WWE Battleground 2017 Review

WWE Battleground 2017
Philadelphia, PA
Wells Fargo Center
Brand: Smackdown
7/23/17

For the last few weeks I haven't given Smackdown my full attention due to having to switch between watching that and America's Got Talent on Tuesday nights, but the stuff I have been able to watch hasn't really interested me all that much. Leading up to this show Smackdown needed a subtitle of "USA vs The World" as their top three feuds center around a baby face American taking on a foreign heel and that's one reason why I'm not very interested in this Battleground show as the top three matches have pretty much the exact same story telling. 

I'm getting tired of the pairing of Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton as none of their matches have been outstanding and are at best average, so why we need to see three of them is beyond me. I had a feeling it was only a matter of time once Jinder became a main event guy that we would get the return of the Punjabi Prison match and it didn't take long before I was proven right. There is a reason why there has only been two prior Punjabi Prison matches prior to this one and it's because they pretty much suck and I expect no different this time. I see Jinder easily getting the win here and setting him up for a big match at SummerSlam against Cena where he will lose the title. 

The feud between Kevin Owens and AJ Styles hasn't been that interesting since AJ won the title at MSG at a house show as they have pretty much been paired up with another feud and put in tag matches in the weeks leading up to the show. I would expect AJ to keep the title and move on to a new challenger for SummerSlam. 

The third big match on this show is the Flag Match between John Cena and Rusev, this is your typical WWE style America vs foreign heel story that worked great back in the 70s and 80s, but doesn't have the same appeal to fans today. This feud feels like it was meant to be a hold over until SummerSlam when Cena gets back into the title picture, so I give "Captain America" John Cena the win. 

I absolutely can't stand what is happening with the women's division, why are we having the third multi woman match this year on a PPV for the women on Smackdown? This feels like such a step back when they would just throw all the women on the card instead of building up meaningful feuds. Not only is this the third multi woman match this year, but it's the second one in a row for a Smackdown PPV and it's not even for the women's championship but rather to see who faces the champion at SummerSlam, why not have this match on Smackdown and then actually have a title feud start here and last until SummerSlam. I hope Charlotte wins this one and we get the Queen vs Naomi at SummerSlam, but I feel like WWE are putting the rocket on Lana so she will most likely be the challenger yet again for the Smackdown Women's Championship at SummerSlam. 

The other matches on the card I haven't really been paying the most attention to except for the tag title match where I did like the rap battle between New Day and the Usos. 

This show could have a couple of good matches, but overall I'm ready for this show to be over and see what they have planned for the blue brand for SummerSlam as it hasn't been the best to watch over the last month. 

Kick Off Match
Aiden English def Tye Dillinger via Pinfall

This was a rematch from their kick off match at Money in the Bank and for a kick off match this was pretty good. Aiden English has the best airbrushed tights since Rick Rude as this time he had the painting of A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat. Aiden got the win after hitting a spin out full nelson. Rating: **

Match #1
The New Day def The Usos (c) (Smackdown Tag Team Championship)
This match was a great way to open the show as both teams really shined bright and put on a great match. I loved all of the super close near falls and I actually fell for a lot of them. I see that New Day stuck with the America vs the World theme for their gear as they were decked out in red, white, and blue which has to bring back memories for Xavier as that was his attire back when he was Consequences Creed. The spot where one of the Usos rolled out of the way of the top rope elbow as the other Uso caught him with a super kick was a nice out of nowhere spot and played nicely into the finish when he was able to hit it after one of the Usos was knocked out with the Trouble in Paradise from Kofi Kingston. I am ready to se these two teams go at it again and I look forward to the day when The Usos face off against Revival as both teams have such great tag team timing especially when it comes to the finish of the match. Rating: ***1/2

Match #2
Shinsuke Nakamura def Baron Corbin via DQ
This match never really kicked into that next gear that it needed to, the match mainly consisting of both men beating the shit out of each other with hard strikes. Shinsuke got the win after Corbin was playing opossum and as Nakamura went for a back suplex he was hit with a low blow by Corbin. After the match Corbin came back in and hit Shinsuke with the MITB brieface and then hit him with the End of Days. Nothing much else to say about this match. Rating: **1/4

