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Battleground (2016)

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Battleground (2016)
Promotional poster featuring John Cena
PromotionWWE
DateJuly 24, 2016
CityWashington, D.C.
VenueVerizon Center
Attendance15,109
WWE Network event chronology
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Money in the Bank (2016) 		Next →
NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II
Battleground chronology
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Battleground was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event and WWE Network event produced by WWE. It took place on July 24, 2016 at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.[2] It was the fourth event under the Battleground chronology, and the final event before the newly reinstated WWE brand extension went into full effect.

Nine matches were contested at the event, with one match contested on the pre-show. In the main event, Dean Ambrose successfully retained the WWE Championship in a triple threat match against his former Shield teammates, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, thus keeping the championship at the SmackDown brand. The show is also notable for Randy Orton's first appearance in a WWE ring after a nine-month injury and former NXT Women's Champion Bayley's main roster debut.[3][4]

Background

See also: Professional wrestling

At Money in the Bank, Dean Ambrose won the Money in the Bank ladder match and subsequently the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by cashing in his contract on Seth Rollins, who had just won the title from Roman Reigns.[5] After a #1 Contender's match between Reigns and Rollins ended in a double countout the following night on Raw, Ambrose requested to defended the title against both Reigns and Rollins. Accordingly, Shane McMahon scheduled a triple threat match between all three men for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Battleground.[6] On June 21, two days after Money in the Bank, Reigns was suspended for 30 days for violating the WWE's Wellness Program,[7] which uses drug testing to detect substance abuse.[8] Pro Wrestling Torch reported that WWE knew of the violation before Money in the Bank, leading to Reigns losing his world title at the event. With Reigns's suspension ending before Battleground,[9] WWE continued to advertise Reigns as part of the Battleground main event.[10] On the June 27 episode of Raw, both Rollins and Ambrose acknowledged Reigns's suspension on television. However, Stephanie McMahon opted not to remove Reigns from the Battleground match, and instead gave AJ Styles and John Cena the opportunity to qualify for the match by matches against Ambrose and Rollins. Styles and Cena lost, when they each interfered in each other's matches.[11] On June 29, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was renamed as the WWE Championship.[12] On July 18, a match for the WWE Championship between Ambrose and Rollins ended in both men pinning each other simultaneously. While Raw commissioner Stephanie McMahon declared Rollins the new champion, the referee ruled the match a draw, with Ambrose retaining the title.[13][14] The next day on SmackDown Live, Ambrose defeated Rollins in a rematch to retain the title. On the same show, Ambrose was drafted to SmackDown, while Rollins and Reigns were drafted to Raw.[15]

In December 2014, at NXT Takeover: R Evolution, Sami Zayn won the NXT Championship from Neville. After the match, Zayn's friend Kevin Owens, first congratulated and then attacked Zayn.[16] In February 2015, at NXT Takeover: Rival, Owens defeated Zayn to win the NXT Championship.[17] Zayn moved to WWE's main roster at the Royal Rumble and eliminated Owens from the Royal Rumble match.[18] At Payback, Owens defeated Zayn.[19] At Money in the Bank, both men failed to win the Money in the Bank ladder match.[5] Zayn defeated Owens on the June 20 episode of Raw,[6] and challenged Owens to another match a week later during Chris Jericho's Highlight Reel, which Owens accepted.[11]

At Money in the Bank, Natalya and Becky Lynch lost a tag team match. After the match, Natalya turned heel and attacked Becky.[5] Natalya attacked Becky again the following night on Raw, and proclaimed to be solely looking out for herself.[6] On the June 27 episode of Raw, Becky attacked Natalya, who was on commentary, before her match against Summer Rae.[11] On the July 4 episode of Raw, a match between the two was scheduled for Battleground.[20]

At Money in the Bank, AJ Styles defeated John Cena after The Club interfered, executing a Magic Killer on Cena.[5] The following night on Raw, Styles and Luke Gallows attacked Cena during his match against Karl Anderson.[6] On the June 27 episode of Raw, Cena and Styles costed each other a chance to be involved in the WWE Championship match at Battleground and then Gallows and Anderson delivered a Magic Killer to Cena on the ramp.[11] On the July 4 episode of Raw, The Club again attacked Cena until Enzo Amore and Big Cass saved Cena. Later that night, a six-man tag team match was made between the two teams at Battleground.[20]

On the July 11 episode of Raw, Darren Young won a battle royal to earn a title match against Intercontinental Champion The Miz at Battleground.[21]

