WWE Battleground 2015: Full Predictions for Each Champion at Event

WWE Battleground is upon us. In mere hours, WWE will treat its fans to what is likely to be one of the best pay-per-views of the year.

That’s high praise to be sure. The card for tonight’s event, however, deserves such accolades. In addition to two surefire brawls (Randy Orton vs. Sheamus, Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt), the three championship matches slated for tonight are sure to be crowd-pleasers.

A fourth—a triple-threat match for the Intercontinental Championship featuring Ryback, Big Show and The Miz—has been scrapped due to Ryback’s unexpected injury. That could be addition by subtraction, though, as it would allow for more time devoted to the three stellar matchups that will decide who wears the gold heading into SummerSlam.

So how will WWE’s current champions fare tonight in St. Louis?

The Prime Time Players vs. The New Day for the Tag Team Championships

I’ve rather enjoyed this feud and hope it’s one that continues for a while longer. Before The Prime Time Players came on the scene, The New Day had been rolling through the tag team division. It wasn’t just their mounting win total, but their bravado that put them heads and shoulders above their competition.

Since returning to tag team action in February, Titus O’Neil and Darren Young have been able to match both The New Day’s entertainment value and in-ring skills. When The Prime Time Players won the tag team titles at Elimination Chamber in May, it didn’t feel like a surprise. It felt like they belonged.

Since then, the teams have gone toe-to-toe in both singles and six-man tag team action, splitting the victories among them. It’s also been refreshing to listen to O’Neil on commentary during matches involving The New Day, as he’s just as good of a talker as Xavier Woods.

With a lack of any formidable opponents currently on the roster, it seems these two teams will get a majority of the spotlight throughout the summer, possibly longer. If that’s true, then it feels like we could be in for seeing these titles change hands often.

Since O’Neil and Young won the last go-around between these groups, it’s only fitting a re-focused and re-energized New Day—probably with the combination of Big E Langston and Kofi Kingston—will reclaim the gold.

Prediction: The New Day via pinfall to win the Tag Team Championship

John Cena vs. Kevin Owens for the United States Championship

The United States Championship is finally on the line in the rubber match between these two goliaths. Their match at Elimination Chamber was rated the second-best match of 2015 thus far by WWE.com, while their rematch at Money in the Bank duplicated that success.

Tonight, gold is on the line. Since their last pay-per-view match, Owens has been unraveling. He lost the NXT title to Finn Balor at Brock Lesnar: Beast in the East; he’s attempted to answer Cena’s United States Open Challenge on Raw for three weeks, only to be thwarted by Cesaro and, more recently, Rusev.

He looks more like a man in desperation than a man on a mission. That desperation, however, makes Owens dangerous. He’s vowed to be the man to take the U.S. title from Cena.

Give Cena credit: He’s taken a forgotten title and made it the centerpiece of WWE programming for the last four months. Since claiming the belt at WrestleMania 31 against Rusev, Cena has strung together some of the most entertaining matches of the year on Raw. He’s given anyone and everyone an opportunity, and many have shown they're worthy to take the WWE midcard to new heights.

But Owens is the one wrestler who can take it higher than anyone. Our panel of B/R experts gave Owens a clean sweep in their match predictions for Battleground. I agree.

Prediction: Kevin Owens via pinfall to win the United States Championship

Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

When this match was announced for Battleground, there were rumblings—including from B/R’s own Erik Beaston—whether pitting these two against each other prior to SummerSlam was a good idea.

Since that June night on Raw, Lesnar and Rollins have done a marvelous job selling this match, except for an ill-conceived contract signing on this week’s episode of Raw. Between Lesnar seeking vengeance and Rollins’ vows to burn Suplex City to the ground, tonight’s main event has taken on the feel of a WrestleMania-level match.

There’s little doubt these two will put on a grand match, but recent buzz suggests there could be more in the cards tonight. The Undertaker has been rumored to appear, possibly to seek revenge on Lesnar for conquering The Streak at WrestleMania 30. He might also take up the fight for Kane, who has been Rollins’ punching bag for the last few months.

If true, would The Deadman interfere in the championship match, or would he appear at its conclusion? No one knows.

And don’t forget about Sheamus, who holds the Money in the Bank briefcase and could cash in on a weakened Rollins or Lesnar.

Our expert panel was split 3-2 on tonight’s main event. Personally, I think all of it is a smokescreen for what will be Brock Lesnar’s revenge.

Prediction: Brock Lesnar via pinfall to win the WWE Heavyweight Championship