WWE Battleground 2017: Land Of Opportunity Burns To The Ground

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“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.

Thank you for the great stuff.”

Backstory

This will be my WWE Battleground 2017 review. Last chance to leave a comment for the month of July before my next reader feedback edition! Get your opinions/questions in now.

WWE Battleground 2017

– Truth be told, I didn’t care for much of the build. John Cena and Rusev was thrown together just to get them involved after being off television for months. The Jinder Mahal/Randy Orton thing is beyond overdone at this point. The under card had promise with Baron Corbin vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens, and other bouts, but nothing jumped off the page. The talent is definitely there, so I was more than interested to see if the company could pull off a great show with such a weak leadup.

– Kickoff show featured a whole lot of talking and Aiden English defeating Tye Dillinger. I think I am supposed to care about Mr. 10 losing, but I barely blinked when it happened. No reaction whatsoever. Both are set in their roles for awhile (lovable loser versus lower card comedy heel); there was no real upside to either result. Obviously, I would have preferred Tye winning, but I watched enough NXT to know what to expect from him. The beat goes on.

"Love is grand. Divorce is a hundred grand." – @JerryLawler

Words to live by. #WWEBattleground

— Justin Watry (@JustinWatry) July 23, 2017

– The event starts with The Usos against The New Day for the Smackdown Tag Team Titles. An outstanding match, a very entertaining way to begin the pay-per-view portion of the evening. Sadly, WWE did just as I feared. They went back to The Old Day. Yester Day. After The Usos have been crushing it for months on end, The New Day arrive after the Superstar Shakeup, completely fail in being interesting on the blue brand, lose a rap battle that was designed for them to win, and then they get the tag belts. No surprise. It is a bad move no doubt. However, par the course for the tag division on Smackdown. Has not been a fun ride at all. Heath Slater and Rhyno seem like main eventers in my mind compared to dealing with another year of The New Day act dominating. At least Xavier Woods actually got in the ring…yay? Let’s just forget this entire thing and enjoy Brock Lesnar giving an F-5 to a shark.

– Shinsuke Nakamura over Baron Corbin via disqualification. A straight low blow in front of the referee. Yeah, that is a DQ I’d say. The match was solid enough, but it never got going. Pretty clear WWE didn’t want Corbin or Nakamura to lose. Like I always say, one funky finish per show is acceptable if done right. This situation fit that. Both guys have bigger plans for the rest of 2017 and 2018. Don’t worry.

– Now, the fatal five way elimination match for a shot at Naomi’s Womens Title was interesting. I actually was intrigued by what was going to happen heading into the weekend. Lana wasn’t going to win. Tamina Snuka wasn’t going to win. Heck, I even had Nattie as a for sure elimination. Same with Becky Lynch. My pick was Charlotte by a mile…but that was before. I’m actually cool with Natalya winning and facing Naomi at Summerslam for the championship for a few reasons. First, it is something kinda/sorta new. Always a way to turn heads. Secondly, Charlotte is appearing to tease a showdown with Ronda Rousey. No reason to add the title in the mix. Then there is the Carmella factor. Naomi will need to beat up a heel or two until Mr. James Ellsworthless returns and we get the Money in the Bank cash-in. Nattie works well in that role. Also gives the company an excuse to mention all of her PPV appearances over the years building up Summerslam. Womens Revolution remember? Not perfect by any means but good stuff.

– Kevin Owens over AJ Styles. Huh. More gold for Mr. KO in WWE. The guy just seems to keep racking up title victories. Wonder if his fans will cry about politics? *checks Google* Nope, he was on the independent scene before being signed. Never mind, he is in the clear of any criticism. The AJ Styles United States Title win at a Madison Square Garden live event always felt more like a “moment” than anything more substantial. Good for him and a cool head nod to his career…but it came and went in a flash. Back to Owens and more hot potato with the U.S. Championship. The match was fine, until we got the confusing, weird, strange, out of nowhere finish. Controversial enough to where the fallout on Tuesday might be worth a rematch or even decision reversal. Time will tell what exactly happened here. Like a lot on the blue brand though, I am more than ready for a different story line surrounding these guys. Summerslam deserves way more than another Styles/Owens clash.

