WWE Battleground 2015: Best and Worst Booking Decisions of Build to PPV

In the lead-up to WWE Battleground 2015, one monster has delighted in toying with his prey, while another was forced to play the role of victim.

The fact that WWE has far more time in between pay-per-views this time around is showing. Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns is getting a chance to snake down a strange path. Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins is becoming more than just a title match thanks to added narrative layers.

The additional buildup time hasn't led to success up and down the card, though.

A few midcard battles are suffering from inattention. Ryback's Intercontinental Championship match is feeling incomplete thus far. And the clash over the tag titles is missing a key element.

Thankfully for WWE fans and the company's writing team, there are still three weeks left to charge those stories with electricity. The road to Battleground remains under construction. 

Best: Bray Wyatt's Mind Games

Bray Wyatt is at his best when he is a grinning sadist leaving his enemy unsettled. That's exactly what's happening during his in-progress feud with Roman Reigns.

The Eater of Worlds is thriving in this role, helping to make this one of the more compelling stories WWE has going right now.

Wyatt has maddened Reigns by teasing that he wants to hurt his daughter. He has appeared in a candlelit room having a children's tea party. He's cackled while holding a photo of Reigns' little girl. All of this has been enjoyably creepy.

Rather than just rant about darkness and people being brainwashed and such, Wyatt is getting some much-needed direction here.

This approach makes him look dangerous and allows him to stand out. And for Reigns, it paints him as the clear hero, the fearful father with two balled-up fists at the ready.

How to capitalize on it

Wyatt should have an effect on Reigns when the bell rings.

Too often, Wyatt talks about all the destruction he causes and doesn't get enough of a chance to act on it. He can't just let Reigns conquer him on the first try. He can't just be the toppled villain again. 

A victory would do him a great service here. Leaving Reigns injured or damaged psychologically would be even better.

Worst: The Miz in the Background

Big Show is dominating a rivalry that is supposed to include The Miz as well.

It was Big Show who was on the wrong end of a brawl with Ryback backstage. It was Big Show who retaliated by attacking The Big Guy on the entrance ramp. It was Big Show who sat down with Micheal Cole for an interview about the upcoming Intercontinental Championship match.

The Miz, meanwhile, hasn't been nearly present enough in this story.

Why make it a Triple Threat match if it's going to be a one-on-one narrative? While these two behemoths have collided, The Miz has been tossed around a few times but hasn't been made to look like a threat to Ryback's title in the least.

How to fix it

The Miz needs to outsmart these powerhouses. He needs to be vicious and cunning and make both wrestlers just as angry at him as they are at each other.

The Miz could cost Big Show a win on Raw or SmackDown. The Miz could rile up Big Show and make him charge at him, only to sidestep the big man, having him crash into Ryback instead.

Another option would be for The Miz to soften up his foes by injuring them before Battleground.

Best: A Beast Made Vulnerable

The man who ended The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak, dominated John Cena at last year's SummerSlam and has essentially torn through WWE of late found himself in an unfamiliar position on last Monday's Raw: on his back.

Seth Rollins reunited The Authority in order to lay a beating on Brock Lesnar. It took four men and a chair shot to the knee, but Lesnar finally fell.

It's a decision some fans have decried, but it's the right one. Making The Beast Incarnate vulnerable makes the upcoming WWE title match more interesting. He is now set to go on a vengeance-seeking rampage and will come off as the babyface in this rivalry.

Rollins got a chance to show that he's worth fearing as well. The image of him grinning as he cracked Lesnar's leg with a steel chair is one WWE needs to create more often.

How to capitalize on it

WWE should hold off on letting Lesnar get revenge. That's a climax WWE has to save for Battleground. Showing Lesnar only in pre-taped interviews until then may be the way to go.

Paul Heyman should paint Lesnar vs. Rollins as a bloodbath waiting to happen. And WWE shouldn't forget to balance out Rollins' cowardly ways with moments that remind us that he's dangerous, too.

Worst: Not Selling John Cena's Injury Enough

A Kevin Owens powerbomb to the ring apron kept Sami Zayn off TV for months. It was the storyline reason that Alex Riley had to have surgery. When Owens hit the move on Cena, though, the megastar was only out of commission for a week.

Cena showed up just over a week removed from Money in the Bank with no obvious effects from the attack. With no tape around his ribs, no limp slowing him down, no wincing at every move, the power of Owens' assault was minimized.

That part of the story was skipped over too soon.

Cena went back to being himself, roaring into the mic and making bold promises. Whereas Brock Lesnar showed vulnerability by falling to The Authority, Cena only displayed a speck of it, taking just a brief respite.

How to fix it

Owens should win in dominant fashion at Battleground. If the bruiser takes the United States Championship by referee stoppage, leaving Cena in need of a stretcher, WWE will have maximized that victory.

The best plan to elevate Owens is to paint him as a someone special, someone who is able to do something that other monsters before him haven't: keep Cena grounded.

Best: Battleground Made to Feel Like a Big Event

Matches that fans assumed WWE would save for SummerSlam are coming to Battleground.

Brock Lesnar is wrestling at the event for the first time ever. John Cena vs. Kevin Owens III is a SummerSlam-level match. And there is a growing electricity around two top emerging stars in Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt going at it in a high-profile bout.

The first two editions of the Battleground pay-per-view were far from must-watch.

With these big matchups this time around and WWE's hyping them up with Wyatt's mind games and Seth Rollins' dastardly acts, there's a different feeling this year. Suddenly, Battleground feels less like a bit of filler before SummerSlam and more like a show with the potential to be one of 2015's best.

How to capitalize on it

WWE should give fans real endings. Even if these rivalries are continuing on into SummerSlam, the company shouldn't litter this event with disqualifications and cheap wins. 

Fluky finishes speak to the insignificance of the show. They signal that Battleground is just a lead-in for a more important pay-per-view.

And as for the card itself, WWE has to be more creative than having another Paige vs. Nikki Bella Divas title match. The road to Battleground is the time to bring up a talent from NXT and have her make an impact early.

Worst: Not Enough Animosity Between the Tag Teams

The Prime Time Players are set to defend the tag team titles against The New Day in a match lacking electricity. Blame the absence of bad blood.

While Roman Reigns is on the hunt for Bray Wyatt's head after he brought Reigns' daughter into the fight, and while Brock Lesnar will have a televised ambush on his mind as he takes on Seth Rollins, the tag team title bout has no personal issues to build around.

After losing the straps, The New Day has clashed with The Prime Time Players a few times in various types of matches. The story so far has been about the former champs struggling to regain their mojo.

Why these two squads want to tear each other apart isn't clear enough. It's a story that doesn't go beyond a "we're mad because they took our titles" narrative.

How to fix it

WWE should turn up the aggression.

The New Day needs to go after Titus O'Neil and Darren Young outside the ring. We need to see the trio use the numbers advantage to leave the champs hurting. This creates animosity and helps The New Day gain heel heat.

Let the bad guys embarrass the fan favorites. Handcuff Young and beat him with a Kendo stick, or stand over O'Neil's fallen body and mock his signature bark. Just get the hate meter cranked up, and the interest in their battle will head in the right direction.