WWE Battleground 2016 Results: Top Highlights and Low Points
A new war has begun in WWE, as Battleground 2016 kicked off the second brand-extension era following the SmackDown draft results earlier this week.
For many fans, the entire concept of having another roster split is a questionable choice, meaning Battleground was the first attempt to prove the company wasn't heading in the wrong direction.
Working against its cause was the event's structure, as it needed to be booked in advance, forcing it to largely ignore the draft as it had not yet happened.
Of course, several matches had the potential for major ramifications for Raw and SmackDown going forward, such as the placement of three championships and the momentum of the wrestlers involved.
For every intriguing match such as the WWE Championship triple-threat bout between Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, there was a segment scheduled that seemed like it was filler—namely The Highlight Reel with Chris Jericho and Randy Orton.
However, history has shown nothing is a certainty in WWE. What could seem chaotic may just be a messily organized but solid plan, the most anticipated parts of a show could be awful and there's always a chance for a sleeper hit to come out of nowhere.
Keeping that in mind, it's time for us to look back on what transpired at Battleground 2016 and single out the biggest highlights and the low points.
Was the pay-per-view great, terrible, somewhere in the middle or all over the place? Let's find out!
Highlight: Bayley Is Sasha Banks' Mystery Partner
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When it was announced that Sasha Banks would have a mystery partner in her match against Charlotte and Dana Brooke, it was pretty obvious that the most likely option to fill that role would be Bayley.
Normally, it's better to opt for a shocking surprise than to go with the predictable choice, but that isn't the case when the value of what everyone saw coming is better than the alternatives.
Having Bayley as Sasha's partner was predictable from the start. But if you're disappointed with that outcome, ask yourself if you would have really preferred Nia Jax, Emma, Alicia Fox or any of the other options available to be in the match instead.
People have been clamoring for Bayley to come up to the main roster for months on end, and it appears as though that's finally going to happen.
Considering how the women's division was just split in half with the brand extension, someone as popular and talented as Bayley will provide a massive boost for Raw's roster, starting as soon as this match—which was better than most women's matches that have taken place over the past few weeks.
The energy of having Bayley come out was enough to make this segment a highlight. But the crowd thankfully kept that positivity up throughout the entire bout, meaning this was more entertaining overall as a result.
Highlight: The New Day vs. The Wyatt Family
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Per usual, The New Day kicked off its segment with a promo that brought forth a few chuckles, which is always a nice addition to the card.
Once the action started, though, the intensity picked up.
As it should have.
One downside to this feud being booked the way it has been is that for all intents and purposes, this should have been a "No Disqualification" match of some sort to follow its fight at the Wyatt compound. The Tag Team Championship should have been on the line.
The upside to not having those aspects be involved is that the match was good enough without the inclusion of weapons. It allowed The Wyatt Family to be victorious without taking the titles.
Seeing as how Braun Strowman will be separated from his brethren, it was imperative that the belts stay on The New Day. It would have meant this needed to go a different and more predictable route just to prevent the titles from switching.
Putting the action of the match itself aside, one of the standout moments was seeing Xavier Woods snap out of his trance, taking the fight to Wyatt in a way we've yet to see his character pull out.
In one fell swoop, despite being pinned, Woods upgraded his credibility and can be taken more seriously in future matches.
The future of these two teams is currently unknown, but if The Wyatt Family is going to split up for good, having them win their last match is a decent way to go out.
Likewise, The New Day can still very easily pick itself up, brush itself off and continue headlining the tag team division as they've been doing for months.
Highlight: Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens
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How rare is it that two men can face each other so many times, yet continue to keep things fresh?
Somehow, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens just work so well together that they know how to have one good match after the next. By all means, it should be tiresome to watch them fight by now.
Both men looked strong here, with Owens playing up the power game and Zayn having his fair share of explosive maneuvers to combat this, such as his brainbuster on the ring apron—one of the best spots of the entire show.
Not to be outdone, Owens nailing a superkick, while Zayn dove through the ropes was a good way to follow that up.
This was a midcard-level match, as far as importance goes, but their performances proved that both men need to be in the upper-midcard—if not main event scene—on Monday Night Raw after this.
If you missed this match, do yourself a favor and set aside some time to watch it. By the time Zayn hits two exploder suplex moves in a row, the crowd gives them a standing ovation.
Low Point: Becky Lynch vs. Natalya
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It's been said enough times that it doesn't need to be examined in great detail, but it's true that the women's division is still just not on par to the level it needs to be presented as.
Splitting the roster isn't going to help, as the match between Becky Lynch and Natalya showcased a few of the weaknesses that will be problems for WWE in the next few months.
These two women are very talented in a multitude of ways. And yet, they are still unable to make this seem like it was anything more than the dreaded stereotypical bathroom-break segment sandwiched between two much more important things.
Since they are the two who will be the figurehead women for the blue brand, even more pressure was put on them to leave a great impression and build momentum for the future. Sadly, they failed to accomplish this.
