WWE Battleground Reax

Read on for my thoughts on last night's WWE PPV.

Kickoff:
Yeah, I didn't expect a lot out of that one. I'm sure Fandango and Rose could put on a much better match if that's what the situation required. This was just fluff to get the action started.

It was good to use Christian to talk about tag teams splitting. I don't like the show to be TOO indicative of a real sport, but that was a good segment.

I wasn't too crazy about the Usos' promo, but I think they'll do well enough in the ring to justify it.

Wow. That one was a let down. I don't know why I was expecting more from Naomi vs. Cameron, but I'm glad this was just on the pre-show. I'm sure AJ and Paige will deliver in their place on the main show.

Battleground:
Pretty good match. Everyone worked hard and they work together really well. I think Harper and Rowan could get by as singles stars, but there's no need to split them now. I didn't expect the Usos to retain again. I hope WWE has good plans for both teams going forward.

Cool segment with Ambrose and Rollins. This could be a wild night for them.

AJ Lee vs. Paige was pretty good. They worked together pretty well outside of the missteps. I definitely think we need to see another round at Summerslam.

Good Orton/Kane segment. I'm split on whether they should actually start feuding or not. If Roman's going to feud with HHH and Cena's going to feud with Lesnar, they both need something to do.

WWE was in a tough situation politically after the airline incident. I'm glad they didn't try to get heat from that.

UPDATE: I didn't hear all the promo the first time. It looks like they did more or less allude to the flight being shot down. I'm usually all for getting heat, but I think this will do more to make people upset at WWE than the characters of Lana and Rusev.

That was a pretty awesome clash between Rusev and Swagger. I liked the story told with Swagger trying to win via Patriot Lock.

Good post-match to keep building Rusev. Swagger wasn't pinned and didn't tap, so he's protected for a rematch. I think Rusev vs. Sheamus for the U.S. Title is a logical next step.

I liked the Goldust/Stardust segment, as odd as it was. I don't see Stardust as Cody's permanent gimmick, so it will be interesting to see how long they keep it going. I can't shake the feeling we're getting a Cody/Goldust feud down the line, but it doesn't seem imminent.

Very intense Rollins/Ambrose segment! They go all out.

Wyatt vs. Jericho was pretty good as far as action goes. I was a little let down by the surprise ending, but I'm thinking we're getting a second match at Summerslam. Bray winning there is bigger than him winning here.

I liked the continuation of Ambrose vs. Rollins. They embody the "attitude"/"ruthless aggression" mentality of a decade ago.

Good surprise Barrett appearance. They must expect him back before too much longer.

The battle royal itself was a good deal of fun. There were a number of good spots and exchanges. Kofi lived up to his reputation with the Big E spot. The ending was indeed a letdown. It made me hate Creative more than Miz. Also, wasn't RVD advertised for this match? His contract could be up or something.

Pretty good main event. I think Reigns looked good in defeat, and the match itself had some good moments. I definitely expected something to write Cena off for missing Raw or something else for a post-match, but I'm not too upset. I can certainly see people reconsidering their Network subscriptions after another PPV ends with Cena standing tall, and I hope WWE realizes there could be a real correlation there.

More wrestling coming up.