Ultimately, this year’s Battleground looks to be the launch pad for SummerSlam, which we’re told is 75% booked, including finishes. Cena and Brock will headline, and Orton & Reigns, Jericho & Wyatt, Ambrose & Rollins, and Paige & AJ will all do battle again next month. As a result, I’m expecting a lot of screwy finishes and/or no contests tonight in order to allow for these feuds to continue.
Naomi vs. Cameron
When the odds first came out for this match, weirdly they
had Cameron as favourite. I say weirdly, because moments later Naomi was the
clear odds-on favourite. Cameron has been front and centre of later with a win
on Raw and a stupid loss on Main Event. Naomi had to drag Rosa Mendes through a
5 minute match on Superstars this week and would lead me to assume that they’re
more interested in Cameron being the new heel going forward.
Alicia Fox’s unhinged, ‘crazy’ chick gimmick has apparently
had the plug pulled on it and AJ Lee and Paige doing a sort of tweeners
programme, I can see that they need a new strong female heel. Total Divas has a
lot to answer for.
The Usos vs. The
Wyatt Family 2-out-of-3 Falls match for Tag Team Championships
Surely it’s this time round for the Wyatts? These two teams
have had consistently good matches and, often, some tremendous ones but enough
is enough. The Usos have really had the rub from all this but I fear for them
once they lose these titles and stop feuding with the Wyatts. The fact that
they’ve been embroiled with this stable has allowed them headline Raws and
SmackDowns in 6-man tags that they would otherwise never have done. They’ve
joined forces with huge faces like Cena and Jericho and been really over as a
result.
Wyatts will finally win here tonight. Expect them to be at
the centre of much of what’s to come over coming months.
Battleground Battle
Royale for the Intercontinental Championship
The bookies say this will be Cesaro. He will have the gimmick
of having won two Battle Royales in 2014 but will have a title that means
nothing and is in huge need of a reboot. I can see the finish being Sheamus and
Miz eliminating each other but the question is how they get round the Bo Dallas
streak. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter – it isn’t going anywhere.
There are lots of little sub plots here that will all
eliminate each other, leaving Cesaro to win: RVD & Del Rio; Fandango &
Ziggler; Big E & Kofi and RybAxel. They all sort of cross over, too, so
there should at least be some interesting moments. Kofi probably shouldn’t do a
cool Royal Rumble spot this time – save those, please.
At Mania, this was a surprisingly good match but I don’t see
it being much to rave about tonight. It was really only the finish that stood
out in April. Here, I can see Cesaro going over with the uppercut to Bo off the
apron.
Paige vs. AJ Lee for
the Divas Championship
AJ Lee should retain here but these two are capable of having a really
strong match. Count on this leading into SummerSlam, making this a
warm-up match of sorts. Champion and challenger are being surprisingly cordial
to each other as of late, both are sort of tweeners right now. Look for that to
die away after things get spiteful during this bout. Paige’s heel turn can
begin with her frustration over a loss. AJ over-celebrating her win won't help
Paige’s attitude either.
Rusev vs. Jack
Swagger
I could see them rethinking this based on the crazy-good
reaction that this has had on Raw the past few weeks. Who’d have thought that
Swagger could come out as such an utter hero after being so turgid for so long
in the company? This has been so strong, particularly given Lana and Zeb’s
wonderful performances of late and that, coupled with the current news emanating
from the Russian-separatist states, they really ought to spill this one over
into SummerSlam.
When Swagger caught Rusev in that Patriot Lock the other
week, people became unglued. Rusev shouldn’t be losing yet and Swagger, the
Real American, shouldn’t be tapping to a Russian in the current climate. I’m
hoping that this is a really strong no contest.
Chris Jericho vs.
Bray Wyatt
Jericho came back to work with Wyatt. I was shocked how
quickly they went with this programme; I felt that they ought to have waited
until SummerSlam for this one. When he loses here tonight, why would anyone
want to pay to see this again? I think Jericho still has it in him to pull out
one more top drawer match and Bray really has the psychology to do it. These
two will have mapped out a really good contest, it’s just a shame that it has
to have a finish. So, as with the previous one, I’m wondering whether the Wyatts
interfere as do the newly-title-less Usos and we get a DQ finish.
I want to see more of these two trading promos. When Bray
looks back over his career, he will have had the opportunity to work with two
true greats in Cena and Jericho, and to think that he’s only just really
starting out…
Dean Ambrose vs. Seth
Rollins
Long may this feud continue. These two make everything ok
when I watch WWE now. Without Punk, The Shield and The Wyatts have just made
everything better and leave me salivating for what will come. I love the idea
that whenever Rollins is ready to cash in, Ambrose will screw him. It makes for
a fantastic feud. Both are great in the ring and very good promos.
I’d say that this has the best chance of being match of the
ppv and ought to see Ambrose winning. If Rollins wins, you blow this feud off
before it has properly started. The briefcase means that you can beat Rollins
and still keep him strong, especially since he is The Authority’s chosen one at
the moment. Ambrose, meanwhile, is the lone ranger who needs to win in order to
uphold that disturbed, destructive persona. Roddy Piper ain’t got nothing on
Ambrose…
John Cena vs. Roman
Reigns vs. Randy Orton vs. Kane for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Sometimes, you know, it is ok for the obvious to happen. I
don’t need a swerve here. I don’t need a new champion. I certainly don’t need
Kane as champion and it is certainly far too early for Roman Reigns.
Cena walking out as champion means that we get to see him
and Brock as SummerSlam, which if their match at Extreme Rules 2012 was
anything to go by, should be quite the spectacle and quite the brutal
encounter. Cena rarely, rarely, has
poor ppv matches – you really do have to do dig deep to find the last one that
was sub three stars – and Orton and Reigns are superb. Reigns is very much
taking up the Dave Batista role here: power moves and high impact from a super
heavyweight. Kane has the experience to lie low and feed the others, using his
choke slam as a neutraliser where necessary.
If everything goes well tonight, this along with
Jericho-Wyatt and Rollins-Ambrose could be a very strong match.
I just sense that Battleground is brimming with promise. I
really hope I’m not disappointed.
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