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WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN THIS SUNDAY IN PHILLY: THE WWE BATTLEGROUND PPV TIP SHEET

By Dave Scherer, Mike Johnson & Richard Trionfo on 2017-07-20 20:19:00

WWE presents the Battleground PPV from Philadelphia on Sunday night.  Here is our take on what to expect on the show.

WWE Championship: Jinder Mahal vs. Randy Orton in a Punjabi Prison Match.

Dave: Tickets for this show have been less than brisk and if you wonder why that is, look no further than the top two matches on the show.  While I think they very well may have a very good match, this is Philadelphia.  This is not the kind of match that appeals for much of the city's rabid fan base.  With that said, if Jinder is to have a shot as getting over as a top guy, he needs to win his match, the bout he chose.  If he loses, well it just makes him look weak and there is no point in that.  Jinder goes over.

Mike: Jinder has to win here.  This will be the "sports-entertainment adventure hour" type match with the Singhs interfering and taking crazy bumps into and off of the Prison and lots of drama involving getting out of the cages.  My guess is that Orton nearly has the win but the Singhs prevent it and Jinder escapes.  It makes no sense to switch the top belt right before Summerslam.

Richard: If they want an imposing structure, they should use the prison at the Linc for the rowdy Eagles fans.  Jinder needs to win this match because as Dave said, if he loses, it is in the match he chose.  He also needs to depose Orton from this feud and let us see what he can do against his next opponent.  If this match is as grueling as they are trying to tell us, why not have Corbin be there to be ready to challenge the winner once the 'prison' is lifted off the ground.

John Cena vs. Rusev in a Flag Match.

Dave: And speaking of things that are just weak, we have this.  With no build at all, John Jack is defending America's honor in the City Of Brotherly Love, Jack.  Rusev hasn't even been around to be the menacing foreign heel so this whole thing is just so random.  What they should do is have Rusev beat Cena and lay him out, maybe finally start the build to get Rusev over as a monster.  What they will probably do is have John Jack defend America's honor from our hated Bulgarian enemy.

Mike: I was so interested in John Cena's return until it turned into The Marine: Rerun.  No one is going to believe for a second that Rusev is going to win, so casting him again as the foreign menace heel is, in my opinion, a waste of time for all involved.  Cena wins with the usual mindset.

Richard:  It seems like only Wrestlemania 31 that big bad Rusev came off a victory over John Cena to face him on a pay per view only to lose and find his way into obscurity.  Who would have thought that of Enzo, Big Cass (everyone happy?), Jinder, and Rusev that Rusev would be the fourth best pushed of the group?  Rusev should win, but when did WWE do what should happen.  I also want Cena to win for the chance to have JBL tell everyone "This is the city that booed Santa Claus.  Of course they will boo Cena winning for America"

AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens for The US Title.

Dave: Of course, Vince McMahon took note of the fact that Mike Johnson was on vacation and would miss the MSG show and smited him by flipping the Title at that event.  I had expected it would flip here.  While I could see them trading it back and forth a few times, AJ is the man on Smackdown.  Sorry Cena, he's there every week so it's his show.  He can elevate the US Title the way that Rob Van Dam did with the TV Title back in ECW.  I say leave it on AJ and let him build up that Title.

Mike:  I am fine with AJ retaining as long as they give them a good 25-30 minutes to have the type of match they deserve to have.  In a lot of ways, from an in-ring perspective, this is the main event.  I almost wonder if they will have Owens get the belt back to do the rubber match at Summerslam next month.  If it's me, that's the way I go.

Richard: This should be the best thing on the pay per view, by a good margin and I don't see them not delivering a very good match.  I would love to see Owens get the title back, but if he loses, he can go on Talking Smack every week to complain to Daniel about the injustice . . . well he can do it on Smackdown every week.  I will not complain about the result either way because they are the two best things on Smackdown right now.  I would assume that this will lead to AJ/Nakamura (at SummerSlam?)

The Usos vs. The New Day for the Tag Team Titles.

