WWE Battleground - Predictions and Ramblings

No need to get bent out of shape, WWE fans. I got my WWE Battleground
predictions right here.

I know I haven't been up to speed on writing a lot lately, but I intend to remedy that.

**PreShow**
Singles Match
Cameron vs Naomi

Naomi is obviously the better athlete in the ring, but I feel like that Cameron is going to sneak by with a cheap win just to keep her relevant. Much like Summer Rae and Layla's feud from the last few months and a LOT of matches on this card that will more likely carry over into Summerslam, I doubt this is going to be a one-and-done affair.

With this being the ONLY match on the preshow card, I expect that Cameron and Naomi will have a quite a  bit of time to work with to showcase both of their abilities - Naomi with her ringwork and Cameron with her heel antics.

Singles Match
Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins

I'm sure this highly-anticipated match is going to live up to the hype, but I think this is going to be a straight-up brawl from one end of the arena to the next before even getting into the ring at all. We'll probably see The Fonz get the win here, only for Rollins to attempt to cash in Money in the Bank on Cena later tonight and fail before continuing this feud throughout the remainder of the year.

Singles Match
Chris Jericho vs Bray Wyatt

I think this match will end up being the surprise hit of the evening, with the fact that there's been very little hype nor build towards this match outside of Bray's redundant promos and gang-up attacks by the Wyatt Family. I see this being like Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt from earlier this year and will serve as another reason why Bray Wyatt is a guy that WWE should have NO doubt placing into the main event scene.

I honestly don't see Jericho gaining no momentum at all here. Bray Wyatt has everything to gain here. Between this match and the one later on the card, I say this is the night for the Wyatt Family. A follow-up rematch at Summerslam would do this feud some generous favors.

Singles Match
Rusev vs Jack Swagger

There's talks floating around saying that this might switch up into a Tables Match, but either way this should be interesting to say the least. About time that Swagger has a good feud going where it doesn't look like he's going to lose miserably while at the same time, Rusev doesn't look like he's going to automatically have yet another squash match win underneath his belt.

It's going to be something else to see how WWE adjusts this feud after the real life dynamic of the Mayalasian plane crash incident and Russia's involvement in that tradegy. I would hate to see Rusev and Lana lose their push just because the networks get on WWE and force their gimmick into the same position that saw Muhammad Hassan and Daivari back during his premiere feud against The Undertaker.

WWE Divas Championship Match
(C)AJ Lee vs Paige

I personally feel like WWE hasn't propelled this feud and marketed it as strongly as they should have. Much to the fans of both AJ and Paige, I want to be proven wrong and see this as a feud I want to care about. I do applaud WWE that they are continuing to have multiple ongoing Diva-centric storylines, despite the fact that AJ Lee has returned. Like I had to correct some AJ marks earlier this week, you can't throw that excuse about "Divas don't have enough time on TV" when WWE is obviously running four Diva-themed angles right now, so they have the TIME. It's just that WWE hasn't put the effort nor passion behind this feud at all.

Paige: "I'm hugging you right now because you are DEAD
to me at Battleground..."

This is the time where that "Best Frienemies" crap comes to an end. The second that bell rings, Paige is going go ballistic on AJ. I see this as the typical AJ Lee title defense - she gets beat on for the entirety of it, selling like a ragdoll before half-assing applying her own submission and winning with the Black Widow to retain. I think WWE will use this match to show off a more offensive-heavy Paige - one that many of her fans who followed her on NXT will be more eager to get behind.

WWE Intercontinental Championship - Battle Royal Match
Diego vs Sin Cara vs Titus O'Neil vs Zack Ryder vs Heath Slater vs The Miz vs R-Truth vs Xavier Woods vs Rob Van Dam vs Alberto Del Rio vs Fandango vs Ryback vs Curtis Axel vs Big E vs Dolph Ziggler vs Cesaro vs Bo Dallas vs Sheamus vs Kofi Kingston vs The Great Khali

Why the fuck is half of Los Matadores in this? If they were going to do that, then toss Hornswoggle and El Torito in there instead! Whatever... Let's analyze this logically, shall we? According to who's who in terms of jobbers, guys in mid-card hell, and guys who WWE refuse to push, you can guarantee The Great Khali, Kofi Kingston, Curtis Axel, Ryback, Xavier Woods, R-Truth, Titus O'Neil, Zack Ryder (laughs hysterically), Heath Slater, Diego, Fandango, and Dolph Ziggler aren't going to win this. That leaves Cesaro, Bo Dallas, Alberto Del Rio, Rob Van Dam, Sin Cara, Sheamus, and The Miz left as the remaining possible options.

