WWE Battleground
Tampa, Florida 7/20/14
Pre-Show
1.) Adam Rose vs. Fandango: 3/4*
There was really nothing much to this one. It was more about the interactions between Fandango, Summer Rae & Layla, which lead to Adam Rose getting the win.
2.) Cameron vs. Naomi: *
This is a rarity....we have TWO Pre-Show Matches!! I think it was given that we were going to get this at a PPV setting eventually, with the split up of their tag team. It was just there. Pretty much the type of match you'd think they were going to have. It didn't go very long, and Cameron gets the win.
PPV
1.) WWE Tag Team Titles - 2/3 Falls Match - The Usos vs. The Wyatt Family: ****1/4
These two teams faced off at Money in the Bank, but this time it's 2/3 Falls! Harper & Rowan score the 1st Fall, but The Usos are able to come back and score two straight falls to take the match and retain their Tag Team Titles! This was a pretty great match! Both teams work really well together and it produced a lot of sweet action in this match! It sucks that Harper & Rowan never got a run as WWE Tag Team Champions before The Wyatt Family split up. Definitely the biggest moment those two have had as a team. Unfortunately, when it comes to the rest of the show, it was all downhill from here...
Up next we have a backstage interview with Seth Rollins (what happens here is important for what happens later). He talks about how Dean Ambrose is cockroach who just won't go away, but then Ambrose attacks from out of nowhere! There's a big brawl until finally, Triple H shows up and demands that Ambrose be thrown out of the building. Oh boy, this isn't good...
2.) WWE Diva's Title - AJ Lee vs. Paige: **
On a recent episode of RAW, AJ Lee made her return, and beat Paige in a surprise match to win back the Diva's Title (just like Paige did to her the night after WrestleMania XXX). This is Paige's rematch for the title. It was an ok match. I like both AJ Lee & Paige (probably two of my favorite Divas on the Main Roster), but for some reason this match just didn't rise to anything other than "just ok". AJ eventually hits the Shining Wizard to retain the Diva's Title.
3.) Rusev (with Lana) vs. Jack Swagger (with Zeb Colter): **1/4
As soon as Rusev made his debut on the Main Roster, you figured they would do this feud eventually, and it's a natural story (USA vs. Russia) so it writes itself. Lana, of course, cuts a promo beforehand, and vaguely references the recent happenings in Ukraine. That match itself was another ok match, but nothing special. It's actually a bit surprising, since both guys are part of the unofficial HOSS Division, you'd think it'd be pretty good. Rusev wins by count out after sending Swagger into the steel stairs on the outside. Lana orders Rusev to attack Swagger post-match, and he puts the "Real American" in The Accolade until Swagger is passed out.
You'll notice that I have Rollins vs. Ambrose crossed out. That's because the match never happened. Rollins orders the ref to count Ambrose (who isn't even there) out, and "wins" the "match" via forfeit. As Rollins gloats, Ambrose shows up and attacks! There's another big brawl, and eventually, Rollins escapes Ambrose. This was really disappointing. A bait & switch on a RAW or Smackdown I can see, but on a PPV?! Not a good idea...
4.) Bray Wyatt vs. Chris Jericho: ***
Chris Jericho recently made his return to WWE, and was immediately targeted by Bray Wyatt, leading to this match. Personally, I thought it was a solid match, though it could have been a lot of better. For some reason, they were never really able to get to that next level here. It's another case where I like both guys, and did a fine job, but it wasn't anything special. Jericho got the win, which was pretty surprising to some.
5.) WWE Intercontinental Title Battle Royal: **3/4
So Bad News Barrett was the WWE Intercontinental Champion, but he suffered an (unintended) shoulder injury at the hands of Jack Swagger right before Money in the Bank. The title was vacated, and they decided to have a Battle Royal to crown the new champion. It was a decent battle royal, as far as battle royals go. It basically was filled up with everyone who wasn't already booked in a match. It eventually came down to our "Final Four" of the WWE United States Champion Sheamus, Bo Dallas, Heath Slater (who eliminated Cesaro in a shocker) and Dolph Ziggler. It comes down to Ziggler & Sheamus, and Ziggler eliminates him to win the title, or so he thinks. The Miz (recently returned with a new Hollywood Actor gimmick), who had been hiding after getting tossed under the bottom rope, came up from behind to eliminate Ziggler and captures the Intercontinental Title. Again, a decent battle royal, but you could have seen that finish coming from a mile away.
6.) WWE World Title - Fatal Four-Way - John Cena vs. Randy Orton vs. Kane vs. Roman Reigns: ***1/4
This match came about in the fallout from Money in the Bank, and for some reason, The Authority put Roman Reigns in here (despite being in a feud, of sorts, with him). Of course, with a title defense against Brock Lesnar looming at SummerSlam, the outcome of this match was never in doubt, despite WWE's attempts to make you think it was. The match was solid, but as you would expect, it got a bit formulaic. For a Main Event of PPV, this was pretty lackluster. Nothing really much else to say about it. Cena eventually retains to close the show, to the surprise of absolutely nobody.
Overall: 6.0/10
To put it simply, this was not a very good show at all. What we essentially got was Sunday Night RAW. It felt like WWE put almost no effort into this show. Other than the great opener, this show was just plain bad. It's not a total surprise that it was bad, as you could tell that the focus was building up towards SummerSlam, but even so, they could have at least tried. The Diva's Title Match, Rusev/Swagger, and Wyatt/Jericho were either sub-par, under delivered, or both. The fact that the Semi-Main Event of the show was a Battle Royal (with a pretty predictable finish) just says a lot about this show. While the Main Event was (at least) a decent match, it was (again) extremely predictable, and nowhere near the quality that a PPV Main Event should. Watch the 2/3 Falls Match for the WWE Tag Team Titles, but that's it. This show was just horrible.
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