WWE Battleground Review and Reactions
Kick starting the two thousand and sixteen Battleground pay per view was the first of two women's matches of the night as WWE Women's Champion Charlotte and Dana Brooke teamed up once again to take on Sasha Banks and a mystery opponent of her choice. Throughout the past seven days leading up to the show wrestling fans around the world found themselves arguing on the topic of who Sasha's partner would be. I myself spent a great deal of time sharing my opinions over on social media and here on my blog. Several names were thrown out of the hat from fellow Monday Night RAW companions, Paige and Summer Rae, to returning names such as Naomi and Nikki Bella. Even recently debuted Nia Jax was a favourite. However, there was no women the WWE universe wanted more than former NXT Women's Champion Bayley, fitting the final piece to the four horsewomen puzzle. I will admit a big part of me wasn't expecting her to arrive last night and I mentally prepared myself to be disappointed but to my surprise her music hit after much anticipation and the arena went absolutely insane. In one of the biggest crowd reactions of the night, the leader of the hug life was making her main roster debut and the excitement surrounding this match went from ten to one hundred. Now, if I'm being completely honest the match could have been better. I did like the story being told, I liked how it was done and I liked the length but you would be lying if you said there wasn't a couple of messy moments but to counter that there was so much excitement that you almost couldn't really tell all the time. It was brilliant to see Sasha and Bayley team up again, it only made this match even more special and seeing how she competed on the night was very interesting. Dana and Charlotte were over as fuck with the fans as big time heels and again, the energy in this match was unlike anything else. Charlotte and Dana did spend a great deal of time in control but Sasha and Bayley had great chemistry and worked just as well together as their opponents resulting in strong closing that saw Sasha forcing the champ to once again tap out. A lovely moment between Sasha and Bayley was shared after the match and I don't know about you but I'm super excited for the follow up tonight.
The Wyatt Family VS The New Day is a feud that really has surprised me. You guys most probably would have seen me mention in the past here on my blog and over on twitter that I was not a big fan of this story right at the beginning and I had plenty of doubts. However, it didn't take me long to jump on board, changing my opinions and genuinely growing hooked and enjoying what we were being give to the point where this became one of my current favourite WWE feuds/storyline's. As a result this was one of the matches I was certainly most excited about and looking forward to this weekend. It had fantastic potential to be brilliant stand out match of the night considering the names involved and the back story/build up. If there was any down side to this match it was of course the fact that this was going to be the last time the Wyatt family all shared a ring together. During the brand split last week we found out that while Bray and Erick Rowan would be joining the Smackdown Live roster, newer face, Braun Strowman will be heading over to Monday night RAW on his own. I will be talking about this decision in a different blog post and what I thought late in the month so watch out for that. What this news did do however, was allow the WWE to create more of a story in this match. Pushing the idea that the split made the Wyatt family more dangerous than ever my interest grew even bigger for this one! Again, I do think the match itself could have been stronger. The length was great and we got some brilliant spots but it could have been even better. It was one of my favourite matches of the night. What I loved the most was the fantastic storytelling. Throughout this feud we have seen Xavier haunted by the Wyatt family, most effected by the actions of Bray and his following; this was something the WWE kept alive in this match. Even in the promo moments before this match we saw Woods much quieter and reserved and during the match he looked haunted and almost hypnotised by Wyatt. As the match progressed he snapped himself out of it and was able to take full control of the match after the New Day spent a great deal of time taking a beating from their opponents. Woods really has been showing his in ring progression and last night his little moment in the spotlight really did do him, the match, and the story a well of good. We of course had some great spots including a scare moment were Big E once again almost killed himself. To make this match even better the WWE for once booked the Wyatt family correctly as they scored a huge victory. I was very vocal in my prediction post that I felt as though it was clear they needed this victory. They needed it far more than the New Day did and the win put me in a brilliant mood.
If I'm being completely honest, the match I was least looking forward too was the United States Championship match between Zack Ryder and current champ, Rusev. I've mentioned before that I'm not the biggest Zack Ryder fan and my opinions on Rusev deserving better have been made very clear. What I will say is that I did like the gradual build up and the underdog story that Zack Ryder is able to tell, especially in this match witch he did brilliantly. I will also admit that I surprised myself by actually genuinely getting into the match itself. It wasn't nothing spectacular or stand out but again we had some great spots that really made this match and the stereotypical underdog story worked perfectly in this match up. Throughout the match Ryder allowed us to see him channel a darker side. He knew he had to change up his attitude if he stood any chance of defeating Rusev and walking out as the new United States Champion. He's held this title before, he knows what he had to do and he did that. Strong blows to the head has Rusev tumbling and falling back many times and with the crowd fully behind him, Ryder had a lot of moment from the start and throughout of this match. There were actually a couple of times where I genuinely believed we would be witnessing a new champ crowned but I was not left disappointed after a brutal accolade was locked in to allow Rusev to pick up the victory. It was in all fairness to Zack Ryder the second accolade locked in on the night but the right man one for sure. After the match Rusev decided he wasn't done with the former champ and after yet another brutal attack, one of Smackdown lives newest faces, Mojo Rawley came to the aid of his former tag team partner and yes, you should know I marked out and I regret every single moment. It was however, a great way to put the NXT graduate on TV before Smackdown. The more exposure he gets the better.
