Views From The Turnbuckle: Battleground Preview, Is This Really A PPV Or Just An Episode Of RAW?

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinions of WrestlingInc or its staff

Ever since WWE launched the WWE Network, the idea of every PPV being a major show has slowly been dissipating. With the re-introduction of the brand split, new events are going to be brand exclusive, so as of today the world championship would not even be defended on each show. Battleground, the last official event to be held under the old roster construction, demonstrates this shift in major event promotion more than ever. With the exception of a couple of world championship matches, Battleground is being promoted heavily as a filler PPV waiting for SummerSlam. Three parts of the PPV, two matches and an interview segment, are major indicators that many of the “B” PPVs are no-more must-see than an episode of RAW or SmackDown. John Cena vs AJ Styles has been a major feud for WWE, heavily promoted on both shows and outside of the WWE Championship match, the most important rivalry in the company. Styles got a victory over Cena at Money in the Bank thanks to interference by The Club. Normal WWE logic would indicate that Cena is going to get his victory back, and in the past that match would happen at Battleground which would set up a major grudge match at SummerSlam. Now, since PPV’s (or as WWE likes to call them, Network Events) are not nearly as important, Battleground will not host a Cena vs Styles singles match. Instead, we get a multi-man tag match with Cena teaming up with Enzo and Cass to take on The Club, which is match that really belongs on an episode of RAW.I don’t hate the idea of Enzo and Cass teaming up with Cena and feuding with The Club. It takes the two teams and puts them in the spotlight without having them directly involved with the tag team champions, The New Day, allowing WWE to have two important tag team feuds at the same time, which is healthy for the division. The problem is that the multi-man tag match is such a far step down from a Styles vs Cena singles match it is pretty hard to get that excited about the tag team match. Unless Styles pins Cena clean (highly unlikely) nothing really important can come from the finish of this match; it is just going to be there as WWE tries to kill time until SummerSlam.The same can be said for the Women’s Championship, which will not be defended at Battleground. Instead, we will have another tag match, with Charlotte and Dana Brooke taking on Sasha Banks and a mystery partner. Like Cena vs Styles, Charlotte vs Banks is a match that fans really want to see, so WWE is going to kill sometime until SummerSlam, and event they feel actually matters, to have that match. Banks having a mystery partner does add a certain level of intrigue to the match, and if her partner ends up being Bayley or Asuka than the match will be memorable. However, wouldn’t it seem more likely that the mystery partner is going to be one of the recently promoted women from NXT? Alexa Bliss or Nia Jax or god forbid Eva Marie just got promoted and what better way to make them look legit than putting them in a tag team match with the champion and number one contender? Either way it makes the most sense for Banks to get a pinfall on Charlotte, since she has beaten Brooke multiple times recently. Randy Orton will be making his return to WWE television, doing an interview segment with Chris Jericho. Again, this seems like something that would be better suited for RAW and not a PPV, but alas here they are. Jericho has been terrific as a heel and he will get the most out …

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