Jack-Hammer
YOU WILL RESPECT MY AUTHORITAH!!!!
1. Randy Orton vs. Sheamus - A surprisingly good opening match and a match that was definitely helped out by the lively crowd. We've seen this match a lot of times in the past and if it hadn't been in front of Orton's hometown crowd, I think it would've dragged. Both men worked hard, though I think the wrong guy came out with the win as Sheamus certainly could've used the win more than Orton. At the same time, it seems obvious that there aren't any plans for Sheamus to cash in anytime soon, so momentum can be built at a later date. Orton scoring the win wasn't surprising, though I thought Sheamus had it won for a second after hitting the Brogue Kick; when he was "unable" to make the cover, I knew that he wasn't going to win. ***
2. The Prime Time Players vs. The New Day for the WWE Tag Team Championship - While not a spectacular match, an entertaining one where all the guys worked hard. The match only lasted about 9 minutes, though it felt like it was longer than that to me, and I mean that in a good way. The closing minutes of the match were really entertaining and I thought Kofi & Darren Young had really good chemistry together and their timing during their segment close to the end of the match seemed spot on. I've got no real problem with the PTP scoring the win, though I think New Day is the more entertaining team. ***
3. Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt - Aside from the extended chin lock spot that slowed things down too much, I enjoyed this match quite a bit. Reigns has come a long way since the Royal Rumble and he put on a physical outing with Wyatt. Personally, I was also more than a little happy to see Wyatt win because he needed it, quite frankly. It's also nice to see Harper aligned with him and I'm thinking they'll replace Erick Rowan with a new member, since Rowan is out injured. ***1/4
4. Charlotte vs. Brie Bella vs. Sasha Banks - One of the strongest matches we've seen out of the women on the main roster in quite some time, and I do mean quite some time. If you've watched NXT, it's obvious that the NXT Divas are head & shoulders above the Bella Twins when it comes to in-ring ability and this match would've been even stronger if it'd been Charlotte vs. Sasha. Still, Brie did a good job and she was there primarily to take the loss because, frankly, a loss for Charlotte or Sasha would've killed momentum for this "Divas Revolution" angle. All the girls worked hard and they were given a pretty good amount of time to work; it's not often we see a Divas match go 12 minutes on the main roster. The crowd was hot for this match and it's rare for a main roster women's match to get "this is awesome" chants. Charlotte scoring the win was a nice touch and her flexible athleticism adds a little extra flavor to the Figure Four. ***1/2
5. John Cena vs. Kevin Owens for the WWE United States Championship - This was another epic encounter between these two and yet another genuine MOTY candidate for John Cena. One minor thing that I think WWE needs to alter in these big matches is the wrestlers kicking out of each other's finishers too often; I think they ought to cut back on how often they use their finishers to no more than maybe twice a match. Cena & Owens delivered another great outing that told a helluva story and had both men looking like stars. Some are complaining that Owens tapped out, though I think it has more to do with Owens simply losing altogether. It wouldn't have bothered me to see Owens come out with the title and I sort of hope that he's done with Cena for the time being; maybe they could pick things up sometime later down the line, maybe sometime next year IF Owens wins the IC title and they have a "best of" series of matches to unify the two titles. At any rate, excellent work from both guys. ****1/2
6. Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Generally speaking, I do agree that it was a bit underwhelming due to how the match ended. Still, Rollins got in more offense against Lesnar in his first 1 on 1 match against him than Cena had against him at SummerSlam last year. While it was great to see Taker, I'm just not sure putting him against Lesnar again is a good idea. It wasn't a good idea for WrestleMania XXX due to Taker's health and I'm not convinced that anything's any different, at least as of right now. Still, I ultimately think Vince decided to sorta sacrifice Rollins' credibility in the eyes of some fans in order for another big money match between Taker and Lesnar for SummerSlam, which is unfortunate. NA
Overall, Battleground was an entertaining show and the only real letdown was the main event itself. I'm not at all sold on the notion of Taker going against Lesnar again partially because of concern for the man's health and partially because there's not really anything to be gained from the match; the streak is gone and nothing can erase that. I give last night's show a B+ overall, though I think I might've bumped it up to an A- if they had the main event go about 10 minutes or so longer with Rollins getting in some more offense and Taker interrupting when it sorta looked like it could go either way.
