06th Oct2013

‘WWE Battleground 2013’ – Preview

by Chris Cummings

WWE-Battleground-2013-header

Well, tonight is the first ever Battleground pay-per view event from WWE, and it is set to be an interesting night with a lot of personal storylines going on in the midst of the card. Tonight’s event will feature grudge matches aplenty as well as a hardcore match, a big tag team match that determines the jobs of two of its competitors and a main event featuring one of the most interesting and intense rivalries this year.

The Matches

Battleground Pre-show

Damien Sandow vs. Dolph Ziggler

This is a strange thing to behold. Dolph Ziggler, one of the true workhorses in WWE today and a guy who has been booked on pretty much every show in the past few months in matches with the likes of The Shield and Randy Orton, is in a pre-show match against a mid-carder who hasn’t been booked much at all lately. These guys are both very good in the ring and this match should be a nice start to the show for those who watch these things, but it’s a shame to see Ziggler getting left off the main card at this point, he deserves much better.

Who will win? I predict a win for Dolph Ziggler.

Tag Team Match to determine Cody & Goldust’s employment

The Shield vs. Cody Rhodes & Goldust

Okay, so this should be a highly interesting match and I think the crowd will be well into it. This storyline, with Cody Rhodes losing his job and his brother and father attempting to get it back for him has been a lot of fun to follow. The Shield are on fire again and they are just getting better and better in the ring. Goldust has proven to have plenty left in the tank and Cody is just getting started, so this should be a good, heated tag match that might even possibly be made into a six-man on the night, with Dusty and Ambrose added to the mix.

Who will win? Cody & Goldie

WWE Divas Championship Match

AJ Lee (c) vs. Brie Bella

AJ Lee has been the divas champion for quite some time and I haven’t come across a match in recent months that I thought AJ would lose, until now. Brie is now mixed up in the Daniel Bryan/Randy Orton storyline with Brie and Daniel’s real-life relationship being acknowledged on screen. I could see AJ losing this one as a way to promote Brie more heavily as well as the Total Divas show which is on mid-season hiatus right now. It could go either way, but I have my thoughts on who will come out with the gold here.

Who will win? Brie Bella

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match

Curtis Axel (c) vs. R Truth

This match is a weird one. R Truth has been booked poorly in WWE since the Survivor Series of 2011 yet they keep shoving him in title matches at random times when he has hardly done anything notable on TV. I feel like this is purely here to fill the card and give Axel something to do. I can see it being okay in the ring but get little reaction.

Who will win? Curtis Axel

Tag Team Match

The Real Americans vs. Santino & Khali

Again, like the I-C title match, this is pure filler, and poor filler at that. Why this isn’t Los Matadores against The Real Americans is beyond me. This will be bland and embarrassing comedy fare, with Santino probably getting the win with the cobra.

Who will win? Santino & Khali

Grudge Match

Bray Wyatt vs. Kofi Kingston

This is a match that I hope will allow Wyatt to show how capable he is in the ring. He hasn’t had much chance to prove that so far since being promoted to the main roster and Kofi is a guy who can bring that out of someone. This should be an interesting match that will probably include some interference from The Wyatt Family at some point.

Who will win? Bray Wyatt

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match (Hardcore Rules)

Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. Rob Van Dam

A rematch from the previous pay-per view but under gimmick match rules. I think the addition of the “hardcore match” stipulation is a good call here, this would have fallen flat with the audience reaction if they were to go the “normal one-on-one” route again, in my view. I think, with weapons and ringside brawling being allowed now, this could be a show-stealer and a nice little match. I predict this as RVD’s best match in WWE since his return at Money in the Bank. Will we see a new champion? Time will tell.

Who will win? Rob Van Dam

Grudge Match

CM Punk vs. Ryback (w/Paul Heyman)

The CM Punk/Paul Heyman feud has lit up television plenty of times since it began a couple of months back and this new feud with Punk and Ryback adds a different dimension too. Ryback being portrayed as Heyman’s “knight in shining armour” is funny and makes Heyman all the more detestable for fans of the product. I hope this doesn’t go too long, with Punk being plagued by injury and Ryback being limited in the ring, this should be kept fairly short and be a little stone in the water in the continuation of the excellent Punk/Heyman feud.

Who will win? CM Punk

WWE Championship Match (Title Vacant)

Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan

So we have no WWE Champion at this point in time and that brings us to the main event of Battleground between the corporate choice Randy Orton and the fan favourite Daniel Bryan. This should be another decent and heated main event from these two men who have proven to have great chemistry in the ring together. It could go a number of ways, but I feel like we will finally see Big Show turn full heel and cost Bryan the title and the match here.

Who will win? Randy Orton

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