WWE Battleground: WWE Championship - Ambrose (c) VS Reigns VS Rollins

[@smarkmouth]

Well looks like it's back to two men.... Reigns suspended for a wellness violation according to WWE.com!

It's being reported that Reigns test, for whatever substance it may be, came back positive before Money in the Bank. If true, then they still allowed Reigns two appearances, and set up the Shield Triple Threat all the same.

If so, I think they should make the best of a bad situation. Despite his absence, they should continue preening Roman as the WWE golden boy, by heels like JBL or Stephanie. Make him Stephanie's number one draft pick in July, even. Announce that Roman will compete at Battleground after his suspension expires. All the while, Ambrose and Rollins spend the month beating the crap out of one another, and come Battleground, a fresh Roman returns and wins the title back.

Look at it as rewarding Roman for being suspended if you will, but I would see it as a creative navigation of their current problem.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

I sure hope you understand why you're not writing anything. He just beat Jericho in a terrible match. Where the hell has HHH been? Do you consider anything before you type it out? Or are you still clouded by your desire to see Daniel Bryan die in a wrestling ring?

Triple H can return, you know. Also I would love to see Daniel Bryan return, but if his health doesn't allow, that's fine.

Regardless it seems like we're getting Ambrose vs. Rollins now.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

I think WWE missed a trick with this. They should have had the number 1 contenders match at Battle ground with Ambrose as the special guest referee. They could have stuck with the same sort of finish leading to the Triple Threat at Summerslam.

Brilliant!

This is how they USED TO book certain ppvs back in the day where the champion didn't have to wrestle/defend the title, for whatever reason. The Undertaker vs Kane with Austin as the special referee is one such instance(Judgement Day 1998?I think).

Also, back in the day, they would frequently have #1 Contender's Matches on PPVs, which gave those events a double-mainevent or triple-mainevent like feeling.

They could've easily done this for Battleground, as you point out. It would thus be a Double Main Event(or Triple) PPV:-

1)Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins(#1 Contender's match)
2)Dean Ambrose vs Chris Jericho or Kevin Owens(I would choose Owens) for the WWE WHC.
3)John Cena vs AJ Styles.

This clearly leads to the triple threat on the NEXT PPV.

I suppose the WWE wasted this opportunite by giving an awesome match between Rollins and Reigns on FREE TV.

 

[ShinChan]

I believe that Ambrose needs to win this match in any condition.

Reigns and Rollins can be on 1 brand and Ambrose on the other.

We can then have:

Ambrose Vs Triple H for the title
Reigns Vs Rollins for the title

For Summerslam. Reigns turns heel and wins the title. And at Wrestlemania 33, Rollins Vs Triple H can happen. Ambrose faces Owens for the title and Reigns can face Bray Wyatt.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

I just understood that the majority of wrestling fans don't know what they want. Everyone in here, wanted to get a filler Battleground main event, in order to have that match at Summerslam.

"Have a #1 contender's match at Battleground, ending with a double DQ". I've seen people complaing about WWE being too predicatble, Sunday Night RAW, blah blah. That's exactly what this is. Everyone complains when the main event of a PPV ends in an undecisive fashion. But no, we can only complain for the same thing when we only want.

"Have Ambrose fight either Rollins or Reigns". Then I would complain that the other guy didn't get his proper rematch.

The way WWE booked this (meaning that they had Ambrose cash in on Money In The Bank) was great and unexpected.

Plus the draft is coming, and no, you can't have all 3 members of the Shield in one show, because this angle has been played out for 2 years already.

As to who wins, it will definately not be Reigns. Ambrose has higher chances because he just won the belt. I think WWE will keep Rollins away from a title run for the summer, in order to fully turn him face. So my money is on Dean Ambrose.

Plus, with the triple threat happening now, you can't know what the main event of Summerslam is going to be, do you? It could be Dean vs Brock II, Rollins vs HHH, Reigns vs Cena, Rollins vs Syles, Dean vs Reigns.

 

[kadroan]

I think Ambrose retains the title, getting a clean pin on Reigns. So many different angles they could go for Summerslam.

Ambrose/Rollins/Reigns II
Ambrose/Brock II
Ambrose/HHH II
Ambrose/Reigns II
Ambrose/Reigns/Brock II

 

[Nate DaMac]

Ambrose and Rollins both pin Reigns at the same time. Two Champs, one for each roster. Roman gets a little more dirt thrown on him.

 

[Gallops77]

I think this match has the opportunity to really setup Summerslam.

Ambrose retains and keeps the WWE Championship on Smackdown. During the match, Stephanie inadvertently costs Rollins the match.

Ambrose faces Wyatt at Summerslam because there's nobody else.

