WWE Battleground 2015

RATING LEVELS:
Curt Hennig – A “GOAT” show, as Perfect as possible
Watch It All – A consistently good-to-great show worth watching in its entirety
Watch It…With Remote in Hand – 3 or more above-average ratings
High Risk Maneuver – Mostly filler, inessential, but 1-2 good matches
DUDleyville – Zero redeeming qualities, chore to watch

Battleground – July 2015

St. Louis, Missouri

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight’s show, the WWE World Championship was held by Seth Rollins, the Intercontinental Champion was a staph-infected Ryback, the United States Title was held by John Cena, and the Divas Champion was Nikki Bella. The WWE Tag Team Champions were the Prime Time Players, Darren Young and Titus O’Neill.

COMMENTATORS: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and JBL



Sheamus vs. Randy Orton was the "proper" opener (after Barrett/R-Truth on the Kickoff show), a smart move considering that Orton generally gets a solid crowd reaction and this show emanated from his hometown, St.Louis. I was not very enthralled in this rivalry before the show, though, I'll give credit where its due - on their better nights, both guys know how get their matches over with the live crowd. This was undoubtedly one of those better nights. Orton and Sheamus wisely went at each other with some stiff strikes and very few chin locks, a common criticism of Orton's work. Neither guy has added any new weapons to their arsenal, something that has benefitted John Cena tremendously and might really help reinvigorate Orton when he's not wrestling in front of a 100% pro-Randy crowd. This match delivered by keeping its foot on the gas. It can't be said enough how much this match was aided by the crowd, popping big for Orton's superplex and the RKO, even if the set-up for "go home" spot was nothing special. (3/5)

A solid, fun tag team match was next and, once again, both the Prime Time Players and the New Day worked really hard and connected with the crowd because of it. Everything these two teams did pretty much worked, the live crowd was interested and rooting for the faces, and coming out of this match, I care more about the Tag Team Championships. Solid match, though I'm not sure how much better it is than average considering that the WWE Tag Team Championship matches of the past 12 months - many involving Cesaro/Kidd, The Usos, and the former champs New Day were routinely Match of the Night candidates. (2.5/5)

After a backstage segment featuring Paige, Charlotte, and Becky Lynch, we had our next match - Bray Wyatt taking on Roman Reigns. Wyatt was laying on the schtick very heavy but still dominating the match, cutting off Reigns several times and eventually wearing him down to a lengthy headlock segment that started with Wyatt shouting "He failed you!" at the audience. The headlock went a hair too long, the audience not getting very loud for Reigns comeback, which wasn't the only time this sort of mild response occurred. Reigns' pumphandle belly-to-backs were impressive, but Wyatt's clothesline counter to Roman's dropkick on the outside was probably the spot of the match, if not the whole night. Like the crowd's interest, this match ebbed and flowed, with high-impact maneuvers sold thoroughly and both guys eating time by telegraphing their moves with character taunts straight out of the WWE 2K video games. Unfortunately, the finish seemed to come three or four minutes late, hitting at a time when the crowd was prepared for a more dramatic conclusion, not a rather pedestrian, unsurprising run-in. After such a lengthy match, this one fizzled out instead of peaking. (2.5/5)

Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte vs. Brie Bella was next - the crowd thoroughly hating anything Brie did, but not really loving anything that Charlotte or Sasha did either. The women were given more time than in any women's match I've seen in ages and I do hope this is a sign of the future - especially if those future matches feature Sasha Banks, who was the most impressive by a good stretch. Things didn't necessarily click 100% with the audience or between the talents - Sasha was moving at 500 mph and I think her energy was almost too much for the live crowd. Brie didn't get booed when she started pulling out what should've been "trolling" versions of Daniel Bryan's signatures and while there were moments of brilliance (Sasha "stacking" Brie and Charlotte and rocksliding them with her knees, for example), there were also moments that showed that both NXT talents are going to need some more time to connect with the audience. There is a major difference between working a match in front of 400 fans who know and love your signature spots and 15,000 who don't know your name and are conditioned not to care about it. Charlotte and Sasha's nerves came into play just as much as Brie's inexperience, but the finish was well done and, I will say, whether intentional or not, the handful of pretty nasty bumps that Brie took and wrestled through only helped the entertainment value. (2.5/5)

