understand it's inevitable so why not just get over with it?
Aside from the matches themselves, hopefully by the end of this PPV we'll get some answers as to how the title scene will look regarding the shows, with which being defended where and/or if certain belts will float amongst both shows, provided of course that WWE have it figured out cause from the looks of it so far, they themselves probably don't know what they're doing...
Cheers...
Sasha Banks + Mystery Parnter vs. Charlotte and Dana Brook
While the mystery remains as to who Sasha will team up with, I feel the most important aspect of this match is the outcome. A lot of people are speculating about Bayley being the one, however from day one I’ve personally given my reasoning as to why I feel the timing is horrible for such a move and in addition to that, Bayley wasn’t even drafted on Tuesday (which tells me they probably still want her to stick around at NXT for just a bit longer) while in the mean time Sasha Banks herself has made it perfectly clear on social media that Bayley ain’t going to be the one. Personally, unless I see a returning Lita or Trish Stratus (believe me, I’d be doing a lot more than just marking out), I honestly don’t care.
Once again, I feel the most important issue here is the outcome and obviously Sasha has to come out a winner here. Better yet, I’d say she should pin Charlotte cleanly, thus setting up their 1 on 1 matchup at Summerslam for the title. Sure, they could always play the “fuck up card” with Brook (she certainly excels when it comes to fucking up anyway) but I don’t think shenanigans are necessary here. Oh, small detail, I’d have Sasha simply pin Charlotte and hold on to the tapping out for Summerslam.
The New Day vs. The Wyatt Family
Based on the fact that during the compound segment it was the Wyatts that eventually got over, I think New Day come out winners at the PPV. Aside from the typical 50-50 WWE booking, I feel this is a case in which a loss wouldn’t really hurt the Wyatts at this particular time since they’re kind of splitting up anyway, with Stromann now on RAW. Furthermore, New Day have also been drafted to RAW so with Bray and Rowan on Smackdown, all these guys go their separate ways eventually. One could call this an abrupt ending to this feud but it is what is and it’s not like they can’t revisit it somewhere down the road.
Just to sum it up, if both these teams were on the same show, I’d be going with the Wyatts but given that’s not the case anymore, I feel New Day come out of Battleground victorious.
Looking ahead, in all honesty WWE have me really baffled in regards to what direction the tag team gold is headed. I’ve personally stated months ago that New Day vs. Enzo and Cass is the way to go for Summerslam, with these two face teams literally rocking the house (I can already listen to the New Day rocks chants being countered by how u doin in an electric atmosphere) and while WWE have teased this possibility in a promo or two these past few weeks, it is still unclear what will happen after all. Does splitting the club, for example, maybe mean that Gallows and Anderson enter the picture? Could be, but it just doesn’t feel right; not now anyway…
The Highlight Reel with Randy Orton
It certainly is nice to have Orton back again and one should think that this won’t end up being just a simple conversation.
Now, given the situation Brock is in with the doping violation, I can’t really see him making a surprise appearance and, well, as much as I love surprises, I’m sure WWE would have made sure to promote it so the best thing I can think of is maybe Brock’s music does hit during the segment, getting everyone excited but with only Paul Heymann coming out. Perhaps Heymann can cut a promo, start hyping the match at Summerslam and maybe it comes to a point where he receives an RKO just to get this feud started? That’s one way to do it…
Rusev vs. Zack Ryder, United States Championship
Rusev retains. That simple and frankly, he should destroy Ryder within a few minutes before moving on to what hopefully will be a more meaningful feud. Furthermore, given what took place at the draft, it only makes sense for Rusev to retain (not that it wouldn’t anyway) so that the title stays on RAW, just like the IC title will stay on Smackdown. Speaking of:
Miz vs. Darren Young, Intercontinental Championship
Miz retains. When this match was first made, my initial thought was that maybe they give Young the belt. At the time, it felt like the only reasonable options if there are to be any title changes in this PPV but, again, based on how the draft went down, it only makes sense that Miz retains so the belt can stay as an exclusive for Smackdown and besides, I find it hard to believe that they would have Miz tap out twice in one week to Young. Likeliest scenario, some iffy finish where maybe Miz cheats his way to victory (what else is new) but either way, Miz holds on to the gold for at least another month.
