The John Report: WWE Battleground 2016 Preview

John: It’s time for WWE Battleground featuring a main event that will see the former Shield members Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins in a triple threat match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Other high profile matches including John Cena and AJ Styles on opposite sides in a six man tag, the New Day and the Wyatt Family in a six man tag and Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn one more time.

Joining me for the preview are Matty J. Douglas and Mike Holland. Here’s Mike with some opening thoughts.

Mike: In what is assuredly one of the stranger events in WWE history, Battleground comes to us this weekend on the heels of the company's second attempt to create its own competition by splitting the roster onto two brands. While that in itself would give a viewer pause as to whether this thing even matters, WWE has more questions than usual in its booking as we're forced to consider the movement of the past week in the results Sunday. I can't claim to be ultra excited going in, as some of the belts continue the trend of not being defended and superstars seem to be battling over who has the cooler flag for merchandising, but the fact that we are finally getting the long-awaited Shield triple threat match for the WWE's (as it stands now) only World Title puts the top of the card at a significant level of buzz. Since this is meant to be the last of the non-big-4 events to feature talent from both brands, one would expect that some major storylines will be continued or put into play here. Battleground might not look like a sure thing going in, but there's enough mystery and intrigue to label it a must-see.

(Note: All graphics are from WWE.com. The banner is courtesy of our friend Melo Man. Go visit his website prowrestlinglinks.com for convenient links to all kinds of different wrestling related websites.)

Kickoff Match: The Usos vs. Breezango

John: This was added by WWE on Friday at around 6pmET, so it’s after my friends sent in their parts of the preview. Both teams are part of the Smackdown brand. They’ll probably put The Usos over, but I’d be pleased if Breezango wins because I like Breeze and Fandango together. I just think the babyface Usos winning makes more sense.

Winners: The Usos

Becky Lynch vs. Natalya

Matt: Both of these women were drafted to Smackdown Live on Tuesday, meaning that this will be the first PPV match in what could very likely become the primary women’s feud on Smackdown Live. While I’m stoked that these two have a personal rivalry that has been boiled over in recent weeks with multiple sneak attacks and pull apart brawls, and that they will have more than enough focus as the top female performers on Tuesday nights, I’m worried about what it’s all leading to.

There’s no title on Smackdown. Now they may create one that these two ladies will feud over. Or maybe Charlotte will be able to defend against people from both shows. In any case, the fact that there isn’t really a concrete plan for what is happening going forward in this regard is troubling for this match, only as to where is this all heading? Should be a good match and hopefully this will be their first of many opportunities to show how great they are as competitors.

Winner: Natalya (because heels getting the first victory to build sympathy for the babyface is the right way to go here)

Mike: I don't know that anyone can claim as much mistreatment at the hands of creative since debuting from NXT as Becky Lynch, and her trials and tribulations should serve as a cautionary tale for those recently drafted from WWE's feeder program. Lynch has a great look, sounds and looks different than everyone else on the roster, and put together some truly memorable matches during her tenure prior to hitting the big time. Since then, she's basically become the sadsack face of the women's division, constantly getting betrayed and overlooked by everyone.

One very big positive of her match with Natalya, then, is that it not only has a significant backstory but also allows the two ladies to continue their feud as they've both been drafted to Smackdown Live. Nattie's heel turn felt a tad forced, but it has at least given her something interesting to do. With Sasha Banks headed to Raw, Lynch will unquestionably be the lead face on her roster, and she deserves a break or two at this point for the reasons mentioned above. If the aim is to present her as a legitimate threat to Charlotte's belt, it has to start somewhere.

Winner: Becky Lynch

John: It appears this match is going to take place on the main PPV portion of the show rather than the Kickoff Show, but that could change by the time we get to Sunday. I think they’re two of the best women’s wrestlers in the company. With Natalya recently turning heel, it feels like a fresh feud. If they get time it could be awesome. I feel like it will probably get 7-10 minutes and leave me wanting more, which is okay because they can build to bigger matches.

Since it feels like the start of the rivalry that will see them have multiple big matches, I’m going with the heel Natalya getting the win.

Winner: Natalya

Intercontinental Championship: The Miz (w/Maryse) vs. Darren Young (w/Bob Backlund)

Matt: Another interesting bout, given the events that transpired on the Draft Edition of Smackdown Live! The outcome of this match is tied directly to the outcome of the United States Championship match. Intercontinental Champion The Miz (and his lovely wife) was drafted to Smackdown. Darren Young is on Raw. In the other mid card championship match, Rusev, the current United States Champion was drafted to Raw, and Zack Ryder  was drafted to Smackdown.

