WWE Battleground 2016

WWE Battleground 

WWE presented what was built as its post Draft Pay Per View nostalgia with all the trimmings, but would that mean a successful run of a C run event? Leading to one the then A class, Big 4 build ups, could WWE build on that momentum? Would it be able to structure the new scene in WWE with the Raw and Smackdown rebrands? Could it really develop new feuds or was it another repeat of Raw that has so badly been dwindling in the ratings over recent  years?

Let's find out..

Live on PPV from the Verizon Centre in Washington D.C, on Sunday July 24th, WWE presented its Battleground PPV.

Tag Team

Charlotte and Dana Brooke Vs Sasha Banks and Mystery Partner

Starting us off was the Diva Tag Battle with a mystery buzz surrounding it. Sasha Banks, as predicted recruited Bayley as her partner in crime to battle the freeloading Charlotte (given another night off defending the so called prestigious Women's title) and her plus one Dana Brooke. WWE cheated the draft to call her up this way. After all the buzz Bayley was keen but green in the ring and whilst the pair up against her were easy to shine among, did not stand out as the so called defining force of the NXT playground of developmental 'talent' there-within.

The match was boring, with a few jumpy, buzz factor moments but lacked any depth or being. It was simply a cheap option to call up a reserve to the big time. Sasha Banks was allowed to get some momentum, with the other two floundering. Albeit a very sloppy interaction covered by fandom. Time will be their biggest test. Sasha Banks and Bayley win.

Six Man Tag Team

Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman Vs The New Day

All three of the New Day were in action with the tag champs Kofi Kingston and Big E also granted record breaking days favour with non defence of titles.

The match of the six was choppy, blocky and unoriginal.

New Day joking around as Wyatt's

The only moment was Bray Wyatt's weird tantalisation of Xavier Woods in the upturned crab. The Wyatt Family's Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman and Erick Rowan won. Once again, no one cared. The Wyatt's are still on the road to nowhere and Strowman is departing for Raw with the other two to Smackdown.

United States Championship

Rusev (c) w/ Lana Vs Zack Ryder

Zack Ryder's Intercontinental rug pull from Wrestlemania and post Raw win/loss donation was relived briefly. However this time whopping boy Zack was granted the match and a respectable talent but dropped in a squash job for Rusev. To his credit once again, Rusev sold for his opponent like no other and made Zack Ryder more credible than before. Rusev has grown perfectly and is still lagging by WWE booking, but making exceptional growth to the development of the brand and gold. Their technical skirmish was challenging, entertaining and pleasantly well wrestled.

Sami Zayn Vs Kevin Owens

Once again the same old empty feud made on a whim and from Independent companies past rears its turtle head. Stinking the place out with his festing ignorance Owens once more failed to sell and was carried by his best buddy El Gener-cabbie-o! Zayn proved capable over his blockade of bulbous distress with technical, high whizzing action. Though it needs more than some "flippy sh*t" to excel fully.

It's another play on the best friends from the indies who are inseparable at doing their own thing and have no story or reason to be feuding. Fans don't want one either. Isn't it such a sad indictment that WWE hired two random and one highly useless thing that can't materialise that only drags the shows and ratings down? All through WWE's failed method of listening and running a business than HHH's ignorant fandom loving playground of useless playthings? How embarrassing that WWE has sunk to lower levels of TNA production standards.

There is nothing these two can do. Boring repeats and for those who aren't Indy darlings, why would they even give a hoot at some blob in a tee shirt? Fans really are disinterested harshly and WWE is completely oblivious every time. Sami Zayn won. 

Becky Lynch Vs Natalya

After a grudge match last month of these two from out of nowhere where Natalya's loss in a tag with Becky was enough to change wasn't really anything to behold. It was a standard women's match with diva match booking standards from WWE.

With lack of thought, care and passion, WWE didn't care about it at all. Natalya beat mild ignorant dabbler Becky Lynch. Though it did surpass the other female wasters, this was an empty feud lading nowhere. So why launch it WWE? Gotta fill the empty slots, right? ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz... 

