WWE Battleground 2016: Best Moments from Buildup to PPV Event

We’re 12 hours away from the kickoff to WWE Battleground, and for an allegedly minor pay-per-view, this show has a lot to look forward to.

We have a Shield Triple Threat for the WWE Championship, a main event that would be big for WrestleMania, let alone Battleground. We have Cena, Enzo and Cass vs. AJ Styles and the Club—six of the most over Superstars throwing down together. We have The Wyatts vs. The New Day, a climax to the most interesting feud at the moment. We have the return of Sasha Banks to pay-per-view. We have Zayn vs. Owens, which will probably steal the show, as it tends to do whenever these two fight.

The buildup to Battleground can best be described as staying the course. There have been no significant face turns or heel turns. The ringwork has been solid. The promos have been solid. Most of the main feuds are a couple of months old. The WWE is clearly biding its time until the road to SummerSlam, but even so, there have been  great moments mixed into the past four weeks. Here is the best of them.

Return of the Bo$$

Sasha Banks has been on the shelf for months, ever since a referee accidentally gave her a concussion. We've been eagerly awaiting her return, and the rumor (per the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, h/t WrestlingInc) that Vince McMahon considered her an injury risk did not help our nerves.

But when that music hit on June 20 and The Boss appeared at the top of the ramp, we knew that she was back and poised to kill. Everything about her screamed confidence, from her smirk to her walk to her right elbow, which floored Dana Brooke in a single shot.

Banks is tagging with a mystery partner today, but it’s only a matter of time before she’s in a title match against Charlotte, preferably at SummerSlam.

New Day Mocks The Wyatt Family

It took them months, but finally, The New Day might have met their match and bitten off more than they can chew. They picked a fight with the Wyatt Family, a stable that not only matches them in the ring, but also matches them on the mic.

This segment from June 27 kills for two reasons. One, those costumes. This, right here, is how to mock someone; I especially love the altered sheep mask, and the lantern made of unicorn horns. The New Day are masters at being funny within the constraints of the PG era. All it takes is a little creativity.

Two, Wyatt’s response. He doesn’t try to mix it up with them or outdo them. Instead, he sticks to what he does best: being creepy. And although Kofi and Big E. don’t take him completely seriously, take a look at Xavier Woods' face. That, ladies and gentlemen, is fear.

Food Fight

Vince McMahon has a really juvenile sense of humor. At its worst, it produces disasters like Bastion Booger. At its best, it produces segments like the Independence Day food fight.

There’s so much to love in this segment. There’s Kane and Big Show chokeslamming Heath Slater through the concessions table. There’s Bo Dallas pouring fruit punch on himself. There’s Titus O’Neil using a sausage link like a nunchuck. And then there’s the perfect ending: Kevin Owens, who thought he dodged the whole brawl, getting a cream cake right to the face.

Owens doesn’t usually allow himself to look ridiculous. This was a welcome exception.

#BeatUpJohnCena

You never really know what’s going to catch on. But wow, #BeatUpJohnCena took on a life of its own. It all started with this promo, during which AJ Styles and The Club decided to celebrate the Independence Day by (you guessed it) beating up John Cena. And this celebration wasn’t just for Independence Day; any holiday, from Halloween to Christmas, would do.

The meme took on a life of its own, to the point where Cena tweeted that he would "never waiver." Big Match John needs a spelling/grammar check, but we get what he's trying to say.

Fortunately for Cena, he’s going to have Enzo and Cass with him tonight. But with the duo going to Raw and him going to Smackdown, Cena had better watch his back. Or else, he’s going to see a lot of this hashtag in the foreseeable future.

Introducing The New General Managers

It was a textbook example of one-upping one’s competition. On July 18, Stephanie and Shane McMahon, the respective commissioners for Raw and SmackDown, announced who their General Managers were going to be. Stephanie went first, announcing that Raw’s General Manager would be Mick Foley. Not a bad choice.

But then, it was Shane’s turn. That familiar intro to “Flight of the Valkyries” played over the arena's audio system. And out came Daniel Bryan as the crowd collectively lost its mind. It was surprising to see him back on TV so soon after his retirement, but we’re glad for it.

Well played, Shane. You’ve just made SmackDown into must-see TV.

Cesaro vs. Jericho

What happens when you cross a polished ring veteran with a bold, young talent? You get matches like this one, which stole the show at this past Tuesday’s SmackDown.

After the show, Cesaro was ticked during his interview with JoJo. He explained that he should have been drafted higher, and he wanted to be featured on SmackDown instead of Raw. This crafty match versus Jericho can be Exhibit A for both arguments. Cesaro did so many things well: the beautiful aerials, the power moves and the reversals.

Cesaro is perpetually underrated, and clinics like this one prove the point. Plus, it bears repeating: the Swiss Superman performs at this intense level every week. Hopefully, WWE can make him happy if it means that we can see more of where this came from.

Crossface Chickenwing… Finally

“When are we going to see the Crossface Chickenwing?” It’s the first question I had when I learned that Bob Backlund (that’s MISTER Bob Backlund to you!) was coaching Darren Young.

I was too young to watch Backlund during his first run. But as a child of the '90s, I have vivid memories of an unhinged, aging Backlund winning the WWE Championship, losing it to Diesel in eight seconds, running for President of the United States, and feuding with Jonathan Taylor Thomas.

I've been waiting for weeks for Young to pay tribute to his mentor by adopting his finishing move. Finally, on July 19, Young locked a screaming Miz into the chickenwing and forced him to tap. I marked out like I was 10 years old, and I was almost as excited as Backlund himself.

Ambrose Beats Rollins Clean

The biggest shock of SmackDown Live was not the draft, but this conclusion to the Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose main event. And the surprise, ironically, was that there was no surprise; Dean pinned Rollins in the center of the ring, and he did it cleanly, without left field interference.

Tonight’s main event will not be clean; Roman Reigns is going to complicate matters, and the Authority might even meddle in the outcome. But sometimes, it’s nice to see a straight-up fight, with little to no shenanigans.

Rollins and Ambrose provided that for us on Tuesday night, and after all the drama of the past week, it was refreshing to see two wrestlers, at the peak of their game, doing what they do best.