WWE Battleground 2016 Review

The Shield goes to war! All three members of The Shield collide in the main event as the WWE Championship is on the line in the final PPV before Raw and SmackDown go their separate ways.

Match 1: Charlotte Flair & Dana Brooke vs. Sasha Banks & Bayley
With these ladies being drafted to Monday Night Raw, the Raw women's division was looking stacked. Charlotte Flair teams up again with Dana Brooke to take on Sasha Banks and her former NXT enemy in Bayley. Crowd was absolutely hot for Bayley here and were eating up every move she executed with Flair having the weakest link in the match in Brooke being a downfall for her. Banks is able to submit Flair with her Bank Statement submission as the long feud between Charlotte and Sasha had only just begun.
Winners: Sasha Banks & Bayley
Rating: **1/4

Match 2: The New Day vs. The Wyatt Family
Aside from Xavier Woods oddly becoming scared to death of The Wyatt Family, this feud was a really good one. Really looked forward to seeing the two top teams in the company at the time go at it. While the match didn't get enough time I think they needed to really steal the show, they still put on a great display of twists and turns. They also centered the match around Woods being afraid of Bray Wyatt before he was finally able to conquer his fears and gain an advantage over him at one point before he went on to eventually fall to Bray and his Sister Abigail finisher. Great match but also kind of seemed like a lost opportunity to have these two feud for a longer period and have a better payoff than this.
Winners: The Wyatt Family
Rating: ***

Match 3: WWE United States Championship - Rusev (c) vs. Zack Ryder
Just a tad bit random to see Zack Ryder get a crack at Rusev and his United States Championship. Not complaining since I'm definitely a huge Ryder fan and love seeing him get some love on the PPV. Ryder was trying to ride the momentum he gained from WrestleMania 32 and take down Rusev with it. Ryder actually got in a decent amount of offense in this one and made the match more competitive than most Rusev matches at this time were. Unfortunately for Ryder, a kick to the back of the head from Rusev before following it up with an Accolade proved to be too much. Afterwards, Mojo Rawley came out to Ryder's aid as he stared down Rusev out of the ring. Enjoyable for what it was but definitely felt like a pre-show type of match.
Winner: Rusev
Rating: **

Match 4: Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens
If anyone has ever seen these two go at it in Ring of Honor back in the day, then you know what to expect. More specifically, this match reminded me of their match at Death Before Dishonor in 2010. If you have never seen it, then I highly recommend you do so before watching them here. It was their first match against each other in their personal feud that year and very similar to the animosity that was building here. As usual, incredible chemistry between the two with some incredible displays of athleticism that had the crowd reeling. After hitting two consecutive Helluva Kicks, Zayn pins Owens to score one of the biggest wins of his career. Remarkable performance as usual from these two with a very sweet ending as Zayn stared down Owens after the first Helluva Kick and following it up with another second nasty kick to the face. These two truly are destined to fight each other forever.
Winner: Sami Zayn
Rating: ****1/4

Match 5: Natalya vs. Becky Lynch
After Natalya turned her back on Becky Lynch a PPV ago, the two square off here. Seeing Natalya interact as a heel just seems a bit off to me. As much as I love these two, this was just a bland match that saw Natalya dominate throughout the match before Lynch finally got in a bit of offense at the end. Am I watching a John Cena match from 2006? Natalya locks up Lynch in a Sharpshooter and makes her submit to score the win.
Winner: Natalya
Rating: *1/2

Match 6: WWE Intercontinental Championship - The Miz (c) vs. Darren Young
If you forgot how slim the roster was looking in 2016 due to injuries, look no further than this. Another bland match here with the shenanigans nearing the end of the match overlooking all the action in the ring itself where the crowd was growing restless. With Bob Backlund at ringside for Darren Young, he gets himself involved with the match after Maryse slaps him. Backlund goes crazy and shoves Backlund to the floor before Young came down and choked The Miz out outside the ring as the referee calls for the bell. What the hell was that? If anything, that just made everyone involved in the match look like an idiot and those who don't know who Bob Backlund is just get a bad outlook on him. 
Winner: n/a
Rating: *1/4

Match 7: John Cena, Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. The Club
The next chapter in the feud between John Cena and AJ Styles has them finding allies to go at it in a war here before they face off in another singles match. Dig the idea of this as it sets up for a big rematch at Summerslam between the two. Fun match here with Enzo Amore really getting a rub from both Cena and the crowd has he cut a pretty sweet promo on The Club prior to the start of the match. Say what you want about him but he can damn well talk. Solid chemistry between the two teams as they nicely sprinkled some action between Cena and Styles but not enough to fulfill your appetite. But the two tag teams more than held their own and had some cool spots for themselves when Cena or Styles weren't involved. However, Cena and his squad get the last laugh when an Attitude Adjustment off the top rope to Styles proved to be the difference maker.
Winners: John Cena, Enzo Amore & Big Cass
Rating: ***3/4

Match 8: WWE Championship - Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns
Always wondered when the WWE would book a triple threat between The Shield members, just never thought it would come on a lesser PPV like Battleground. However, with the roster being slimmed down from injuries and with the new brand extension, I guess this makes sense. But I'm pretty sure they will eventually all go at it at a WrestleMania or Summerslam down the road. Especially one that won't have the general managers and commissioners at ringside hogging the spotlight. Even still, this was still a great match as you would expect from three guys who have been going at it for years. Back and forth they went with teases of them colluding before realizing it's a triple threat match and every man is for themselves. Roman Reigns hits Seth Rollins with a Spear but Dean Ambrose immediately grabs Reigns and plants him with a Dirty Deeds DDT to secure the win. With that being said, Reigns has been pinned cleanly in consecutive PPVs. Interesting. Afterwards, the SmackDown Live roster comes out to hoist up Ambrose and celebrate their champion.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
Rating: ****1/4

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Heading into a new stage in the WWE, they really needed a strong PPV that would deliver in terms of quality in the ring along with blending that to help with feuds down the line for each respective brand. Thankfully, they certainly delivered but it wasn't without a couple hiccups with the biggest one being Chris Jericho hosting Randy Orton on an episode of The Highlight Reel which came off as just forced and cheesy for a PPV. Regardless, still a fun show and a nice introduction into the 2016 brand extension.
Rating: 8/10