Match #3
Natalya def Charlotte, Tamina, Becky Lynch, & Lana (Smackdown Women's Championship #1 Contender Match - 5 Way Elimination Match)

This match started out pretty good with the story of Tamina having to save Lana from the other girls, but once Tamina was eliminated we got the eliminations of Lana & Becky immediately after and I hate elimination matches that have quick eliminations, if your going to do that then just make it a one fall match. I was surprised Nattie picked up the win, but I guess with her being the only heel left it makes sense for her to face Naomi. I still have to imagine they will find a way to get Charlotte on the SummerSlam card somehow as she is the ace of the women's division on Smackdown. Overall the entire match felt rushed and that sucks because these women deserve better. I have a bone to pick with Lana, first she steals a gimmick that would've been perfect for Eva Marie and now she comes out and is wearing all red, that is complete gimmick infringement. Rating: **1/2

Match #4
Kevin Owens def AJ Styles (c) (WWE United States Championship) via Pinfall
If I was shown a piece of paper and it said that AJ Styles was going to face Kevin Owens I would instantly get excited and expect a really great match and possibly a match of the year contender, but this match never really got close to being either of these things and it left me feeling disappointed. The only thing I really enjoyed was the finish where they kept countering submission moves. The referee was doing a really bad job when he got knocked out as he was being way too noticeable and was taking the attention of the match and putting it on himself. Really surprised that KO won the title back this quickly, but it looked like AJ's shoulders may have been up so we could be seeing a rematch at SummerSlam. Rating: ***

Match #5

John Cena def Rusev (Flag Match)

I enjoyed this match more than I expected I would as they were able to make a match type that is usually boring and actually make it pretty fun. Not sure why they needed to add that you have to carry your flag to your country's pedestal located at the entrance rule as they have never had a flag match with that rule before and it didn't add anything to the match. Once Rusev set up the tables I knew exactly how the match was going to end. Rating: ***1/2

Match #6

Sami Zayn def Mike Kanellis w/ Maria Kanellis
This was a pretty decent match, but the real highlights were the the interactions between Mike and Maria during the match. I love their act and Maria is such a star and has improved so much since she left the WWE. The finish comes when Maria tries to distract Sami, but he doesn't fall for it and ends up hitting the Helluva Kick on Mr Kanellis. Rating: **1/4

Match #7
Jinder Mahal (c) def Randy Orton (WWE World Championship - Punjabi Prison Match)

Just like Rusev and Cena did these two took a terrible gimmick match and made it enjoyable to watch and it's probably my favorite match out of the three between Jinder and Orton. The first half of the match when they were in the inner cage was the pretty standard stuff you would see in any WWE cage match. Once the match went to the outside and the Singh brothers got involved the match picked up and became a lot of fun with some crazy spots where the Singh brother bumped around like crazy including one of them falling from the outer cage and crashing through an announce table. The finish where The Great Khali returned and choked Orton out in order for Jinder to get the win was really good and I wondered how long it would be before we seen Khali show up to help out his fellow Indian. The Great Khali is going to work great in this role as Jinder's muscle. Rating: ***1/4

This show was completely average with a couple of matches that were fun to watch, but weren't the greatest thing in the world. I would give this show a solid C. 

I hope you enjoy my Battleground 2017 review and please feel free to comment on here or follow me on twitter @MTW3589 and also check out the podcast that I co-host over on twitter @TWF_Podcast

Battleground 2017 Match Ranking
8. Tye Dillinger vs Aiden English
7. Baron Corbin vs Shinsuke Nakamura
6. Sami Zayn vs Mike Kanellis
5. Women's 5 Way Elimination Match
4. WWE US Championship
3. WWE Championship
2. Flag Match
1. Smackdown Tag Team Championship