Battleground Reax

Read on for my thoughts on last night's Smackdown-brand WWE Network special event.

-- Kickoff:
- Panel:
I have not missed Jerry Lawler in the least.

- Cena interview:
God this is such a lame match in 2017. It's like some kind of obstacle course or something. This and the "tag the corners" bullrope match stipulation need to be dropped.

Blah blah Cena doing his thing.

- Carmella on the panel:
I wish she would have replaced Jerry, but I love Carmella.

YES THE TWO TIME WINNER! Corrupt Daniel Bryan tried to take away her historic accomplishment, but she persevered!

I wouldn't shocked to see Carmella cash in at Summerslam. Heck, couldn't she make an impromptu match on this show?

I'm loving Carmella going full throttle as a heel.

I guess Carmella's the princess because she'll replace the queen? You'd think she'd consider herself the queen already after winning MITB TWICE.

- AJ interview:
Oh God I'm so tired of them shoving the U.S. down our throats, especially as they continue to expand to other countries.

- Owens interview:
I love Kevin's arrogance.

I mean, Canada's part of North America.

- Kanellises interview:
Glad we're getting more character work from these two.

I liked Maria's answer to returning to the ring. All the in-ring focus is on Mike, as it should be at this stage.

Mike's just not that interesting as a character. He's very lucky he has Maria in his corner. She's his best chance to make it past U.S./IC Title level.

Maria is absolutely carrying this duo right now. Damn.

- Aiden promo:
Aiden doesn't have a bad gimmick or anything, and he's a solid enough worker. I just wonder how far he can get without a partner.

- Tye vs. Aiden:
I do like the bow. I'm getting Damien Sandow vibes, which is great.

Nice back and forth from the NXT alums.

Good aggression from Aiden. He NEEDS to find a way to be important.

This is good so far.

Both men are "good hands."

I love the "10" thing.

I'm liking the counter-wrestling here.

WHOA. I did NOT see Aiden winning that one. I figured they'd want to save whatever momentum Tye had left. We'll see where this leads for the two of them, if anywhere.

-- Battleground:
- Usos vs. Kofi/Xavier:
New Day have really solid teamwork.

And the heels are doing a good job as a unit, too.

I'm liking this in the early going.

The Usos used to be REALLY stale, but I'm liking what we're seeing now.

Interesting. They usually do the "don't headbutt a Samoan; they have really hard heads" thing. I guess they finally dropped that trope.

I like Kofi's babyface fire.

OUCH. That big powerbomb to Kofi looked pretty wicked.

These two sides work together pretty well.

That was a NICE super kick to stop Xavier's elbow drop.

I like the submission work. I hope there's more of that on this show.

This is pretty good work here.

I would have been totally OK with that frog splash ending it. That would have really been good.

Oh, wow. That "going up to the top rope" thing didn't go well for the Usos.

Nice work overall.

- Corbin vs. Nakamura:
This one should be interesting, booking-wise.

This should be a good fight.

I like this one having a very different feel from the previous match. This is a brawl. No frog splashes or anything here.

Corbin's good at mind games.

This is fun so far.

I know a lot of people want Nakamura to kill Corbin in five minutes, but it'd serve WWE well to have them both be important players.

I liked Shinsuke pulling out the triangle. He's got a lot of tools to get the win.

Baron is rough, but effective. He doesn't need to pull out a hurricanrana when he can just smash his opponent into the ringside barriers.

Baron trying to wear Shinsuke down.

I like the big contrast between these two coming to play.

I'm just enjoying this one all around.

NICE counter to the Kinshasa. I really like this one.

This is heating up pretty well!

HAHAHAHAH nice save by Baron.

- Post-match:
I liked that. This could be a pretty good feud.

- Women's No. 1 Contendership match:
-- Charlotte vs. Natalya vs. Lana vs. Becky vs. Tamina:I like Natalya trying to score a pinfall early. This could be a REALLY long match with that many opponents to deal with.

I like the chaos here. It was a good move to not have this be a match with tags.

I like the teaming of Lana and Tamina.

Charlotte's got her work cut out for here, too.

I'm liking the multiple-woman action here.

Charlotte, Becky, and Natalya are all great wrestlers. Lana and Tamina are an effective duo.

I love all the exploders! Sup-Becks City?

Good to see Tamina using her power.

Natalya's a crafty competitor. I like it.

Wait, why would you stop Charlotte from being eliminated!???

This is heating up pretty well.

Becky's determined to beat someone with DisArmHer!

That was a good first fall. We'll see if Tamina helps Lana any more.

-- Charlotte vs. Natalya vs. Lana vs. Becky:
Welp, so much for Lana lasting long without Tamina!

-- Charlotte vs. Natalya vs. Becky:
Oh... wow. So much for it coming down to the two Horsewomen.

-- Charlotte vs. Natalya:
This is really intense. I'm liking it.

Both sides really bringing it here.

Hey, that works for me! I bet Natalya can really shine on that stage. Good for her for getting that opportunity.

