WWE Battleground 2017 Matches Sure to Cause Controversy Among Fans

Sunday night's WWE Battleground pay-per-view will not only wrap up some of SmackDown Live's most prominent rivalries, it will initiate feuds that will dominate the road to SummerSlam on August 20.

It will feature the return of the Punjabi Prison, a potential show-stealing United States Championship match, the culmination of an intensifying rivalry between Shinsuke Nakamura and Baron Corbin and the resolution of the "who attacked Tyler Breeze?" mystery.

With so much potentially riding on the event in terms of building to The Biggest Party of the Summer, certain matches and outcomes are sure to stir controversy among WWE fans.

AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens

Credit: WWE.com

When AJ Styles defeated Kevin Owens to capture the United States Championship in Madison Square Garden on July 7, WWE perpetrated a rare house show title change that generated a great deal of interest among wrestling fans.

If The Prizefighter rolls into Philadelphia and dethrones The Phenomenal One just 16 days later, the switch will have served no purpose whatsoever other than to incite interest in the company's latest trip to the Mecca of professional wrestling.

Booking another title change would also help to devalue the title further than it already has been.

In 2017, Roman Reigns, Chris Jericho, Owens and Styles have all held the title. Jericho and Owens have had multiple runs with the gold. That is far too many title changes within the first seven months of a calendar year.

It needs consistency and should get it in the form of Styles.

If not, expect a backlash to WWE Creative's insistence on changing champions again, despite such a decision making little sense at this point in time.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Baron Corbin

Credit: WWE.com

If Baron Corbin loses to Shinsuke Nakamura, Mr. Money in the Bank will suffer a defeat he can hardly afford ahead of his impending WWE Championship run. If Nakamura loses, he will drop his first main roster singles bout and thus some of the aura that makes him such an intriguing performer.

Regardless of which outcome WWE goes with, it will be detrimental to at least one of the men involved.

It would appear as though WWE Creative has booked itself into a corner, creating a scenario in which someone has to suffer in order for the program to move forward. Sure, a strong bit of booking as soon as Tuesday night could easily erase the defeat from the minds of the WWE Universe.

A Money in the Bank cash-in later in the night could soothe things over for Corbin if, and when, he falls in defeat at the hands of The King of Strong Style.

Even then, though, WWE Creative should be taken to task for booking a match that would do damage to one of its premier Superstars at a time when the SmackDown Live brand can least afford it.

The Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match

Credit: WWE.com

The controversy surrounding this one has less to do with the potential outcome and more to do with the existence of the match.

The SmackDown Live women's division has descended into mediocrity and monotony. An overabundance of multi-women matches has robbed fans of individual characters and stories, leading to repetitive and uninteresting television segments.

Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Tamina, Natalya and Lana will square off in a Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match on Sunday night and if a legitimate No. 1 contender is not determined by the time it reaches its conclusion, expect criticisms of the creative effort behind the division to grow louder and more passionate.

What was once one of the strongest elements of Tuesday nights, the women's division has become an erratic mess that has done more to diminish the credibility and legitimacy of the women involved than allow them to soar.

If Naomi is to be taken seriously as women's champion, she needs a legitimate program. She cannot have that as long as WWE Creative continues to book potential contenders in mangled messes of multi-woman matches that solve nothing.