Battleground, from an in-ring
perspective, was a step down from Great Balls of Fire. However, this SmackDown
PPV was arguably more newsworthy. Two championship changes and a surprise return,
were the high points of a hit and miss show.
The first title switch,
occurred during the lively opening contest between New Day (Kofi Kingston and
Xavier Woods) and the Uso’s. The tag moves and false finishes were excellent,
but they didn’t go overboard. Eventually, Woods hit a top rope elbow drop for
the win. Will New Day hold the Smackdown Tag Team Championship as long as their
record breaking run on RAW?
Shinsuke Nakamura faced Baron
Corbin. Their fight was getting interesting, but then The Lone Wolf got
intentionally disqualified with a low blow and hit End of Days after the bell.
This made sense because neither man should be losing right now. Their feud will
hopefully continue.
The ladies five way
elimination was disappointing. Lana lowered the in-ring quality, but it got
better after her elimination. Becky Lynch, Charlotte and Natalya hurried their
mini-match, probably due to time constraints. Natalya winning was a welcome
surprise; she now faces champion Naomi at SummerSlam. Carmella has the money in
the bank briefcase, so she’ll probably cash in afterwards.
Kevin Owens surprisingly
regained the United States Championship from A.J. Styles. The Phenomenal One
recently won the championship from Owens at a Madison Square Garden house show.
Some fans hate hot potato changes, but it made sense here. Both men looked very
competitive; grappling, submissions and a ref bump raised the tension. Owens
won via roll up, so the victory wasn’t emphatic. Match of the night, even if it
could’ve gone longer.
John Cena and Rusev’s flag
match was overlong and extremely tedious in places. Flag matches aren’t the
most exciting concept, but it helps when the wrestlers act intelligently. Both
patriots repeatedly locked in submissions (in a flag match!) and occasionally
forgot how to climb and run. After 20 minutes of stop-start action, Cena
climbed the podium steps with Rusev on his back and hit AA through two tables.
I never want to see another flag match again after this debacle.
Sami Zayn got revenge over
Mike Kanellis; that better be the end of it. Mike and Maria Kanellis have a
dreadful gimmick and I can’t wait until they are gone.
Randy Orton and Jinder Mahal
had a championship bout inside a Punjabi Prison. Firstly, this exceeded
expectations. Secondly, it was the best of the three Punjabi Prison matches to
date (the bar was low before this one). Thirdly, there was interference from
The Great Kahli! Great Kahli featuring in the main event in 2017 is just
bizarre. The Singh brothers got involved from under the ring. One of them took
a bump off the cage through a table. Jinder’s reign reminds me of JBL, who had
a nine-month-run filled with gimmick matches and tainted victories.
If you’re catching up, watch
the three championship matches and skip the rest.
Thanks for reading,
Philip.
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