WWE Battleground Highlights : Worth the Watch?
The New Day make History... Again
I have to kick start things off by saying that the Battleground pay per view was far far better than I was expecting it to be. While it had its down moments there were plenty of ups and moments I really did love. The first up from the show comes from the opening match which of course saw the Usos defend their Smackdown LIVE tag team championships against the New Day. In all honesty this wasn't a match I was really looking forward too. I wasn't expecting this to be one of the standout matches of the night but it so easily was and I'm so glad it opened the show. We know these two teams have brilliant in ring chemistry and their history proves that they can deliver some fantastic matches even in the shortest space of time. At Battleground last night the tag team divison had a shiny bright like on it as Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston and Jimmy and Jey kick started things on a high. You guys know because I've said it a million times that I love tag team wrestling and when its done right and the teams are given enough time you really do get magic as we have seen proven in recent years. Last night the New Day and The Usos really did deliver. If you had given them an extra ten minuets this so easily could have been ranked one of the best of the year but regardless will at least be ranked one of the best tag team matches from the WWE in twenty seventeen. I have to mention that I loved seeing Xavier woods given some time to really showcase some kill. Often where the titles are up for grabs we see Big E in action and to be honest its fairly rare that we don't see him competing but it was totally the right move having him at ringside while the work was left down to Kofi and Xavier. Both men were standouts of the night and again, as I mentioned on twitter last night, Xavier Woods is a talent that is so underrated when it comes to his in ring skill and I'm so glad he was able to prove himself yet again and actually pick up the win for his team. Now, I actually had no idea who I really thought would be walking away with the victory here. I spoke about it in my prediction post but I found this pay per view overall pretty unpredictable as a whole. Throughout the match close calls had me on the edge of my seat and there plenty of times I honestly did believe the Usos would be picking up the victory and retaining their titles. However, the brilliant timing and team work from the New Day meant they were able to score the win making history by becoming the first tag team in WWE history to hold both the RAW and Smackdown LIVE tag team championships. Congrats to the new day!
Baron Corbin Sends a Message
Looking at the response on twitter live last night not many were a fan of the one on one match up between Shinsuke Nakamura and Baron Corbin and I totally understand. Throughout his career Nakamura has been apart of some truly amazing matches including during his time down in NXT. When you look at his matches there against the likes of Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, and especially Sami Zayn you can see that he is competing in matches that are literally some of the best I have ever seen with his debut WWE match up against Sami Zayn one of my all time favourite WWE matches. However, since coming up to the main roster we haven't seen him compete at that level. Of course at some point he will, once he's pitted against the likes of AJ Styles or even someone like Rusev things really will improve and last night we did see one of his "worse" matches but I really can't hate on it. Corbin is a different kind of opponent for Nakamura and we all know he still needs to make some improvements here and there in the ring. Personally, I didn't have a problem with the match and it was exactly what I was expecting it to be like and in fact I actually thought this was one of Baron's best matches to date. He was able to keep up with Shinsuke pretty well and he showcased both his speed and strength so so well. Just cut the guy some slack. I wasn't really hoping to see this feud go over to SummerSlam but it does look as though that is what the WWE are planing on. The match last night didn't end clean and as I predicted we did get a DQ ending which again I don 't really have an issue with. The WWE are protecting both men with their bookings and anyone saying the WWE are burying Nakamura are insane. The WWE are most certainly going to give Nakamura big push in the new year and we can expect things to speed up and get stronger for him as twenty eighteen approaches. Last night was a decent performance from Corbin, an okay match and an ending that really was needed. Corbin getting himself DQ'd adds to their story petty well and the attack after gave him back some momentum and allowed him to send a message and heat things up a little. Not the best wrestling match of the night but I can't complain. It was good.Natalya is Heading to Summer Slam
If there was any match I was really disappointed with last night it was the women's fatal five way elimination match. With Lana, Tamina, Becky Lynch, Natalya, and Charlotte all looking to get the win and face Naomi for the Smackdown LIVE Women's championship next month at Summer Slam I was hoping to see a passionate, intense, and skilled match full of great wrestling and brilliant story telling, however, that was not the case and actually we got one of the worse matches of the night. Now, I may need to go over and take a second look at the match but from what I can remember there was nothing really that had me excited or on the edge of my seat. There were a couple of good spots and moments that had me extra interested but overall this was really weak and nowhere near as strong as it should have been. I just really really didn't like this match. What did surprise me and what I did like was the fact that Tamina was actually one of the standouts. The work we saw between Charlotte, Lana and Tamina was really messy and not well performed at all but Tamina did look good throughout despite being the first to be eliminated. Again, I mentioned in my prediction post that I felt this was a pretty unpredictable match. I wasn't sure what to expect and who to get the win despite having my own little opinions. First was of course Lana winning and her alliance with Tamina helping finally defeat Naomi at Summer Slam however both were eliminated and so I do wonder now what is next for both of them and where the WWE take their story. Hopefully its not something they give up on because Lana's crowd reaction really did speak volumes. I did also expect Becky to win just because there was a story there