WWE Battleground Reax

Read on for my thoughts on last night's WWE special event.

Kickoff:
I really hope they're not going to just do Miz vs. Big Show for the #1 Contendership tonight. Talk about a tough sell.

Tonight would be a good time for Wyatt to get some new followers to beat Reigns, or after the match. But I imagine they want Reigns to have a triumphant moment here en route to a big match at Summerslam.

Not a bad Truth promo, as crazy as he is. It's a shame he didn't go further as a top-level heel. 

Orton vs. Sheamus starting the show would give Sheamus enough time to rest up for cashing in MitB in the main event. Just saying.

It is pretty cool to see how far Darren and Titus have come since the NXT days. Part of the fun of watching the current iteration of NXT is seeing them before they're really "polished" for the main roster. 

The man in the ring with a tinfoil crown and a plunger is a former NWA World Champion. Just let that sink in for a second.

- Truth vs. Barrett:
I am glad the KotR crown is important enough for them to fight over. It's almost like another title.

I wouldn't have been shocked if that scissors kick was the finish.

Looks like this feud's finally over. I hope so, anyway. I don't think I'd mind Barrett getting a "royal subject" or something to make use of someone who isn't doing anything.

I love Heyman being so intense in these interviews.

Brock being treated as such a special attraction is good in a day when so many people feel like they're just another part of the show.

It is kind of a shame they "needed" heel authority figure Stephanie to set up those names coming up from NXT, but hopefully that name value gave the angle a boost.

I wonder what they'll with those nine Divas tonight. As much as I'd love to see Charlotte vs. Sasha vs. Becky, I don't see it happening. Maybe a battle royal?

Can Corey Graves replace JBL or King on the main roster commentary team? He's much better. 

I wonder when we'll see Kane, Mercury, and Noble again. Noble and Mercury have been pretty enjoyable in their roles.

Battleground:
If Orton wants to take some more time off, they can have Sheamus hurt him here. That would give Mr. MitB more credibility.

- Orton vs. Sheamus:
I hate there being a feud about making each other entertaining. If people aren't entertaining, why should we watch the show?

It's good to hear fans cheering and booing for more than flashy moves.

This has been a pretty good battle of powerhouses so far.

Nice counters to signature moves here. I think sometimes that means more than hitting five "finishers" that don't end the match.

I'd like to see the Superplex end a match, even if it's a match that doesn't mean much.

Orton playing to the crowd before the RKO made it mean more than 30 rapid-fire spots the crowd doesn't have time to absorb.

I would have bought the RKO counter ending the match.

Or that Brogue Kick.

I love a long submission spot here and there when it's not an obvious rest spot.

#RKOOUTOFNOWHERE. Pretty good match. Could we see a repeat of WM31 where the MitB winner loses to Orton only to cash in in the main event to cost Brock the title?

Stephanie being at the center of the new Divas' revolution is a letdown. It's a shame we can't see Charlotte vs. Sasha vs. Becky tonight, but it'd be good to see at least one of them in action.

New Day are perfect in their roles. You just want someone to shut them up, but not in the "I'm changing the channel if they keep talking" way.

- New Day vs. PTP:
Xavier yelling at the commentators is great.

Who gets charged for it if a wrestler breaks a camera doing a big throw like that?

How does Xavier not lose his voice out there?

That was a pretty impressive splash on the apron.

Darren setting them up for Titus to knock them down is straightforward but effective.

Darren's got some serious babyface fire. Cool to see the Roaring Elbow.

Good tag match. I sincerely liked that better than a number of matches on the last ROH PPV, because they didn't need 1,000 spots to tell a story and get the crowd behind them.

Becky has the goggles back! I think she would have benefited from some more time in NXT to develop her character, but I have faith in her.

Bray's entrance is really cool when fans feed into it.

- Reigns vs. Wyatt:
This is more or less a brawl, as it probably should be given the feud.

I wonder if Bray vs. Taker or Bray vs. Sting will take place at Summerslam.

I like Wyatt playing to the crowd more when it's in a way that makes fans want to cheer the face and boo the heel.

Whatever happened to the ghost-thing we saw Wyatt use at HiaC? You'd think he'd use it again to get in someone else's head.

Nice counter to the Drive-By.

