WWE Battleground 2014 Preview and Predictions

This is a PPV that’s happening.

Giving their thoughts and predictions on what to expect from the PPV are members of the site @JoeySplashwater, @TimWelcomed and @TomBlargh.

Cameron vs. Naomi on the kick-off show

Joey:

I have to be honest. I probably won’t even watch this match. Naomi is one of the most entertaining female in ring performers in the world right now but Cameron is easily one of the worst. In fact, she’s actually more awful than Naomi is good.

Interest Level: 0/10
Prediction: Naomi wins

Tim:

Cameron is pretty hard to watch. Naomi is one of the best but I can’t do this to myself. Maybe Naomi can carry Cameron to something decent, though I doubt it. I also could not care less about them breaking up.

Interest Level: 0/10
Prediction: Naomi wins

Tom:

TOTAL DIVAS’ FIFTH MOST INTERESTING DUO* EXPLODES AS CAMERON FINALLY SAYS ‘GIRL BYE’ TO NAOMI!!! It’s cool that there’s, like, three TV storylines involving Divas right now but this is probably the worst of them. I’m glad that Naomi’s ditching Cameron so she can do good things as a singles wrestler, so I guess this match is a necessary evil.

*The top four are as follows:

Naomi and Whichever Uso It Is That She’s Married To
Nikki and Cena
Brie and Bryan
Cameron and Her Weirdo Boyfriend

Interest Level: 1/10
Prediction: Naomi wins. Brad Ward tweets ‘Boy Bye’ again.

Rusev vs. Jack Swagger

Joey:

If you told me two months ago, I’d be excited for a Jack Swagger vs. Rusev match, I’d tell you that you were out of your mind. Amazing how much blind patriotism from a regressed fan base can do for a wrestling character. However, both guys have momentum and I’m interested to see how this plays out. I can see a DQ or count out finish to prolong this to Summerslam but I’m still gonna pick Rusev.

Interest Level: 8/10
Prediction: Rusev wins.

Tim:

I have a lot of problems with the wayJack  Swagger and Zeb Colter are faces now without ever once really apologizing for their past. The racist group quits saying racist things aloud for a couple of promos? Other countries are bad? Let’s cheer these men! The crowd pops for Swagger now so I guess I have to deal with it. I like Rusev and Lana is amazing. I assume they’ll have to tone down the politics of the Russian group but we shall see.

I’m interested in Rusev matches but I don’t care about Swagger matches at all. Rusev has to win here to maintain momentum. This match has a lot of excitement around it but I think it’s been pretty poor in execution if you really look outside of the loud “yeah, America” cheap pops it’s been soliciting.

Interest Level: 4/10
Prediction: Rusev wins

Tom:

It’ll be interesting to see how they handle Rusev after the tragedy earlier in the week – I’m guessing they might ease up on the Putin references a little, but otherwise, I’m hoping they carry on with their shtick.

Anyway, the match. Man, Swagger ain’t too hot, but Rusev has been pretty good fun in his last few PPV matches so I’m hoping it’ll stay the course of the last few shows – short, explosive and messy. Wait, that sounds completely gross and like I’m setting up for some kind of a terrible joke about ejaculation, but I’m NOT, honest.

Interest Level: 7/10
Prediction: Rusev wins.

AJ Lee vs. Paige for the Divas Championship

Joey:

I’m enjoying this Divas feud for the first time in a while. It’s kind of cool that fans are picking sides and it feels like a real rivalry which hasn’t happened for the WWE female wrestlers since Lita vs. Trish. I’m not a Paige fan yet and I enjoy AJ Lee much more so I’m hoping she gets the win but the feud continues. I doubt they’ll do another title change here so I’m leaning towards picking AJ Punk.

Interest Level: 9/10
Prediction: AJ Lee wins.