2. The Prime Time Players vs. The New Day for the WWE Tag Team Championship - While not a spectacular match, an entertaining one where all the guys worked hard. The match only lasted about 9 minutes, though it felt like it was longer than that to me, and I mean that in a good way. The closing minutes of the match were really entertaining and I thought Kofi & Darren Young had really good chemistry together and their timing during their segment close to the end of the match seemed spot on. I've got no real problem with the PTP scoring the win, though I think New Day is the more entertaining team. ***
3. Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt - Aside from the extended chin lock spot that slowed things down too much, I enjoyed this match quite a bit. Reigns has come a long way since the Royal Rumble and he put on a physical outing with Wyatt. Personally, I was also more than a little happy to see Wyatt win because he needed it, quite frankly. It's also nice to see Harper aligned with him and I'm thinking they'll replace Erick Rowan with a new member, since Rowan is out injured. ***1/4
4. Charlotte vs. Brie Bella vs. Sasha Banks - One of the strongest matches we've seen out of the women on the main roster in quite some time, and I do mean quite some time. If you've watched NXT, it's obvious that the NXT Divas are head & shoulders above the Bella Twins when it comes to in-ring ability and this match would've been even stronger if it'd been Charlotte vs. Sasha. Still, Brie did a good job and she was there primarily to take the loss because, frankly, a loss for Charlotte or Sasha would've killed momentum for this "Divas Revolution" angle. All the girls worked hard and they were given a pretty good amount of time to work; it's not often we see a Divas match go 12 minutes on the main roster. The crowd was hot for this match and it's rare for a main roster women's match to get "this is awesome" chants. Charlotte scoring the win was a nice touch and her flexible athleticism adds a little extra flavor to the Figure Four. ***1/2
5. John Cena vs. Kevin Owens for the WWE United States Championship - This was another epic encounter between these two and yet another genuine MOTY candidate for John Cena. One minor thing that I think WWE needs to alter in these big matches is the wrestlers kicking out of each other's finishers too often; I think they ought to cut back on how often they use their finishers to no more than maybe twice a match. Cena & Owens delivered another great outing that told a helluva story and had both men looking like stars. Some are complaining that Owens tapped out, though I think it has more to do with Owens simply losing altogether. It wouldn't have bothered me to see Owens come out with the title and I sort of hope that he's done with Cena for the time being; maybe they could pick things up sometime later down the line, maybe sometime next year IF Owens wins the IC title and they have a "best of" series of matches to unify the two titles. At any rate, excellent work from both guys. ****1/2
6. Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Generally speaking, I do agree that it was a bit underwhelming due to how the match ended. Still, Rollins got in more offense against Lesnar in his first 1 on 1 match against him than Cena had against him at SummerSlam last year. While it was great to see Taker, I'm just not sure putting him against Lesnar again is a good idea. It wasn't a good idea for WrestleMania XXX due to Taker's health and I'm not convinced that anything's any different, at least as of right now. Still, I ultimately think Vince decided to sorta sacrifice Rollins' credibility in the eyes of some fans in order for another big money match between Taker and Lesnar for SummerSlam, which is unfortunate. NA
Overall, Battleground was an entertaining show and the only real letdown was the main event itself. I'm not at all sold on the notion of Taker going against Lesnar again partially because of concern for the man's health and partially because there's not really anything to be gained from the match; the streak is gone and nothing can erase that. I give last night's show a B+ overall, though I think I might've bumped it up to an A- if they had the main event go about 10 minutes or so longer with Rollins getting in some more offense and Taker interrupting when it sorta looked like it could go either way.
