WWE Battleground

[El Dragon]

Welp, Big E just went to Concussionville.

[...TG]

Welp, Big E just went to Concussionville.

 

That spear off the apron is impressive as hell but something like this was bound to happen. Hope he's okay.

[hammerva]

That man needs an intervention before his career is over. He lands on his neck most of the time

 

God damn Lana

[Parties]

Very fun trios. I missed the women’s opener, but this and the pre-show match have this looking like one of those good sleeper PPVs. Bray was savage with the lariats and Sister Abigail here. The rise of Kenta Woodsbashi at the end was surprisingly envigorating, and Big E looked great until he implant Ganzo Bombed himself on the floor with that crazy dive that he always kills himself on. I even liked the Kofi FIP spots and Rowan casually stepping on Woods’ chest.

[jcmmnx]

Bayley's debut got over huge, and the match was super fun. Definite main roster star. Their women's division would be so good if it was one roster on one show.

[El Dragon]

Rusev/Ryder was much better then I had any expectation it would be. That was a good time.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Three good matches in a row. Love Rusev, I think they can get a main event run out of him by the end of year. Roman vs Rusev is very tantalizing. Feels like a very good RAW

[El Dragon]

That was probably their best put together hype vid in a long while for Sami/Owens.

[Parties]

Felt like “just” a portfolio builder for Rusev, but a good one. Ryder is fine in these moments, and while we’ll now get more midcard wheel spinning from Rusev-Mojo, I’m actually fine with Rusev as your perennial king of the midcard, even if I think more could be done with him. But saying “more could be done with him” in WWE is like acknowledging that he lives and breathes. The added torque on Rusev's finisher has given him new life.

[Woof]

WWE, king of the match stips, and these two are wrestling a straight-up match to settle a years long feud. Weird.

[hammerva]

Oh fuck Zayn's shoulder has to be in bad shape after that. Just too much bounce on the rope and landed terribly. Probably stung Owens as well

[El Dragon]

You can just hope Sami's Shoulder isn't destroyed after that.

[El Dragon]

Good Christ, Owens trying to join Sami and Big E as potential hospital attendees today.

[WingedEagle]

If Neville is the man gravity forgot, Zayn is the man gravity kidnapped and will release from its grip. The effort these two put forth can't be denied but on most nights they strike me as 2 of the most overrated names in the business.

[cpst]

We have now crossed the line of too many kickouts.

[goc]

With WWE's injury issues, especially concerning the head and neck areas, the fact that someone didn't force Big E to stop doing that crazy dive MONTHS ago is baffling. Reading what people are saying about the one tonight and that's at least the 3rd time on a major show where he did that move and landed horribly.

[El Dragon]

We have now crossed the line of too many kickouts.

 

I disagree. That worked fantastically for me. Finish felt right.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Classic! Best ZAYN/Owens match in WWE! Great shit! Excess done right!

[hammerva]

Man I don't care how much we may hate the finish of the PPV this first half of the show more than makes up for it. Maybe the best first half of a WWE show in years.

[Parties]

I enjoyed how pro-Owens this crowd was. I haven't liked either guy in recent months, but this was very good. Don’t know how legit the Zayn injury was, but that dive looked crazy and it’s a testament to them that it at least seemed believable in the moment. Most indie-tastic finish in a while with all of the 2,9 finishers, but they were well done and the crowd loved it. The match peaked in its last two minutes, and they decisively finished the feud. Highlight was the exchange of giant slaps to the face. Their best showing in the company together - way beyond the listless 4-way stuff with Miz and Cesaro - and probably the best match either guy’s had since their respective Cena matches. Or at least since the Rumble's Ambrose-Owens LMS that I dug (and lots of other folks seemed to dislike).

[hammerva]

We have now crossed the line of too many kickouts.

 

Well if this is the last Zayn vs Owens match then it really should have been like that. If you are going to be offended by that then Cena vs Owens was 100 times worse in less meaningful matches

[...TG]

I've been rather underwhelmed by Zayn/Owens this year but that was a hell of a match. The brawling section up to the botch was intense, they didn't just start throwing bombs. And the finishing stretch wasn't just finisher spam - I loved Sami's simple rope break on the power bomb, and he didn't even try a pin on the first helluva kick.

[WingedEagle]

Becky Lynch was dealt a very bad hand in the draft.

[El Dragon]

Becky Lynch was dealt a very bad hand in the draft.

 

Yep. Natalya just isn't over, and none of the other heels are people in her league. Natalya hasn't even been bad here, but nobody cares.

 

Also, card placement.

[...TG]

I enjoyed how pro-Owens this crowd was. I haven't liked either guy in recent months, but this was very good. Don’t know how legit the Zayn injury was, but that dive looked crazy and it’s a testament to them that it at least seemed believable in the moment.

I keep going back and forth on this. On one hand it sure looked like a botch, and he didn't sell like a "fake" wrestling injury - he kept throwing rights and trying to shake it off, like he pinched a nerve or something. But on the other Owens went right to work on that arm and Cole kept mentioning his previous shoulder injuries.