As WWE now has the draft in its review mirror, they have another pay-per-view event before the new rosters go into affect. This Sunday, July 24th, WWE brings Battleground to the Verizon Center in Washington DC. This is the last pay-per-view before the rosters officially split. Here is how I view each match playing out at this event :
Preshow: The Usos vs. Breezeango ( Tyler Breeze and Fandago)- This match was announced through the WWE official website as of Saturday. Since Breezeango debuted on the May 12th episode of Raw. They have been getting wins over teams like the GoldenTruth and the former Lucha Dragons. There have been reports going around that Vince McMahon likes this paring. I see Breezango grabbing the win as they continue to climb the tag team rankings. I don’t see anything special going on this match because there was no build or mention that these two teams were going to have a match. It is not known if these teams will be entering a program or if this is just a last-minute match to get something on the Pre-Show.
Match Result: Breezeango (Tyler Breeze and Fandago)
Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens:
This match was announced prior to the WWE Draft because it was being built that this would be the “last time” these two would fight. Well, that is not the case as both Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn were drafted to Raw, so they will probably have a few more bouts. According to wrestling sites like WrestlingINC and Cagesideseats, Kevin Owens is going to get pushed to the main event and Sami Zayn will be the new “Daniel Bryan” as being the underdog. I see this match somehow going to a no-contest which can easily set up something between these two former friends at Summerslam.
Match Result: No Contest
The New Day ( Big E, Xaiver Woods and Kofi Kingston) vs. The Wyatt Family ( Bray Wyatt, Eric Rowan and Braun Strowman)
This is a six-man tag match and not for the Tag Titles. The night after Money in the Bank, the Wyatt Family made their return to TV after being off for a few weeks and they set their eyes on the New Day. This will be interesting to see play out because this will be the last night the Wyatt Family will be a team as Braun Strowman was drafted to Raw. However, I see the Wyatt Family getting the win as it will set up a tag title match at Summerslam.
Match Result: The Wyatt Family wins
Rusev( Champion) vs. Zack Ryder for the United States Championship
After beating Titus O’Neil on the July 4th episode of RAW and at Money in the Bank for the US title, Rusev had no opponent for his title for Battleground. A few weeks ago, Ryder challenged Rusev for the title in a backstage segment on Smackdown. On the next episode of RAW, Zack Ryder had a match with Sheamus and ended up losing. After the match, Rusev came out and got Ryder in his finisher move the camel clutch. While Rusev had him in the finisher, he accepted the match and it was made official. While it would be nice to see Ryder get the title, I don’t think it comes at Battleground.
Match Result: Rusev retains the US title
The Miz (Champion) vs. Darren Young for the Intercontinental championship
This match was made after Darren Young returned to TV and won the 18-man battle royal to decide a new #1 contender. I will admit, I am not the biggest fan of the Miz. With that said, he has done probably his best work with this run. He is coming off a cocky person who has the belt and the girl. I see Miz retaining here and his reign that has gone over 110 days will go on.
Match result: The Miz retains the IC title
Becky Lynch vs. Natayla
This has been built badly. There has been no built or anything for this match. They had a few fights outside of the ring since Money in the Bank, but nothing that would excite a WWE fan for their match. I however, see Becky Lynch going over and getting the win.
Match Result: Becky Lynch wins
John Cena, Enzo Amore and Big Cass vs. The Club ( AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson)
John Cena and AJ Styles had a great match at Money in the Bank. In the weeks since they had their match, The Club have been having their number with Cena as they have been outnumbering him 3-1. Then Enzo and Cass ended up joining Cena and made it a fair match. If past WWE booking shows how WWE books John Cena, I see his team grabbing the win. However, I don’t see AJ getting the lost, watch for either Karl Anderson or Luke Gallows getting pinned. This is to make AJ look strong and give him some credibility going into their inevitable 3rd match in this feud at Summerslam.
Match Result: John Cena, Enzo Amore and Big Cass get the win
Charlotte & Dana Brooke vs. Sasha Banks & TBD
The rumor mill has been saying that the rumored partner for Sasha is everyone from Nikki Bella who was recently cleared to return to Bayley. However, there are reports coming out that Bayley is penciled to finally get called up in the fall. I see the two most likely partners for Sasha Banks are Nikki Bella or Paige. It would make sense for one reason, both Nikki and Paige have unfinished business with Charlotte. I see Sasha and her partner getting the win because of a screw up from Dana Brooke. We are heading towards a Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte match for the Woman’s title at Summerslam.
Match Result: Sasha Banks and her mystery partner get the win
Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose ( Champion) in a triple threat match for the WWE Championship
This has probably the biggest reason why Battleground is not being looked at as a complete throwaway. Roman Reigns is making his return to TV after being out on suspension for violating the WWE wellness policy. This has been a match that has been in the making for the last two years and could main event any of the WWE pay-per-views. If the “experts” are right, then expect Seth Rollins to get the win because it is being rumored that Rollins and Reigns will have a match for the title at Summerslam. I don’t think this will be the last time that Dean Ambrose holds the title, but one thing that has been seen in wrestling from time to time is wrestlers who are gimmicky end up getting short reigns with the belt.
Match Result: Seth Rollins wins the WWE title
Overall, I don’t expect anything major to happen and if anything I am expecting this to be a lackluster type of show. I see Owens/Zayn, the Main Event, or the woman’s tag match being the best matches on the card and any of those three could be the match of the night. It all goes down July 24th live from the Verizon Center in Washington DC and live on the WWE network starting at 7 pm/ 6pm central with the preshow.