Randy Orton vs. Sheamus

Background: At Money in the Bank, Sheamus won the ladder match for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match contract. On the June 15 episode of Raw, Randy Orton, who also participated in the match, attacked Sheamus after his match against Dean Ambrose. Sheamus later attacked Orton during his match against Kane. On the July 6 episode of Raw, Orton returned and attacked Sheamus, after his match against Roman Reigns. On July 13, it was announced on WWE.com, Orton would face Sheamus at the event.

Previous PPV matches: These two men have wrestled three times on pay per view before, Randy has won twice and Sheamus won the other.

Battleground Record: Randy Orton has drawn a match and lost one at Battleground before whilst Sheamus lost in his previous match at the event, a battle royal last year.

Match: It’s been nearly five years since these two last met in a singles match in pay per view. It was a slow pace for the most part, which you’ve come to expect with these two. Orton started the match on the front foot but Sheamus dominated for much of the middle part. Plenty of hard-hitting offence from Sheamus. Randy is wrestling in his hometown tonight so the fans are definitely behind him. I like how he milked the crowd when hitting his hangmans DDT. Orton sideslams Sheamus on the announce desk at one point but thankfully the desk doesn’t give way this early in the night. Both men get their trademark offence in and block each others finishers for the most part. The finish come when Randy Orton hits an RKO out of nowhere. And it really did come out of nowhere.

Result: Randy Orton pins Sheamus after an RKO out of nowhere in 16:54.

Review: Good match to kick things off. Hard hitting and a fairly slow pace with both men hitting their trademark moves. A clean win for Randy Orton would suggest that this feud is over, a loss that won’t hurt Sheamus too much because he does still have the Money In The Bank briefcase.

Rating: 6/10

The Prime Time Payers (Darren Young & Titus O’Neil) (c) vs. The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) – WWE Tag Team Championship match

Background: At Money in the Bank, The Prime Time Players defeated The New Day to win the WWE Tag Team Championship. On the June 15 episode of Raw, The Prime Time Players and Neville defeated The New Day. On June 22, The Prime Time Players were scheduled to defend the titles against The New Day at the event.

Previous PPV matches: This is a second PPV match between these two teams, The Prime Time Players beat Big E and Xavier Woods at Money In The Bank last month.

Battleground Record: Darren Young makes his Battleground debut tonight but Titus O’Neil is 0-1 at the event, Kofi Kingston is 0-2 and Big E is 0-1.

Match: The New Day get on the mic before the match and try to give a positive message. It’s the more familiar pairing of Kofi Kingston and Big E in this match. It was Xavier Woods that took the fall when New Day lost to the Prime Time Players last month. Darren Young and Kofi Kingston to start the match and Young hits a nice northern lights suplex. These two teams are really established as proper tag teams which I like. Titus O’Neil hits some brutal slaps to the chest of Kofi. Titus hits a big powerslam to Big E which took some strength. Xavier Woods screams from the outside. He really makes himself relevant in the tag team match he isn’t involved in. Big E over-powers Darren Young to take the advantage for his team. I love the repetitive stomping from New Day, such good teamwork. Big E hits a brutal splash on Darren Young on the apron. Titus O’Neil is the man to get the hot tag and takes out both Kofi and Big E. You can’t help but think O’Neil’s push is a result of him winning father of the year. Xavier Woods gets involved, kicking Titus in the back of the head behind the referee’s back. Darren Young has definitely improved in his in-ring work. Titus hits Clash Of The Titus on Big E for the win.

Result: The Prime Time Players win after Titus hits Clash Of The Titus on Big E for the pinfall in 8:50.

Review: Not a bad tag team match between these two teams. Nothing spectacular but a decent enough match. The Prime Time Players come out looking strong but Xavier Woods does a great job of hyping up his team. They’re a really unlikeable heel team. I can’t help but this that this feud is probably over for now.

Rating: 5.75/10

Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt

Background: This rivalry started with Bray Wyatt costing Roman Reigns the Money In The Bank match last month. Since then Wyatt has been stalking Reigns, claiming “anyone but you”. Wyatt claims that Reigns is the yin to his yang and that they need each other but he also wants to burn down his world. Reigns is looking for a fight and claims that Wyatt isn’t in his head.

