The first ever Battleground pay-per-view kicks off with a hardcore match between Rob Van Dam and then-World Heavyweight Champion, Alberto Del Rio. This match starts off relatively hot with RVD hitting a crowd-pleasing and well-executed tornado DDT onto the chair, but from there, it doesn't really build properly and the crowd - who are desperately chanting for tables from about minute two - only seems to pop for the big weapon shots and doesn't seem to bite on any of the near falls. Having now watched quite a ton of RVD matches in my life, I would argue that while Van Dam is incredibly agile, can be very fun to watch, and is capable of putting on absolutely awesome matches, he needs the right dance partner and Del Rio is sort of similar: capable of great matches, but not consistent and often seemed to struggle connecting with the audience as a heel or a face. I really liked the finish and wish we would've seen Del Rio work on RVD's match throughout the contest, a simple thread that could've allowed a real story to develop. I don't think anybody believed Van Dam had a shot at winning this. Average at best. (2.5/5)
After a promo cutting down the Hispanic population in Buffalo and the visiting "maple-chugging" Canadian fans in attendance, The Real Americans (Jack Swagger and Cesaro led by Uncle Zeb) take on the goofy babyface team of The Great Khali and Santino. You know you're not going to get a great match here and you definitely don't. Santino does most of the work for his team, as expected. The Great Khali has become less hated than he was during his various main event pushes, but people forget he wasn't entertaining in the lower midcard either. This match is all about the finish - which sees Cesaro deliver the Cesaro Swing onto Khali - and, to be fair, it is an incredible feat of strength that deserves a point for having happened. An extra half-point for everything else, which wasn't too offensive, and the match not going longer than it needed to. (1.5/5)
Next up - "Paul Heyman Guy" and reigning Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel vs. R-Truth. This match sucked and the crowd, which eventually broke into an audible "boring" chant, let them know it. R-Truth can be a very good, entertaining worker, but Curtis Axel brought about as much flavor to the ring as spreading water on white bread. This match only went 20 more seconds than the match that preceded it, but felt like they'd added 20 minutes because of how heatless this was. The execution of various moves was not the issue - there was just nothing special or remarkable and Heyman was a non-factor on the outside when he should've been much more involved (I'm guessing they were saving that involvement for the Ryback/Punk match later on the show). This was bad and the finish is so out of nowhere that I'm guessing Vince had given the ref the signal to "send em' home" before they were supposed to. A point for effort, I guess. (1/5)
The Divas Champion AJ Lee took on Brie Bella in the next contest. This was a weird time for women's wrestling in the WWE as the "Divas Era" was still going on, but a more and more vocal part of the audience wanted to see some actual competition and wrestling and personalities beyond "former model." For example, AJ Lee, despite being the heel, had much more crowd support because she was entertaining, not just as her "deranged psycho ex-girlfriend" character, but also because she could apply holds convincingly, took great bumps, and had a flashy arsenal (undeniably accented by her natural good looks, no doubt). AJ Lee mixed speedy, believable wrestling with charm and energy and a "Sk8er Girl" look that set her apart from the rest of the division and her calling out the Total Divas in late August 2013 (you can find the clip on YouTube) in a promo tagged "#PipeBombshell" drew far more cheers than it did boos. Anyway, all that backstage hubbub aside, this was fine for what it was but somehow not quite as good as the Brie/Nattie match from SummerSlam a month earlier. They got a decent amount of time to tell a story - just a minute less than the previous two matches - but nothing really jumped out at me. The biggest pops seemed to all come from AJ's prancing and Tamina choking out Nikki on the outside. Another match that was decent at best. (1.5/5)
The Rhodes Brothers took on The Shield's Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns in a match where the Rhodes were fighting to be re-instated into the WWE. Dusty is at ringside for the babyfaces, while Dean Ambrose (Jon Moxley) is there to lend support to his stablemates. This match has taken on somewhat of a mythic reputation and though I don't think it deserves that level of hype, it is an absolutely great match that is maybe just shy of all-time classic territory not because of any particular flaw, but because I think the match shines mostly because it is the type of simple, beautiful babyface/heels tag match that fans were robbed of for so long that it really only stands out in context. In other words, is this as good as the best Midnight Express/Rock n' Roll Express match? Is this is as good as the best New Day/Usos matches? I'm not sure this is a top 10 tag wrestling match ever, but I think it might land a spot in the top 25 thanks to incredible performances by Dustin and Cody (if anything, Rollins and Reigns are a bit generic here compared to what they would be a few years after this). (4/5)
Bray Wyatt vs. Kofi Kingston followed and I was surprised just how cold this match was as I was under the impression that Wyatt's initial run was much better received by live crowds. Here, the crowd is clearly not into this. I respect the decision to not job Kofi out and to have him almost win the match, but Bray Wyatt should've come out of this match looking much stronger after having needed interference from his "family" to beat Kane at SummerSlam. Some of Wyatt's offense was really good, but it was stretched out with just too much filler to really leave a lasting impression that Bray was a new evil force that was going to be darn near unbeatable. I liked the finishing sequence, but this match went too long and the crowd's disinterest was palpable around the 7-8 minute mark. (2/5)
CM Punk took on Ryback in the next match. The story was clear here - Ryback could overpower Punk and dominate him and it is clear that there was at least some direction in making Ryback look strong - but unlike Brock Lesnar, who was over with the crowd at SummerSlam and had a ton of credibility as a legit UFC Champion, Ryback felt like a real step down as an opponent for Punk and this was too one-sided for me. Punk certainly makes Ryback look strong and, to be fair, some of Ryback's offense is absolutely wicked, but this match needed more of CM Punk controlling the tempo and outsmarting an opponent who wasn't on his level. Why would a former World Champion be so ineffective against an "idiot monster" like Ryback? This match did nothing for Punk and the finish - which saw Punk win with a low blow - came off as a bit desperate. Not the worst match ever or anything, but a misfire from conception. (2.5/5)
Main event time - Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton for the vacant WWE Championship. Daniel Bryan is terrific in this match and Randy Orton brought his working boots, which isn't always the case. I like that this match felt like a major championship fight. Unlike their lackluster match at Night of Champions a month prior, this feels like more of a "Daniel Bryan Match" than an "Orton Match" as there is way more action and the majority of the match is wrestled more at Bryan's pace. At over 20 minutes, the match does feel like a real war - though I could see the argument that it should've maybe been fought a bit more wildly as, by this point, things had gone beyond just the championship and had become way more personal with Orton's taunting of Brie Bella. Unfortunately, a good-maybe-great match like this can really only hit that next level with a strong finish (or at least a memorable one) and this one...didn't even really end. The Big Show comes down, knocks out Bryan, knocks out a referee, and then knocks out Orton, the show coming to a close without a victor. I hate to be crass, but this was basically a "blue-ballsing" of the fans in attendance after 20 minutes of very good action that deserved a crescendo. Without that finish, this was hard work that ultimately led nowhere. Bummer. This would've probably been in the 3-3.5 range with even a half-decent finish, but without one, it falls into the realm of being forgettable. (2.5/5)
With a Kwang Score of 2.19-out-of-5, Battleground 2013 is a disappointment and hard to recommend. The two main events - Punk/Ryback and Bryan/Orton - are underwhelming and average (at best). The rest of the card is more miss-than-hit with only the very strong Rhodes Brothers vs. The Shield match delivering the goods.
FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver
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