Presumably each show will have one of these belts, so either both champions lose, or both retain. There really is no other outcome here. I like Darren Young and having Backlund out there is more fun than I initially thought it would be. Hopefully he has a good showing, but…

Winner and Still Intercontinental Champion: The Miz (because Spoiler: I don’t see Rusev losing)

Mike: I don't know what brand of medicinal drug is being passed around the writer's room these days, but I'd surely like to discover it. After weeks of oddball vignettes featuring Bob Backlund inspiring Darren Young to become great again by doing his best Izzy Mandelbaum impression. (If you have no clue, watch Seinfeld now or prepare to board the pain train!) Young appears to have a gimmick going where he wins despite himself, so we'll have to let it roll a bit longer before we pass judgment.

While Young and Dr. Chicken Wing are headed to Raw, Intercontinental Champion Miz and his lovely wife Maryse are going to Tuesday nights, and thus there's a reasonable case to be made that WWE could choose to switch some of the titles out to the other side before the official split. Miz has made the most of getting back into the good graces of management, defeating some of the more popular names on the roster with his standard heel tactics. I can't see creative interrupting the flow just to put Darren over. Let's not forget that former Prime Time partner Titus O'Neil also went to Raw. Do I smell a feud?

Winner (And Still Intercontinental Champion): The Miz

John: This one seems easy to predict because Young has only been having matches on TV with his life coach Backlund for a couple of weeks. Miz has had the IC Title since the night after WrestleMania is doing some of the best work he’s done in years. Young is an opponent that Miz should beat and will beat.

Regarding the quality of the match, don’t be surprised if it’s better than you might think. I saw them have a pretty good match at a live event two weeks ago. Young started the match barely getting a response from the crowd, but by the end of it people bought into him winning the title. They can do something similar in this match because Miz is a very good heel and Young is a lot more charismatic than people think. Keep the IC Title on Miz on the Smackdown brand.

Winner: The Miz

Sasha Banks & ??? vs. Charlotte & Dana Brooke

Matt: I’ve gotten very use to mysteries being a letdown in the WWE. Whether it be mystery opponents, partners, or attackers. The answer is often insanely dull and much less entertaining than the fun ideas that we can all come up with in our heads.

The most fun mystery partner for Sasha to reveal would be Bayley. I anticipate it will be Nia Jax as a babyface. Chances are the reveal won’t be nearly as interesting as either of those scenarios. Not that it matters too much, this is just a speed bump on the way to Sasha vs. Charlotte for the Women’s Championship at Summerslam.

Winner: Sasha and Partner (because she needs to prove she deserves the title shot in Brooklyn)

Mike: We're finally getting the showdown between Women's Champion Charlotte and huge fan favorite Sasha Banks, but not quite the way we want it (naturally). That battle may happen before SummerSlam, since both are headed to the Raw roster, but this bout will not feature the new title defended as it's instead a tag team match with the added excitement of predicting Sasha's partner.

The overall booking of the Women's Title since its rebranding has been nothing short of hellaciously horrid. Charlotte looks strong in the ring as always, but her mind-numbingly mystifying inability to get through a standard promo has only made us miss her legendary father more. As for Sasha, she's fought through an injury and inactivity and suddenly has no friends in the locker room. Huh? Smart money was on NXT's Bayley to get the mystery spot, but her failure to be drafted makes me more than skeptical that they'd do a sudden surprise debut here. She's being saved for bigger and better things.

That means it falls to one of the other NXT talents to take her place, and with Nia Jax, Alexa Bliss and Carmella all being drafted, they could go a number of ways with it. One thing is assured: Banks and her partner will get it done with the title not on the line.

Winner: Sasha Banks and her partner get the win (Dana Brooke continues to look like a fish out of water)

John: I have two predictions for this match: The first prediction is that many people are going to go into this match predicting that Bayley will be Sasha’s partner. Then when she’s not, those same people are gonna bitch and moan about how stupid it is. I’m not saying I disagree with them about the stupid part, but I think Bayley’s main roster time will be in September after the NXT Takeover Brooklyn show.