Previous PPV matches: This is a first PPV singles match between these two men.

Battleground Record: Roman Reigns is 0-2, Bray Wyatt is 1-1.

Match: Michael Cole tells us that since Money In The Bank, Roman Reigns hasn’t won a match by pinfall or submission because of Bray Wyatt. Bray seems to have his fair share of fans. Wyatt is a great seller of Roman’s hard hitting offence. It’s a back and forth match for the early part. The two men have a lot of chemistry. Wyatt retreats a few times to the outside which I don’t think it great for his character. At one point Wyatt throws Reigns out of the ring and he throws him out hard. Wyatt responds with a DDT on the apron which looks pretty cool too. There is a long chinlock in this, too long really. Bray Wyatt dominates for the middle part of the match after sidestepping a spear attempt on the outside and Reigns eating the ring steps. Reigns fires up with his comeback but he still gets a very mixed reaction. He looks for his drive-by dropkick at one point but Wyatt counters with a beautiful clothesline. Wyatt also counters a superman punch with a urunage. Reigns hits what is probably the best looking superman punch that I’ve seen him hit in this match. The spider walk from Wyatt never gets old. Reigns hits a Samoan drop towards the end, he struggled to get Wyatt up and Bray hit him with right hands but Roman still hit the move which you don’t see often. Wyatt climbs out the ring and grabs two chairs at one point Reigns knocks them out of his hands and then throws a load of chairs into the ring. Reigns is then attacked by someone in a hood that looks a lot like Luke Harper. Wyatt the rolls Reigns into the ring and hits him with Sister Abigail for the win! After the match the man reveals himself to be Luke Harper!

Result: Bray Wyatt wins with Sister Abigail following help from Luke Harper in 22:42.

Review: I enjoyed this match. It was slow in parts but generally I thought the two men have a lot of chemistry and in a lot of ways are perfect foes for one another. Bray Wyatt wins the match with help from Luke Harper. Harper has recently re-united with Erick Rowan so could this be the whole family back together? I don’t think this feud will be over and I honestly hope that it isn’t.

Rating: 7.5/10

Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks vs. Brie Bella

Background: The debuts of Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks last week have revitalised the divas division. There are three stables, Becky Lynch and Charlotte join Paige, Sasha Banks joins Naomi and Tamina whilst Nikki Bella, Brie Bella and Alicia Fox represent the “old guard”. Stephanie McMahon has asked each group to select one representative for a triple threat match tonight.

Previous PPV matches: This is a first time triple threat match for these three divas, it’s actually a PPV debut for Charlotte and Sasha Banks.

Battleground Record: Brie Bella is 0-1 at Battleground PPV’s, the other two girls make their PPV debut tonight.

Match: Nikki Bella teases that she will be the one representing her team but instead opts to nominate her sister. There’s some nice wrestling in the early going as the three wrestlers jockey for position. Charlotte hits a nice diving roll-up. Charlotte dumps Brie out of the ring which gives Charlotte and Sasha Banks the opportunity to showcase their skills. Brie then pulls Charlotte to the outside giving Brie and Sasha their spotlight. Banks hits a nice double knee drop to both opponents who are stacked up in the ropes. Charlotte and Sasha Banks really shine in this match. They both get some great offence in. Brie hits a nice double bulldog but she definitely looks like the weakest in-ring worker of the three in this match. The crowd are really into this match too. At one point Brie is on the apron and Sasha Banks dropkicks her off where Nikki and Alicia were supposed to catch her but Banks jumped too far back and it was a pretty bad landing. Sasha looks like she had it won with the Banks Statement on Charlotte but Brie broke it up and threw Sasha out of the ring. Charlotte then locked the Figure 8 on Brie who taps out.

Result: Charlotte wins, making Brie Bella tap out to the Figure 8. in 11:30.

Review: This was one of the best divas matches in WWE PPV history. It was a really great triple threat. Charlotte and Sasha Banks already look like stars and are two of the best workers on the roster, male or female. If this is a taste of things to come then I look forward to the future. A huge win for Charlotte in her PPV debut and a win that could put her in the Divas Championship picture.