The United States Championship Match was on the line in the next bout - John Cena defending against former NXT Champion, Kevin Owens. The crowd woke up big time for this one, though, for the first third or so, it seemed like simply a reshuffling of the same sequences they'd used in their previous two matches. After Cena hit his top rope leg drop, JBL asked "How many guys can you say kicked out of that?" drawing no responses from Cole or Jerry Lawler (the right answer is "All of them. All of the guys."). I bring this up to say no matter how good a match might be, bad commentary can take you right out of it and this was a clear example (there was also a stretch where King hyped Cena by talking about how nice he is backstage - as if anyone needs to hear that in 2015). Fortunately, Cena and Owens are good enough to pull any viewer back in, even if this match didn't get hot until Owens busted out the STF. A minute or two later, a vicious clothesline following Cena's springboard stunner took the match to another level as Owens' followed up with a fisherman shoulderbreaker. I would've liked a bit more selling of the damaged shoulder as the match wore on, especially as the finish left Owens in an unenviable position storyline-wise. Of course, part of what makes a truly great talent and character is their ability to bounce back from a loss - now is the time when we'll see if Owens can overcome that hurdle. All in all, not my favorite match of theirs, but still above average. (3.5/5)

The Miz arrived next and did what he does best, cutting a promo that felt real and kept the audience engaged. He even threw a few "pipebombs" about Big Show. Big Show's strong, silent cut-off was the sensible ending to the segment, but is it wrong for me to say I wouldn't have minded him getting shut up Dean Ambrose instead? This is the kind of segment that, on RAW, I'd probably hate - but on this show, worked well as a break in the action. Still, too unremarkable to merit anything above a low average rating. (2/5)

Main event time - Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins for Seth Rollins' WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The video promo prior to the match seemed to go nearly as long as the match itself, which was basically a brutalizing not dissimilar from the ass-kicking that Cena took at last year's SummerSlam. The big shocker was the finish, or non-finish, featuring the return of the Undertaker. It is hard to rate this match - it was one-sided, but never boring, as Lesnar is the most entertaining and "must see" WWE performer not just right now, but arguably of the past 12-13 years (when Lesnar debuted and had his first go around). For what this was, it doesn't belong on anyone's "Greatest Hits" DVD set, but one can't deny the crowd's response, the tight execution of the Undertaker's return, or the excitement this sort of ending provides to a WWE sorely lacking a hot summer angle. (3/5)

This happened.

With an average match/segment rating of 2.71-out-of-5, Battleground 2015 felt like a show that was hairs away from greatness. Every contest was given ample time (though I would've preferred a longer main event) but that didn't necessarily equate to smoother matches. In terms of match order, this show presented an improvement on some of the other Network cards of recent memory. It was wise not to start with the show's lone tag match, having an in-ring segment separate the US and World Championship matches was wise, and giving the divas more time meant that there was an even longer relief period between two grudge matches. As hard as everyone worked, and I do think this show featured noticeably strong efforts from every participant, there were significant areas of improvement that would've lifted this show up a notch.

As my good buddy Tim noted in a post-Battleground phone conversation, Cena/Owens would've benefitted from a stipulation - at the end of the day, 3 straight-up singles matches in 3 months was at least one too many. Say what you will about the Rusev/Cena series, but at least that ended with a Chain Match and the WrestleMania match, with its lavish entrances, felt different than their first singles match. 

As mentioned, The Miz segment was gold until Big Show arrived. Here was an opportunity to give the audience a new angle by having Miz get shut up by a Dean Ambrose or Cesaro or NXT call-up (ala the Ultimate Warrior's random run-in on Honky Tonk Man at the 88' SummerSlam), but instead, we're guaranteed that the Miz/Show/Ryback feud will continue, a storyline between guys with no chemistry or heat. I'd argue they deserve better than each other too. Ryback needs a bump-machine heel to work off of, The Miz needs an opponent that can match his strengths in the charisma department, and, looking back at the past decade, Big Show has been best in tag teams - would he not make an interesting partner to a guy like Neville or Slater at this point?

A longer main event with Rollins actually getting the opportunity to at least try to cheat (brass knuckles, pulling tights, a steel-plate under his shirt like Bret Hart did to Goldberg) would've probably boosted that match a half-point for me rather than it being just a squash.

Had someone taught Brie to work just two or three heel mannerisms into her match, that one would've been stronger.

Shave off a minute or two from Reigns/Wyatt, which felt a little bloated with taunts and character work, and maybe the finish doesn't come off as so deflating.

All in all, a good show and certainly worth $9.99...but deserving of the A+ grade that Lords Of Pain star columnist Mr. Tito  gave it? I think not. As a longtime Tito reader, I say this with all the kindness in my heart, but dude, now that you have the WWE Network, re-watch a show like Great American Bash 96' or Backlash 2001 and notice how the variety of matches and workers and styles on display benefitted those cards. Though neither of the aforementioned shows is perfect, they offer clear examples of things the WWE should consider for improving their current product.


FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote In Hand