On the July 7 episode of SmackDown, Zack Ryder won a match against Sheamus and then challenged Rusev to a WWE United States Championship match.[22] On the July 11 episode of Raw, Rusev attacked Ryder after his match against Sheamus and accepted Ryder's challenge for Battleground.[21]

On the June 20 episode of Raw, The Wyatt Family made their return and was interrupted by WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day.[6] The two teams addressed each other in their promos over the next few weeks. On the July 4 episode of Raw, The Wyatt Family invited The New Day to their family compound, which New Day accepted.[20] On the July 11 episode of Raw, The New Day showed up at The Wyatt Family compound and the two teams brawled until New Day ran away.[21] On July 12, a six-man tag team between the two teams was scheduled for Battleground.[23]

After her return in early June, Sasha Banks reignited her feud with Charlotte, who had formed a tag team with Dana Brooke while Sasha was on hiatus. On the June 20 episode of Raw, Sasha rescued Paige from an attack from Brooke and Charlotte.[6] On the June 27 episode of Raw, Sasha and Paige defeated Dana and Charlotte.[11] Over the following weeks, Charlotte and Dana continued to provoke Sasha.[20] Hoping to earn a title match with Charlotte, Sasha defeated Dana on the July 11 episode of Raw[21] and again on the July 14 episode of Smackdown. Later that night, Charlotte and Dana were scheduled to wrestle Sasha and a mystery partner at Battleground.[24]

After Randy Orton was revealed as Brock Lesnar's opponent for SummerSlam, he was announced as the guest of a special episode of Chris Jericho's The Highlight Reel at Battleground.[25][21]

On July 22, a match pitting The Usos against Breezango was scheduled for the Battleground pre-show.[26]

Event

Pre-show

During the pre-show, Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango) squared off against The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso). After the Usos dominated the early minutes of the match, Breezango took control by isolating Jey Uso until Jimmy finally managed to tag in and execute Samoan Drops on Breeze and Fandango. Later Fandango attempted a superplex on Jimmy Uso but Jey hoisted him on his shoulders so that Jimmy could perform a move from the top rope. Breeze freed his partner by attacking Jey but Jimmy executed a crossbody on both Breeze and Fandango. The end came when Jimmy climbed the top rope for a Samoan Splash on Breeze, who was lying in the middle of the ring, but was delayed by Fandango grabbing his leg. Jey dispatched of Fandango with a suicide dive but when Jimmy attempted the Samoan Splash, Breeze raised his knees and rolled up the stunned Jimmy with a small package for the win.[27]

Preliminary matches

The actual pay-per-view opened with a tag team match pitting WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte and Dana Brooke against Sasha Banks and her mystery partner which was revealed as Bayley. Charlotte and Dana interrupted Bayley's pre-match celebration by attacking Bayley and Sasha, to which Bayley responded with a back elbow on Charlotte. After the match had officially started, Sasha executed a flying headscissors on Charlotte, who responded by smashing Sasha face first into the second turnbuckle. Towards the end of the match, Sasha applied her Bank Statement submission hold on Charlotte but Dana placed her partner's foot on the rope, forcing Sasha to break the hold. Bayley drove Dana away with a dropkick and Sasha re-applied the Banks Statement, to which Charlotte eventually submitted, giving the win to Sasha and Bayley. After the match Bayley and a reluctant Banks engaged in a celebratory hug in the ring.[27]

Randy Orton made his return to WWE after a nine-month injury

Next, The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman) faced WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) in a six man tag team match. Throughout the match, Woods had shown signs of anxiety when faced with Bray Wyatt but towards the end of the match he confronted the Family's leader and downed him with a series of kicks and punches, followed by a splash off the top rope. As Wyatt's partners tried to interfere, Woods fought off Rowan while Big E executed a a Spear on Strowman, who was standing on the apron. Woods turned his attention back to the Family's leader but was shocked into retreating by Wyatt's signature spiderwalk. Wyatt then executed Sister Abigail on Woods to secure the pinfall victory.[27]

In the third match, Rusev, who was accompanied by Lana, defended the WWE United States Championship against Zack Ryder. The climax of the match saw Ryder execute a Rough Ryder on Rusev but instead of pinning him, Ryder climbed the turnbuckle and attempted to execute the Elbro-Drop but Rusev countered the move. Rusev kicked Ryder in the back of his head and applied the Accolade submission on Ryder. Ryder eventually submitted, thus Rusev retained the title. After the match, Rusev continued to attack Ryder only to be interrupted by Ryder’s NXT tag team partner, Mojo Rawley. Rusev avoided a confrontation and left the ring.[27]