My other prediction is Nia Jax is the partner of Banks. She can start on the main roster as a face as a way to neutralize the heels on the other side. Banks and Jax will win this match to set up Banks vs. Charlotte at SummerSlam for the Women’s Title. After Banks wins that, she can feud with Jax down the road after Jax turns on her. Easy storytelling.

Winner: Sasha Banks & Mystery Partner

United States Championship: Rusev vs. Zack Ryder

Matt: A lot of what needs to be said about this match, I said during my preview for the IC Title Match. The outcomes of these matches are intertwined. Long story short, I don’t see them letting Ryder beat Rusev. Rusev is the better of the two, and thus why he will remain Champion.

Winner and Still United States Champion: Rusev (because Ryder… really?)

Mike: Perhaps it's someone with multiple personalities booking Zack Ryder, but his ups and downs are enough to require an extra spike in the Long Island Iced Z. It wasn't that long ago that Ryder had his vaunted WrestleMania moment, laying claim to a championship in dramatic fashion. Then it was over in less time than it takes to utter his catchphrase, and since then he's been seesawed around in typical workmanlike fashion while creative fails to remember what they did just last week. Tragic.

Ryder's opposition comes in the form of Bulgarian Brute Rusev, who's on the other side of the coin. After wallowing through odd booking choices and the piss-poor League of Nations storyline, he's back to being presented as a dominant heel champion and his roster status is now even more important with the trouble that fellow Raw resident Brock Lesnar may potentially have landed himself in. WWE is obviously high on Rusev, and I can't scrape the follicles required in the cerebellum to pretend to feel that Ryder will be the one to end the momentum. Maybe Ryder can take a run at Miz's belt before they bury him in Yonkers storage again.

Winner (And Still United States Champion): Rusev

John: There’s been a weird build to this match because it seems Ryder has been beaten up by Rusev nearly every week leading up to it. When you see a build like that, it could lead to a surprising finish where the guy that gets beat up (Ryder) finds a way to beat the heel bully with the title on the line. If they did that, Ryder would take the US Title with him to Smackdown. Is it likely? Probably not. Rusev is performing at the highest level he has in his career. There’s no need to take the title off him.

Winner: Rusev

The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs. The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan & Braun Strowman)

Matt: There was a real opportunity to do some fun creative stuff with this rivalry. If I was writing it, I would have had a field day. The Wyatt Family Compound; I’m talking segment after segment of found footage, slowly exploring a haunted farmhouse, jump scares, and paranormal mind tricks galore. Really milk this angle for several segments on a three hour show. Then maybe once I’d gotten all the horror elements out of then way, they’d brawl for a bit, inside the dilapidated farmhouse, with Big E and Kofi escaping, but Woods being trapped inside.

I’d have been tempted to follow that with The New Day demanding the Wyatts return Woods to them at their Power Of Positivity Playground (POPP, holding it down!). The POPP would have been decked out like the set of some children’s show with rainbows, unicorns, and lessons to be learned by The Wyatts. Just imagine The Wyatts on Barney and you have my vision. There was a lot here to play with, and I feel they came up well short, despite their intentions being admirable. I’m kind of glad this’ll be the end of it. They didn’t have the creative juice to follow through here.

Winners: The New Day (because The Wyatts are splitting up due to the draft, no reason forth to win)

Mike: While the New Day have injected major life into the lapsing tag team division while also securing themselves a very impressive breadth of time with the belts, they have suffered from far too many events like this one where those titles are not up for grabs. Their battles with the Wyatt Family have at least been entertaining, from the Final Deletion inspired compound trip to the teasing of Xavier Woods potentially aligning himself with the masked men. Things were humming along quite nicely until the draft, wherein Braun Strowman and TND were sent to Raw, while Bray and Erick Rowan were claimed by Smackdown.

Those decisions affected this match the most of any on the card, and have rendered an obvious Wyatts-win-because-belts-are-off-the-table scenario just a mite less pronounced. It's fairly clear the Wyatts have to self-destruct in some fashion here since they are splitsville, but Bray is a key component to Smackdown's thinner roster and has already played the role of second fiddle a few too many times in WWE's orchestra. The Woods angle bears some observation, as it may be the chink in the armor that takes down New Day. This could open the door.

