WWE Battleground 2017

WWE Battleground 2017

Philadelphia, PA - July 2017

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Jinder Mahal is the reigning WWE World Champion, AJ Styles holds the United States Championship, and the Usos are the SmackDown Tag Team Champions coming into tonight's show. The SmackDown Womens' Champion is Naomi, though she will not defend the title.

COMMENTARY: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, and JBL

The Usos vs. The New Day for the Usos' SmackDown Tag Team Championships is our opener - a questionable decision considering its the only tag match on the card (and maybe the only guaranteed great match considering the chemistry of the teams involved). The Usos began in control, bending the rules from the jump with Jimmy tieing up Xavier on the ropes far from his designated corner. As Jay Uso continued to work on the face-in-peril Xavier Woods, the crowd stirred, rallying him to block a superplex and hit a big dropkick from the top. Kingston came in for the hot tag and hit some of his signature stuff, including a New Day Boom Drop. Kingston attempted a Trust Fall from the top to the outside but ended up double-powerbombed on the arena floor in a great spot. Woods was the legal man, though, so Jimmy Uso tossed him back in the ring and attempted a wheelbarrow face-buster only to get it reversed into a unique driver for 2. Woods would find himself in trouble soon after, though, taking a big double-team samoan drop for another close near fall. In one of the craziest spots I've seen this year (and one captured expertly by the WWE camera crew), Woods attempted an elbow drop from the top rope but missed his mark and was hit straight in the jaw by an Uso superkick. Jimmy Uso attempted to end it with a half-crab on Woods, but the New Day was able to grab the bottom rope and make the tag to Kingston, who flew off the top rope for the Midnight Hour. Kingston went for another big move from the top, but Uso dodged it and connected with a superkick instead before tagging in his brother for a big splash from the top for 2 and 3/4ths. A deserved "This is Awesome" chant broke out as the Usos took to opposite corners. Woods tossed one of the Usos off the ropes, though, allowing Kingston the time to get up and hit the Trouble in Paradise. In a nice callback to Woods earlier attempt to put the match away with a big elbow, Woods would hit his finish from more than halfway across the ring to snag the W. I would've liked to see Big E get involved in some capacity, but overall, a very good opener and potentially even a Top 10 WWE Match of the Year candidate in a year that hasn't necessarily seen too many great matches. (3.5/5)

Next up - the uber-popular Shinsuke Nakamura taking on the man who spoiled his Money In The Bank chances, Baron Corbin. Before Corbin could make his way down the aisle, a loud "Nakamura" chant began, the crowd obviously backing the King of Strong Style in this one. Not a lot of big moves early on and at least one very noticeable spot-calling moment as Corbin tossed Nak into the ropes before applying a bearhug. Portions of the crowd tried to get into this one, but compared to the opener, reactions were flat during the heat stretch. A mild "Nakamura" chant started up again as he started to rally and hit some of his signature offense, but the biggest pop of the match to this point would actually be earned by a brutal Corbin clothesline that flipped Nakamura inside out. The Lone Wolf attempted a suplex, but Nak fought back with repeated knees to the skull followed by his half-suplex facebuster thing. Nak went for Kinchasa but got caught in the Deep Six for two. This was followed by a better-than-average striking sequence between the two, a nice touch considering Nak's MMA background and Corbin's boxing background. Nak took control with a backstabber and then a shot to the back of the neck but Corbin played possum to avoid the Kinchasa. Disappointing DQ finish from a blatant low blow by Corbin. This match started off a bit slow, got a touch better as it built to its finish, and then hit a brick wall. A good example of the bookers trying to protect both guys but doing neither a favor because, while Nak looked like he was clearly en route to victory and Corbin got the last laugh with a post-match End of Days, the unimaginative banality of a contest ending with a low blow DQ in 2017 left a bad taste in the audience's mouth. (2/5)

