Preview: Battleground, 23 July 2017

Smackdown definitely seems to build to it's pay per views more efficiently. All the title matches have been built well, and the flag match between Cena and Rusev has had a reasonable build as well, with the two guys having history together on top of their recent rivalry. Even without the storytelling, there are a few matches that are exciting match-ups. This could be a surprisingly good pay per view.

Pre-show: Tye Dillinger v Aiden English

Poor Aiden English. According to Internet Wrestling Database, aside from a DQ victory against Randy Orton, he has not won a match since February. That was part of an twelve man tag team match. Before that, his previous victory was in June 2016 when the Vaudevillains beat Enzo & Big Cass (again by disqualification).

He is currently embodying the definition of jobber. This is a man who was an NXT tag team champion. They obviously like English at they kept him around when his partner, Simon Gotch left the company a few months ago.

Dillinger beat him at Backlash, and I don't think he'd be elevated too much by beating English again. Something in me thinks that this might be part of a little push for English, so I have to go for him here.

Prediction: Aiden English

Shinsuke Nakamura v Baron Corbin

Both of these guys have a claim to be looking at a title shot in the near future. Nakamura has come in as a 2-time NXT champion, and Corbin has been on the rise since winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at Wrestlemania last year.

Corbin has been attacking Nakamura before matches recently; he did this before the tag team match on Smackdown and the Money in the Bank match. I can see him potentially trying to do the same here. Nakamura deserves a degree of payback which he should do by getting the rub here, especially as Corbin is Mr Money in the Bank.

Prediction: Shinsuke Nakamura


5-Way Elimination Match for the Smackdown Women's Championship #1 Contender:
Natalya Neidhart v Charlotte Flair v Becky Lynch v Tamina Snuka v Lana

I love elimination matches. They make multi-competitor matches seem a lot more credible in my mind. They also allow you to give competitors a minor push by allowing them to gain an elimination.

I have a feeling that they will get Lana to eliminate one of the other competitors, as whilst she had a few matches against women's champion, Naomi, she didn't look very credible in them. The last one lasted under a minute. I think they will give her a shock elimination over either Becky or Charlotte to set up a mini-feud.

They will likely want a heel to face Naomi, so I think that Natalya is the most likely challenger as Tamina has no real momentum.

Prediction: Natalya to win.
Predicted order of eliminations: Tamina (by Charlotte), Charlotte (by Lana), Lana (by Becky), Becky (by Natalya)

Flag Match: 
Rusev v John Cena

The flag match is not a common match, and essentially works like a wrestling version of capture the flag. It can be used as a tool for getting a crowd onside using patriotism. I imagine this is the tactic they will use here, which is smart as Cena is a divisive character and it might help to get more of the crowd onside.

Rusev does seem to be quite liked by fans. When he came in initially, there was a long running angle about him being unbeatable, with lots of Americans attempting to do so. They should go back to this as it made him look like a beast, and I think that will mean he takes the victory here.

Prediction: Rusev

US Championship:
AJ Styles (c) v Kevin Owens

I imagine that they want one or other of these guys to move onto a new feud. That seems like the most logical reason for them to hand the belt to Styles at a house show, leaving this as Owens rematch. If they'd waited for Styles to take the belt here, then there would have to be a rematch at some point in the future. Which of these guys it is, and who they will feud with is not obvious at this stage. They should put on a good show but the result shouldn't be in doubt.

Prediction: AJ Styles

Tag Team Championships:
The Usos (c) v The New Day

I think this is when they will pull the trigger on the New Day becoming champs. They've paid some dues on Smackdown and will be rewarded with the belts. This rivalry will continue though, as it's been pretty enjoyable. Especially now that American Alpha have split, it leaves Breezango and The Hype Bros as the only other credible challengers for the belts.

Prediction: The New Day

Punjabi Prison Match for the WWE Championship:
Jinder Mahal (c) v Randy Orton

We took a look at the history of the Punjabi Prison Match earlier. It won't take much for Mahal and Orton to produce the best of the three matches. In both previous matches, there was an obvious favourite, and the face won. I don't think there's an obvious favourite here. 6 months ago, you would have picked Orton without a second thought. Jinder's rise has been meteoric, and it would destroy everything they've done to not give him a reasonable length title reign. It's for this reason that I don't see him dropping the belt to Orton here, although don't discount the possibility of it being a controversial victory involving the Singh brothers interfering in some way to help Jinder to the victory.

Prediction: Jinder Mahal

The Punjabi Prison

Before this coming weekend, there have only be two previous Punjabi Prison matches. The match was designed by The Great Khali and named after his home state. Involving two cages, an inner one 16 feet tall with spikes on the top, and an outer, six sided cage, which is 20 feet tall.

The inner cell has four doors with a referee attending each. A door will be opened at the request of a competitor and will be opened once only, for 60 seconds, before being locked shut.

The inner cage has straps which can be reached and used as weapons, and between the cages there lies an assortment of other weaponry. The winner of the match is the first competitor to escape the outer cage.