Winners: The Wyatt Family

John: No titles on the line since it’s not a 2 on 2 match. This is the first and only time they are going to have this match because Wyatt and Rowan were drafted to Smackdown while the other four guys are on Raw. That brawl they had on the Wyatt Family compound was weird. I know it was WWE’s version of ripping off a TNA angle, but it doesn’t mean it was good or smart. Did anybody that see that brawl feel more interested in this match? I sure didn’t. It has nothing to do with the performers either.

The best part of this rivalry is that Bray Wyatt is finally starting to look like himself again. He was really pushing the bizarre behavior in his match with Woods last week, which is a good sign. Putting New Day over makes sense since they are tag champs and it gives them credibility. The thing is, they already have a lot of credibility. What I’d rather see is Bray Wyatt win for his team because he’s going to be a top three heel on the Smackdown brand. He needs to stand out in the match and look like a star. Have Bray win it for his team because it’s better for his future.

Winners: The Wyatt Family

Randy Orton is a guest on Chris Jericho’s Highlight Reel

Matt: I want to believe that something interesting can happen here, and given Chris Jericho’s brilliance of late, maybe this can be mildly amusing. That’s the best we can hope for I’m afraid. I doubt this segment reveals any new or relevant information heading into Randy’s match with Brock at Summerslam, so I guess all there is to look forward to is an RKO on Jericho.

Mike: It's rather humorous that this talk segment hosted by Chris Jericho and featuring the return of oft-injured Randy Orton is without question one of the bigger deals of the entire evening. That was the case even before Brock Lesnar's UFC win and positive substance test, but those additions have put the entire thing into overdrive. There is some question about who will play the face and the heel in the Lesnar/Orton announced SummerSlam duel, but given that Y2J is handling this interview I believe it shows they are leaning to Randy being a good guy again. That would also allow him to cover some of the ground potentially lost by Smackdown headliner John Cena, who has a significantly reduced house show schedule over the rest of the year.

The bigger question is whether Lesnar himself will appear, but I don't see it as being necessary, especially as the WWE might fear potential crowd reaction. The easier answer is one WWE has employed many times in these segments, with the heel host irritating the bejesus out of their guest until they eat said guest's finisher. This RKO won't be out of nowhere. Even though they'll say it is.

John: This will be pretty basic. Jericho asks Orton if he’s ready for Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam, Orton will say he feels as good as he ever has. Then the heel Jericho will do something to piss off Orton like a shove to the shoulder to test him and then Orton will drop him with a RKO to a big pop. Also, don’t forget the announcers will say that Orton looks to be in the shape of his career. They always say that when a guy comes back from a long layoff. The main objective is to get that big RKO pop and to show that Orton is back.

Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn

Matt: I’m really looking forward to this one. These two guys have had quite the rivalry and despite the curious decision to have them both be laid out by Kane on Smackdown Live, and to have them both be drafted to the same show after heavily implying this would be their last encounter for quite some time, I have no doubts that these guys will deliver.

They have better chemistry than just about any in ring pairing the WWE can throw out there, and if given the time, they can and will likely steal the show. I wish we could have gotten this at Wrestlemania, and maybe we’ll get some kind of gimmick match version at Summerslam, but if this is the last time these guys tango for a while, I’ll enjoy the hell out of it while it lasts.

Winner: Kevin Owens (because getting drafted ahead counts as winning heading into a PPV right?)

Mike: It turns out that all the mentions of this being the last time Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens would do battle FOREVER were a bunch of claptrap and malarkey (perish the thought), as both gentlemen are going to be on Monday Night Raw. I have no problem with that, as this feud has been the best thing on WWE programming many times, and still somehow feels just as fresh as it did way back in NXT. These two bring out the absolute best in each other, and therefore you'd have to go a long way to make this match boring no matter how many times it occurs. Commendations are in order.

As to whether the feud continues post-Sunday, it's highly possible. Both men have had the upper hand at various points, but Owens scored the victory last time around and that makes me suspicious of him doing it again here. While Owens needs to be booked as the super strong heel that he no doubt is, dropping a match to Sami is a minor blip in the grand scheme of things. The beauty of this rivalry are the number of ways you can mess with it and still keep it fresh.

Winner: Sami Zayn

John: Do you know how many PPV wins Sami Zayn has so far in his career? The answer is zero. That’s why he’s my pick to win. I doubt WWE is going to mention that stat because then it makes him sound like a loser. It’s just one of those things that people don’t think about because Zayn is pushed relatively well, so most fans probably thinks he wins his fair share of matches. Sadly, he doesn’t win that much.

