WWE: Battleground took place on 7/24/2016 from the Verizon Center in Washington D.C.
Breezango defeated The Usos during the Pre-show via an inside cradle by Tyler Breeze.
Sometimes booking surprises me. Most folks had the Usos going over in this one, I thought Breezango would pull it off strictly because I think they are gelling well as a team and it was nice to see them come away with the victory.
Sasha Banks and Bayley defeated Charlotte and Dana Brooke via The Banks Statement by Sasha Banks on Charlotte.
It’s…It’s BAYLEY! The “hugger” comes out to a reaction that rivaled that of CM Punk at Chicago’s Money In The Bank and Sasha’s smile sold the entire thing. Bayley looked as excited to be there as we were to see her. JBL mentioned that it was a “one-time thing” and it more then likely will be until she finishes her NXT business with Asuka at NXT: Takeover Brooklyn 2. Nevertheless, the faces handled the heels as Sasha Banks made Charlotte tap, surely solidifying the forthcoming women’s title match at Summerslam we’ve all been looking forward too. Bayley was an incredible surprise and it certainly set the tone for the evening.
The Wyatt Family defeated The New Day via Sister Abigail by Bray Wyatt on Xavier Woods
A very enjoyable match for the allotted time which saw Xavier Woods seemingly overcoming his fear of Bray as the two teams went all out for the last time for the foreseeable future. Woods looked strong as did his teammates and the heels with some great spots including a ridiculous dive by Big E. which took Strowman out. Bray ended up getting the win with the Sister Abigail after the exorcist walk, which Xavier tried to stop via a kick, only to fall victim to the finish.
Rusev (c) retained the US Title against Zack Ryder via submission with the Accolade.
The US champion retains after a good matchup. I don’t think there were any grand surprises here as Rusev looked dominant again. I like the way he’s been booked since winning the title and it’s helping him regain some of the steam he lost following his feud with Cena not so long ago. After the match, Rusev continued to lay a beat down on Ryder until Mojo Rawley’s music played and he ran down to save his fellow Hype Bro. Rusev sold this so well on twitter, as he said that a fan jumped into the ring. Classic. I certainly hope that doesn’t mean that we’re gonna see Rawley as the next contender for the title. I can only assume it’s just to lock up the Hype Bros. for tag team wars that will take place on Smackdown.
Sami Zayn defeated Kevin Owens with the Helluva kick.
The second Helluva kick to be specific. This was a sensational match. Are you really surprised though? These two men always get after it. Zayn pulled off one spot that had me stand up out of my chair, as he executed a brainbuster suplex on the apron. That’s trust. Zayn had nearly killed himself earlier with a botched moonsault off the ropes, but that was the only spot that didn’t entertain the live crowd and those watching at home. This leads to an interesting predicament because they billed this as their “last fight ever” for weeks. They were drafted to the same brand. Seriously, who is responsible for continuity in the fed these days? I don’t know if one of the two men storms off the brand, if they are just going to ignore that or what, who knows? I am a huge fan of both men, but it was nice to see Zayn finally get the win over a man who has bested him during every interaction they’ve had in the fed thus far.
Natalya defeated Becky Lynch via submission with the Sharpshooter.
Another enjoyable match between these two ladies with the heel going over. Not going to say too much about this as I can only assume that the feud will continue on Smackdown, but Natalya came away looking very strong against the “Lass Kicker”. Becky really does need a solid PPV win as she works so hard and never seems to find herself rewarded for her efforts. Hopefully that changes. Becky is over and has a very cool gimmick.
The Miz (c) and Darren Young is ruled a no contest.
Terrible ending to an average match. Don’t get me wrong, certainly wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever seen, Bob Backlund and Maryse were both great on the outside, but the crowd didn’t seem to be too into it. Darren Young is an amazing athlete with one of my favorite finishers in the fed, but the Miz walks out with the gold and heads to Tuesday Night as they had no definitive finish to the contest as the manager’s got involved. Miz keeps the IC title and moves on to other things on the blue brand.
John Cena/Enzo Amore/Big Cass defeated The Club via a top rope AA on AJ Styles by John Cena.
Cena wins, LOL. My good friend Keiko will appreciate that I’m sure. All kidding and truths aside, Enzo and Cass were a million bucks on the mic as always. That dude has the gift of gab and he gave us truckloads of those verbal presents tonight. You have to see the intro segment, take my word for it. Great back and forth action here and again, not much of a surprise as the faces went over before they head to different brands. Several near falls and one really cool spot where Karl Anderson put Cena through a table on the outside. AJ took the fall and he and “big match John” will take their business to the blue blood and we’ll surely get to enjoy The Club against Enzo and Cass on Monday Nights.
Randy Orton RKO’d Chris Jericho during the Highlight Reel
Rip. Orton was excited to be back. Jericho was incredible on the mic as always and Orton was savage AF. He cracked on Jericho losing to Fandango and he even went so far as to take a shot at Brock for using enhancements to get his UFC win as they hyped the Summerslam match between the Beast and the Viper. Ultimately, Jericho ate the RKO and the crowd went nuts.
Dean Ambrose (c) retained the title against Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns via Dirty Deeds on Reigns.
-Poor Roman. The crowd destroyed him following the return. That aside, the former members of the Shield had a brilliant contest and all three men looked terrific. Reigns was rough at points, but got the wheels turning with some great spots. There were some great interactions on the outside and they teased a Reigns victory after he speared Rollins, only for Ambrose to snatch him up and drive him down with the Dirty Deeds. The three count saw a celebration from Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan, who were at ringside, and the majority of the Smackdown roster. Awkward spot alert, the Usos hoisted Ambrose up on their shoulders and they looked as uncomfortable doing that as when Booker T. destroyed Reigns vocally during the draft coverage. Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley looked visibly displeased and we’ll see how that plays out on Raw as it relates to world title plans. Very enjoyable show and I certainly look forward to Summerslam and the individual roster plans. Hope you all enjoyed Battleground as well!