Intercontinental Championship

Darren Young w/ Bob Backlund Vs The Miz w/ Maryse

With Smackdown's lack of titles, the main reason The Miz was drafted in requirement not request and a lack of stern opposition, the result of this was obvious. This one was all about toilet breaks and side attractions. The title couldn't be devalued any more than it already is.

The action was minimal and tepid. Even if you want to find something good to say, you cannot. They did they job. That was it. Nothing of interest. It ended in a double disqualification for The Miz and Darren Young. Miz keeps the title. Great paying action for fans.

Six Man Tag Team

John Cena and Enzo and Cass Vs AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson

Another repetitive piece of action from WWE, in six months, years or same night, the six man beckons.

Enzo is protected,
equipped with Super Nappy.

WWE, desperate to get Enzo 'I cannot take a bump right' Amore over, with the six foot emptiness in human mannequin Cass added to the national hero hated was so sad to see. Their opponents in AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl 'bookend' Anderson was another boring repeat that had no options etched in WWE's future and continues to cause multiple problems onward.

The match was all over the place, many botches, lack of action, stalled moments and charging lunacy that made a complete laughing stock of WWE again.

The hero of the world John Cena saved us all with a predictable win alongside Enzo and Cass. While their opponents did not deserve the win, neither did this poor version of Edge and Christian cock up. WWE are clueless on its creative decisions these days.

Randy Orton also made his long awaited return at Chris Jericho's latest edition of The Highlight Reel. It was pretty tame and empty but Orton was the star, as usual. He decked mouthy ignorant Jericho with a crisp RKO 'outta nowhere.' He hyped his returning match next month against WWE farmer and milk cartoon filler Brock Lesnar.

Lesnar has also managed to find the time outside of his three year, six figure million dollar deal with WWE to go back to the UFC for a one night fight event. Lesnar failed a performance enhancing drugs test but faced no fines or reprimand from UFC. Shame on UFC for being so desperate and dirty glamorising steroids.

So how exactly is WWE going to justify Summerslam's big match with an ignorant doper using steroids to beef up his body? WWE continue to allow its abusers to perform before suspending, which is also against its own rules. Charming.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship

Dean Ambrose (c) Vs Seth Rollins Vs Roman Reigns

Champ Champ Champ.

Chump Chump Chump.

WWE were riding all their hopes on this one to save its crumbling infrastructure.

The third man, now the first man, whom WWE thought was the second man to succeed the threesome formerly known as The Shield entered as champion.

Dean Ambrose would defend against former pals Seth Rollins, the number three to WWE, who became number one thanks to Max Waltham and Roman Reigns, the number one come second slipped into third.

Roman, who has just come back from his first suspension of 30 days for violating WWE's wellness policy using performance enhancing steroids under pressure from WWE at his WWE championship run wasn't going to mess up WWE's grand planning of nostalgia match up.

Abusers are often rewarded in WWE, especially with title matches. Further to the absurdity WWE egotist and regular hater of anyone better than him, Triple H humiliated Roman, forcing him to apologise individually to everyone in the lockeroom. Talk about bullying used as trying to be honourable. Triple H is always a two faced deceiver. Be A Star!

With Dean Ambrose lagging and typecast as a floating star than can't grow or be important, this was a crucial time for him to succeed. Seth Rollins gave him strong competition and Roman Reigns held up his end well with some powerful and well implemented moves for his repertoire. Fans were a little less caring to Reigns since his freebies from WWE making him the 'John Cena Mark II' title hogger.

Seth Rollins was the only choice. With high flying skills, sheer technique and classic wrestling style, he went toe to toe well with Ambrose and while their connection as a double and trio act was red hot, it couldn't justify one moderately hot match as great PPV.

When the chips are down to it, Dean Ambrose retained and defeated his cohorts Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns to complete Smackdown with the World Heavyweight Championship victory.

