WWE Battleground 2016 PPV Review
Well, Smackdown actually had a good night. My birthday weekend, so thank you to Steve Khan for the play by play.
WWE Championship
Dean Ambrose
vs
Seth Rollins vs Roman Reigns
Mick Foley, Stephanie McMahon, Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan came out before the match to watch from ringside. Bryan shook Foley’s hand, but ignored Stephanie. Reigns has a full beard. He got booed. Ambrose came out last. The match is starting at 10:55 PM ET.
There was a big pop when Rollins and Ambrose worked together to take out Reigns. Ambrose gave Reigns a suicide dive and Rollins followed with a flip dive, also on Reigns. Rollins and Ambrose then gave Reigns an assisted powerbomb through the Spanish announce table.
Crowd popped, but Rollins then grabbed a chair and cracked Ambrose on the back, reminiscent of when he turned on the Shield. He gave Reigns a shot as well. Rollins tried a buckle bomb on Ambrose but Ambrose countered with a hurricanrana. Rollins came back with a superplex and falcon arrow for a near fall. Reigns came back in and gave both guys powerbombs.
Rollins gave Reigns a Pedigree but he kicked out. Reigns took a buckle bomb, but came back immediately with a superman punch and spear. He went for a cover, but Ambrose grabbed him and hit a Dirty Deeds on Reigns for the win. Huge pop.
Shane and Bryan celebrated with Ambrose. The SmackDown roster came out to celebrate as well. The Usos put Ambrose on their shoulders.
There was a big pop when Rollins and Ambrose worked together to take out Reigns. Ambrose gave Reigns a suicide dive and Rollins followed with a flip dive, also on Reigns. Rollins and Ambrose then gave Reigns an assisted powerbomb through the Spanish announce table.
Crowd popped, but Rollins then grabbed a chair and cracked Ambrose on the back, reminiscent of when he turned on the Shield. He gave Reigns a shot as well. Rollins tried a buckle bomb on Ambrose but Ambrose countered with a hurricanrana. Rollins came back with a superplex and falcon arrow for a near fall. Reigns came back in and gave both guys powerbombs.
Rollins gave Reigns a Pedigree but he kicked out. Reigns took a buckle bomb, but came back immediately with a superman punch and spear. He went for a cover, but Ambrose grabbed him and hit a Dirty Deeds on Reigns for the win. Huge pop.
Shane and Bryan celebrated with Ambrose. The SmackDown roster came out to celebrate as well. The Usos put Ambrose on their shoulders.
John Cena, Enzo & Big Cass
vs
AJ Styles, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
Crowd is super into Enzo (and Cass). Enzo had advice for the Club, including: never make contact with anyone while you’re eating a banana. Cass was better than usual. He called Styles a soccer mom, and advised him to pick up his boys and drop them off at Raw before heading to SmackDown, and called them soft. The Club have new t-shirts.
Cena had Styles pinned with an AA, but Anderson broke it up, and gave Cena a spinebuster on the announce table (which didn’t break). Enzo then gave Anderson a jumping DDT on the mats outside the ring.
AJ hit Cena with the Styles Clash, but Cass broke it up and killed AJ with a big boot. Gallows and Anderson followed with a magic killer on Cass. With the ring clear, Cena gave Styles an AA off the top for the pinfall win. Fun match that went about 15 minutes.
Cena had Styles pinned with an AA, but Anderson broke it up, and gave Cena a spinebuster on the announce table (which didn’t break). Enzo then gave Anderson a jumping DDT on the mats outside the ring.
AJ hit Cena with the Styles Clash, but Cass broke it up and killed AJ with a big boot. Gallows and Anderson followed with a magic killer on Cass. With the ring clear, Cena gave Styles an AA off the top for the pinfall win. Fun match that went about 15 minutes.
Intercontinental Championship:
The Miz (w/Maryse)
vs
Darren Young (w/Bob Backlund)
Maryse slapped Backlund and he took a hilarious bump. Maryse then fell down and blamed it on Backlund, so Miz pushed him down. Young applied the crossface chicken wing on Miz outside the ring and the referee called the bell for some reason.
Natalya vs Becky Lynch
Natalya won in 9 minutes with the Sharpshooter. She worked the leg over most of the match, and Lynch could never quite apply the Disarmer. Good match, but it was tough to follow the previous one.
Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens
Zayn tried springboard moonsault to the outside, but slipped and landed on his shoulder on the apron. He started selling it immediately, and Owens started working it over. The announcers referenced Zayn’s past shoulder injury, but Zayn was able to hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a near fall.
Owens followed with a superkick for two, followed by a crossface, but Zayn got to the rope. Zayn hit a vertical suplex/brainbuster onto the apron, which was nuts. “This is awesome” chants. Owens hit a cannonball and frog splash for a near fall.
Zayn blocked a powerbomb attempt and hit a tornado DDT and half nelson suplex for a close near fall. Owens followed with a pop-up powerbomb but Zayn just barely got his foot on the rope.
A frustrated Owens began slapping Zayn in the face, which just fired him up. Zayn hit two more exploders, followed by a Helluva kick. Zayn put him back in the corner and hit another Helluva kick for the win. Great match that went about 18 minutes. Crowd loved it.
Owens followed with a superkick for two, followed by a crossface, but Zayn got to the rope. Zayn hit a vertical suplex/brainbuster onto the apron, which was nuts. “This is awesome” chants. Owens hit a cannonball and frog splash for a near fall.
Zayn blocked a powerbomb attempt and hit a tornado DDT and half nelson suplex for a close near fall. Owens followed with a pop-up powerbomb but Zayn just barely got his foot on the rope.
A frustrated Owens began slapping Zayn in the face, which just fired him up. Zayn hit two more exploders, followed by a Helluva kick. Zayn put him back in the corner and hit another Helluva kick for the win. Great match that went about 18 minutes. Crowd loved it.
U.S. Championship
Rusev (w/Lana) vs Zack Ryder
Ryder wore USA-themed gear. Ryder hit a Ruff Ryder, but went to the top instead of going for a cover. He went for a flying elbow, but Rusev got his knees up. Rusev followed with a superkick to the back of the head and applied the Accolade. Ryder almost fought out of it, but Rusev bent him all the way back and Ryder tapped. Match was about 7 minutes. Crowd got into it by the end. Rusev was about to attack Ryder afterwards, but Mojo Rawley ran out to make the save. He got in Rusev’s face, but Rusev left looking unimpressed.
The Wyatt Family vs The New Day
A couple of highlights saw Big E hit a overhead belly-to-belly on Rowan, and Kingston hit a flip dive on Strowman. The story was that Woods was afraid to get in early on, but eventually faced off against Bray. Woods saved Kingston from a Sister Abigail, but was mesmerized by Bray. He eventually snapped out of it and made a wild comeback on Bray. Big E did his spear to the outside on Rowan and almost landed on his head. Bray caught Woods with Sister Abigail for the win in about 9 minutes.
Sasha Banks & Bayley
vs
Charlotte & Dana Brooke
Banks’ partner is Bayley. Huge pop. JBL indicated Bayley getting this chance was a one-time thing. Banks made Charlotte tap with the bank statement after a 8-9 minute match. Big pop for the win. The crowd really liked both Banks and Bayley.
Breezango vs The Usos
Pre-show match ended in about 6 minutes when Breeze got his knees up on a splash and countered into a small package on Jimmy Uso for the win. People popped for the win, and the Usos got booed during their comeback.