Pretty cool Sitout Powerbomb.

Some pretty good counters here.

This has had some pretty good drama. Them actually selling each other's offense helps that.

OH SHIT! LUKE HARPER'S COME BACK HOME!!!!

I wouldn't have expected Reigns to take the loss here. At least Harper might get more of a direction now.

Sasha's fitting in fine as far as promos go. It's OK for her to start alongside Naomi and Tamina to help get her career started. Remember, most fans didn't know who she was before Monday.

I MIGHT be OK with Nikki breaking AJ's record if it means we see a lot of Becky, Charlotte, and Sasha.

- Brie vs. Charlotte vs. Sasha:
Seeing Charlotte and Sasha compete on a WWE PPV is pretty cool. They're worth the hype.

Interesting move in the corner. The NXT crowd would have reacted better, since they're familiar with her moves.

Charlotte and Sasha have worked together enough to be ready to have an opportunity like this.

The Divas' Revolution isn't happening overnight. It's important to keep that in mind.

I'm not complaining we got this instead of Ryback vs. Miz vs. Big Show. I don't think the fans are, either.

Brie using Bryan's kicks only served to remind me we might not see him for a while. It was cool to see, though.

I was impressed with Sasha's dive, but this has become about the most contrived spot in wrestling.

If Brie wins this, I foresee laptops across the country being broken in half.

YYYEEESSSS!!!!! A Bella finally takes a PPV loss. I hope we're looking at a different Divas' division going forward. It will take time, but I think it can be done.

I can only wonder who's next following Kevin Owens and the Diva debuts. NXT might some time to "restock" given those losses and some key injuries.

How can you still think Cena sucks after the matches he's had since winning the U.S. Title?

Owens is down to 266 now? That's good.

- Cena vs. Owens:
I love how vocal Owens is in the ring. It's good to draw the crowd in.

If/when Owens wins the title, I want to see Samoa Joe feud with him for it. No way should he stay in NXT indefinitely. Once Itami's back and Uhaa's in the mix, pull the trigger on him coming up.

Hopefully Owens catching Cena for the German suplex will mean the end of the springboard stunner. It was kind of innovative for the sake of innovation.

Cena hitting the Code Red clean this time was nice.

Owens catching him for the powerbomb was NICE.

The AA is somewhat meaningless as a finisher when it now takes at least two to beat some of these guys.

I love seeing two top athletes compete in a match that means something and telling a story in there.

This is awesome! Owens with the STF is great.

I hated the no-sell of the springboard stunner. That was some ROH shit.

I do think it's becoming increasingly unbelievable for one side not to win. Two AAs? Come on now. I want Owens to win, but he definitely looks strong in a loss here after that much punishment (not that the anti-Cena marks will acknowledge that).

I almost expect Rusev to do a run-in so neither man has to lose clean.

DDDDAAAAAMMMMMNNNNNN. Has anyone kicked out of three AAs before? This is insane.

There's a difference between tapping in five minutes vs. tapping after three AAs. That was one hell of a fight. Great work by both men.

It makes sense to have a talking segment or something to bring the crowd down after such a hot match, and before another really big one.

Is Miz turning face here? He went at Big Show pretty hard there.

Even Big Show's like "I can't believe I'm still doing this crap." At least that was brief.

LESNAR'S GONNA KILL YOU!!!

- Rollins vs. Lesnar:
If they want to do something really unexpected (and probably dumb), they can have Heyman turn on Brock for a new Heyman guy (Sheamus?)

God Brock's a beast. WWE needs to sign more in his vein. They need some big monsters, too.

This might have been more fair if Rollins got Kane, Mercury, and Noble on his side.

This is a treat. The contrast between accomplished high-flyer and powerhouse is a a good one.

Suplex City might be big enough to be its own state after this match. Rollins is taking a beating.

Rollins, you crazy bastard! Why slap the Beast!?

WWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

As cool as that was in some ways, it took the focus off Rollins in favor of what could be a retirement run for Taker.

But hey! The crowd's loving it, and it makes sense for him to get revenge after losing The Streak.

If Taker's facing Brock at Summerslam, who challenges for the WWE Title? Reigns lost tonight, and we've seen Rollins defend against Ambrose and Orton.

More wrestling coming up.