Rating: 7.5/10

John Cena (c) vs. Kevin Owens – United States Championship match

Background: These two men have been feuding for a couple of months now. Kevin Owens beat John Cena at Elimination Chamber, Cena then beat Owens at Money In The Bank so we now have the rubber match. Owens rightfully claims that he deserved a United States Championship match so tonight he finally gets a shot with the title on the line. Cena has continued his United States Championship open challenge but Kevin Owens has attacked the likes of Cesaro and Rusev to make sure that Cena hangs on to the title heading into Battleground.

Previous PPV matches: This is a third PPV match between these two men, they have both won one a piece so far.

Battleground Record: John Cena is 1-0, Kevin Owens makes his Battleground debut tonight.

Match: John Cena becomes the first man to have wrestled on every PPV in 2015. He will be joined by Seth Rollins in this achievement later. Kevin Owens takes the advantage in the early going. Owens is a great heel but he’s so good the crowd tend to get behind him. Owens gets Cena up on his shoulders at one point and spins him out into a neckbreaker which was a nice move. The crowd are hot for this match, lots of duelling chants. Cena also uses some innovative moves, hitting a slam into a facebuster. Cena looks to hit his five knuckle shuffle but Owens just rolls out to the apron which was pretty cool. Owens then hits Cena’s trademark moves, the shoulder charges, side slam and five knuckle shuffle. Cena uses a lot of strength to his an electric chair drop. Cena has new moves in his arsenal these days, using a springboard stunner and a sunset flip powerbomb. Owens kicks out of two attitude adjustments as Cena’s finisher continues to look weaker. Owens hits a nice spinning fishermans suplex off the top before hitting an attitude adjustment and locking on the STF but Cena doesn’t tap out to his own move. Cena kicks out of a pop-up powerbomb as the false finishes add up. KO kicks out of an attitude adjustment off the middle rope which leaves Cena in shock. It finally takes an STF to beat Kevin Owens who taps out in the middle of the ring.

Result: John Cena beats Kevin Owens by submission in 22:11.

Review: A good match but it felt very similar to the first two. I think that is the problem, their matches just feel the same. A gimmick match probably would have helped this one. It felt like a series of spots and false finishers. But to be fair it was a good match and this rub has really helped make Kevin Owens into a star.

Rating: 7/10

Seth Rollins (c) vs. Brock Lesnar – WWE World Heavyweight Championship match

Background: Seth Rollins cashed in his Money In The Bank at Wrestlemania 31, winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship from Brock Lesnar. Lesnar would lose his mind the next night on Raw, taking out Michael Cole, JBL and a cameraman and getting himself suspended. A few weeks ago on Raw Triple H announced Brock Lesnar as Seth Rollins next challenger. Since then Lesnar has been on a path of destruction, taking out The Authority and destroying a car that Rollins bought for J & J Security.

Previous PPV matches: This is a first time singles match between these two men on pay per view.

Battleground Record: Seth Rollins is 0-1 at Battleground PPV’s, Brock Lesnar makes his first Battleground appearance tonight.

Match: Seth Rollins walks out alone as Brock Lesnar has taken out J & J Security and Kane. Brock is joined by Paul Heyman. The bell rings and Lesnar goes right to work on Rollins causing the WWE Champion to escape the ring. Rollins gets a few cheap shots in and does everything he can to avoid German suplexes and the F5. But you can’t avoid him forever. The crowd count along with the German suplexes which is pretty cool. Rollins tries to escape at one point but Lesnar leaps over the barricade and takes him back into the ring to hit him with more German suplexes. Seth does get some offence in, mostly kicks. Brock hits 13 German suplexes and an F5, he hooks the leg but the lights go out and there’s a gong! The lights come back on, Seth Rollins is gone but The Undertaker stands staring at Lesnar! Undertaker hits a massive low blow, I’ll assume thats a disqualification. The dead man hits a chokeslam and two tombstones to leave Lesnar laying in the middle of the ring.

Result: Brock Lesnar wins by disqualification in 9:00.

Review: Yeah this match was a pretty short one but it was still very entertaining. I always enjoy matches from Lesnar and Rollins. Brock dominated for the most part and if he wasn’t going to win then this works as a perfect transition to what may be a Summerslam feud. Rollins is awesome as the chickenshit heel. His WWE Championship reign continues.

Rating: 6/10