Tim:

A diva’s feud I’m interested in! It hasn’t been enough but it’s definitely helped flesh out Paige’s character a little and AJ really is just great at her job. I think if we get a more aggressive Paige here this match could be great  I don’t think the feud needs to end here because it’s helping Paige so much. Keep it going until Summerslam!

Interest Level: 8/10
Prediction: AJ wins

Tom:

Frenemies! They’re frenemies? Did you know they’re frenemies? Frenemies is a word that the kids are using! Paige, don’t forget to reference that you’re frenemies!

Anyway, lame buzzwords aside, this should be p. good. Like a few other matches on this show, it seems to be a placeholder to build things to the ‘real’ match that’ll happen at Summerslam so I’m guessing there will be some manner of fuckery happening before the finish.

Interest Level: 7/10
Prediction: AJ wins.

The Usos vs. The Wyatt Family in a 2 out of 3 Falls Match for the Tag Team Championship

Joey:

For some reason, I’m not too into this match despite enjoying the feud. 2 out of 3 falls matches are usually tricky and can be hit or miss. I’m sure they can make it work and I’m rooting for The Wyatt Family here because an Usos win would give power to the rumor that they are holding on to the straps to drop them to The Ascension when they are called up.

Interest Level: 7/10
Prediction: Usos win.

Tim:

So this tag team division is really pathetic. These men should have a good match but I’m so bored with them. They really need to put some gold on The Wyatts. All-in-all The Wyatt Family hasn’t accomplished anything since coming to the main roster. Their schtick is getting old because it’s the same thing over and over. But I guess that’s wrestling. The Usos are great and entertaining but their characters are so one dimensional. Tag team divisions could and should be so much more.

Interest Level: 5/10
Prediction: The Wyatts win.

Tom:

Forget the other haters and trolls on this website, this should be fantastic. Yes, they’ve done this match to death over the past few weeks BUT I think both teams are excellent and should make for an interesting 2/3 falls match.

Interest Level: 9/10
Prediction: The Wyatts win.

Battle Royal for the vacant Intercontinental Championship

Joey:

How many god damn battle royals can you do in one year? At least give us the Vince Russo Reverse Battle Royal if you’re going to do one for a title no one cares about. This belt is a curse and if I were booked to win, I would pull an Alex Riley and “accidentally” eliminate myself. My expectations are that Bo Dallas wins which I wouldn’t mind. If someone had to suffer the IC curse, it may as well be him.

Interest Level: 2/10
Prediction: Bo Dallas wins.

Tim:

The Miz? Please no. Ziggler and Cesaro? They don’t deserve to be in purgatory. Bo Dallas? Maybe. Do whatever you can to squeeze that little gimmick dry before people move on, I guess. Fandango? Nope. I’m not naming everyone because it’s full of  people I don’t care about and a couple that should be above mid-card titles. WWE hasn’t done one thing to change that.

It’s bad times when Sheamus winning (and unifying the belts) is the most interesting thing that could happen. This product isn’t pleasing me at all lately and I’m a little sour in case you could not tell. There’s always next month?

Interest Level: 1/10
Prediction: Sheamus wins.

Tom:

Given the positions both guys were in at Wrestlemania, it’s remarkable that Cesaro’s in a worthless battle royal while Jack Swagger’s a babyface in a somewhat prominent match. Not expecting much of anything from all this, to be honest – maybe some fun with Bo Dallas, I guess? Some enjoyable humiliation for Ziggler and Ryder? The final fate of Adam Rose?

Anyway, I’m guessing Cesaro will leave with the title and go on to stagnate for a while until Brock wins the WWE World Titles and they bring ol’ Toni in to stand next to Lesnar and Heyman as evidence of how successful Paul Heyman Guys are*.

*Rybaxel will, of course, be left crying in each other’s arms in the back

Interest Level: 2/10
Prediction: Cesaro wins.

