Hello Smarks and Marks alike. I'm especially excited for the next Pay Per View, but mainly because I actually get to watch it live! (I'm exploding like a Backstreet Boys-obsessed fangirl right now)
So in preparation for this event, like I've done the last couple of events, I'm going to do a quick review of the matches from the last PPV, and preview the one upcoming Sunday.
So for those who haven't watched in awhile, here's a quick recap of last month's ppv, Money in the Bank.
Match 1 (Pre-Show) Golden Truth defeat Breezango
Dumb storyline with Truth and Goldust locking Tyler Breeze and Fandango in a tanning booth. Therefore they were sunburned throughout the match and Golden Truth get their first official victory as a team.
3 out of 10.
Match 2: Lucha Dragons defeat the Dudley Boyz.
Knowing what we know now about the draft, this became an even more pointless match. The Dragons had a chance at one point for the tag team championships, but now they've been split. At least the Dudleyz have stayed together, but the match was underwhelming.
3.5 out of 10.
Main Show
The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston)w/Xavier Woods defeat The Club (Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows), The Vaudevillians (Aiden English and Simon Gotch), and Enzo Amore and Big Cass. (Kingston pinned English)
I was hoping for a title change, but it seems as if they want to give the New Day the length record now, so it was somewhat understandable. Whoever takes the title from them will have instant credibility. (I hope)
7 out of 10
Baron Corbin defeated Dolph Ziggler
Corbin ends the feud finally with a definitive win over Ziggler.
6 out of 10 (because the feud shouldn't have lasted 3 ppvs. )
Charlotte and Dana Brooke defeat Natalya and Becky Lynch
The rating isn't so much for the match itself, but rather the aftermath. Dana Brooke pushed Becky into Natalya. Charlotte hit Natural Selection (Bow Down to the Queen) and the heels win the match. Post-Match, Natalya assaulted Becky and left the ring.
3 out of 10 for the Match, 6 out of 10 overall because of the heel turn.
Apollo Crews defeated Sheamus
This was a solid match, but there wasn't a lot of anything special. Crews rolled up Sheamus for the win.
4.5 out of 10
AJ Styles defeated John Cena
A FANTASTIC match that was slightly marred by a predictable cop out finish. Cena could have and Should have lost clean as he did last year against Kevin Owens in the first match. Styles didn't necessarily NEED Gallows and Anderson to hit the Magic Killer, but it made sense to do that in retrospect to the character that Styles needed to have. I will say it did put over the Magic Killer as a move that can beat Cena in one shot (For this occasion) so I was happy about that.
7.75 out of 10.
Dean Ambrose won the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, defeated Alberto Del Rio, Chris Jericho, Cesaro, Sami Zayn, and Kevin Owens
Alberto Del Rio SHINED in this match. He was absolutely fantastic, which leads to the question...What is the deal with WWE not doing anything more important with Del Rio?
Jericho was good and had some false win spots. Did his role well.
Cesaro took the most damage and had my favorite spot in the match. Leap off the ladder to the rope for a springboard roaring uppercut.
Zayn was good for his role and had a hope spot here and there, but it was difficult for him to stand out.
Owens was in the Bad News Barrett Role. The guy who would make most sense LONG term to win the title because of the way his character works. Zayn and Owens were in the same category.
Ambrose didn't stand out but was the most logical short term choice, mainly due to the main event.
7 out of 10 but could have been so much more.
Rusev successfully defended the US Championship over Titus O'Neil
As a heel showcase, this was Rusev's second fantastic performance in a row. After essentially breaking Kalisto in half, he not only dominated Titus, but embarrassed him in front of his family and then gloated in front of his family for good measure. Tremendous heel work especially with this match being in the death spot.
6 out of 10, 5 of the points for Rusev's performance alone.
Seth Rollins Defeated Roman Reigns to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
THEN
Dean Ambrose Cashed in and defeated Seth Rollins to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
The Rollins/Reigns match was Match of the Night. Back and forth action, with Reigns fully embracing the boos and Rollins tactfully hitting spot after spot, culminating with a counter from the Spear straight into the Pedigree. If you were to end it there, the feel good story is already there.