In the next match, Kevin Owens faced off his arch rival Sami Zayn in what was billed as their "final encounter". Notable moments in the match included Zayn executing a Blue Thunder Bomb on Owens for a near-fall, Zayn executing a Brainbuster on Owens on the ring apron, Owens executing a Bullfrog Splash on Zayn for a near-fall, Zayn executing two Half and Half Suplexes for a near-fall and Owens countering a Helluva Kick into a Pop-Up Powerbomb; Zayn placed his foot on the rope to void the pinfall. Towards the end of the match, Owens implored Zayn to stay down but Zayn executed a combination of an Exploder Suplex into the Turnbuckles and a Half and Half Suplex, followed by two Helluva Kicks to secure the pinfall victory.[27]

After that, Natalya wrestled Becky Lynch. The end of the match came after Natalya kicked Becky's right kneecap and put her into the Sharpshooter submission hold. Becky tried to crawl to the bottom rope but Natalya dragged her back to the middle of the ring. Becky then submited, giving Natalya the victory.[27]

The sixth match saw The Miz, accompanied by Maryse, defending the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Darren Young, accompanied by his coach Bob Backlund. Towards the end of the match, Maryse pretended to fall as if Backlund had attacked her, causing Miz to shove Backlund. Young then applied the Crossface Chickenwing on Miz outside the ring. The referees separated the two contestants and ruled the match a double disqualification.[27]

In the next match, John Cena teamed with Enzo Amore and Big Cass to take on The Club (Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows and AJ Styles) in a six man tag team match. The match ended with Cena executing an Attitude Adjustment off the second rope on Styles followed by a pinfall victory.[27]

Chris Jericho then hosted The Highlight Reel with Randy Orton, who made his first appearance following a nine-month injury. Jericho attempted to provoke Orton into attacking him after he constantly berated Orton’s behaviour ahead of his upcoming at SummerSlam against the returning Brock Lesnar (including a video of Lesnar showing his feats of strength). Orton ended the segment with an RKO on Jericho.[27]

Main event

In the main event, Dean Ambrose defended the WWE Championship against Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. During the match, Ambrose and Rollins teamed up to attack Reigns, performing a Double Powerbomb on Reigns through the Spanish broadcast table to temporarily take him out of the match. In the climax of the match, Rollins executed a Pedigree on Reigns but only secured a two count. Despite Rollins executing a Turnbuckle Powerbomb on Reigns, Reigns fought back with a Superman Punch and a Spear. Before he could capitalise, Ambrose performed Dirty Deeds and scored the pinfall to retain the championship. The entire Smackdown roster came out to celebrate with Ambrose as the event ended.[27]

Aftermath

Dean Ambrose retaining the title at the event left Raw without a world title. On the following night's episode of Raw, commissioner Stephanie McMahon and General manager Mick Foley announced a new world title for Raw, the WWE Universal Championship. Since Roman Reigns was pinned by Ambrose, Seth Rollins was named the first number one contender to the title and will face Finn Bálor, who became the second number one contender by defeating Roman Reigns, for the title at SummerSlam.[28]

The next night on Raw, Sasha Banks defeated Charlotte to capture the WWE Women's Championship.

After Sasha Banks and Bayley defeated Charlotte and Dana Brooke at the event, Banks faced Charlotte for the WWE Women's Championship on the following night's episode of Raw and defeated Charlotte to win her first Women's Championship.[28] On the July 26 episode of SmackDown, Dolph Ziggler defeated AJ Styles, John Cena, Bray Wyatt, Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin in a Six-Pack Challenge to earn a WWE World Championship match against Dean Ambrose at SummerSlam.[29]

Results

No.ResultsStipulationsTimes[27]
1Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango) defeated The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso)Tag team match[30]5:26
2Sasha Banks and Bayley defeated Charlotte and Dana Brooke by submissionTag team match[4]7:25
3The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman) defeated The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods)Six-man tag team match[31]8:47
4Rusev (c) (with Lana) defeated Zack Ryder by submissionSingles match for the WWE United States Championship[32]7:01
5Sami Zayn defeated Kevin OwensSingles match[33]18:22
6Natalya defeated Becky Lynch by submissionSingles match[34]9:04
7The Miz (c) (with Maryse) and Darren Young (with Bob Backlund) wrestled to a double disqualificationSingles match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship[35]8:41
8John Cena, Enzo and Cass defeated The Club (AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson)Six-man tag team match[36]14:30
9Dean Ambrose (c) defeated Roman Reigns and Seth RollinsTriple threat match for the WWE Championship[37]18:03
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match