A video package hyped the next match - a 5-woman Elimination Match to determine who will challenge Naomi for her SmackDown Women's Championship between Charlotte, Natalya, Becky Lynch, Lana, and Tamina. In a nice touch, reigning champion Naomi joined the commentary crew, a wise move in building towards SummerSlam. Tamina and Lana's partnership came into play early as they double-teamed Charlotte. Lana's offense wasn't great, in fact, a spin kick drew a chorus of boos after it noticeably missed its mark, but it also didn't help that the target of the two-on-one was one of the most unsympathetic babyfaces on either roster. In fact, once Becky got involved, the crowd perked up a bit. After a good sequence between the two Horsewomen, Natalya came in guns blazing for her own spotlight minutes before getting taken out with a Becksploder. Lana would eat one too, but Tamina was able to counter and connect with a nasty superkick and a Samoan Drop, stealing a page from her cousins' (by marriage, I think?) playbook. Tamina's onslaught would continue minutes later with another Samoan Drop to Becky and then an ugly-looking spear to Charlotte outside of the ring. Lynch wouldn't stay down, though, applying the Disarmer to both Tamina and Lana to effectively eliminate them in rapid succession. Natalya snuck from behind, though, and rolled up Lynch for the penultimate elimination. Charlotte took control for the next few minutes, the match essentially turning into a 1-on-1 contest. After hitting several big moves, though, in a somewhat shocking twist, Natalya would score the pinfall after counting a moonsault and bashing Flair's skull into the bottom turnbuckle. There was more I liked here than I didn't, but I wouldn't say this was anything more than average with the good sequences slightly outweighed by the sloppy work of Lana and Tamina and the questionable booking. (2/5)

The United States Championship was on the line in the next contest - former champ Kevin Owens challenging relatively new champion AJ Styles. This one began how I'd expected with AJ getting in an initial flurry of offense but Owens eventually wearing Styles down and taking him to the mat to hush the crowd. Speaking of the crowd - like in the Nak match, after some loud reactions for the entrances, they got pretty quiet, even the stiffest of strikes from both men not seeming to register. AJ's offense continues to be as dazzling now as ever - the fireman's carry neckbreaker, the springboard 450, and the pele kick are all still winners. Owens, meanwhile, has gotten a bit less flashy since his debut matches against Cena, but no less ferocious. While we may not get the small package drivers, his current moveset gets his character over better. For example, late in this match, Owens countered a Styles Clash into a simple-but-effective toss into the referee, just one of a few moments when Owens opted to do anything, simple or innovative, to maintain control and put a hurting on his opponent. This was not the best match these two probably could've had - in fact, the aforementioned ref bump ended up serving no purpose at all as Owens didn't take advantage of the situation (an idea I'm not sure I even understand considering how proudly "heelish" Owens likes to claim he is on Twitter). Styles and Owens, on their best nights, are exciting, captivating workers but they're also two guys that may be at their best when matched against worthy foils (Cena and Reigns, for example) or when working a match that actually features some semblance of cohesion. Would it have been so bad for one of these guys to work a limb? (2/5)

Rusev made his way down the aisle next to face the returning John Cena in a Flag Match. I understand the desire to have Lana compete in the women's division - but what I don't get is how that means she can no longer be in Rusev's corner? With so much in the current WWE landscape broken, why spend time fixing the rare act that isn't? Anyway...Cena got a huge (and expectedly mixed) reaction for his return, the one-time Marine (in film) laying the patriotism on extra thick lest anyone not take this gimmick match seriously. In the past, these two have put on some decent bouts - I have none of their 2015 matches rated below 3 stars - but two years ago, Rusev was coming off some huge wins and though the Cena victories were no less predictable, there was at least freshness to the rivalry. On this night, though, we got a house show main event masquerading as a "big deal," the stakes arguably higher than in any of their 2015 matches but the finish so obvious that there was little to no drama from bell to bell. It didn't help, either, that the rules of this match differed from a traditional flag match with the added requirement of carrying the flag not to the opposing corner (which I think I've seen before) but all the way up the entranceway. Granted, the addition of this component led to the best segment of the match, Rusev launching Cena onto the floor with an excellent fallaway slam in one particularly good spot. The application of the Accodale and denial of Rusev's victory was cartoonish, but at least it was fun (as was the final blow inflicted by John Cena). Predictable result aside, this one proved that one can make all the excuse they want about a "cold crowd," but good storytelling and building drama can work to deliver a match that, while certainly not top shelf, was easily the best thing the show had offered in at least an hour. (3/5)

One of the best gimmicks going came next - Breezango's reveal of who has been behind trashing their office. The culprits? After teasing that it was the Ascension, it was revealed that it actually noneother than...nope, still not revealed. Was there a promise that it would be revealed? I feel like there was. Oh yeah, a cursory glance at WWE.com mentions "all will be revealed" at Battleground. Guess not. (-1)