THEN Ambrose cashes in and wins his 1st official World Championship in WWE, in front of his residential area of Las Vegas. The culmination of a 2 year Journey from getting screwed by Rollins for the Money in the Bank Briefcase in 2014, then just barely losing the championship in a ladder match in 2015 to Rollins, to having everything come full circle and give the WWE Universe a Champion they were actually willing to cheer was a tremendous ending.
9 out of 10 for the match.
9.5 out of 10 for the aftermath, cash-in, and sudden title change.
Overall the PPV was a 7 out of 10. The bad was crap but the good was Great.
Since that PPV, WWE had a Draft that split up the WWE Main Roster into Smackdown and Raw Rosters. Therefore, not only do you have the original storylines leading into the PPV, but also the build-in intrigue of where titles will be located after the PPV is over. With that being said, here's the preview and my predictions for WWE Battleground!
Battleground Card
Pre-Show/Non Wrestling segments
1)Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango) vs. The Uso (Jimmy and Jey)
The Opening Contest will be a showcase of the current Smackdown Tag Team Division, giving an experienced team with the bad stigma of Roman Reigns on them (The Usos) vs. a Heel Jobber Tag Team that has gained a bit of a cult following in the Gorgeous One and the Lord of the Dance. If life was fair, the vain duo would obtain the upset via Beauty Shot or the Last Dance. But....The Usos will win with either an excessive amounts of heavy looking Superkicks or A Superfly Splash.
Main Card
2))Sasha Banks and ? vs. Charlotte and Dana Brooke
After Money in the Bank, Sasha Banks returned and staked her claim for the WWE Women's Championship. However, Charlotte didn't grant her a Title match, but rather a Tag team Match with her associate Dana Brooke and herself. Sasha has to find a partner, and it will stay a mystery until the match. Best pick would be Bayley, but it has been said on social media that isn't (guaranteed to be) her. I wouldn't be surprised if it's either Paige or Nia Jax (but that wouldn't be too exciting). It would be awesome if it was either Emma or Asuka. But I have a gut feeling it could be Nikki Bella. With her coming back from injury (and potentially being cleared), it would make sense that it could be someone who could target Charlotte. So I think it will be one of 4 people: Emma if she returns from injury, Nikki Bella to get a pop from the casuals and give Total Divas a return storyline, Asuka because of her past history with Dana, or Bayley due to her history with all three.
Sasha and her partner will win to give momentum for Sasha at Summerslam.
3)Natalya vs. Becky Lynch
You can look at the MITB Charlotte match to see what the catalyst of this match was. Natalya attacked Becky after the match, and since then the two have traded sneak attacks throughout the month of July. These two were the top women drafted to Smackdown so most likely this is the first of possibly many matches between the two technicians. If this feud lasts longer than Battleground, I expect Natalya to win the first leg so Becky gets revenge at Summerslam. Otherwise I'll take Becky if this is a one-off PPV match.
4)The New Day vs. The Wyatt Family
This is an interesting match considering that after Sunday, The Wyatt Family will be down a big hulking mountain in Braun Strowman. The New Day have officially broken the record as the longest reigning tag team champions in the modern era and were drafted to Raw on Monday night. While Braun will be there as well to cause havoc, Bray Wyatt and Erick Rowan were drafted to Smackdown. Before the split, I expected this to be a momentum builder for the Wyatt Family to gain the WWE Tag Team Championships, but since the Wyatts are to be suppressed one member, I would expect the New Day to win the match, because at this point it's not a bad thing for them to drop the titles at Summerslam, the very same place where they regained the titles from the Prime Time Players last year.
