WWE Battleground 2017: A Night Full Of Upsets

“I have been reading your stuff on 411mania and nodq.com for the longest time now and I have never felt inclined to email in. The general consensus of you not being most popular is harsh at times but also can be well-founded too. But I still read your stuff because I do enjoy your articles and find your perspective interesting most of the time.

That said, your article about your friend Megan and trip to Wrestlemnaia was the greatest thing you have ever wrote. Forget about the predictions you brag about getting right. This is your crowning piece. Maybe it is because I can relate as going to Wrestlemania is my ultimate dream and it will be happening next year. But I genuinely loved your article.

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Backstory

With WWE Battleground 2017 fast approaching, I thought it would be a fun idea to look at the pay-per-view in upside fashion. Rather than telling you all about my real predictions and why the favorites will win, let’s do the opposite…

Upsets Galore

Randy Orton wins back the WWE Championship – Okay, the Jinder Mahal experiment has not exactly yielded instant results. Minus business numbers booming overseas or any other mysterious figures adding to the bottom line, not much has changed on the surface. Television ratings tanked for a few weeks before kinda/sorta rebounding a bit with John Cena, AJ Styles, and others getting back into a prime spot. Orton is somebody people know, respect, and is a legitimate main event star in any promotion. Plus, it keeps the theme going of a face winning every Punjabi Prison match. If the goal is to pass the title over to Baron Corbin, it would be best for a face to hold the gold. Not a heel. Sorry Jinder, it was fun while it lasted.

Rusev upsets John Cena in a Flag Match – Alright, the good guys usually win flag matches. History tells us it creates a happy moment lets the audience feel good about American pride. Easy to do and a basic formula used for decades and decades. Except this is not one of those situations. Rusev is somebody who should be thriving after the Superstar Shakeup. The blue brand is in need of a guy like Rusev to step up to the plate. With Cena now being firmly in the part-time position, him winning on PPV only makes sense in certain scenarios. If you go back and look at Cena at Mania the past few years, you know he is more than comfortable working in the middle of the card. Much less losing at other events. AJ Styles, Bray Wyatt, and even Dean Ambrose can all talk about recent clean victories over the 16-time WWE World Champion. Cena loses via screwjob and heads to Raw thanks to his free agent status for a big Summerslam showdown. No harm done to him but with a boost to Rusev!

Kevin Owens reclaims the United States Championship over AJ Styles – Kevin Owens has held gold more often than not. Including NXT as well. The man just attracts title belts. Funny he has been handed a ton upon debuting by a buddy behind the scenes (Triple H) but doesn’t get ripped on. Yet, somebody who didn’t spend years on the independent scene gets bashed for the exact same thing. Gotta love it. Either way, AJ Styles winning the U.S. Title at Madison Square Garden made for a cool moment, but where do we go now? The open challenge idea is genius and will surely make for many big battles. Yet, it almost feels more fitting for that to be Owens. Injured or not, he is still there every week with fans begging for somebody to show up and defeat him. You know, considering how he showed up on RAW to confront John Cena back in 2015. The United States Championship has bounced around a bit (remember Chris Jericho in April?), so it would not be surprising for yet another flip flop at Battleground.

The New Day become tag team champions – Since I was one of the first to accurately write about the downfall of The New Day act, it has been troubling to watch them on television. Very uncool. Stale and even a move to Tuesday nights has not helped. The Usos beat them in the rap battle and have improved leaps and bound in the past year. Them on Talking Smack is far more entertaining than Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods making little inside jokes under their breath nobody understands. Despite all that, The New Day sell merchandise and somewhat get that ‘pop’ every night from the fans. Like it or not, another tag title run for the trio could be coming on Sunday which would stink. It’s a new day, no it isn’t…

Baron Corbin defeats Shinsuke Nakamura – Unlike others, I have not been that negative on Nakamura since arriving in WWE three months ago. He was the special attraction for Smackdown LIVE. The fan favorite who rarely loses but is very charismatic, so he can get away with doing very little. Less is more, right? I’m not sure he is being groomed for the WWE Championship anytime soon nor is a heel turn in the cards. Maybe ever. The guy is simply going to do his thing and provide ‘dream match’ bouts when applicable. A loss to Baron Corbin might seem shocking on the surface. However, the former NFL player does hold the Money in the Bank and is indeed being groomed for a WWE Championship shot soon. Since the blue brand is the one that gets all the praise for elevating new talent, you tell me which result makes more logical sense.

Tamina Snuka over Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Natalya and Lana – Smart money is on Charlotte. The fan favorite pick is always going to be Becky. The sentimental female is Nattie nine times out of ten. Then there is Lana – who just lost three straight to the Smackdown LIVE Womens Champion in about 30 seconds. All of those four will have their fans cheering them on this weekend…but that is not the ultimate winner. Nope. Tamina Snuka wins the fatal five away elimination bout and challenges Naomi at Summerslam for all the marbles. Why you ask? Because this is the land of opportunity. In a world where Carmella and James Ellsworthless can get air time in between Jinder Mahal as WWE Champion, what does it really matter? Anybody can get screen time on Smackdown in 2017.

SUMMARY: There you have it folks. A night full of upsets at Battleground! Wrestling is best when it is unpredictable, right?

NRW: The Match

This is it folks. After years of talk and months of planning, the return finally happened. On Saturday, June 17th, a great group of guys and gals gathered for a grand return to the squared circle. There is a nice article detailing the backstory of these events here (https://noahwatry.tv/2017/07/09/the-lessons-of-backyard-wrestling-wwe-superstar-hopes-and-dreams-of-flying/) to set the stage. Please read that and then when ready, enjoy the 15 minute spectacle! Any and all feedback is welcome. We all put a ton of time, effort, and money into making this reunion possible, so it is with pleasure I present to you No Rulez Wrestling…

Cheap Plugs

I went to Orlando, Florida for my first ever WrestleMania earlier in the year. I participated in the return of NRW a few weeks ago. Next up for my epic 2017:

My next venture for 2017 confirmed a few hours ago… #itshappening #itsreal pic.twitter.com/6t9H8V09p9

— Justin Watry (@JustinWatry) July 6, 2017

Follow: @JustinWatry

Email: [email protected]

Thanks.