Here we go - my favorite new act (based entirely on their outrageously awesome entrance music) Mike Kanellis and his manager, Maria, taking on plucky babyface hero Sami Zayn. I enjoy the character work of the Kanellis duo probably more than most, but there's no denying that this is a "TV act" in much of the same way that Breezango are. That being said, you don't establish the credibility of a newcomer by having them lose their first major appearance so, as much as I like Zayn, I didn't get the booking here at all. A match like this would be fine on TV, but on a Network special, its sub-average. (1.5/5)

Main event time - Randy Orton challenging Jinder Mahal for his WWE World Championship in a Punjabi Prison Match. Even with the impressive Punjabi Prison structure, Mahal and Orton had their work cut out for them when it came to waking up this unenthusiastic Philly crowd. Before the bell was sounded, the Punjabi Prison was lowered all the way to the floor and vaguely threatening Middle Eastern music played. The competitors were then introduced, both getting a somewhat mixed response - which shows how bored of Orton people are and not necessarily how popular Mahal is. Wisely, these two didn't waste much time going for the exits and establishing the danger of the stipulation (and the need for sound strategy to win it). Before opening the second door, Mahal targeted Orton's arm, trying to wear him down as the crowd chanted something indecipherable (maybe something a jawn?). Orton got the upperhand back, though, tossing Mahal into the cage wall after the second door got closed for good and nearly connecting with the hangman DDT. After pinning Orton between the ropes and inner structure, Mahal got a little bit of offense in, but Orton used his strength to suplex Mahal into the wall twice before calling for the third door. As most anyone could've predicted, the third door was closed off before either man could get out. For no particular reason this was followed by both guys overselling damage and then basically just looking at eachother for a minute or two, ostensibly building suspense but really just boring the already half-asleep crowd. Orton hit his powerslam and hangman DDT, but couldn't manage to connect with his first RKO attempt after having the 4th door opened up. With 20 seconds to go, despite taking an RKO, the Singh Brothers pulled Mahal through the door and Orton was left behind in the ring, the match seemingly over. Orton climbed from the inner structure to the outer structure, though, essentially lapping Mahal. The two brawled at the top of the second structure, trading fists and headbutts until Mahal dropped to the arena floor. The Singh Brothers pulled Orton down and attacked him as the crowd booed, the numbers game too much for the Apex Predator. As Mahal climbed for a second time, though, the Viper fought back, breaking free to pull Mahal back down again. After beating down the Singhs, Orton fell victim to some stiff shots from a kendo stick as Mahal attempted to set him up for the Khallas. Again, Orton broke free, though, grabbing his own kendo stick to do some damage to the champion and his henchman. Orton did a nice job selling the damage to his left arm as he made his escape, eventually halted by Samir Singh (who ended up taking an absolutely crazy bump through the announce table outside of the structure). The bump, which earned a brief "Holy Shit!" chant, was outstanding, once again the Singh Brothers' bumping being the best thing about an otherwise ho-hum, not-so-special main event (though I also liked Orton hitting a second hangman DDT off the outer structure wall). Bleeding from his back, Orton pulled a chair out from under the ring and blasted the remaining Singh brother in the back (as well as the champ), the Viper doing everything he could to overcome the odds. Having taken out his adversaries, Orton set to climbing the wall, still selling the damage to his arm, but was prevented from hitting the arena floor by the return of...The Great Khali?!? Choking Orton through the bars, the former King of the Kiss Cam's interference allowed Mahal to ascend the structure and retain the title. Points awarded for the insane Singh bump and Orton actually looking like he gave a shit for most of it. This wasn't the train wreck that it could've been, in fact parts of it were fairly intense, but I still have no desire to see another one anytime soon. (2/5)


With a pretty horrendous Kwang rating of 2.0-out-of-5, Battleground 2017 ranks as the absolute lowest Network show I've reviewed on the blog. With the amount of talent on the Blue Brand roster, it is shocking just how poorly booked this show was. Orton/Mahal ran its course a month ago. Cena/Rusev was a failed attempt to microwave a program from 2 years ago and hope it'd still taste good. Owens and AJ may be excellent workers and characters, but their match was threadless. With only the tag team opener being worthy of your time, this one earned an undeniable rating of...

FINAL RATING - DUDleyville