Big feud is Rollins vs Reigns for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship. At Summerslam, Triple H and Stephanie turn on Rollins, dubbing Reigns their new "Guy". Rollins gets the Daniel Bryan treatment, faces Triple H at Survivor Series and wins the rumble.

 

[@smarkmouth]

If the victor of this match was determined by proper merit, Rollins should win for carrying this feud on his back, and he'd be pinning Roman Reigns(though I really worry the opposite will be true). Not to say Dean hasn't been shining as champion. He's dusted off the dark side of his character a few times with no sign of discomfort and has dug in on Rollins. That's where it ends for him though. He's barely said spit about Reigns. Rollins is feuding with a present Ambrose and an absent Reigns, and doing both in critical spades. He's the lynch pin making this entire program work.

Hoping for Rollins, okay with Ambrose, uproariously against Reigns.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I think Ambrose walks out the winner tonight and it's probably the right call to make at this time. If Ambrose loses, then Raw will have every championship on the roster except the Intercontinental Championship; things will be even more out of balance whenever the Cruiserweight Championship is reactivated as the Cruiserweight Division is exclusive to Raw.

If Reigns wins, then it makes WWE look bad because nobody has gotten such a big push immediately after coming back from a suspension following a failed drug test. WWE has legal wiggle room as it pertains to what's gone down with Lesnar since Lesnar isn't a regularly scheduled member of the roster, but putting the title back on Reigns will be met with criticism from all sides.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

One thing is for sure: Roman won't win.

I want Ambrose to walk out the champ tonight, but I'm trying to shape up the main events of Summerslam WWE would want to build and they go like this:
Lesnar vs Orton (RAW vs SD)
Styles vs Cena (SD)
Rollins vs Reigns (RAW)

As you can see, Ambrose has no place on the main events and his opponents from SD are Bray Wyatt, Miz and Dolph Ziggler. Yikes. Poor Dean.

 

[Greg4WWE]

It's so easy. Have Reigns hit Rollins with a chair or something while Ambrose is out on the floor. BAM.. Double turn tonight and a feud going fwd with Rollins vs Reigns. That simple. But we know WWE will take the easy way out and have Ambrose be pinned with the status quo going fwd.

 

[L@RISANO]

Dean Ambrose keeping the WWE title made perfect sense, not only to help SmackDown LIVE going forward, but for Dean Ambrose himself, who has surely now broke even with his fellow SHIELD bros who have had way more success as Singles than Ambrose has had in the last couple of years.
I do wonder who his opponent at SummerSlam will be, however.


Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, both on RAW, will start the new Brand Split era as equals and will surely be fighting for a new RAW title at SummerSlam.



The New Era is here! Believe in the SHIELD!

 

[Dragonslayer]

I was a bit surprised to actually see Ambrose retain. I'd have expected interference on Reigns' behalf (perhaps Triple H screwing Rollins, turning him face and Reigns heel) to put the title back on a now-heel "wellness policy violator" Reigns under protection of The Authority (or what's left of it)... but apparently, WWE didn't want that kind of bad press either.

So seeing that, keeping the belt on Ambrose was a smart move. Rollins is over as it is, and doesn't need the belt right now. Reigns is WWE's pet project and will be kept in the main event no matter what. So Ambrose was the only one not considered quite on top tier level, especially after some more mediocre performances on the most recent PPVs. Had he lost the belt now to either Rollins or Reigns, it would have served only to further establish that he's "not on their level" and, in a fair fight sans MITB briefcase, would come up short against either man anyway, thus effectively relegating him to permanent midcard status.

With him now winning clean, however, he's kept in the main event picture... and while he might not be as over as Rollins, it's certainly a step into the right direction. If WWE wants to invest into Ambrose, this is what they have to do. I'm pretty curious about Summerslam now, particularly in who Ambrose will face for the title. I don't assume they will go for another triple threat situation with Reigns and Rollins, so I could imagine a Reigns/Rollins feud for "undisputed" #1 contendership, culminating in Summerslam, while Ambrose gets another opponent. Traditionally, the World title match at Summerslam is a pretty big one though, so it should be a top tier level character.

Question remains: Who could it be? John Cena is always a choice, but it would face vs face. Also there's still the AJ Styles feud going for him. Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar are both occupied with one another, Reigns and Rollins too (if they have that contendership feud, obviously). Bray Wyatt might be a choice, but he doesn't have quite that same star power... So maybe it will be Reigns or Rollins after all, though I somehow don't see that. Outside chances are for a Triple H appearance or Undertaker appearance, though the latter is highly unlikely, and Taker wouldn't return at Summerslam just to lose to Ambrose, I'd say.

So unless WWE pulls another (part timer?) rabbit out of their hats, I'm currently a bit at a loss at the question for a possible decent WHC title match opponent for Ambrose, outside Rollins/Reigns.