and Carmella could be put in the story also. And my final prediction saw Charlotte walk out of Battleground as the new number one contender. Carmella, miss money in the bank, had plenty to say about Charlotte and as I said last night, if you wanna sell a match the best way to do so is pitting two of the most athletic women in the WWE today in a singles championship match on one of the biggest stages in the wrestling calendar. It would have been interesting seeing Charlotte face off against Naomi, get the win and then see Carmella cash in. However, what we actually got was Natalya. I wasn't surprised. She wasn't someone I originally expected to get the win but there had been rumors of her wining throughout the day yesterday. Honestly? Good for her. Natalya has been so underutilized over the years and more than deserves not only a title shot but a title run. I'd love for her to walk out of Summer Slam the new Smackdown LIVE women's champion and I'm interested in seeing what happens over the next month or so in regards to the SD Live women's divison.A Great Return results in Jinder Heading to Summer Slam as Champion
The main event was one I wasn't too excited for. As I have already touched on in previous posts and tweets the feud between Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton is one I believe should have ended at the previous pay per view as I felt the longer they carried it on for the more damage it would do to Jinder, however, I couldn't have been more wrong and actually things have only improved for the WWE Champion. The Punjabi prison match is one that hasn't always gone down the best. The previous two matches were far from a success and I honestly didn't enjoy either of them however, I did really like last nights main event. We have seen a decent amount of in ring chemistry between Jinder and Orton develop which gave their third match up something the previous two haven't had. While it was far from match of the year quality I did enjoy it far more than I was expecting to and I actually thought it was a really good solid match up. Both men looked really good and it was easy to get behind the champion. There was plenty keeping me interested and I thought the longer it went on for the more interest I developed and the more entertained I was. Again, it was slightly more on the unpredictable side. Either one could have got the win and it would have worked and made sense but personally I was backing Jinder. I just feel as though there is still so much more the WWE can do with Jinder and his character development. I've honestly been so surprised at how interested I've actually been with his run and how much of an interest I have in his future as champion. Throughout the match last night Orton of course didn't have to only keep his eyes on and focus on Jinder, with the Singh brothers still at ringside both men did everything in their power to slow down Orton and keep him from escaping the prison and effectively becoming the new WWE Champion. However, Randy Orton is one of the best WWE superstars in history and was able to not only fight off the champion but also give the Singh brothers a run for their money sending one through the announce table. As Orton looked to close in on a victory climbing higher and higher Jinder's music hit and as all eyes focused on the entrance ramp to our surprise the inventor of the Punjabi prison the Great Khali made a shock return not only attacking Orton but assisting Jinder Mahal in winning the match up and retaining the WWE championship. Perfect. Honestly, well done WWE. I didn't see this coming at all, I hadn't heard any rumors of Khali making a return, the timing was good and it all looked really strong. I love that Jinder has a new little helper and as I mentioned earlier this is exactly what I wanted to see, more character development. I know he still has his doubters but this is huge for the Indian market and the more we see of Jinder and the more the WWE give him the bigger star he actually feels like.Best Match of the night?
I was surprised to see so many matches actually impress me. Apart from the Women's fatal five way and Sami Zayn VS Mike Kanellis I didn't feel as though any other match was really weak. They all brought something and I was entertained throughout most. The match that did standout for me the most was of course AJ Styles vs Kevin Owens. I have to admit that I was really really tired around this time of the show and I wasn't paying as much attention so I did go back and have a look back this morning and re watch the match and it was of course the standout match. It was just as good as I expected and I honestly don't really have a bad word to say about what we saw. I can't say I'm surprised with anything because honestly we all knew this was going to be one of if not the best match of the night and that is exactly what it was. I do believe they can have an even stronger match up and I don't doubt that they will face off one more time next month at SummerSlam where I'm confident they will have an even stronger match but of course, as expected last night Owens and Styles worked amazingly well together. We had some great spots, they told a decent story and the fans both in the arena and at home were completely invested in the action. The ending was a little odd, I was expecting a little more but I liked it. Owens was the right pick for the win and how he won was even better. I wasn't completely sure who was going to get the win in the end but that did contribute to why this was such a great match. You genuinely had no idea who was going to take the win. I would have loved if Styles retained but there is so much more they can do with Owens as the champ and Styles chasing. What I'm hoping is that over the next month building up to SummerSlam the WWE focus on building and creating a more intense storyline just because there isn't much to go off here. It doesn't need to be anything crazy, keep it simple but just give it a little more depth. These two are great workers and I cannot wait to see them collide again.Honestly, the Battleground pay per view was far better than I expected it to be. It was nothing special but we got a couple of strong matches in there, two title changes, a return, and a new number one contender so I can't complain. There's a lot to loo forward to coming out of the pay per view and I'm excited to see what this weeks Smackdown LIVE is going to provide us with. Of course, As always, any recent posts will be linked bellow and you can let me know what you thought of last nights show by leaving a comment bellow or by dropping me a tweet over at @TezangiVictoria.
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