Natalya just isn't believable as a heel, particularly if you've seen her on Total Divas, where she acts like a pushover with no backbone.
There's no questioning her skills in the ring and her value to the roster, but this character isn't working. It has pretty much never worked for her during her career. The brighter spotlight you shine on it, the harder it is to ignore and move on.
It doesn't help that this feud seems to have been dragging out for far too long and will likely continue on SmackDown for a long time, too. While other matches on this show had a sense of finality to them, this one didn't.
To follow a match like Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens is a tough task, so the audience was just too worn-out and not excited enough in this bout to bring the energy back up.
Low Point: The Miz vs. Darren Young for the Intercontinental Championship
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Once Rusev defeated Zack Snyder, it became a moot point to have this match unless it would have been fantastic or the belt would have changed hands—which in itself would have been a mistake as Raw would then have both midcard titles.
Thus, when this match was just mediocre and had a confusingly bad ending to it, it rendered the whole thing as kind of pointless.
The Miz could have simply defeated Darren Young, and it would have helped his stock as champion. It isn't as though Young has to be protected—he's kind of a joke.
Instead, the match was thrown out with some random assortment of shenanigans outside the ring, including Bob Backlund failing to fully rip his shirt off and The Miz tapping out to a "Crossface Chicken Wing."
Why did WWE book it as if it needed to stall and drag it out for another month?
Why make your champion tap out to a jobber-in-rehab?
Why not give this a true ending, since these two are on separate rosters and this feud isn't going to continue without defeating the purpose of the brand split?
None of the choices made much sense. If it weren't for what came after this, the event would have been in a real nosedive at this point.
Highlight: The Club vs. John Cena, Enzo Amore and Big Cass
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Since The New Day was factored in as a highlight for its pre-match promo earlier in this list, it would be a gross oversight not to give the same credit to Enzo Amore for his work on the mic leading into this six-man tag team match.
It would take forever to run down all the great comments, but one of the best has to be Enzo's advice to never make eye contact with someone while you're eating a banana.
For someone on John Cena's level to step aside and let two younger stars completely envelope the spotlight without having to butt himself in to cap it off was very refreshing to see, as it doesn't happen all too often. These two deserve it.
This was definitely the best part of the segment, although the match itself was quite a bit of fun, too.
The Club has had its share of wins over Cena, so it makes sense for the babyfaces to even the odds a bit by scoring a victory here. Plus, the way it went down was not ridiculous by any means—the complete opposite of what transpired in the Intercontinental Championship match that preceded this.
AJ Styles being pinned after an Attitude Adjustment off the turnbuckle is not a bad way to lose. It serves him right for having cheated in the past.
Now, Cena can rightfully challenge for another match at SummerSlam to possibly put this to an end.
Here's hoping somewhere in the mix of that feud, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows don't get completely lost in the shuffle and there's always a microphone somewhere around Enzo and Cass.
Low Point: Highlight Reel with Randy Orton
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Segments such as this follow a cookie-cutter format, so unless something crazy happens, it's pretty much always going to be something that can be skipped.
If you've watched WWE programming for over a year, you knew how this was going to go down: a few jabs at each other, along with some video packages, and it would all be capped off with an RKO to Chris Jericho.
Having Randy Orton make a sly comment about Brock Lesnar's USADA-violation problems and taking a shot at Fandango were the biggest takeaways. But it was not good enough to make this anything more than what it boils down to: filler that we'll be seeing again and again for the next month on television.
It's one thing to cut a fresh promo before a match, but pay-per-views shouldn't feature elongated talking segments that never do anything different from the paint-by-numbers formula.
Look forward to seeing the same ground covered all the way up until SummerSlam, as nothing more will be said. The same points will just be repeated in slightly different wording.
Highlight: WWE Championship Triple Threat Match
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Some fans will naturally be disappointed in the main event if they preferred someone else to win or had just built up the idea of this match in their heads for too long to ever be satisfied. But all things considered, this was a very solid WWE Championship bout.
Even the dynamic of it was rather sound, with Dean Ambrose being the clear babyface, Seth Rollins acting as the true heel and Roman Reigns meandering somewhere in the middle as a tweener, depending on your point of view.
It's rare that three members of a stable all reach a point where they are the top of the company and on equal footing, instead of one being far above the others or there being a sacrificial lamb in the mix.
Because of this, every near-fall felt like a potential ending, keeping the audience members on their toes from start to finish.
With Ambrose winning, SmackDown has more credibility with the WWE Championship on its side—something that would have killed its importance if Raw were to capture the belt.
Also, it makes sense for Reigns to take the loss as punishment for his suspension. Many fans called for him to be taken out of the match entirely, which would have deprived everyone of this fun match. This was a great compromise.
It was also good to see members of the SmackDown roster coming out afterward to celebrate with Ambrose as a form of unity. Even the heels joined in the festivities.
With the brand split taking effect now, this was a good way to end the show.
What do you think were the highlights and low points of Battleground? Where should the other moments that weren't ranked here be constituted?
Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.
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