- Post-match:
There's an angle here about everyone (including the fans) writing Natalya off and not thinking she can get the job done in 2017.

- AJ vs. Owens:
I like the start. AJ's surprise title win gives this a new dimension.

Nice work early between the two vets.

I like the chess game they're playing here. It's all in who can get the better position in the early going.

It didn't take long to get to using the ringside area as weaponry!

I enjoy how these two work in general and against each other.

Good fire from AJ.

I love the counter-wrestling. This is two pros showing off.

Man. This is solid. I wouldn't mind a big feud-ender at Summerslam.

Both men working hard here.

This is really good.

I like Owens targeting the arm. Good story here.

Uh-oh. No ref!

That was an AWESOME counter to the pop-up powerbomb. Wow.

I love the submissions here.

Wow! Quick title reign for AJ.

I expect we're getting the finale at Summerslam. That should be good.

- Jinder/Singhs:
Jinder winning one-on-one would be very big.

That was cool. I'm glad they're running with Jinder and his clique.

- Cena vs. Rusev: 
This is such a goofy match, and not in the Breezango way. I can't take it very seriously.

These two work together well, but it's pretty much inevitable Cena will win unless they're going to extend the AMERICA thing to Summerslam.

I've missed Cena in the ring, and I think he's missed it, too.

Cena went to the turnbuckles too early and Rusev made him pay for it.

Fine work for the gimmick.

Cena pulling out his patented offense.

NICE powerbomb spot.

I wish Rusev was heeling the crowd for Russian interference in the 2016 election. That would be SO based, but I can see it turning some people off.

Well, at least Rusev didn't go down to one AA!

Oh, wow. So much for Rusev being a threat, although it would be hard for him to be one with Owens and Jinder also on the heel ladder.

I could never see another flag match and be OK with that. Maybe on Tribute to the Trrops kind of things, but not on a serious show.

I wonder how this angle is playing in Bulgaria.

Nice fallaway slam spot. Rusev can do pretty good work.

It's a flag match AND a table match!

Oh my God Rusev trying the Attitude Adjustment. He can be really funny, as we saw in Southpaw Regional Wrestling.

This is lasting longer than you'd think given Rusev already tapping out.

Now THAT'S how you finish Rusev off.

Honestly, that was about as good as can be expected in that gimmick. The tables gave Rusev something of an out for losing.

- Fashion X Files:
HAHAHAHA this is so stupid and I love it.

Hahaahhaah Ascension buried. I'm dying.

Oh... well... that was interesting. I guess The Ascension are a threat now? They could use some character development.

- Mike Kanellis vs. Zayn:
Wow. Sami already working over the former Mike Bennett.

Zayn already putting on a showcase.

Man. Mike's going to need Maria and Matt Taven if he's going to stand a chance here.

Maria's the MVP here.

Mike's a solid enough worker.

Glad to see Sami let loose.

Man, Sami's dominating.

Mike just can't get any momentum going.

Oh come on Maria, at least tag in!!

Whoa. So much for Mike being a thing. I hope he's happy with the pay because he got a much bigger platform in GFW and ROH.

- Jinder vs. Orton:
Mahal does NOT want to stay in there with an angry viper for long.

It would really suck to be locked in with your opponent in the outer cage.

Basic offense, but effective.

Man, Jinder's trying to make this a short night!

Hahaha I love the ol' thumb to the eye.

Fun work so far.

NICE. Jinder making the most of being sent into the cage.

This is good.

That elevated DDT would have been a heck of a drop.

I like the battle here, but I can see the argument neither man is particularly flashy in his offense.

You'd think, with this being a big grudge match, you'd want to hit your finisher before trying to escape.

Good story being told overall of trying to keep each other in the ring.

Orton's in his element here.

If Orton hit that RKO, that could have been it.

NICE counter to the Khallas. I like spots like that when they're saved for special occasions (i.e. not every other spot having to be innovative).

Samir and Sunil are really proving themselves as valuable associates for Jinder.

Ha. Jinder's stealing this one thanks to his buddies. They're a long way from being GFW tag team champions!

Mahal has quite the advantage here.

That was a scary jump from Randy.

Someone's going to take a heck of a fall.

I swear, Samir and Sunil might as well be co-champions with Jinder!

This is fun enough.

Randy tearing up the Singhs!

Kendo sticks everywhere!

The Singhs are the MVPs here. They're putting some serious work in to save Jinder.

I love a big table bump! Pure carnage here.

I'm enjoying this for the most part now that the part with the doors is over.

OH MAN. Not where you want to be caught with a DDT. That was sick.

Lots of weapon usage tonight.

Orton might just beat three guys!

Here comes that 14th title reign!

WHAAAAATTTTTTT Khali can barely walk/bump at this point!

Randy still had a chance to win! It's not much of a "run" in.

This is about as physical as Khali can really get at this point.

Jinder's got quite the Indian World Order (New Indian Order?) going.

More wrestling coming up.