WWE Battleground 2017: Great Khali's Return and Moments That Will Live in Infamy

WWE Battleground 2017 was a controversial night filled with matches that were largely disappointing. However, it was certainly a memorable affair with many surprise title changes and the crowning of an unexpected No. 1 contender among the women of WWE.

No fight better defined the show than the Punjabi Prison match between Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton. Starting poorly with a lack of visibility and rarely seeing strong action, it was still an event with many unforgettable junctures, including the shocking return of a former world champion.

Battleground was designed to get people talking even if it meant the wrestling was often lackluster. It was a show of moments rather than performance, a rare form for a SmackDown Live pay-per-view to take, as the brand had been framed up to this point as the more focused and less flamboyant of WWE's two major shows.

These are the biggest moments of the night that, for better or worse, will be remembered long past this show as defining for this year in WWE.

The New Day Return to the Top of the Tag Team Division

The New Day are once more your reigning defending tag team champions. In their second major match on SmackDown, The New Day defeated The Usos in the best fight of the night, a hard-fought, back-and-forth encounter, with Xavier Woods gaining the decisive pinfall. The trio celebrated together as great friends, returning to their spot atop the tag team division.

Losing the Raw Tag Team Championships at the end of a 483-day reign, The New Day have not been victors for eight months. While this felt like a short span due to the trio's absence from television as Kofi Kingston recovered from injury and due to their time spent on the road to WrestleMania as hosts rather than performers, it has been a while, relative to their popularity, since they had gold.

The New Day have slowly but surely solidified themselves as the premier tag team in modern WWE. Their match against The Usos was one of the best tag team contests in recent memory, and now The New Day are three-time champions. This may end up being just another impressive victory in the long legacy of the dominant trio, but it does not take away from the work of The New Day, once more proving their worth.

Kevin Owens Steals a Pinfall to Regain the United States Championship

Credit: WWE.com

Kevin Owens did not take long to regain his prized United States Championship, defeating AJ Styles just 16 days after losing the title to the Phenomenal One at a house show in Madison Square Garden. The self-professed New Face of America has been obsessed with the US Title and had no intention of letting go of the championship for long.

The instant of his victory was odd as no one knew what to make of the win. KO managed to turn a submission into a bridging pinfall to claim victory, but the excitement was deflated as the audience didn't understand how to react. Owens' regaining his title made sense, but it was a moment that didn't feel like a proper finish for such a heated feud.

This rivalry continues to be defined by strong action but weak finishes, making for moments that leave people talking for the wrong reasons despite the ability on display. Hopefully the follow-up to this will make up for the finish and allow Owens to once more take over SmackDown as its No. 2 champion.

Natalya Returns to the Women's Championship Scene with a Dominant Victory

Credit: WWE.com

Five women stepped into the ring to vie for one championship opportunity, and it was an unexpected performer who emerged victorious. Eliminating both favorites—Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair—back-to-back, Natalya ended up standing tall as the new No. 1 contender to the SmackDown Women's Championship, ready to battle Naomi at SummerSlam.

Natalya has been in WWE since 2008, longer than any other woman on the active roster, but her championship opportunities have been few and far between over that near-decade. Even though she has a title reign to her name, Natalya was only Divas champion for 70 days. It has been a long time since Natalya got to step into the spotlight.

The de facto top heel on SmackDown, her potential rivalry with Naomi has been a long time coming, with the two never facing off one-on-one. The athletic Naomi vs. the technical Natalya seems like a perfect match of styles that could help give Naomi a rivalry to define her title reign and allow both veterans to redefine their legacies at SummerSlam.

Samir Singh Takes a 15-Foot Fall for Jinder Mahal

Credit: WWE.com

When Randy Orton stepped into the Punjabi Prison, he looked to be fighting Jinder Mahal alone; however, the Singh Brothers once more found a way to get involved and protect the Modern Day Maharaja. No moment in the match was more exhilarating than when Samir Singh scaled the outside of the outer wall to stop Orton only to be punched off and through an announce table, falling 15 feet.

The Punjabi Prison match has rarely had major spots in its history, so this was a landmark for the match, paralleling similar falls in Hell in a Cell matches. Samir put his body on the line and was ready to take the fall just to protect Mahal, putting himself over in the process for his willingness to take risks.

No point in time has better solidified the dynamic between Mahal and the Singh Brothers, a showcase of their pride in him as a symbol for India. In fact, the Singh Brothers stole the show during most of the match by getting involved and finding creative ways to keep Orton away from the victory. That said, one other Indian Superstar was the talking point of the whole night.

The Great Khali Returns to Save Jinder Mahal

When fans look back on Battleground, they will remember it as the night that The Great Khali surprisingly returned and helped Mahal defeat Orton inside the Punjabi Prison. While no one knows the follow-up yet, it was clearly a major part of SmackDown, even if it is hard to say whether it was good or bad for the brand.

Khali was WWE's first attempt to grow a market in India, even winning the World Heavyweight Championship in 2007. However, he was widely panned due to his size making him unbearably slow and clumsy. WWE also ran out of stories for Khali to tell as a major star, turning him into a fun-loving face who rarely wrestled major matches.

Despite mostly being disliked by fans, Khali did manage to become a major star in India thanks to his exposure. This should be a major rub for Mahal, with the top wrestling legend of India returning to grant his support to The Maharaja. Mahal will be elevated in that market as a star while hopefully lasting longer near the top of the promotion than Khali ever did.

As long as Khali has not returned full-time to start wrestling for WWE again, this could be a positive, a boost to Mahal's standing and the birth of a new heel stable to dominate SmackDown. Even if Khali has plans to wrestle again, this was certainly the biggest moment of the night, making the main event a lasting memory.