Their history is long and rich as former best friends that have become foes that can’t seem to stop fighting. Owens won clean at Payback. Zayn won a few weeks ago. This feels like the blowoff match even though they are both part of the Raw brand. I would have liked to see them have a stipulation on this match like No Holds Barred or a Street Fight so that they could brawl around the arena to put over the rivalry more. A regular match should still be outstanding. Pencil it in for 15-20 minutes and enjoy it. As I said, Zayn is the pick.

Winner: Sami Zayn

John Cena, Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. AJ Styles, Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows

Matt: This will be the last time we see either of these teams together for a while, as John Cena and Aj Styles were drafted to Smackdown Live, while their tag team partners were all drafted to Monday Night Raw. I can’t say I’ll miss John Cena’s budding friendship of two weeks with Enzo and Cass, but I can say with certainty that The Club being separated legitimately bums me out.

With all that said, this is probably leading to a Styles/Cena bout at Summerslam. This match should be fun, but the weakness of the story (seriously, why do Cass and Enzo care what happens to Cena in the least) keeps me from getting very excited about. All I can hope for is that both teams go out with a bang.

Winners: John Cena, Enzo & Cass (because when in doubt, align with Cena I suppose)

Mike: Here's another team affair that gets a boost in the intrigue department due to the draft. John Cena and AJ Styles have had one of the biggest, and most surprising, feuds in the company since JC's return from TV land, and they have both been drafted to Smackdown Live to theoretically continue that. Meanwhile, both sets of understudies in this bout were drafted by Raw, setting up an interesting amalgamation here. Adding to the already crowded level of hubbub was the very high selection of Finn Balor by the Raw brand, setting up a potential Club reunion as he is well aware of Messrs. Gallows & Anderson.

Balor's debut on Raw needs to feel like a big deal, and it would be a swerve (though admittedly not a huge one) to have him forgo his celebrated face role from NXT and switch back over to the dark side we know he portrays so well. Cena's been allowed to lose more than ever since coming back, but it won't happen here. The audience loves Enzo & Cass, and AJ's removal to another brand makes this the perfect time to let him turn his back on his compatriots. Finn is in.

Winners: Cena, Enzo Amore & Big Cass (with help from the Mighty Finn)

John: As soon as this match was announced, it was pretty obvious that Cena’s team was going to win. Styles beat Cena in their first televised match at Money in the Bank, so at first I thought they might do a singles match again here. Instead, they’re probably saving Cena/Styles II for SummerSlam, which is fine with me. In order to get there, they will probably have Cena pin either Gallows or Anderson. That way Styles can say that Cena has never pinned him (on television anyway), so it builds to SummerSlam more.

I’m a little disappointed that The Club trio of Styles, Gallows & Anderson will be no more after this match since Styles is going to Smackdown while G&A are on Raw. I liked seeing them together.

My last point is that they should not debut Finn Balor at this show as part of this match just because of his past history with Gallows & Anderson in the Bullet Club. Save his debut for Raw. It gives people something to get excited about for Monday.

Winners: Cena, Enzo & Cass

WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns

Matt: It feels weird that this is a triple threat match still. I definitely agree that Roman should still be in it, but his absence during the build really makes him an afterthought in the proceedings. I don’t think anybody really cares that he’ll be part of this match, and if they do, they hate it. It almost makes me wish I was writing, because I’d turn him heel and give him the title just to piss everyone off.

As it stands it’s hard to say what I think will be the outcome of this match, given that what will happen with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship is still very much in question. Some reports have come out that imply that the Champion will be on both brands, despite every indication since the announcement of the draft having been that there will be a to title for each brand. I would very much prefer one Champion eligible to be on both brands (in which case I'd choose Ambrose to win only for Stephanie get in Vince's ear that in the interest of fairness the WWEWHC should have to be on her show too), but that would defeat the purpose of Smackdown drafting Dean Ambrose or Stephanie’s desire to have Seth win the title so it’d be on Raw. The lack of organization here is astounding. If they don’t have this figured out yet, it’s ridiculous. Make a decision and make a clear announcement about it. It should have already been decided.

Since every on screen development seems to point to separate titles for each brand (though when is the last time that has stopped them from completely changing everything before) I think the best finish is one that leads to both shows getting their title and their Champion. I believe that the finish should see both Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose pinning Roman Reigns. There will be confusion as to who is the Champion in this circumstance. It will be announced either that night, or the next night to open Raw, that both men won, and thus both men are Champion of their respective brand. That is the most interesting and productive finish for this bout, given the recent brand extension.