Dave: This has been good stuff.  I love the Usos as heels.  At some point The New Day will get the belts but this is not the place for that to happen.  Use and Use will find a way to hold onto their gold.

Mike: I am with Dave here.  I don't see a title change, because the New Day doesn't need them.  Let the Usos steal the win here.

Richard:   Are there any other tag teams left on this brand?  The Usos should retain because they have embraced their turn so well.  The New Day move to Smackdown is the same as the Miz/Ambrose move to Raw.  Same product, different packaging.

Women's Championship No. 1 Contendership: Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch vs. Natalya vs. Lana vs. Tamina Snuka in a Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match.

Dave: Tamina and Lana?  Uh, no.  Naomi is the champ but Carmella has the case so they could pick a heel or a face here.  There have been so many times where I thought Natalya would get her shot and didn't that I won't bit again here.  Charlotte has been out of the picture long enough since coming to Smackdown.  It's time for her to win and get into the picture.

Mike:  This is absolutely a case of too much will ruin a match.  Lana doesn't have the experience needed to be in this at all, but perhaps being in the match will help her out.  Charlotte was brought to Smackdown to help raise the profile of the women she's in the ring with and she doesn't need the title for that.  I'd really like to see Becky get the win as I feel like she's been relatively forgotten since the brand split.  WWE should remedy that immediately.  I could also see them putting the title on Lana just for the shock value.

Richard:  If they deal with logic, you would think that Lana will sit back while Tamina does all of the heavy lifting.  Since it is an elimination match, they should get a decent amount of time.  If they go with a cash in, I would like to see Natalya win this since she has more history with Carmella than any of the other women in the match.  If they don't do the cash in, give it to Charlotte because she will never earn a title match on her own.  There was an interesting wrinkle from Smackdown. Naomi said she would be there to congratulate the winner on Sunday.  Then they gave away the possible surprise of Carmella attacking Naomi on Sunday by having her say she will be shadowing Naomi.  Why does WWE creative think we are five years old?

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Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Baron Corbin.

Dave: I know Corbin has the case but Nakamura should get the win.  And then, if/when Corbin wins the Title, Nakamura has a claim if he wins here.

Mike: I am looking forward to this as I think the experience of working with Nakamura will be a big positive for Corbin.  I am going to say that Corbin should get the win.  He has the MITB briefcase, so let him get the win to set up a rematch at Summerslam.

Richard:  This has the potential to be a good match.  Since Corbin has the briefcase, that usually means that he will lose more than win.   Give Nakamura the win by having Corbin overconfident and then he lets Nakamura get in Kinshasa for the win.

Sami Zayn vs. Mike Kanellis: 

Dave: New blood should beat the old blood here.  A loss won't hurt Sami.  It wouldn't do anything for Kanellis and damn, he needs a break doesn't he?  They took his last name away!  And he has Maria to distract, which she does very well.

Mike: I am with Dave here.  Thus far, the theme song is over more than the Kanellis clan, and that's WWE's fault.  They need to give the audience a reason to care about Mike and a win over Sami, especially if Maria interferes, is a nice way to start putting a spotlight and some heat on him.

Richard:  After three minutes of a match on Smackdown that saw Zayn dominate until Maria got involved and Mike cheated to win, what is the motivation for this match on the PPV.  Kanellis is new to the brand so give him the win.

Tye Dillinger vs. Aiden English (Kickoff Show).

Dave: Much like the match above, there is no reason to have Aiden win here.  I get that he is kind of a forgotten man and that's not his fault, but Tye is the new guy that hasn't been forgotten yet and he needs to win this one.

Mike: I like both, but WWE has given us no real reason to care about either thus far.  It doesn't matter who should win but my guess is Dillinger to give those watching the Kickoff a happy moment.

Richard:  At least they had one of these men on this week's Smackdown.  Maybe Tye Dillinger is exclusive to the PPV Kickoff Shows.   Does it matter that Aiden had a 10 second cameo?  Probably not, so I say give the win to Dillinger.  Then he can face someone in the SummerSlam Kickoff Match.

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