– Flag Match between John Cena and Rusev? This is the epitome of “let’s get Cena an easy victory over a quality heel to ease him back onto TV.” I don’t care to watch Cena beat Rusev in 2017. The man is indeed an all-timer, but he is still a part-timer. Give me a Roman Reigns battle, a classic with Nakamura, a dream match versus Samoa Joe, etc. Not whipping around Rusev in his sleep. Take full advantage of the rare time you have left. For WWE and Cena. Don’t keep waiting for Mania or Summerslam or whatever. We ‘waited’ so long on that big money match against The Undertaker, and it ended up never happening. You can’t be THAT patient because then you miss the opportunity and regret it forever. Get Cena in the mix with top stars immediately. The time is now.

– More from Fandango and Tyler Breeze. No reveal as we were promised. Can we get to the point already? I counted two funny segments from these guys the past several weeks. Two! The rest were a mess. Just reveal the culprits.

– Sami Zayn over Mike Kanellis. Oh boy. Not a good way to establish the newcomer as a viable threat. I suppose being with Maria and all about the Power Of Love was a big hint that WWE is not going to take the act seriously anyways. This loss confirms it. Mildly disappoint but yeah, you can only do so much with that kind of character. Hopefully, he (and his wife) snap out of it and show a mean streak after a string of losses. Probably being too optimistic though.

– Okay, the Punjabi Prison match. Lots of thoughts here. First off, let’s wait another decade until the gimmick returns. It was fun and a cool selling point for random July PPV but no. None of it really works, and I don’t think it is super impressive like WWE tries to tell us. Secondly, Jinder Mahal retaining was the right and only option. No complaints there. Thirdly, it takes A LOT for a Philadelphia crowd to lose interest in a wrestling show. The fact that this main event fell flat in PHILLY says a lot. Kudos to Roman Reigns for speaking up on it. Fourthly, it was the worst kept secret during the past week that The Great Khali was returning. The company did their best to keep it under wraps; word got out Sunday. Oh well, dang social media! Khali at an airport is news everywhere!!! My guess is he will be a short-term guy to take an RKO at Summerslam, and that’s it. As for the actual bell to bell, meh. Over the top rules, over the top action, over the top view for fans watching (ha!), over the top everything. Once a decade makes sense now. Just doesn’t create a good environment for viewers trying to enjoy a WWE PPV. last but not least, the biggest moment was the giant fall through the ringside table. Goodness gracious! I praise the spot…but can we stop throwing these poor guys around? They are going to be seriously injured at some point. The crowd pop is not worth breaking your break. Scary stuff. Sadly, also the lone highlight from the main event.

SUMMARY: Not as bad as some claim. At the same time, definitely the worst WWE PPV of the year. The Great Khali is crushing it on Youtube views right now, and I admit I smiled when he came out to make his entrance. The dude can barely move, but he is a future WWE Hall of Famer – something I have claimed for years now. He WILL be inducted one day ladies and gentlemen. Smackdown LIVE has been hurting for awhile now; the show finally brought all that to light. If the company is really feeling froggy, there will be another Superstar ShakeUp in the Fall. I know, I know. Way too soon. Well, that is what happens when The Land Of Opportunity becomes more of a punchline than a chance for talented stars to shine.

NRW: The Match

My goal was to hit over 1,000 views. Counting Youtbe and Facebook, we hit that mark within a week. Thanks to all of you who commented and/or watched. Even if YOU may not care one bit, it means a lot to us. Much appreciated.

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Next project in 2017 is coming soon:

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— Justin Watry (@JustinWatry) July 6, 2017

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