WWE Battleground 2013

[puropotsy]

I was talking to Dave Musgrave before the show started and I mentioned how I was more excited for Goldust-Cody vs. Shield than any match in a long time and boy did it deliver.

 

From Goldust's paint being beyound awesome to the locker room emptying to celebrate the whole thing was just perfect. Goldust proved he is still one of the best in the world, which was great to see. I echo the statements that he may be one of the greatest tag wrestlers ever. His punches and powerslam are some of the best ever as well. Worth the price of the whole show.

 

Main event was going real well until the "finish".

The crowd in the theatre was so hot for that Rhodes-Shield match.

[Big Rob]

At this rate it wouldn't shock me if Ryback and Regal are buddies

Given that they worked together as Pro and Rookie in the first season of NXT, it's entirely possible.

[Mando]

I did a write-up. I score on a ten-point system. Overall not a bad watch but nothing special save for the Rhodes' tag which was a lot of fun.

 

WWE Battleground '13

1. Battleground Kickoff pre-show match: Dolph Ziggler vs. Damien Sandow - 3

2. World Heavyweight Championship Battleground Hardcore Rules match: Alberto Del Rio © vs. Rob Van Dam - 6

3. Santino Marella and The Great Khali vs. The Real Americans (Antonio Cesaro and Jack Swagger) - 4

4. Intercontinental Championship Match: Curtis Axel © vs. R-Truth - 3

5. Divas Championship Match: AJ Lee © vs. Brie Bella - 4

6. Cody Rhodes and Goldust vs. The Shield (Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins) - 7

7. Bray Wyatt vs. Kofi Kingston - 4

8. CM Punk vs. Ryback - 3

9. WWE Championship Match: Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton - 6

 

Battleground is WWE's newest PPV show replacing Over the Limit which had a short run of three years, all featuring John Cena main events (surely you didn't forget that barnburner versus John Laurinaitis from 2012, right?). I have my own qualms and reservations, not so much in regard to its build, just the overall theme and package. Didn't seem like they put a lot of thought into the design or leitmotif. And I'm a broken record here but it also bums me out they create this new, identity-less PPV when they own the rights to Fall Brawl (and hence the most sorely missed match in wrestling War Games).

 

Pre-show match was rather unlike your last dentist's visit: quick and painless. Opener was good, physical of course, you've got RVD, plus it was hardcore rules, so lots of ladders, chairs, etc. came into play. Plenty of nasty bumps to cringe at. Tag match was a late addition but earned an extra point for the fantastic finish as Antonio got the massive Khali up in the Giant Swing. Minor quibble but it seems weird to cover a guy after that to secure a pin and would seem cooler if the opponent actually tapped mid-swing. Axel's title defense fell fairly flat. He's been racking up some wins over lower-card talent but the crowd's not buying into him as a star yet.

 

Women's match was pretty good. Some nice sequences they'd cleared practiced with mentor Finlay but most of it came off smoothly. Finish was flat (a reoccurring theme -- more on that later) as Lee's bodyguard Tamina attacked Brie's twin sister causing a distraction which led to a deflating roll-up finish. Tag match next had plenty of TV build leading up to it and while "7" may be just a touch high I needed to award it some recognition for the hot finish. They laid out a good sequence at the end, including Dusty busting out a Bionic Elbow on Dean Ambrose's skull, Goldust flying into the frame like Sky Lynx wiping out Reigns, then Cody hit the Cross Rhodes to a humungous crowd pop to get the win and as a result secure the Rhodes' jobs.

 

Bray Wyatt and Koji had what felt largely like a SmackDown! snack break match where you're trying to get your sandwich and corn chips plated before the commercial break ends and rush back into the living room only to find that on. It had a few slick moments and wasn't bad. Wyatt's need some opposition to have more dramatic potential. Right now the acts is entering tedium. And am I the only one troubled by the parallels between Bray and Waylon Mercy? Right down to the white slacks and bad Hawaiian shirts. Punk match was pretty insipid. Kind of clunky and dull. For a feud with a lot of personal heat you'd think Punk would want to annihilate Ryback but you wouldn't guess that by what transpired. Really didn't like the finish. Ref got distracted after catching Paul Heyman at ringside with a kendo stick and Punk capitalized on the divertissement and did a weak low-blow for the win. After the match Punk just leaned against the ropes looking gassed. Main event went 25 min. and was uniformly solid. A bit more measured and less energetic than the earlier entries in their series. It had a few nice moments, nothing too surprising though, but went off the rails at the end before it could clear the gap and become truly compelling. Big Show came out, KO'd Daniel, had remorse, KO'd a 2nd referee who'd came out, then KO'd an upset Orton, and so on. Match ended in a no-contest essentially rendering this a commercial for the free Raw show the following night.

[DocSarpolis]

The Shield vs. Goldust & Cody Rhodes

- I need to revisit the Booker T-Goldust team but Dustin may be Top 5 tag team worker of all time. Match lived up to the promise. Awesome Goldust FIP and then the great stretch run. Yeah, this isn't the worst WWE PPV ever or whatever crap was being spewed.

We need to see Dustin comp Vol. 2. I'm not a big fan of the Goldust character that would dominate a volume 2, but he's an increasingly underrated worker. And between the Orton match, the brawl before the multi-man a couple weeks ago, and this, the past few weeks have been outstanding.

 

Match of the night.

[Zoo Enthusiast]

The Shield vs. Goldust & Cody Rhodes

- I need to revisit the Booker T-Goldust team but Dustin may be Top 5 tag team worker of all time. Match lived up to the promise. Awesome Goldust FIP and then the great stretch run. Yeah, this isn't the worst WWE PPV ever or whatever crap was being spewed.

We need to see Dustin comp Vol. 2. I'm not a big fan of the Goldust character that would dominate a volume 2, but he's an increasingly underrated worker. And between the Orton match, the brawl before the multi-man a couple weeks ago, and this, the past few weeks have been outstanding.

 

Match of the night.

 

I think I need to see Dustin comp Vol. 1.

[Sidebottom]

Amazing how Goldust can walk in from whatever he was doing before this run and he's a top 10 worker (pretty much unarguable) and you can argue top 5 in WWE.

Yeah, he's been brilliant. A true revelation all things considered.

[Matt D]

I don't think it's a big one for anyone who saw his ECW run in 09, especially his work with Sheamus and the Regal match and then the Superstars match with Jericho from the next year (I think). We haven't had too much of his indy work from this year come out, but Dustin is Dustin.

[ButchReedMark]

Yeah. He had a half decent series with DiBiase Jr around that time as well, if I remember correctly.