The match, on paper, is an interesting twist on the standard cage match. In practice, both previous matches have failed to set the world on fire.

One issue is that, as Undertaker and Batista have both shown, it isn't too difficult to get from the top of the inner cage to the top of the outer cage. The most efficient way to escape, is to climb the 16 feet of the inner cage and then jump to the outer cage and climb down.

Another issue is perhaps that in both the previous matches, the winner seemed obvious. Undertaker is always the favourite in any match he competes in, and Batista seemed unlikely to drop the belt he had recently gained from Khali.

Neither of the matches seemed really innovative. What I've heard about Randy Orton suggests that his studiousness will lead to a really well planned out match, and I'm hopeful that this will give us the best punjabi prison match yet at Battleground this Sunday.

Undertaker v Big Show
Great American Bash 2006
Duration: 21:35
Winner: Undertaker
Rating: 6/10

The match's inventor, The Great Khali, was due to compete in this match but was removed as elevated liver enzymes left him medically unable to compete. In storyline, this left Teddy Long to make a decision to replace Khali with the Big Show for no other reason than they'd been bullying the Undertaker together.

The Big Show plays his part really well at looking upset and distraught about the situation he is placed in. It's difficult for a 7 foot man to look convincingly worried or intimidated but he does a good job of it.

The Show is also currently the ECW champion; I'm not sure what his persona was at this time other than that he was somehow teamed with Khali and Divari to beat up the dead man. Whilst I've always liked the Big Show and I appreciate how hard a worker he is, sometimes his size makes him look a bit messy, especially when selling moves.

The match starts in the inner cell, with 'Taker deciding to attempt to climb out. It looked like he was trying to get a strap from the top of the cage to use as a weapon but that didn't materialise. Show later manages to get a strap which he uses as weapon just as one door was locked on the Undertaker.

Shortly after this, a second door was shut on the Big Show and he insults the referee for doing his job. Show starts to take out his anger by cutting the Phenom open on an exposed turnbuckle and headbutting him to inflict further damage.

Despite there being two doors left to open, the Big Show starts to climb out of the inner cell. He his stopped by Undertaker with a low blow and then a superplex which shakes the ring slightly and elicits half-hearted "holy shit" chants from the crowd. This allows 'Taker to get out of the third door. The dead man tries to kick through the cage and realising it's impossible, he starts to climb. This all allows Show to easily make his way out of the fourth and final door,  where he stops 'Taker climbing and starts to use the weaponry before throwing him back inside the inner structure.

At this point, Show just needs to escape the outer structure; not easy for a man of his size. Both men are climbing their respective structure at the same time. Taker managers to reach the top first, and bridge from the inner to the outer to prevent Show's escape. Despite 'Taker selling like hell, he manages to perform a leg drop on a standing Show to put him through a table which busts him open.

Undertaker seems to have control of the match at this point and he starts to climb the inner cage as Khali and Divari start making their way to the ring and climbing the exterior structure. The dead man performs a cross body on the Big Show which knocks them both through the outer structure, with 'Taker's whole getting outside first, giving him the victory. Show is left on his knees bloody and crying, perhaps overacting a bit too much at this stage, though.

World Championship: Great Khali v Batista (c)
No Mercy 2007
Duration: 14:47
Winner: Batista
Rating: 6/10

Khali is finally able to compete in the match that he designed. He quickly requests a door to be opened, but is struggling to get underneath it due to his height which means Batista is easily able to get up and prevent him escaping the inner cage.

Batista requests a second door to be opened shortly after but Khali overpowers him and forces him up against the edge of the cage until the time the door is open before using a rope to choke out Batista, and then getting a thick leather strap to whip the champion. Whilst doing so, he requests the third door to be opened but the Animal is on him straight away and hits a spinebuster to prevent Khali getting out. He attempts to crawl out past Khali who holds onto him to prevent him exciting.

Batista with the strap starts to whip Khali and decides to attempt to climb over the inner structure rather than using the door.  Khali stoops him and manages to get the vice grip on Batista. The commentators talk up how it has taken down a large number of top wrestlers and that no-one has ever escaped from it. As Khali asks for the last door to be opened, Batista somehow manages a low blow and starts to crawl over of the door. Khali closes the door, using it as a weapon to attack the champion as he's escaping. Khali was disappointed that the final door was locked shut and takes it out on a referee, but realises that he needs to start climbing.

After pulling Batista from the cage, making him suffer a 10-foot fall, Khali manages to get out of the first structure. As he's scaling the outer structure, Batista quickly scales the inner structure and he leaps to the outer cage. The two men race to climb down the outer cage with Batista narrowly gaining the victory.

Preview: Great Balls of Fire 9 July 2017

With five titles on the line, the first ever Great Balls of Fire pay per view promises a lot. Raw PPVs have generally been less unpredictable than Smackdown's, throwing up fewer surprises. Hopefully they might have learnt from this and will be able to make it one to remember.

