It was time for another PPV in the WWE calendar. This time round WWE aired Battleground from Philadelphia. Amidst some high profile matches like Rusev-Cena, Jinder Mahal-Randy Orton, how did other matches for the tag titles and US title go? How was the overall event? Read on to find out the 5 things we learned from WWE Battleground!
1. A decent championship run for Jinder Mahal
Ever since Jinder Mahal shocked the world with his victory over 13 time champion Randy Orton, the WWE Universe have been sceptical about the duration of his title reign. However, with repeated assistance from the Singh Brothers and the shocking return of The Great Khali at Battleground, all doubts have been put to rest.
Mahal goes into SummerSlam as the champion and is in all likelihood going to face John Cena for the title. With the upcoming WWE India Tour in September, it makes sense that WWE would keep Jinder Mahal as the champion. This will help in further boosting the WWE brand in India, which is currently the third major market in the world.
This would come as some great news for the WWE fans in India!
2. Smackdown’s flourishing tag team division
Battleground kicked off with an absolute bang! Arguably the two of the best teams in of this decade, The New Day and The Usos fought tooth and nail for the tag titles. Xavier Woods, mostly known for his mic skills displayed his amazing skills in the ring and set the bout on fire. This was after Kofi Kingston was laid to waste outside by the Usos.
After the fiery and controversial rap battle on Smackdown, tensions were high and fans were expecting a lot from this contest. Both of the teams certainly did not disappoint. Following a fast paced ending, Woods pinned Jimmy Uso to capture the Smackdown tag title much to the joy of the Philadelphia crowd.
Also Read : The best 5 WWE matches of the decade
Following the breakup of American Alpha after Kurt Angle’s shocking revelation on Raw, these two teams needed to enforce their dominance on the tag team division. And boy, did they not live up to the expectations!
3. Enforce clean finishes in high profile matches
AJ Styles and Kevin Owens are definitely the torchbearers of the Smackdown brand. Styles captured the US title from Owens at a live event in Madison Square Event, rather surprisingly. Generally, titles do not change hands at non-televised events and hence, executing such a finish at Battleground and giving the title back to Owens was baffling.
Even though a rematch is on the cards for Summerslam, such a finish takes away from the sheen of the rivalry. What is the point of handing someone of the calibre of AJ Styles the title for just a week! Even some underhanded tactic by Owens to end the match would have been a better ending for this fight.
4. Bad match stipulations need to go
Match stipulations like a flag match or a Punjabi Prison might seem to be interesting and unique at the onset. However, the lack of crowd reaction during these matches at Battleground was obvious. Even John Cena’s pro-USA gimmick in his comeback match could not spark a decent enough reaction.
Coming to the WWE Title match between Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton, fans were already saturated with this rivalry. Moreover, the stipulation did not help as the entire focus was on the opening and closing of the cell doors. The crowd was mostly dead until the Great Khali shockingly showed off and helped Jinder Mahal retain the title.
5. Summerslam needs to step up its game
Since the brand division and Shane McMahon taking up the reigns along with Daniel Bryan, Smackdown has risen to new heights. It has dominated Raw in terms of storylines, in-ring fights and even TRPs. However, Battleground was something that brought the blue brand’s rise to a halt.
Lack of high quality matches, uninteresting finishes and outdated match stipulations called for a decent(at best) show. While there are some high octane feuds like Nakamura-Corbin, Styles-Owens in the domain, the WWE still needs to make sure that the stories are played out well for Summerslam to shine!
