WWE Battleground 2015: Biggest Missed Opportunities in Event's History

The WWE Battleground pay-per-view may only be two years old, but that does not mean the event—in its junior year—is without its fair share of missed opportunities.

Over the last two years, the show has almost single-handedly killed all of Ryback's credibility, been home to one of the most horrendously booked main events in recent history, an intercontinental title Battle Royal with a baffling conclusion and a loss suffered by Bray Wyatt that continued to threaten his credibility as a main event star.

Given the way WWE has booked its most recent shows, it would be no surprise at all if the 2015 edition of Battleground touts its fair share of missed opportunities.

Now, prepare for the July 19 WWE Network extravaganza with this look back at those instances in which the company's writing staff failed to capitalize on a storyline element or angle that was right there.

Credit: WWE.com

Building Ryback (2013)

At 2013's Battleground, Ryback had been christened a Paul Heyman guy and foil for CM Punk. After an ill-fated heel turn and program with John Cena earlier in the year threatened to derail him, many saw the program with Punk as the opportunity to rebuild himself into a legitimate main event threat.

Instead, Ryback was defeated by Punk, who utilized a low blow to down The Big Guy.

Ryback would go on to be effectively buried a few weeks later at Hell in a Cell by the same Straight Edge Superstar.

Rather than taking the opportunity to book a Ryback win at Battleground, which then would have served as the impetus for a rematch, the company cooled him significantly. It had the opportunity to give Ryback a signature victory as a heel, one that would have helped keep him atop the company as one of its premier villains, but it opted to beat him instead.

It would take a year for the Las Vegas native to recover, a partnership with fellow former Heyman guy Curtis Axel taking him to the depths of the roster.

Credit: WWE.com

The Whole Dam World Champ (2013)

When Rob Van Dam returned to WWE in 2013, he did so with a ton of momentum. Of course, poor booking on the part of the company's crack creative staff did him no favors and he slid down the card almost immediately.

Luckily enough, the writers came to their senses and booked him in a World Heavyweight Championship feud with then-titleholder Alberto Del Rio.

Unfortunately, they were not willing to get behind him enough to give him a run with the title.

And in the process, WWE Creative missed out on the opportunity to book a bout between Van Dam and the returning Cena that could have been billed as an epic rematch of their ECW One Night Stand 2006 classic.

Van Dam would lose to Del Rio by submission, effectively killing off his legitimacy as a headliner and proving that the former Mr. Monday Night was the most unprotected babyface the company had booked this side of Dolph Ziggler.

Credit: WWE.com

Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton (2013)

The most horrendously booked main event of the last 10 years was the Battleground headliner pitting Daniel Bryan against Randy Orton for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

With the title vacated, fans had hoped to see Bryan overcome the evil Authority and capture the top prize in the industry.

Instead, the audience was treated to a non-finish, a draw that occurred when Big Show interfered, laying out both competitors and sticking it to Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, both of whom had horribly mistreated him in the weeks preceding the bout.

Rather than giving the satisfactory ending of Bryan winning the title or even opting to put the gold on Orton in a manner that made The Viper a stronger heel, the spotlight was put on aging veteran Big Show for reasons still unfathomable today.

Credit: WWE.com

A Less Than Awesome IC Champ (2014)

In 2014, the intercontinental title was vacated due to an injury suffered by Bad News Barrett. A Battle Royal was announced to crown a new champion. The Miz would go on to win the title, duping Dolph Ziggler and the WWE Universe in order to secure the victory.

But he was far from the right choice to go over.

In that same match was Bo Dallas, the newcomer from NXT in the middle of a fairly decent push. He was getting over thanks to the goofy inspirational gimmick he had perfected in the months that followed his arrival. Dallas was fresh and interesting in a way that Miz had not been in years.

The company missed out on a huge opportunity to add credibility to the third-generation star's push by strapping the gold on him.

Instead, it opted to go with someone who has been consistently at the same spot on the roster for the last four years, his character largely unchanged.

Credit: WWE.com

Failing Bray Wyatt

Bray Wyatt is a character who has been tremendously mismanaged. Sure, the aura he exudes is cool and the promo work has been outstanding, but he has lost more big matches than he has won, leading to questions about his credibility as a legitimate main event star.

At the 2014 Battleground pay-per-view, Wyatt was coming off a program with Cena that did him no favors. He lost at both WrestleMania and in the feud's definitive match and was in desperate need of rebuilding.

Rather than taking the time to do so correctly, ensuring his long-term success, Wyatt was rushed into an undefined program with Chris Jericho and then booked to lose to Y2J. By the time the match was over, the idea that he was someone on Cena's level was comical.

Wyatt has never really recovered from that loss to Jericho. He floats aimlessly from one feud to another, never really gaining anything while losing a little more each time.

It all started at Battleground and will likely continue when The Reaper of Souls battles Roman Reigns.