Becky Lynch vs. Natalya
Given that both were drafted to Smackdown, this ain’t going to be a one off thing so based on that fact alone, I feel Natalya gets the first win given that she just turned heel and this being really her first match ever since. One can of course argue that Becky needs the win just as much but the timing I feel favors Natalya and, besides, it’s not like this is going to be the end of it anyway…
Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens
For a while now, I’ve been calling for some kind of stipulation in order to make this match even more interesting. I personally felt that these guys would have been separated by the end of the draft but as it turned out, they both landed on the same show again so I guess this means that this never ending feud will…keep walking just like Johnny Walker; not that I mind, don’t get me wrong.
As far as the outcome, this is a match that can easily go either way and it’s probably the most difficult one on the card to predict. In my humble opinion, it comes down to whom needs the win more and right now, that person is Zayn.
John Cena, Enzo & Cass vs. The Club
I think the face team comes out victorious here and I’m pretty sure it will be done in great fashion here, not only because…Cena but more so I feel because of Enzo and Cass who are literally on fire. If indeed WWE are going for Enzo and Cass vs. New Day at Summerslam, then there’s really no other outcome this Sunday and aside from that, Cena has been beaten up enough times already.
Furthermore, we once more have the draft effect and in this case, the Club being no more, so for them it doesn’t really matter in the great scheme of things, does it? On the flipside, could this match lead to a Balor appearance? Hmm…
Triple Threat WWE Championship
Who would have thought that we’d be finally getting this dream match and it would feel so rushed, like the timing being awkward? Many have said this should have been a Summerslam main event and others have even gone as far as a Wrestlemania main event; can’t really argue either case...
Nevertheless, it’s happening at Battleground and it all comes down to what WWE are planning to do with the belts. Does the WWE Championship go back to RAW via Rollins, forcing Smackdown to present a new world title belt or will it be vice versa, Ambrose retaining and RAW being the one forced to present a new title? That, pretty much, is the million dollar question because either way, we will eventually get two champs (one for each show) whether we like it or not.
Into the match itself, one would assume that Roman Reigns is to be excluded from the equation as a possible winner, given his recent violation and all. I mean, WWE couldn’t be that stupid, could they? The fact alone that he is still in this match is already too much in my opinion and as I’ve already mentioned in previous posts recently, he should at least eat the pin so I’m sticking to that. Hmm, now that I think of it, maybe that’s the reason he’s still in the match to begin with.
So, between Ambrose and Rollins, who would have the edge?
Personally, I’d like to see Ambrose continue his reign. Ever since Money in the Bank, Ambrose has been on fire and booked to look as good as it gets, with excellent promos and overall great performances in the ring. It took WWE several months to figure it out but at least they got it right after a feud with Lesnar that did nothing for Dean in the long run and a feud with Jericho that was simply silly, based on a fucking potted plant and a stupid jacket.
Many claim that Dean got lucky and caught a break due to Roman Reigns doings (violation and all) and is only a transitional champion. To that, I respond “good for him” because he got a hold of an opportunity and is simply running with it and making the most of it and frankly, I doubt WWE are dissapointed with how this is going.
On the other hand, Seth Rollins of course has his own claims and rightfully so. He never lost the title to begin with and as of Tuesday, he’s the number one draft pick on the flagship show and let's not forget he beat Roman Reigns clean at MITB but was caught off guard when Ambrose cashed in from behind. The flipside is that he already had two failed attempts this week, both on RAW and Smackdown and this is perhaps why he may have a slight advantage after all because statistically, there’s no way WWE books Rollins to have three failed attempts in less than a week, right? That wouldn’t be good for your number one draft pick, right? Unless…
…Ambrose pins Reigns, thus giving Rollins the opportunity to continue his strong claims while playing up his character and in the process, they turn Reigns heel by attacking Ambrose post match. The way I see it, the story just writes itself: Rollins has Ambrose in position for the pedigree but…superman punch by Roman and then spear to Rollins; but as Reigns goes to pin Rollins, Ambrose catches him from behind, dirty deeds, one two three, ring the bell, Ambrose retains. Seth kind of rolls out of the ring all furious that he came so close but got screwed yet again, meanwhile Ambrose is celebrating his successful title defense when…spear from Roman to his brother of a friend and let the beatdown begin. Given that Reigns will receive nuclear heat upon his entrance (if you thought before was bad with the booing, it’s about to get a whole lot worse) I honestly can’t see any better timing to make the move. WWE know it, they understand it's inevitable so why not just get over with it?
Aside from the matches themselves, hopefully by the end of this PPV we'll get some answers as to how the title scene will look regarding the shows, with which being defended where and/or if certain belts will float amongst both shows, provided of course that WWE have it figured out cause from the looks of it so far, they themselves probably don't know what they're doing...
Cheers...
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