Sheamus vs. Randy Orton
What Happened? Returning to his St. Louis roots usually yields winning results for Randy Orton, and his latest trip home was no different. Engaging in another hard-hitting scrap with longtime rival, and current Money in the Bank holder, Sheamus, Orton prevailed over his Irish enemy with a sudden ‘RKO’ after barely surviving a ‘Brogue Kick’ attempt and an excruciating ‘Cloverleaf’.
Winner: Randy Orton
Thoughts: One of the most common complaints of the WWE is their overuse of matches between two superstars. Few have faced off as many times as Orton and Sheamus, but their effort in the evening’s curtain-raiser surprised many. A stiff, old-fashioned brawl with plenty of drama thrown in, the two easily wrestled their best match against the other...to date of course! Orton gets the hometown rub, while Sheamus continues the tradition of the Money in the Bank winner looking weak before a surprise cash-in. A strong start.
★★★☆☆
WWE Tag Team Championship
The Prime Time Players © vs. The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Big E w/ Xavier Woods)
What Happened? The numbers game once again came out on the losing side as the reigning tandem of Titus O’Neil and Darren Young managed to overcome the challenge of the former champions. Surviving a prolonged assault, again isolated from his partner, Young eventually rallied, tagging in the much larger O’Neil who decisively changed the match in their favour after a huge ‘Clash of the Titus’ to a helpless Big E.
Winners and STILL champions: The Prime Time Players
Thoughts: A little short on time, but big on impressive action, the two teams didn’t quite replicate the success of their initial match last month, but did enough to ensure that an inevitable third match remains intriguing in the eyes of the fans. The Prime Time Players might not be the best team in terms of pure athletic ability, but their popularity is making them a viable temporarily replacement or the much-missed Usos. Interesting to see another New Day loss, it’s obvious that the ‘E still has big things planned for them however.
★★★☆☆
Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns
What Happened? Vowing to even the score after weeks of psychological abuse, Roman Reigns will need to wait a little longer thanks to the shocking interference of former Wyatt Family member Luke Harper. Initially surviving multiple ‘Sister Abigail’ attempts from the monstrous Wyatt, Reigns powered back with his own brand of impact moves. Unfortunately for him however, an unexpected attack from the then-hooded Harper derailed his momentum, allowing Wyatt to claim the hard-earned victory.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
Thoughts: Easily the evening’s most surprising match in terms of quality, Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt used their limited arsenals to great effect in this intense slobberknocker. Trading blows and power moves for the best part of twenty minutes, the unexpected ending was excellently executed and should see to a nice extension of their rivalry. Wyatt’s eventual victory was essential to the long-term success of his character and his re-pairing with Harper should see both return to past glory. Reigns had nothing to lose and remains strong even in defeat, and has now seemingly recaptured a lot of his lost momentum from last year.
★★★☆☆
Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks vs. Brie Bella
What Happened? Continuing the ‘Divas Revolution’ and her own personal momentum, main roster newcomer Charlotte made sure her PPV debut was a winning one, as she successfully defeated fellow representatives of the newly formed trio of female factions. Electing instead to let her twin, Brie, compete instead, Nikki witnessed firsthand as her new title challenger forced her sister to tap thanks to a patented ‘Figure Eight’ leglock submission.
Winner: Charlotte
Thoughts: While the jury remains out on whether Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch can successfully translate their qualities to the big time, their initial pay-per-view appearance has resulted in one of the better Divas matches of the year despite a disappointingly non-existent build. The inclusion of Brie was certainly an eyebrow raiser, but the Bella performed well above expectations and acted as a worthy entry-level adversary for the talented Charlotte and Banks. Can the quality continue? Yes, great things are possible with the long suffering division. Will it continue? Hopefully, just as long as Ronda Rousey wins her fights.
★★★☆☆
United States Championship
John Cena © vs. Kevin Owens
What Happened? Bringing their thrilling trilogy of title matches to an apparent end, John Cena once again triumphed over Kevin Owens to keep his US title reign alive. Desperate to replace his recently lost NXT title, Owens threw everything he could possibly muster at Cena to achieve his goal, but just couldn’t put his rival down for the count. Questioning what else he could do to keep hold of the belt after Owens shockingly kicked out of a middle-rope ‘Attitude Adjustment’, Cena persevered in traditional fashion, and eventually won the war after an ‘STF’ left Owens with little choice but to submit.
Winner and STILL champion: John Cena
Thoughts: I wanted to give this match a 3 so badly...but dammit I just couldn’t. Despite the wrong man coming out on top, Owens and Cena yet again delivered a superb match that will surely in time be considered for match of the year along with the previous two. Back-and-forth just like their other matches, the two ring veterans had viewers on the edge of their seat the entire time. Having Cena go over Owens twice seems like a wasted opportunity considering the fact that the former recently dropped his NXT title, but given the consistent level of excellent performances in such a short space of time, the Canadian’s future is blindingly bright in spite of the bitterly disappointing loss.
As for Cena; love him or hate him, the 15-time world champion is currently in the middle of his greatest year as a professional wrestler. The detractors will always complain that he can't wrestle, but after another performance like this one I'd like to bet that those voices are beginning to diminish.
★★★★☆
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Seth Rollins © vs. Brock Lesnar
What Happened? The WWE World Heavyweight title looked set to once again adorn the waist of Brock Lesnar, but a familiar enemy returned to haunt ‘The Beast’ and detail his title ambitions. Throwing the hopelessly outmatched Rollins around the ring with frightening ease, Lesnar hoisted the champion in the air for the seemingly decisive ‘F5’, but an unexpected gong heralded the shocking return of The Undertaker. Confronting the conqueror of his WrestleMania undefeated streak for the first time, ‘The Deadman’ quickly made his intentions known, hitting his foe with two ‘Tombstone Piledrivers’.
Result: No contest
Thoughts: Disappointing and logic defying, the conundrum couldn’t have been more obvious from the start: Seth Rollins’ title reign couldn’t possibly end to a man who would take the title away for months on end, and Brock Lesnar couldn’t possibly lose clean to a man booked to defeat his every rival with help from his stablemates. Their solution was The Undertaker, but the execution was poor with ‘Taker coming across as a bitter, heel than a returning great. Why would ‘The Deadman’ choose now to retaliate, despite a number of clear chances to do so long beforehand?
These are questions that are clearly not so important to the powers that be. For them, ensuring that their main box office draw and their current champion leave Battleground in the same condition as they arrived was their top priority.
★★☆☆☆
Overall: Solid right until the death, Battleground featured an above-par undercard, a crowd-pleasing Divas segment, and another Cena/Owens instant classic to add to the collection. Had the main event been more intelligently booked it’s very likely that this would have been a front-runner for show of the year. Still, interesting plot threads remain, and the road to SummerSlam promises to be superior to anything we’ve seen so far in 2015.
Moment of the Event: Owens kicks out of an Attitude Adjustment from the middle rope.
Event MVP: John Cena
Show Rating: ★★★☆☆
What did you think of WWE Battleground? Leave your comments below!
All images courtesy of WWE.com
