WWE Battleground 2016: Winners, Grades and Top Performances

Just five days after splitting WWE in two, Battleground gave fans little in the way of storyline movement despite some above-average action during the three-hour pay-per-view.
Here’s a Battleground wrap-up in the space of a tweet: There were no title changes or twists and nothing to write home about save for one promo and one match. Actually, I still have 39 characters left.
The lack of newsworthiness on Sunday may ultimately be a good thing for WWE considering they are basically resetting their entire company from a storyline standpoint as of Monday. With less than a month to go until SummerSlam, WWE’s second-biggest event each year, there is a lot of work to do in building a card that is worthy of the normal hype associated with the event.
Sure, WWE could have kicked off those changes with some special moments Sunday night but there’s plenty else for them to do once Monday Night Raw kicks into gear in less than 24 hours.
Check out our match-by-match breakdown of Battleground below.

Results

World Heavyweight Championship — Dean Ambrose (c) def. Roman Reigns (via pinfall) and Seth Rollins.

There was no time wasted getting the action going as Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns were all high-energy from the onset. Midway through the match, the crowd was particularly pleased with Ambrose and Rollins teaming up in an attempt to eliminate Reigns. After Rollins threw himself out of the ring to knock Reigns out, Ambrose helped him powerbomb Reigns through the announce table. That teamwork did not last long, of course, and Rollins soon took the upper hand including a near-fall after a Pedigree on Reigns. Ambrose eventually pulled out the win by hitting Dirty Deeds on Reigns moments after he Superman Punch’d and speared Rollins.

Reigns had some heel heat from the moment he was introduced — not that he was well-liked by fans previously — and it would certainly behoove WWE to capitalize on it, particularly since he is coming off a legitimate 30-day suspension. Ambrose brings the title back to SmackDown, which is good for the reintroduction of the brand. Rollins loses nothing by avoiding the pinning situation and can probably make a title match claim against Ambrose at SummerSlam next month.

Randy Orton appears on ‘The Highlight Reel’ hosted by Chris Jericho.

After nine months away from the ring while recovering from a serious shoulder injury, Orton returned in an interview segment to discuss his upcoming match against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. It was clear from his appearance that Orton is back as a face, though rarely is a heel-booked Lesnar not cheered anyway by the crowd. Orton, in a good effort on the mic, even got in a performance-enhancing drug shot at Lesnar, saying he would be able to beat him with “no enhancements needed.” (Orton, of course, has two WWE wellness policy violations during his time with the company.) He of course hit an RKO on Jericho to end the interview.
John Cena, Enzo Amore & Big Cass def. The Club via pinfall. I would be remiss to begin discussing this match without praising Amore for a world-class promo before it even began. It’s an absolute must-see. Action was fast-paced and exciting as one would expect from these six. Cena and A.J. Styles each hit their finishers before teammates saved the respective pinfalls, but Cena was able to execute a second Attitude Adjustment — this time from the top rope — before scoring the pin on Styles. Those two will likely continue their rivalry over on SmackDown, while Amore & Cass could start a program with Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows over on Raw.

Intercontinental Championship — The Miz (c) vs. Darren Young:

Young, a lower-card wrestler for most of his career, getting a title shot so soon after returning seemed strange from on the onset, but WWE found a way to make this match interesting with some actual character development at its conclusion. Bob Backlund, Young’s “life coach,” stopped Miz from bailing on the match, leading him to get slapped by Maryse (Miz’s real-life wife and valet). Maryse then feigned that she had been hit by Backlund, leading Miz back out of the ring to push Backlund. Seeing this, Young snapped (like Backlund used to back in the day) and locked in the crossface chickenwing (Backlund’s patented submission hold) on Miz outside the ring. No match result was announced, and the competitors were not outside the ring long enough for it to have been a double countout. It just ended.

Natalya def. Becky Lynch via submission.

A solid profile-building win for Natalya who got over clean with the Sharpshooter. These two will be counted on to lead the charge for the women on SmackDown, so you’ll see this match plenty going forward.

Sami Zayn def. Kevin Owens via pinfall.

Does “match of the night” even need to be expressed anymore when Owens (or Zayn, for that matter) is wrestling, or can it just be assumed from this point forward? The chemistry between these two makes for tremendous matches and great spots, the best of which Sunday came as Zayn delivered a back body drop to Owens on the ring apron. The crowd was fully involved, chanting loudly for both even with Owens billed as the ultimate heel. There were tornado DDTs (and countered tornado DDTs), super kicks, single-arm hook suplexes and even a big-man frog splash to the delight of the crowd, which gave the two a mid-match standing ovation. Zayn saved himself from a pinfall following a pop-up powerbomb by placing his foot on the rope and countered by nailing two suplexes and a Helluva Kick — make that two — for the clean 1-2-3 victory. Is this really the end of the rivalry? Not sure how the heel Owens can allow it to be, but it was a hell of an ending if so.

 United States Championship — Rusev (c) def. Zack Ryder via submission. 

 

Rusev was dominant, as one would expect, throughout the match. Ryder got in some offense with his standard finisher and looked poised for an upset until Rusev countered Ryder’s elbow drop and locked in the Accolade. Ryder surprisingly began breaking it, forcing Rusev to lock it in and bend Ryder back for the tap out. Rusev continued to attack Ryder after the match, leading NXT call-up Mojo Rawley to hit the ring and basically scream in Rusev face until he left the squared circle. It certainly looks like WWE will be pairing up Ryder and Rawley with the Hype Bros tag team on SmackDown.

 

The Wyatt Family def. The New Day via pinfall.

After some solid action, Xavier Woods appeared hypnotized by Bray Wyatt only to overcome his fear and clear the ring of the Wyatts. After a short celebration by Woods, Bray Wyatt caught him with Sister Abagail and earned the pin. The right outcome here, even if WWE is splitting up the Wyatts among its brands. The loss doesn’t hurt New Day as it still holds the tag titles, while Wyatt gets a rare major-show victory as he transitions into what should hopefully be a more featured role on SmackDown.

Sasha Banks & Bayley def. Charlotte & Dana Brooke via submission.

 It was nice to see WWE bring Bayley in for the match, even if it’s not a full-time call-up (she was not wearing a brand shirt and appears to be involved in the NXT women’s title picture at this time). The crowd provided a great reaction upon her introduction, probably the best I can remember for a female wrestler. Definitely a great way to start the show. Bayley’s main-roster debut may have taken a bit of steam away from Banks if they didn’t book her to win clean over Charlotte, which she did with the Bank Statement right in the middle of the ring. It would appear the Banks vs. Charlotte title match is all but official for SummerSlam.

Breezango def. The Usos via pinfall (Kickoff Match). 

 

 A big win for the newly formed tag team. As one would expect, The Usos were responsible for most of the highlights in the match, but Tyler Breeze throwing up his knees to counter a splash and converting the move into a small package resulted in a 1-2-3 victory. Considering these teams were drafted to the SmackDown brand on Tuesday, it would make sense for this feud to continue