5)Rusev vs. Zack Ryder for the United States Championship
Zack Ryder has been on a roller coaster for the 2016 calendar year. One moment he's teaming with Mojo Rawley in NxT, the next he's winning the WWE Intercontinental Championship at Wrestlemania, only to lose it to The Miz the next night. Rusev, after leaving the League of Nations, has been on a complete tear. He regained the US Title by breaking Kalisto in half, then proceeded to embarrass Titus O'Neil on two separate holidays (Father's Day and Independence Day). The added intriguing factors in this match include the following:
1)Lana is at Ringside
2)Rusev was drafted to Raw and Zack Ryder was drafted to Smackdown
3)Ryder's NxT Tag Partner Mojo Rawley was drafted to Smackdown
4)Current tally marks for Championship locations are as follows
a)Raw currently holds the US, Women's, and Tag Team Championships, and will be adding the Cruiserweight Championship
b)Smackdown currently holds the WWE Championship and the Intercontinental Championship
c)The Women's and Tag Team Championships will not be defended at Battleground
I would expect Rusev to retain the United States Championship, keeping it on Raw. Ryder has an out already with Mojo Rawley, so he can focus on developing the Hype Bros tag team on Smackdown (plus he can always go after the Miz). Speaking of....
6)The Miz vs. Darren Young
The crowd has been going nuts for Darren Young since being paired away from Titus O'Neil and the Prime Time Players and going with Bob Backlund. He's fluked into a Battle Royal win and a victory over Alberto Del Rio, then submitted the Miz on draft night. The Miz has held the title since the night after WrestleMania, and had given the title a lot of momentum, defending it against Cesaro, Sami Zayn, and Kevin Owens. He would have had more....if he didn't shoot the Marine 5. The one way to piss off the entire Smackdown fanbase is to have the Miz retain, so he has a way to further gloat about how great he is, by stating that he is the only Title Holder (if Ambrose can't bring the WWE Championship back to Smackdown).
7)Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens
The next (and obviously not last) chapter of this feud comes after screwing each other over on many occasions: Wrestlemania: Zayn Suplexes Owens on ladder. Payback:Owens beats Zayn. Extreme Rules: Owens prevents Zayn from pinning Cesaro, leaving Miz to win. Money in the Bank: Owens Powerbombs Zayn on ladder. To follow this rivalry would take a good weekend just to get the last 6 years from WWE, NxT, and the tail end of Ring of Honor and PWG. Zayn was also picked 1 round ahead of Owens in the draft by Raw, and both ended up on Raw. Therefore, I expect Zayn to finally pull one out on a PPV.
8)The Club vs. John Cena and the Realest Guys in the Room
AJ Styles defeated John Cena at Money in the Bank with the help of Gallows and Anderson via the Magic Killer. Also, the Club has targeted Cena, to the point of even creating a stupid awesome tag line: #BeatUpJohnCena. Heck, when I get done with this preview, I'm going to watch some New Japan Wrestling, have dinner, then BEAT UP JOHN CENA! WOO HOO! (yeah, that would be great lol) Cena has enlisted the help of popular tag team Enzo Amore and Big Cass. Cena and Styles were drafted to Smackdown, whereas the remaining four participants were all drafted to Raw. I would expect the Club to win to set up a final battle with Cena and Styles since Styles would supposedly "not be able to win without the club" but if Cena, Amore, and Cass were to win, I wouldn't be too surprised. The biggest X factor is newly drafted Finn Balor. Balor was associated with Gallows and Anderson in Japan, but was also close to Amore and Cass in NxT. So if Balor interferes in any way, expect the match to sway in that direction.
Main Event)Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns
The Main event pits the three former stablemates of the Shield against each other for the WWE Championship. At first glance, it's easy to pick Roman Reigns....however he's coming off of a drug suspension so you wouldn't want that as the face of your company. Ambrose just defeated Rollins clean on Draft night, so if WWE Booking serves true, then Ambrose will probably be pinned for the title. Rollins could win the title, but then you throw the biggest swerve in the situation. Rollins and Reigns are both on Raw, while Ambrose is on Smackdown. The winner of this match determines the location of the top Championship, as well as the balance of titles. Assuming the others retain, it would leave Smackdown with just the Intercontinental Championship if Ambrose loses. I expect a screwy finish to set up either A) a penultimate showdown at Summerslam, or a B)Title Split so both brands can have a World Champion.
When in Doubt, WATCH WRESTLING DAMMIT!
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