PPV Rating - 2/10

Men/Women of their matches - Sasha Banks, Bray Wyatt, Rusev, Natalya, Darren Young, Luke Gallows, Seth Rollins

Man/Woman of the PPV - Dean Ambrose

The skills and wrestling was decent, moderate but felt like a too long waiting anti climax led from a poorly integrated card.

Missing turtle poker.
Please locate to lavatory. 

Mediocre is not the word. It was abysmal. Dire. Pitiful. Shambolic.

This PPV was all filler but could not fill in the cracks WWE's leaky wall is providing. A gloss over or paint isn't going to change the damaged hub of all the action. Problems must be fixed, not sheened over.

Last month's PPV was low ranking and the three before it scored 1/10. It's completely embarrassing for WWE at this time and magnitude to push these disastrous choices.

Lack of creative ideas, people, on screen roles and writing interns filled with ignorant nepotism under Triple H's stained business management have and continue to cost WWE vividly. They still don't listen. What will it take before WWE loses everything it knows and holds dear to itself as a professional, entertaining and business model for success?

Ditched the mascara for a generic,
random look instead, with no impact.

Oh and by the time you read this, Raw's new re-brand after Battleground offered more delusion. Facepaint warrior and random unknown from sell out crowds of 200 people in NXT, Finn Balor made his debut. He got a title contendership match at Seth Rollins at Summerslam. It was a boring and hypeless, fandom moment which was a novelty act as it was Finn's birthday. How sad of WWE, being so interpersonal and pathetic that the don't even realise what they did to ruin the business side of things.

You aint Asuka...

Sasha Banks finally tried to seem important winning the Women's Championship at too late a time with a tepid victory that meant nothing to the injury prone flash in the pan.

After taking all the main titles in the draft, WWE announced a new title for Raw, as predicted. It will be called, no joke, the Universal Championship. Bwaaaahahahhaaahahahahaaaaa!!!!! How laughably pathetic is that?

After all of the five minutes of fame fandom noobs culture wears off and their NXT hardon's deflate WWE is once again in the same boat of turmoil that sees it without a paddle.

What a disaster.

Must dig deep to survive coming storms.

Wrestling is in decline over 2016 and the beyond does not look encouraging. Only Max Waltham has the answer and Vince McMahon and his pals at Titan Towers have no clue what to do. Stubborn failures and loose ideas wont strengthen anything. We've mentioned time and again that Triple H's ignorant hires, his NXT playground and hateful management style have done nothing but cripple the company's way forward. He and WWE have failed to listen.

Is WWE's future really some random ignorant guys jumping around, as pint sized nymph's or goofy guys with a bit of a tongue to get over the future? Are they going to excel and win big for WWE? More importantly, do WWE think they can and can they not see the errors in them?

The roster is short stacked as it is and old hiring jobbers to get the 'New Era' of people over in squash matches won't be the way. What legacy McMahon had and what he will leave behind, all to make Triple H's ego feel loved because he is an abusive hater of those who can, just to be awkward have proven one thing.  At this rate Triple H will be WWE's downfall. Anyone who thinks it will be safe out of McMahon's hands is deluded. Triple H hates more than McMahon does. His ignorance has proven such and if he doesn't change his ways (he has had too many over the last year alone) then WWE is really about to hit the skids.

The need to feel loved, yet harbours so much hate...

McMahon has really got to dig deep and re-find his balls. That means firing losers like Owens and NXT ignorance jobbers. It means hiring those who can succeed the company. It means stop taking liberties just to test waters. WWE is looking more bleaker than ever. All because McMahon can't keep his house in order. It makes him look bitter, senile and juvenile. Everything fans believe he has become. Everything this writer has always respected him over all else. McMahon's respect however has been disgraceful and nasty. Now his world is crumbling before him. Man up and save your business or continue to have your legacy in tatters forever. It's all going down the pan.

© Max Waltham 26th July 2016

All Rights Reserved