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Sunday, October 6, 2013

The Frontline of the WWE: Preview of WWE Battleground 2013

It seems that WWE never learns.  One pay-per view a month is plenty.  Adding these unnecessary PPVs in no way helps the product; in fact, it dilutes the product because you break the focus from building entertaining and engrossing storylines to promote a PPV that does not seem anywhere close to important.  Especially with Hell in a Cell set for later this month, WWE's newest PPV Battleground feels like a generic throwaway PPV.  Personally, this writer never hopes for any show to be a throwaway, but that is the nature of things.  When establishing a new PPV, WWE needs to really make a strong first impression or risk going the ways of December to Dismember, Breaking Point or Capitol Punishment.  There are some interesting storylines heading into Battleground; the one caveat being that Battleground feels more in lines with a big episode of Raw than a major PPV event as it is stuck in the middle of two pivotal PPVs (Night of Champions and Hell in a Cell).  Well the wait will not be that long to see if this new PPV sinks or swims as Battleground originates from the First Niagara Center in Buffalo this Sunday evening.

Kofi Kingston vs. Bray Wyatt

Bray Wyatt has not had much to do since WWE Creative wrote Kane off of TV at Summerslam.  Given the incredibly unique talent of the Wyatt Family, this writer would have thought WWE would spring at the opportunity to put together a little feud to keep them busy for the time being.  No, all viewers got were more cryptic messages and squash matches.  It seems WWE is stalling until they decide to bring Kane back into the fray.  Speaking of the Big Red Monster, this match would be an excellent opportunity to bring Kane back into his feud with Bray Wyatt in some capacity.  Be it an opponent or follower, Kane is desperately needed to give the Wyatt Family some much needed direction.

Prediction:  Bray Wyatt wins

Cody Rhodes & Goldust vs. The Shield

The feud between the Corporation and the Rhodes Family has been the most entertaining television on any current WWE programming.  All starting with Triple H prematurely firing Cody Rhodes for losing a match to Randy Orton, this feud has slowly escalated over the past month to involve the entire Rhodes Family (Cody, Goldust and Dusty).  In a last ditch effort to eradicate the Rhodes threat, Triple H gave them a proposition they could not refuse-- beat The Shield and Cody and Goldust get their jobs back, lose and the entire Rhodes Family is banned from the WWE.  These huge stakes along with the great set-up make this match worth paying attention to this Sunday.  With the right intensity, environment and direction, this simple tag team match could steal the show.

Prediction:  Cody Rhodes & Goldust win

AJ Lee (c) vs. Brie Bella for the Diva's Championship

Well, it was wishful thinking that mixing the Diva's Title scene with the cast of Total Divas was just a one shot deal.  WWE is back at it again this month.  Now WWE will be cycling through the cast to individually challenge AJ.  Outside of Natalya, this writer does not see any of the other divas taking the title away from WWE's resident crazy chick.

Prediction:  AJ Lee retains

Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. Rob Van Dam in a Battleground Hardcore Match for the World Heavyweight Championship

With such a short period between Night of Champions and Battleground, it would not have been the best choice to build up a brand new challenger for Alberto Del Rio.  The easiest and smartest choice was to continue this decent feud with Rob Van Dam and Ricardo Rodriguez especially after the disqualification ending to their match at Night of Champions.  Given RVD's history of excellent hardcore matches and Del Rio's developing mean streak, this match should be an exciting bout to say the least.  With RVD set to be taking a break after Battleground, this writer has a feeling Rodriguez will once again be joining forces with Alberto Del Rio.

Prediction:  Alberto Del Rio retains

Curtis Axel (c) vs. R-Truth for the Intercontinental Championship

It really is hard to preview this match as there is absolutely no story or real significance for it.  R-Truth beat Curtis Axel in a non-title match on Raw so guess that win warrants him a title opportunity.  The only purpose for this match serves is being the buffer between the bigger matches on the card.  Being the buffer is just what this match is going to be as it should be an average bout at best.

Prediction:  Curtis Axel retains

CM Punk vs. Ryback

Placing Ryback into the hands of Paul Heyman was ingenious.  There was no real direction for his character other than the obligatory Ryback bullying segment that appeared on every episode of Raw and Smackdown for the past few months.  After Curtis Axel and Brock Lesnar, it was hard to think of somebody to keep CM Punk busy with Paul Heyman.  Ryback fits the bill perfectly as there is history and chemistry between the two and he has nothing else to do.  As it is only the first match between Punk and Ryback, expect the newest Paul Heyman guy to get the win in some underhanded way.  Heyman needs to keep winning in order for this feud to continue.  If Punk wins, he can finally exact his revenge against Heyman thus end of story and end of keeping Punk away for the WWE Title picture.

Prediction:  Ryback wins

Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton for the vacant WWE Championship

Speaking of the WWE Title picture, it has been an interesting three weeks.  At Night of Champions, Daniel Bryan reclaimed the WWE Championship from Randy Orton, but things were not right in the world.  When Scott Armstrong went to count the winning pinfall, he made an obviously quick count.  This fast count was used by Triple H to strip Daniel Bryan of the WWE Championship the next night on Raw.  While it was obvious Triple H orchestrated the entire fast count fiasco, you do have to applaud WWE for thinking of a neat way to extend this feud between Bryan and Orton without damaging the standing of either superstar.  The Corporation storyline has made considerable strides in making the faces look on even footing with the heels, but all paths lead to a climactic multi-man match at Survivor Series.  In order to get to that climax, there needs to be some adversity for the new leader of the locker room, Daniel Bryan.  In some way, shape or form, Randy Orton has to leave Battleground as WWE Champion to keep this major storyline on course for Survivor Series.

Prediction:  Randy Orton wins the WWE Championship

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