Battleground 2014 Review

Well last night was interesting to say the least. I tried to keep this short but it didn’t really happen...I had quite a lot to say! WWE Battleground took place on the 20th of July in Tampa, Florida.

WWE added a random extra match to the pre-show, Fandango Vs Adam Rose. The match lasted about 2 mins with Layla and Summer Rae coming out as rosebuds, both slapping Fandango (should that not have been a DQ?), with Rose hitting his finisher to get the win. Pointless and was put on the pre-show just to kill time I’m assuming.

Naomi Vs Cameron, only had me interested because of Naomi, she is an amazing athlete and has been held down for way too long because of Cameron; I’m glad they’ve finally split. Cameron getting the win with a roll up by grabbing Naomi’s tights only makes sense if there’s a rematch that Naomi win’s cleanly. There’s no way in hell Naomi can lose cleanly to Cameron. 

Going in to Battleground, as the card built up, I would say expectations were definitely quite high, the card looked very strong, it was a solid, stacked card, especially compared to last year’s event. Personally, I was most looking forward to Ambrose/Rollins, Wyatt/Jericho, AJ/Paige.

Battleground kicked off with The Usos Vs Harper/Rowan (2/3 falls); all I can say is WOW. The match started off slow with Harper getting the first pin, one of the Usos getting the second with a roll up to Harper, what happened to get to the third fall was insane. So many amazing spots/false finishes/crazy athleticism – Rowan with the double suplex from the top rope/the sit out power bomb/all the super kicks - I simply couldn’t keep up, it was one of those matches where you are literally screaming at your screen. The Usos retained after a double kick to both Harper and Rowan then a double splash to Harper. I don’t know where this leads both teams, I’m ready for the Ascension from nxt to be called up. But that is what you call stealing the show.

We then get Ambrose/Rollins next; I was surprised they were having this match so soon on the card. The promo for this match was really good and, well, heart wrenching to all us Shield lovers. WHY SETH WHY?!. In all seriousness, the WWE production team never fails to build matches with great promos such as this. We then get an interview with Rollins backstage, saying what he’s gonna do to Ambrose etc. Guess who pops up and attacks him? Ambrose of course! “WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO TO ME SETH???!” – God, I  do love Dean. Heaps of referees and wwe agents separate the two with Triple H kicking Ambrose out of the building. The match seems to be off.

                                                      (images from dean-ambrose.net)

Paige Vs Aj is up for the Diva’s title. I thought this match would be a lot better than it was, don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad but I know that both of these women can do better. There were a few good spots but overall just felt like it lacked something. I’m guessing this isn’t over and I hope to see a Paige heel turn sooner rather than later. Aj picks up the win with the shining wizard.

 Kane/Orton segment is followed by the pre-show panel making a few predictions on the title match. We then have Rusev/Swagger up next, Lana’s promo was slightly uncofomrtable after the recent events and many media outlets have picked up on it. It didn’t bother me too much but I just find it ridiculous how the media will write a story on this, yet avoid real world tragedies. Pathetic. Anyway, this match was pretty decent and Swagger dominated a lot, the ending showed us that this feud is not over. Rusev won with a count out, after Swagger went face first into the ring pole, Rusev climbed back in to the ring on the 9 count; not winning clean here, was a good thing imo, it made Rusev look weaker and highlighted that Swagger has the potential to stop his dominating/winning streak.

 We then get a Stardust/Goldust promo (I don’t get where they’re going with this) followed by Rollins in the ring demanding to be called the winner by forfeit. This happens with Ambrose running in to the arena and attacking Seth (WWE’s security really sucks doesn’t it?), it turns into an absolute massive brawl with dozens of refs/agents etc. trying to rip the two apart with a “let them fight” chant breaking out; Ambrose is literally carried out of the building. Epic. This angle is just getting better and better.

 Wyatt/Jericho follows. This match really disappointed me and I know, a lot of others. The two just were not clicking at all and there was nothing memorable here. Jericho winning off of the code-breaker and slowly going for the pin, just looked really random. I’m guessing we get a rematch at Summerslam with Jericho putting Bray over.

We then see Rollins walking out of the building, in to the parking lot after he orders the security to leave his side. Clearly paranoid about Ambrose, he looks around making sure he isn’t being followed or Ambrose isn’t hiding anywhere. Whilst this happens, what do we see in the corner of our screens? Dean jumping out of the trunk of Seth’s car, attempting to hit him with some kind of pole; this was just hilarious. They both brawl around the parking lot, on top of the car until Seth finally gets in the car and drives off. This entire segment was so attitude era-esque and Ambrose really reminded me of Stone Cold here. We didn’t get a match with these two, but after this, I understand why. Boy, is this match gonna be good when we finally get it (Summerslam I’m guessing). Calling off the match and having this epic storytelling just shows how wwe is building this feud up to be massive, which is what it deserves. I will probably post an entire blog on this particular feud because it has so much potential and is the best thing going right now. Without a doubt, both men are future main eventers and world champions. But this feud has the potential of making both men stars. Roman Reigns who? (jk).

 The Battle Royal for the IC title is up. Bad News Barrett comes out and delivers some bad news for the participants, basically saying he will be back. Long story short, The Miz wins after hiding on the sidelines. Everyone thought Ziggler had won but NOPE. I had Ziggler/Cesaro or Bo winning here. Cesaro being eliminated by Heath Slater was interesting…I don’t really get where WWE are going with him right now. I don't get why they put the title on the Miz, he gets no crowd reaction but I guess we'll see where this goes. 

The main event fatal 4 way for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was exactly what I expected. Cena retained. The match was okay, I was interested to see how Reigns would do here and I think he did deliver, he will improve, learn and get better over time. Wrestlemania 31 is where I see him winning the title for the first time, that ideally should happen and will be an incredible moment.

Anyone else missing Daniel Bryan as champ? I’m curious to know what direction WWE would have been going in if he hadn’t of got injured. Bryan Vs Lesnar at Summerslam? That would have been something to see.

Overall, battleground involved a lot of storytelling and building towards Summerslam, which now nearly a day after the PPV, I don’t mind. To begin with I thought this was a really weak show, but going over it now, I realise that it has really helped to build towards the biggest show of the summer. I am against 12 ppv’s a year though, just too many imo for them to consistently deliver. Usos/Wyatts and Rollins/Ambrose (without even having a match) stole the show (which shows just how good these two are).

Am I disappointed? A little. But am I excited for Summerslam? 100%. The card is looking to be stacked and solid. Looking forward to Raw tonight. Plan C anyone?

The road to SummerSlam has officially begun.

Zara.