Winner and Still/New WWE World Heavyweight Champion(s): Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins (because each show needs a title, and this is the best way to do it in my opinion)

Mike: This match was always going to be a big deal, and it's interesting that the WWE chose Battleground to let the fans have what they've wanted ever since Seth Rollins blasted his former friends with that damned steel chair to appease the Authority all those many moons ago. Many thought at the time that we were seeing the coming out party of a world champion, but the truth of the matter is that we were actually seeing three. The road all three traveled to get there is something out of a fantastic fairy tale that doesn't seem possible.

The bottom line here is this match took on a much greater meaning when Roman Reigns was suspended for a wellness violation. To act like that elephant in the room won't cast a shadow on this match is to be foolish beyond compare, particularly when you add in the obvious aspect of how the majority of the crowd will react for his first public appearance since that news broke. If you think a good bit of the audience weren't supporting him before, just wait. The only positive side of that (assuming WWE doesn't break with bullheaded tradition and ignore a heel turn, which seems likely since Seth was also drafted to Raw) is it appears far less likely that he'll be handed the most important belt in the company after such a major gaffe.

That leaves it to Rollins and Ambrose, and another layer of confusion has been added to that outcome following the news that WWE may be sticking with just one recognized world champion after all. Ambrose's reign has felt a little like settling for the prom date you didn't really want, a marriage of convenience in an avenue opened up by Reigns's misstep. Rollins has been on fire since his injury, correctly boasting he never lost the belt to begin with and taking his mic work to a whole new level in the interim. You'd be hard pressed to deny him the opportunity to gain back the title here, as his status as number one draft pick even without gold shows you what the company truly thinks of their golden boy.

Even with all of that, though, there remains the question of Smackdown looking like a red-headed stepchild, a charge levied against them following the first failed brand split. In order to shake that past history, they can ill afford to take Ambrose out of the mix and the championship with it. I don't know that the caretaker of the Asylum is their choice to represent the company, but he's done everything that's been asked of him so far. History says Rollins gets it done since he took the hit (twice) this past week in title losses, but I'm going with Ambrose to retain for now so as to build interest in WWE's new lineup.

Winner (And Still World Heavyweight Champion): Dean Ambrose

John: The match should be awesome. I’m really excited about it actually. I re-watched the Payback 2015 match when these three former Shield guys were part of a four way match with Randy Orton. Some of the spots they do were really cool. Since they are such close friends and know eachother so well, the chemistry is insanely good between them. I fully expect this to get 20-25 minutes, which is longer than usual for a triple threat match. I think it may be one of the best matches of the year too.

It’s going to be very interesting to see how the audience reacts to Roman Reigns. He was booed a lot before his 30-day Wellness Policy violation and I would imagine the crowd will be against him even more. That’s what happens when you fail a test. It’s not like WWE tried to hide it either because they had Rollins mention it all month. I’m hoping Reigns “embraces the hate” so to speak leading to a heel turn because the face act clearly isn’t working.

There’s a lot more to digest here, so if you want to see a lot of my in-depth thoughts on the match with over 1,000 words talking about this Shield showdown, check out my article about it on TheComeback.com right now.

As for my winner, I’m going with a new champion with Seth Rollins leaving with the gold by pinning Roman Reigns. It will be a way to move the WWE Title over to Raw while Smackdown will introduce a second World Title leading to a new champion crowned at SummerSlam. I think WWE loves Rollins in the role as champion. He looks as good as ever, so why not reward him with the gold? I could see Ambrose retaining too, but Rollins is my pick.

Winner and New WWE Champion: Seth Rollins

If you want even more WWE Battleground discussion, check out Rey and myself talking about the WWE Draft and Battleground on the TJRWrestling Podcast as well.

Final Thoughts

John: I’m most excited about the WWE Title match and Owens vs. Zayn. The two six man tag matches are going to be okay although they feel like matches we might usually see at the top of hour two or three of Raw rather than at a PPV event. The rest of the card is pretty average. I think Battleground is definitely a step down from last month’s Money in the Bank show, but that’s no surprise with a major show like SummerSlam coming up in August.

Check out my Battleground review live on Sunday night on TJRWrestling.net or check it out after the show is over.

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