Ambulance Match:
Roman Reigns v Braun Strowman

I struggle to care about any match with Reigns in at the moment, which is mainly because I just assume they are going to push him so hard that he will win. Strowman is improving all the time and is almost the face in this match. I doubt they want to push him as a face, though but the fans will be behind him.

Strowman got the victory last time these guys faced off, and Reigns has declared himself the number one contender to the Universal Championship after this PPV. I'm not sure how that works. Can I declare myself to be the next number one contender please? Anyway, as Reigns is going up against the champ, they'll want him to be on a roll so I'm sure he'll end up putting Strowman in the ambulance here.

Prediction: Roman Reigns

Seth Rollins v Bray Wyatt

Bray Wyatt has not really benefitted from the superstar shakeup as yet. After his brief title reign, he appears to have been largely forgotten about. Seth Rollins is the face of WWE 2k18 and so will be pushed, and should be challenging for a title (possibly the Intercontinental title) soon as part of the promotional push, I'd imagine.

Prediction: Seth Rollins

Enzo Amore v Big Cass

I was really not expecting these guys to be split up. Their chemistry and popularity as a tag team didn't look like fading and so it didn't seem sensible to end that what felt like prematurely.

Sure, when Enzo was injured a while ago, Cass had a short run as a singles competitor in which he held his own in the ring against main eventers, but his mic skills aren't up to putting him at the top of the card just yet. That's why Enzo was a great foil for him. He's dynamite on the mic and Cass is the muscle. They worked amazingly together.

You would hope that WWE creative had sensed that they'd reached their peak and have called time on their partnership became stale. You would hope that they picked the perfect time to break up the team. I do feel there was still some good storytelling to be had, especially as had they managed to take the tag titles it would have been a very special moment. They had however been pushed farther to the back of the line when the Hardys showed up at Wrestlemania to take the belts.

Anything other than a Cass victory here would be odd. He's been the aggressor and for Enzo to one up him straight away would pretty much kill off their new rivalry. Enzo will do better chasing revenge over the next couple of months, ripping it up on the mic and eventually getting his revenge.

Prediction: Big Cass

Cruiserweight Championship:
Neville (c) v Akira Tozawa

Neville has been ridiculously dominant as the King of the Cruiserweights, and has held the title now for longer than all other champions combined. Tozawa is now part of Titus Worldwide, whatever that may be. These guys are picking up a bit of momentum but I really think what's best for business is Neville retaining here.

Prediction: Neville

Raw Women's Championship:
Alexa Bliss (c) v Sasha Banks

Sasha somehow managed to win in what was effectively a 2 on 1 handicap match on Monday Night Raw. She has been shown to be strong and we know she's a great competitor having torn up the rulebook for the women's division over the last couple of years along with Charlotte Flair.

That makes her a great challenger for Bliss to beat to increase her credibility. She's held both the Raw and Smackdown women's championships - the only woman to have done so - and she's been a title holder for pretty much all of the last 8 months. I can see her keeping her momentum here, despite the fact that Sasha is probably the favourite.

Prediction: Alexa Bliss

Intercontinental Championship:
The Miz (c) v Dean Ambrose

The Miz only won the championship back last month and there doesn't seem much of an argument for him to drop it again so soon. Ambrose is popular enough without a title and should be looking to get back into the main event picture at some point soon.

The Miz has been outstanding over the last year. He's probably the best heel on the roster right now and with the Miztourage in his corner, he has a definite advantage. His arrogance whilst holding the title makes for compelling viewing and I can see him holding it for a while. Miz v Ambrose has been done to death and I can see Miz retaining but then feuding with another big name for whom there isn't space in the main event scene at the moment. Rollins or Balor would be the obvious picks.

Prediction: The Miz

WWE Raw Tag Team Championship, Iron Man Match:
Sheamus & Cesaro (c) v The Hardy Boyz

Having predicted 3 successful title defences, I'd expect one of the last two to change hands. I can't see it being this one. Sheamus and Cesaro as a team still have a long distance to run. There are so many things that WWE could do with the Hardy Boyz that I feel they would be wasted continuing in the tag team division. As an Iron Man match, this will probably end up going 2-1 and I'd guess the champions would get the final fall close to the end of the time limit and then perhaps run off so that the Hardys couldn't tie it up.

Prediction: Sheamus & Cesaro

WWE Universal Championship:
Brock Lesnar (c) v Samoa Joe

So that leaves the Universal Championship as the one to change hands. I really feel it should do. It should really be on television every week, regardless of how big a draw Lesnar is when he is on PPV. Joe would be a great champ and as a believable opponent for Brock, he could legitimately take the belt from him. I thought it was too soon for him to be in the main event picture but he's certainly got the talent to do so.

I'm not sure how the crowd will react to this with both guys leaning towards heel, but with the blurred lines between faces and heels these days, and the fans respecting both of these guys, Joe especially, there should hopefully be a good atmosphere. Others deserve the title more than Joe, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't deserve it.

Prediction:  Samoa Joe