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WWE will present the 2014 Battleground PPV from Tampa, FL on PPV and the WWE Network, the second annual PPV under that banner. Here are our predictions on what the matches will look like.
*WWE World champion John Cena vs. Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton vs. Kane.
Dave: With Cena set to take on Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam, the HOPE here is that he will lose the belt and it will not be for the Title. But knowing how Vince thinks, that won't happen, especially with talk the Roman Reigns will take on Triple H at SummerSlam. Personally, I would like the belt off of Cena since he doesn't need it, but there is a good case to be made for not having Reigns win the belt in a match like this, as opposed to one-on-one. It looks like Cena retains.
Mike: As I reported in the Elite section, John Cena has to be on a movie set Monday and won't be at Raw, so that's a pretty good sign that something or someone is taking him out. Could be Brock. Could be a title change. I really feel like the time is right to go with Reigns, so we'll see if Cena wins and Rollins cashes in to begin that chase or if Reigns gets the belt outright.
Rich: I would say Cena retains, but I think if Reigns wins it in Tampa, he will get a huge reaction from the crowd who saw him in FCW and NXT. I think the other two options don’t work unless we see Rollins come out and cash in to thumb his nose at Kane and Orton and become Hunter’s favorite (but that will depend on his condition after his match with Ambrose).
*Best 3 Falls: WWE Tag Team champions The Usos vs. The Wyatt Family.
Dave: The Wyatts have two wins over the champions which usually means they don't win the belts. I think the Usos have been really good as champions but I would pull the trigger and change the titles here. Rowan and Harper are so unique that I would like to see them get a run with the straps.
Mike: I fully expect the Wyatts to get the belts here. It is their time.
Rich: I love that they have made this two out of three falls so the team that walks out with the titles has earned it. Since I am so good at picking the tag title matches over the last two years, you may want to go the other way, but I think it is time for Harper and Rowan and if they win in two falls, it would be a convincing victory and coronation for the new champions. Then let the Usos chase to try to get their titles back in more fun matches between these two teams.
*WWE Divas champion AJ Lee vs. Paige.
Dave: AJ just got the belt back so it would make no sense to have her lose it this fast. The frenemy storyline is really hard to believe, so they should just turn Paige full on heel here and let her finally show what she can do.
Mike: AJ will retain and then Paige will be the one that goes nuts.
Rich: I agree with Dave that it would be a mistake to take the title off AJ so soon. I want this to be a good match regardless of who wins. I think the hug after their win on Smackdown is a sign that Paige is the one that is going to snap. I hope the people in creative watched the Anti-Diva Stuff that Paige did before because that is what you need to do with her. Give them at least ten minutes.
*Battle Royal to crown new WWE Intercontinental champion: WWE United States champion Sheamus, Cesaro, RVD, Damien Sandow, The Great Khali, Ryback, Curtis Axel, Bo Dallas, Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler, Big E, Fandango, Alberto Del Rio and more to be announced.
Dave: This is pretty wide open. What I would do is have Sheamus win and unify the two secondary titles so that they mean something but with Cesaro breaking away from Paul Heyman, they just might go with him.
Mike: I am going with Cesaro.
Rich: I don’t like that the new champion did not pin anyone to win, but there could be some fun stuff in this match. I hope if Bo eliminates anyone, he does a victory lap to celebrate and get on the mic to tell them better luck next time. I would love to see Cesaro or Ziggler win the match since I think they will give us really good IC Title matches over the next few months. I think it would be hilarious if they have Zack Ryder be the last person eliminated just to give people the glimmer of hope that he would be the winner.
*Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose.
Dave: I am really looking forward to this one. I see it being more Ambrose than Rollins, but Seth cheating at the end to steal the victory.
Mike: This should be a great brawl. Rollins winning makes the most sense but this could go either way.
Rich: I would love for this to be like the third match in their FCW 15 Title Series (a 35 minute wrestling clinic), but I think this is the first of a long series of matches between the two that could end in something like Hell in a Cell. I agree with Mike that this will be a brawl and because of that, I think it will be a shorter match than some might expect, but they will pummel each other, but Rollins will find a way to survive in either a double disqualification or no contest. If Rollins is not incapacitated, I can see Rollins potentially cashing in.
*Rusev vs. Jack Swagger.
Dave: I am really looking forward to this. Monday's face off was great. Rusev is still undefeated and I don't see Swagger being the one to end that so I say it will be a hard fought match, which Rusev wins with help from Lana.
Mike: This could be a lot of fun. I expect Rusev to get the win. If they really want to get some heat, have him put Zeb in the Accolade.
Rich: This will be like the Rusev/Big E matches where it is two hosses beating each other up. Since this could be paced similar to the Ambrose/Rollins match, I hope it does not get overshadowed by that match. Rusev CRUSH.
*Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt.
Dave: After losing his feud to John Cena, pretty handily, Wyatt MUST beat Jericho here. If he loses it will hurt his character's credibility. A lot.
Mike: I agree. This needs to be all about building Wyatt. I suspect a good match.
Rich: This should be a fun match. I have not been sold on Wyatt’s recent singles matches but I think this will end that streak. I am not a big fan of promos on PPVs, but I wouldn’t mind a brief back and forth between these two before their match. Wyatt needs this win more than Jericho (but we said that about Wyatt’s previous PPV opponent) and I think Wyatt gets the win.
Naomi vs. Cameron will be the WWE Battleground Kickoff match.
Dave: Naomi is the better of the two and the wronged one, so she should win here. But honestly, I really don't care.
Mike: Cameron should win to kick off the feud, but will WWE give this the amount of attention needed? Having it in the pre-show slot doesn't inspire confidence.
Rich: If Cameron wins, I Riot. However, she probably will because if Naomi wins, what is the need for this feud. I will make sure to talk about the concession stand options if I am at the PPV.
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