One of the biggest matches of the night was without a doubt Sami Zayn VS Kevin Owens. I have written about this feud plenty of times before here on my blog so we don't need to go into a load of detail but what we can see is this has been one of the strongest and most captivating storyline's of the past year or so. This is the one feud the WWE have gotten right over recent years and one that we will all look back on in twenty years from now and name as one of the greatest feuds of this generation. Now, keeping all that in mind we know all too well that the WWE are brilliant at over milking a feud, expanding it for far too long and making mistakes and the WWE have started to reach that point with this feud. One of the biggest mistakes the WWE made both in this feud and with the WWE draft was putting both these men on Monday night RAW. I know I have moaned about it a hundred times already since last Tuesday but I honestly do not understand the logic behind that choice and if they were drafted to a separate show than this match would have been even more must see and gripping. However, the match lived up to expectations perfectly and it was in face one of the
Another match I really wasn't looking forward too last night was Natalya VS Becky Lynch. I haven 't been a fan of this feud since it started last month at the Money in the Bank pay per view. You guys know that I am a big fan of both of these women, I've been following their careers for a great deal of time but the lack of story and effort being put into their work over the past month just made this something I had zero interest in. The match was as weak as I expected it to be. There was again, no story being told and the crowd fell quiet for the first time of the night. Natalya did spend a lot of time in control of this match working on the leg of Beck Lynch setting her up for a sharp shooter witch eventually would be the deciding factor of this match allowing Natalya to pick up a much needed victory. I know a great deal of the WWE universe were rooting for Becky Lynch but I was all for Nattie last night. In all honesty I was not expecting Nattie to pick up the victory. I was confident that despite Natalya needing it the most I was expecting the WWE to go with Becky for the obvious reasons. It was great to see the WWE actually book a women's match right and more importantly, give Natalya a pay per view victory.
The surprise match of the night was without a doubt Darren Young VS The Miz as the two mid carders did battle for the Intercontinental Championship. This was yet another match that I wasn't really looking forward too. The build up was in all fairness done pretty well but as someone who has never been the biggest Darren Young fan I wasn't expecting anything great from this match and it was one of the weaker ones on the card however this honestly turnt out to be one of my favourite matches of the night, actually suppressing the Wyatt Family VS the New Day. I honestly, could not believe just how much I loved this match and was left completely entertained. At the start of the match I was very sceptical. I wasn't looking forward to sitting through this match witch I believed was going to be short yet painful. But I could not have been any more wrong! Young took very early control of this match showing off his new in ring style witch I have to commend him on by the way. One of the most important things when a change in character happens with any wrestler is changing up your in ring style to match that new character and while so many superstars don't do that Darren Young has master this perfectly. I honestly felt as though I was watching a new Darren Young. He looked stronger than he has ever looked and his wrestling was just on top. Everything he done last night looked so effortless and clean and I have to say that this was without a doubt Young's best WWE performance to date and his best singles match to date also. I honestly do not have a bad word to say about him or the match itself. Miz kept things strong also delivering his own great level of offence and as usual adding a great amount of story to this match. The closing moments were interesting. I know loads of people didn't like it but I actually digged it. I thought the involvement of Maryse and Backland was great and the only bad thing I could say was the fact it ended in double count out and these guys are on separate shows we won't be seeing them compete again witch is a shame but does great things for Smackdown and the Miz's championship reign.
Another match that exceed expectations was the huge six man tag team match between John Cena and Enzo Amore & Big Cass and the Club. I was already super excited for this match. It was one of the bouts I was really looking forward too and interested in seeing develop as it went on. We had six fantastic superstars all bringing something different to the table. It was the perfect extension for the AJ Styles/ John Cena feud and the build up altogether was done pretty well. Now, before the action could kick start, Enzo Amore took hold of the microphone and gave us one of the best promo's of twenty sixteen. It's very rare that a wrestling segment leaves me genuinely laughing out lout and clapping at my TV. Enzo really did prove to be one of the strongest current talkers in the WWE. He had the crowd eating out the palm of his hands and everyone at home hanging on his every word. It was a great way to get the crowd even more excited and he brought back the energy in the ring that may have dipped a little in the middle of the night. The match itself was fantastic. It will without a doubt be one of those matches that I come back to at the end of the year and debate about where to put on the list of the top matches of twenty sixteen. There were of course a couple of messy moments including a spot that saw John Cena quite literally feed Enzo to Gallows witch was odd and threw me off for a big but Enzo turnt things around massively with a huge DDT from the top rope to the outside on Gallows. It was one of just many great spots in this match that had me on the edge of my seat. I loved that every single superstar had their moment in the spotlight including a couple of huge kicks from Cass that had me looking at him as though he had legit just kicked a mans head off his shoulders. The match was very well done, it was the most exciting of the night and one of the highlights of the Battleground pay per view. Cena picked up the win for his team by pinning Styles and for once I didn't moan about a Cena win. The match and the victory did Enzo and Cass a load of good. We have two very young, new stars and this kind of match really did just do wonders for them and their careers and this really did show the best of Cena and what he can do for new up and coming stars.
Randy Orton also made his return after six months out of action where he showed himself to be the true savage that he has, hyping up his SummerSlam match up against Brock Lesnar and delivering a brutal RKO to Chris Jericho. I don't know about you but I loved this segment!
And finally, the match we have all been waiting for. Four years in the making, Seth Rollins VS Dean Ambrose, VS Roman Reigns, the Shield triple threat. A match we have all been sitting back waiting to see happen from the moment they first got together and debuted on the WWE main roster. It's one that before they even broke up and went their separate ways fans were talking about and speculating when it would actually happen. Watching the video package last night had me feeling very nostalgic
I'll be honest, I absolutely loved the Battleground pay per view last night! Almost every single match was strong and entertaining either living up to or exceeding expectations. I had a lot of fun watching this show and it was actually one of my favourite pay per views of the year so far. For once the WWE booked every match right and as a result it was a great night. I personally would rank the show a solid eight out of ten but I would love to know what you guys thinks so feel free to leave a comment bellow or tweet me at @TezangiVictoria.
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