Battleground 2014

Battleground 2014 Review




The Usos vs The Wyatt Family : 2/3 Falls
The Tag Titles are on the line. I enjoyed their match at the Money in the Bank show and when I heard that this was 2/3 Falls I really couldn't wait. After the first two falls were over with, the match was going quite well, but my god that third fall was off the freaking charts. There were so many crazy nearfalls where it looked as if it was over and it just carried on. I had no idea who was going to win and that just made it all the more exciting. There were some nice spots too; Harper's suicide dive is always awesome to see, Rowan's double superplex looked cool, and the double splash at the finish was a great way to end this war. A MOTYC for sure and I think the show may have already been stolen. A modern tag classic. ****1/2



One match in and this show is already better than last year's.



Seth Rollins against Dean Ambrose is about to take place when Dean attacks Seth backstage. HHH kicks him out of the arena and the match isn't taking place. It better freaking take place or I'm gonna be one unhappy wrestling fan.



AJ Lee vs Paige
The Divas Title is on the line. I was looking forward to this one since these are the only interesting divas on the roster. The match wasn't bad at all. There were a few sloppy moments like the sunset powerbomb from the second rope but the finish was still exciting with both ladies going for their signature moves and failing to get the win. Hopefully they're holding back for a rematch at Summerslam which seems to be inevitable with the story they're telling. **1/4



Jack Swagger vs Rusev
Hey Swagger works well as a face. Who knew? I've been looking forward to this one since their first confrontation on Raw. The match was pretty good with Rusev beating Swagger down most of the match, only for Swagger to come back and almost defeat the Bulgarian Brute. I think the countout finish was fine as both guys are kept strong and it sets up a potential rematch in the future. A pretty good match overall. **1/2



After the match Rusev crushes Swagger. Oh yeah there's got to be a rematch after this and I'm looking forward to it.



Stardust and Goldust are awesome. Case closed.



Seth Rollins comes out to be announced as the winner of his match via forfeit and to have his hand raised. But Ambrose returns to ambush Rollins and we've got a brawl on our hands. They fight through the crowd and come back to the ring area to fight some more. Ambrose is taken away by security by he frees himself and then launches himself right at Rollins. Now HHH is here to sort things out. Ambrose is taken away by security again and this time Rollins attacks. This is an awesome brawl and will be worth it if we don't get the match later on. Looks like another Summerslam match is in the works.



Bray Wyatt vs Chris Jericho
I'm not sure what the story is with this feud but damn that video package was awesome and made it look like an epic rivalry. Jericho showed no signs of any ring rust. Every time he comes back he always seems to be better than ever. There was one botch but it wasn't a big deal. Bray was his usual awesome self as he constantly taunted Y2J and gave us his creepy spider walk. I was really surprised that Jericho got the victory but I guess that means that the feud continues. Wyatt's stock has been falling for a while though. I did enjoy the match even if the crowd wasn't that into it. Wyatt looked good up until the abrupt finish. ***1/4



Outside in the car park Ambrose assaults Rollins once again. I cannot freaking wait until the Summerslam match between these two. Rollins manages to get in his car and speed away from Ambrose. This feud has been well built and it may be the most hyped match going into Summerslam. I guess a cash in is out of the question then?



Intercontinental Championship Battle Royal
It was awesome to have Bad News Barrett come out to give us some bad news. There have been a few different predictions on who was going to come out as the champ with guys like Sheamus and Cesaro being the favourites. I personally wanted Bo Dallas to win because I Bo-Lieved in him. Also why does Heath Slater still have his 3MB music? That seems a little cruel. Can Sandow stop wearing goofy clothes as well please? The action between Cesaro and Kingston was awesome and a nice continuation of their feud, and I have no idea how Kofi keeps coming up with these amazing spots in over the top rope matches. This was a ton of fun and I was on my feet by the time it came down to Sheamus and Ziggler. I marked out when Ziggler eliminated Sheamus and had completely forgotten about the goddamn Miz. That bastard! Still a match that delivered beyond expectations. ***1/2


I guess this sets up either some sort of unification match between Sheamus and Miz or Ziggler taking on Miz at Summerslam.



Flo Rida will be performing on Raw tomorrow night. Yay?


There's still 35 minutes left of the show so this is either gonna feel way too long or it'll use that time well.



John Cena vs Roman Reigns vs Randy Orton vs Kane
The WWE Title is on the line. It was pretty much a forgone conclusion that Cena was leaving as the Champion seeing as his match with Lesnar at Summerslam has been advertised for a month now. This started quite slowly but became more interesting once Orton and Kane turned on each other. Seeing Reigns and Cena finally fighting one on one was awesome with the crowd behind Reigns. It should be noted that Reigns looked like a freaking beast here. Even with Cena being the obvious winner this was still a great match that kept things exciting the whole way through and was so much better than I was expecting. There were even moments where I thought Reigns may have won. All four guys performed brilliantly and gave us the best match they possibly could. A terrific way for the show to end. ****



What no Lesnar? Bummer.



8/10. Last year's Battleground can kiss this Battleground's ass! What a great show this was to continue a run of great shows for the company. The great thing is that there was nothing bad at all to be found. Sure it was a little disappointing that Rollins and Ambrose didn't have their match, but their brawls left us wanting more and that's exactly how we should feel about it. The Tag Match was the best I've seen since The Shield and The Wyatts at Elimination Chamber, the divas match was solid, Rusev and Swagger had a nice battle, Wyatt and Jericho performed well, the Battle Royal was one of the best I've seen from the match and the main event delivered beyond expectations and gave us a fun  match.


All in all a terrific show that helps to set up what might be one of the greatest Summerslam's of all time. A highly recommended show that you should watch as soon as possible if you haven't already.