THE RAGER! The Battleground Support Group (Bray Wyatt, Rhodes Brothers, Daniel Bryan)

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Battleground seemed to be one of those pay per views that was good but ran the risk of being completely marred by the final moments and depending on who’s opinion you’re hearing, that’s exactly what happened. Let’s take a dip, shall we?

Kick-off match: Dolph Ziggler vs Damian Sandow
Eh, it happened. Wasn’t necessarily an impressive outing for either man but then again, watching a live stream from your crappy work computer isn’t really the best vantage point. As a guy that realizes that Dolph needs to be higher up on the card at all times (may be a bit irrational, I know), I was disappointed that Ziggler didn’t completely dominate. However, I do recognize that you also don’t want to completely squashed your briefcase holder (which is something WWE seems to just now realize). They played up the knee angle a bit to really hammer home that Sandow probably wouldn’t cash in but I’m ready for them to do something with that and move on.

WHC Hardcore Match: Alberto Del Rio(c) vs RVD
Another solid match between these two, much like I was expecting. Still seems strange to label this a hardcore match when compared to some of the matches RVD had in his ECW days. By comparison, this match was a pillow fight wrapped in kittens and tucked underneath a blanket of dreams.

The Real Americans vs Santino & Great Khali
There was only one reason why this match was included, everything leading up to it completely faded from memory. The swing is incredibly impressive, whether is swinging a massive human like Khali or swinging a regular person for an ungodly long time. Honestly, I’m just glad more people are noticing Cesaro, even if it is for something so simplistic.

Intercontinental Championship Match
Curtis Axel(c) vs R-Truth
Do we still not know what Axel’s finisher is yet? How has he been champ this long and yet I still can’t identify what his finishing move it? I must be incredibly imperceptive or my short term memory is nowhere to be found. I still have been impressed by anything Axel has done. I’m not saying he’s done anything bad or wrong but he’s also not doing anything noticeable. R-Truth is R-Truth, I already know what to expect and that’s exactly what I got.

Diva’s Championship Match
AJ(c) vs Brie Bella
I will give both participants credit here and say that we got a good divas match. Wasn’t stellar but it was solid enough where I felt a tad bit cheated with a roll-up finish. Don’t get carried away, I didn’t set any apartment complexes ablaze over it but it would’ve been nice to see somebody win cleanly. I know this was done so to establish Tamina as AJ’s new heavy (a completely unnecessary move, by the way) but there’s different ways of going about this. Basically Tamina is the new female Big E for AJ.

Goldust & Cody Rhodes vs Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns
Easily the match of the night in which all participants had their moment to impressive and they all executed about as well as one would hope. Goldust came out and reminded most of us why we really cheer whenever he makes an appearance and ultimately it’s impressive how he’s able to work at that age. Of course, plenty of credit goes to The Shield for continuing to do what they’ve done remarkably well since their inception. Seriously, whoever was behind the decision of joining these three specific wrestlers together deserves a good portion of ticket sales, a hearty handshake, a hug and maybe a pat on the ass (in a football way, not in a sexual harassment way…never in a sexual harassment way, kids). My biggest concern about this would be Cody wouldn’t look strong enough on his own BUT I would argue that Cody looked incredibly strong at the end to finally put Shield away. I stand by the point where Cody does his best work in high pressure situations where he’s really fighting for something meaningful and I hope Cody continues that. If Cody can’t get over with the build he’s got right now, he’s hopeless.
THIS always helps.

Bray Wyatt vs Kofi Kingston
THIS is the match Bray should’ve had months ago. At least have this instead of that Ring of Fire match. I feel like Bray finally took some positive steps in the right direction by showing that he does have ability to go along with his character. I’ll admit that the match started slow I couldn’t help but be impressed with Bray with the last bit, especially at time when I was so close to throwing in the towel on him. Also I thought the end was pretty fantastic.
Of course, I would be completely dumb not to include this.

CM Punk vs Ryback
So I’m gonna be lukewarm about a CM Punk match and I don’t really know how I feel about that. This feud is going to need a shot in the arm pretty soon and it’s not because CM Punk and Heyman are doing anything wrong but the problem lies within the fact that there’s no way to replace Brock’s role in this feud. I know we’re going with another Brock-less matchat HiaC, I’ve accepted that but I really think Brock should materialize in Survivor Series to finally put this whole thing to bed. Again, it feels really weird considering how badly we wanted this exact feud at the beginning. However, it’s like what they say, show me the hottest woman or man in the world and I’ll show the person that’s tired of sleeping with them.
Who is they, by the way? Obviously somebody that’s never seen Rosario Dawson or Tom Hardy.

Vacant WWE Championship Match
Randy Orton vs Daniel Bryan
I wasn’t angered by the end of this match (other than the fact the bell never rang) because it’s what ultimately thought would happen. Sure, I thought Big Show would be forced to help Orton win and I didn’t expect him to just punch indiscriminately. Mostly, I wasn’t angered because of what I talked about previously, I’ve completely turned the “over-analytical wrestling fan” switch off in my brain and just concentrated on simply being a fan and enjoy Daniel Bryan in the spotlight. And yeah, I agree that ending perfectly fine at the end of a Raw but not-so-much for a pay per view. And with that, Vacant’s dominant title reign continues!

All-in-all, I didn’t think the end was enough to completely ruin the ppv but then again, that may have more to do with my overly-Zen approach to the Daniel Bryan story. The Rhodes family ending might be one of my favorite moments of the year. But I’m more interested in your thoughts on the PPV. Go and comment, Rageans!

Remember to catch this week’s Classy Ring Attire (follow us on twitter @CRAttire)!

Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do twice,
Chris

The Answer: Have fun not be able to sleep tonight.

Chris is a writer from Fayetteville, NC. He's the co-creator of Irrelevant But Awesome Productions which produces podcasts you all know and love like Classy Ring Attire, Trashy Ring Attire and The Disney Magic Podcast. You can keep up with everything on twitter by following @IBAStudios and @CWSanders39