Other on-screen talent

English Commentators
Spanish Commentators
German Commentators
  • Carsten Schaefer
  • Sebastian Hackl
Ring Announcers
Backstage interviews
Pre-show panel

The event also included live commentary provided in Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese and Russian.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Get the music of WWE Battleground". WWE. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  2. ^ "Get WWE Battleground tickets now". WWE. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  3. ^ Adkins, Greg (24 July 2016). "Randy Orton RKOs Chris Jericho on "The Highlight Reel"". WWE. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  4. ^ a b Melok, Bobby. "Sasha Banks & Bayley def. Charlotte & Dana Brooke". WWE. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d Caldwell, James. "6/19 WWE MITB PPV Results – CALDWELL'S Complete Live Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Caldwell, James. "6/20 WWE Raw Results – CALDWELL'S Complete Live TV Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  7. ^ "Roman Reigns suspended". WWE. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  8. ^ "Talent Wellness Program Summary". WWE. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  9. ^ Caldwell, James. "Roman Reigns suspended for Wellness Violation". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  10. ^ Clapp, John (June 20, 2016). "WWE Champion Dean Ambrose vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins (Triple Threat Match)". WWE. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  11. ^ a b c d e Caldwell, James. "6/27 WWE Raw Results – CALDWELL'S Complete TV Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  12. ^ "WWE Championship". WWE. Archived from the original on 29 June 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  13. ^ Caldwell, James (July 18, 2016). "7/18 WWE Raw Results – Caldwell's Complete Live TV Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  14. ^ "WWE Title match Update – WWE rules on double pin finish". Pro Wrestling Torch. July 18, 2016. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  15. ^ Barnett, Jake (July 19, 2016). "7/19 Barnett's WWE Smackdown Live TV Review". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  16. ^ James, Caldwell. "Caldwell's WWE NXT Takeover results 12/11: Complete virtual-time coverage of Neville vs. Zayn for the NXT Title, Itami & Balor, Charlotte, Kevin Steen/Owens's debut, Corey Graves retires". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  17. ^ Caldwell, James. "NXT News: Big title changes on "Takeover" special, tournament finals, pre-show dark match, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  18. ^ Caldwell, James. "1/24 WWE Royal Rumble PPV Results – CALDWELL's Complete Live PPV Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  19. ^ Caldwell, James. "5/1 WWE Payback Results – CALDWELL'S Complete Live Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  20. ^ a b c d Caldwell, James. "7/4 WWE Raw Results – CALDWELL'S Complete Live TV Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  21. ^ a b c d e Caldwell, James. "7/11 WWE Raw Results – CALDWELL'S Complete Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  22. ^ Parks, Greg (July 7, 2016). "7/7 WWE Smackdown – Parks's Complete, Real-Time Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  23. ^ Martin, Adam. "The New Day vs. The Wyatt Family in a six man tag team match added to the card for WWE Battleground". wrestleview.com. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  24. ^ Parks, Greg. "7/14 WWE Smackdown – Parks's Complete, Real-Time Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  25. ^ Benigno, Anthony. "'The Highlight Reel' with Randy Orton". WWE. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  26. ^ Caldwell, James. "WWE Battleground Pre-Show match announced; updated PPV line-up". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
  27. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Caldwell, James (July 24, 2016). "7/24 WWE Battleground Results – CALDWELL'S Complete Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  28. ^ a b "Raw highlights: July 25, 2016". WWE. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  29. ^ "SmackDown Live results: July 26, 2016". WWE. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  30. ^ Clapp, John. "Breezango def. The Usos (Kickoff Match)". WWE. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  31. ^ Adkins, Greg. "The Wyatt Family def. The New Day". WWE. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  32. ^ Artus, Matthew. "U.S. Champion Rusev def. Zack Ryder". WWE. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  33. ^ Taylor, Scott. "Sami Zayn def. Kevin Owens". WWE. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  34. ^ Benigno, Anthony. "Natalya def. Becky Lynch". WWE. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  35. ^ Burdick, Michael. "Intercontinental Champion The Miz vs. Darren Young ended in a Double Disqualification". WWE. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  36. ^ Powers, Kevin. "John Cena, Enzo Amore & Big Cass def. The Club". WWE. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  37. ^ Melok, Bobby. "WWE Champion Dean Ambrose def. Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins (Triple Threat Match)". WWE. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
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