WWE’s seconds annual Battleground PPV took place in Tampa, Florida and featured a total of eight matches (including the pre-show). The main event pitted the WWE World Heavyweight champion John Cena in a Fatal Four Way match against Kane, Randy Orton and crowd-favorite Roman Reigns.
Also highlighting the card was the personal battle between Mr. Money in the Bank Seth Rollins and his former Shield brethren Dean Ambrose. Due to Bad News Barrett’s injury, the WWE Universe also witnessed a 20-Man Battle Royal that crowned a new Intercontinental champion.
Although Battleground may have been a predictable PPV, there were still two outstanding matches worth admission. So without further ado, here are my overall highs, lows and random thoughts on WWE Battleground 2014:
BEST MATCH: It was a toss-up, but the best match of the night was the first of the night, which was the Usos (c) vs. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan for the WWE Tag Team Titles. These two teams competed in a 2-out-of-3 Falls match and stole the show with countless false finishes and good old fashioned, energetic hard work. All four competitors in the match shined…including Erick Rowan. The second best match of the night was the main event Fatal Four Way WWE World Heavyweight Championship war that took place between John Cena (c), Kane, Randy Orton and Roman Reigns. I feel that the crowd could have been into the bout more and made a bit more noise, but overall it was a very solid main event despite many people frowning upon John Cena retaining the title.
WORST MATCH: Fandango vs. Adam Rose was the worst match of the night and thankfully, it took place on the pre-show. I thought that the pre-show was supposed to convince and hype the WWE Universe into buying/subscribing to the PPV? These two have absolutely no steam and I thought that this was a good moment for them to prove their worth and put forth a good performance. Unfortunately, they weren’t given very much time and Adam Rose is still failing to get over with the crowd.
UPSET OF THE NIGHT: Without a doubt, Chris Jericho defeating Bray Wyatt was the Upset of the Night.Y2J and Bray had a good, hard-hitting match, but it featured a few mistakes and awkward moments. Without those botches, it could have been an instant classic. Anyways, some may not view Jericho defeating Bray as an upset, but considering Y2J has been out of action for a while, and the fact that Bray has looked strong ever since his debut, I consider it to be an upset. Hopefully the Jericho win leads to another match between these two at SummerSlam. If so, I guarantee both men will put forth a smoother performance and overall better match.
MOST SHOCKING MOMENT: There was no Brock Lesnar or hardcore surprises at Battleground, however, the Miz winning the Intercontinental Championship, and the way he did it, was absolutely perfect and was an overall shocking moment. It appeared that Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler were the only two superstars left in the Battle Royal, but about five minutes before Ziggler eliminated Sheamus, Michael Cole referenced the fact that the Miz was thrown under the tope rope and wasn’t officially eliminated from the match. When Ziggler eliminated Sheamus, the crowd popped and Ziggler thought he had won. Unfortunately for Ziggler and his fans, the Miz slithered back into the ring and threw a distracted Ziggler over the top rope, shocking the WWE Universe and winning the Intercontinental Championship.