As much as I would LOVE to see Ziggler get a credible/noteworthy win underneath his belt right now, I doubt WWE is going to simply brush his ongoing feud with Fandango underneath the rug while Summer Rae and Layla are still rubbing it in Fandango's face on Smackdown! that they left him for Ziggler. 

Sheamus is already United States Champion, but that would be a crazy twist to have him win BOTH titles and finally unify those two mid-card titles. We can thank Dean Ambrose for fueling the idea that the US title doesn't need to defended at all... You'd have to be high to think RVD would win this (See what I did there?) and Sin Cara has just as much of a chance of the rest of the guys in the jobbers/mid-card hell/no-push crew, but you'd never know, WWE might reward Hunico for his hard work as the current Sin Cara. Stranger things have happened. Alberto Del Rio could use the win to stay relevant, but isn't he still on his way out of the company sooner more than later? Cesaro was Heyman-less at this week's Monday Night RAW, leading everyone to speculate that Heyman is ready and poised to bring Brock Lesnar back into the fold while Cesaro is set to turn babyface - just like how everyone wanted in the first place after he won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Winning the IC title here won't do him any favors as he's already over and people tend to forget why championships like this exist in professional wrestling: "they exist to get people over who couldn't otherwise." The Miz hasn't done anything notable since his return was upstaged by Chris Jericho's own return, but he has managed to keep things interesting in the ring as of late with his feud with Sheamus. WWE possibly plans on having The Miz beat Sheamus for the US title sometime down the road, so there's no point of him winning the IC title here. Bo Dallas is still on his winning streak since debuting on the main roster from NXT and a title win here could repair his tarnished pride after losing the NXT Championship. 

If I were to put money on anyone in this, it would be on Bo Dallas to walk out of Battleground as the new IC champion.

WWE Tag Team Championship - 2 out of 3 Falls Match
(C)The Usos vs Erick Rowan & Luke Harper

I will be VERY surprised if Rowan and Harper don't win the Tag Titles here. The Usos have managed to dodge the bullets all the way up until now, but in a 2 out of 3 Falls Match, the Usos can lose but still manage to look good in the process. At this stage, I see the Usos and Wyatts feuding like Impact Wrestling's own Beer Money and Motor City Machineguns for duration of the year, exchanging the titles back and forth in a series of high impact bouts into Wrestlemania season.

If I'm perfectly honest, this is my most anticipated match on the entire card because WWE is finally starting to care about the tag team division on the main roster. Otherwise, we wouldn't see them in a high-profile match such as this.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Fatal 4 Way Match
(C)John Cena vs Roman Reigns vs Randy Orton vs Kane

You would have to be stupid to bet on anyone but John Cena here, especially after the posters for Summerslam were leaked, featuring John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar being advertised. Cena will do his typical same song and dance, overcoming everyone's biggest guns to retain the title. We're guaranteed to get another failed cash-in from Seth Rollins as well, only for Dean Ambrose to ruin it before Brock Lesnar makes his highly-anticipated return and lays out Cena to end the event to set the stage for Summerslam.

Kane has be on a downward spiral ever since his lackluster feud with Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton has been struggling to stay relevant after Evolution has dissolved. There's not a shadow of a doubt in my mind that the Authority's two goons in this match have a chance of leaving with the gold. If I were to guess, I think Kane and Orton will have a falling out in this match that will lead to the duo facing one-on-one at Summerslam. Alternatively, they could end up facing Roman Reigns to continue his babyface push in a 2-on-1 handicap match. 

I'm sure we are going to get the usual display of power from Roman Reigns as well, but it's a bit premature to strap him with the gold at this point.