Bray Wyatt vs. Chris Jericho

Joey:

I’m not big on Jericho’s last two returns so unsure if I’ll be able to get into this one. He’s basically like RVD except with more good will from the fan base. Nice additions to the show but not an asset that feels special anymore. I’m hoping the match delivers as Bray is on a hot streak and the last few guys to work with Jericho (Ziggler, Fandango, Ryback) all went a bit downhill after.

Interest Level: 6/10
Prediction: Bray Wyatt wins.

Tim:

Jericho may be an annoyance but he can still have good matches if he’s willing to go all out. Oddly enough, my main problem is that he comes back just enough to where all he does is put people over. He never wins and he doesn’t seem like that big of a deal anymore. I’d like to see him win some stuff and then put someone over huge… but he’s too busy with his horrible side projects.

I don’t know about these two guy’s chemistry and it’s all happened so fast that I don’t really understand what the beef is here. I’m interested to see how the match works though and Bray Wyatt needs a good win.

Interest Level: 7/10
Prediction: Bray Wyatt wins

Tom:

Struggling to give too much of a fuck for this one, though I’m hoping it ends up really good and wins me over. Bray getting a “BORING” chant on Raw ain’t a good sign, and Jericho’s status as a part-time wrestler / full-time cool dad makes it difficult to care too much about anything he does.

Interest Level: 5/10
Prediction: Jericho wins.

Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins

Joey:

There’s usually one great match on each WWE PPV and it’s going to be this one here. Seth Rollins is getting the most heel heat in WWE right now and Dean Ambrose is getting the most organic babyface pops. Add in the immense talent each have as performers and the solid story going on and you should have magic. I think Ambrose wins here as WWE tends to have MITB briefcase holders lose most big matches before cashing in.

Interest Level: 10/10
Prediction: Dean Ambrose wins.

Tim:

This will be the match of the night. I think Ambrose winning here is great and I’m pretty sure that’s how this will go. Both men are the most interesting parts of the WWE product right now. This is the only storyline that feels right and natural. I’m very excited.

Interest Level: 10/10
Prediction: Dean Ambrose wins

Tom:

DEAN AMBROSE CAME TO DO TWO THINGS: SNIFF GLUE AND FUMBLE WITH YOUR SISTER’S BRA CLASP, BUT HE’S ALL OUT OF GLUE. Yeah, this should be great. I don’t see Ambrose winning this one, since the angle on Raw where he got beaten up a good amount seemed to be a way to give them an out to let Rollins take the win.

What’s more, a loss could lead to Dean turning into even MORE of a psycho in his quest for revenge, so then they can stretch this out until it explodes in some kind of a stipulation match at Summerslam (which will hopefully involve a weed whacker to honour Dean’s roots in The Dub).

Interest Level: 10/10
Prediction: Seth Rollins wins.

John Cena vs. Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton vs. Kane for the WWE World Championship

Joey:

I’m tired of the Cena overcoming the odds story despite loving Cena. I’m tired of Orton in the main event scene. I’m tired of Kane in general. I’m tired of people flocking any wrestler who feuds with Cena the way they currently are with Roman Reigns overrating his promos because he’s talking down to Cena. I’m just glad this program is ending and Cena vs. Brock Lesnar beginning.

Interest Level: 3/10
Prediction: Cena wins. People get mad on the internet because they talked themselves into believing Roman Reigns was gonna win.

Tim:

Look at this. This is the PPV WWE is giving us. Why is Reigns in this match if The Authority wants to keep him away from the title right now? I continue to not see what’s so great about Reigns. It’s amazing how the fans will cheer when you book someone like you have faith in them, then add in the fact that he is the freshest face in a match with three of the most stale people in the company. I’m not interested in this match at all.

Interest Level: 0/10
Prediction: John Cena wins by overcoming the odds!

Tom:

I’m tired just thinking about this match. Four ways are dumb, this match feels like a Raw main event and I don’t care. Good night everybody, I’ll see you at Summerslam.

Interest Level: 2/10
Prediction: Cena wins and there’s some Brock business to end the show.