Still The Champ.
The second annual WWE Battleground came to you, live on the WWE Network, from the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, FL. After making it clear to The Authority that he would not cooperate with their crooked agenda on what is “best for business”, WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena immediately made an enemy of The Authority and, as a result, John Cena’s first defense of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship could very well be his last as Battleground would see John Cena defend the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against “The Viper” Randy Orton, “The Devil’s Favorite Demon” Kane, and the explosive Roman Reigns in a Fatal 4-Way Match, where the first Superstar to score a pinfall or submission will leave Battleground as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
Since turning his back on Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns the night after Payback, Seth Rollins has become The Authority’s “Plan B” and, after an assist from Kane allowed Rollins to win the Money-in-the-Bank briefcase at Money-in-the-Bank, Seth Rollins is all but guaranteed to be the next WWE World Heavyweight Champion. However, “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” has been plagued by one man as Dean Ambrose has made it his personal mission to ruin every cash-in that Seth Rollins attempts. Now, at Battleground, “The Lunatic Fringe” will finally get his shot at revenge when Dean Ambrose goes one-on-one with Seth Rollins.
A few weeks ago on RAW, Chris Jericho made his grand return to WWE, but what was supposed to be a great night for the six-time former World Champion was ruined by The Wyatt Family, who beat Jericho down in the middle of the ring. “Y2J” has sought answers from The Wyatt Family’s leader, Bray Wyatt, but Bray has only responded in riddles, offering no real explanation for his actions. At Battleground, Jericho would be looking to combat the nightmarish Wyatt Family when Jericho goes one-on-one with Bray Wyatt.
In a battle between two proud patriots, Battleground would see a war of nations as “The Hero of the Russian Federation” Rusev, with Lana in his corner, would collide with “The Real American” Jack Swagger, with Zeb Colter in his corner. Will Rusev’s domination of the WWE roster continue with Jack Swagger serving as his latest victim or will Swagger make his country proud by ending Rusev’s undefeated streak in WWE?
Ever since Bad News Barrett suffered a separated shoulder that required surgery last month, WWE has been without an Intercontinental Champion, but that would be remedied at Battleground as United States Champion Sheamus, the self-proclaimed “A-Lister” The Miz, “The King of Swing” Cesaro, six-time former Intercontinental Champion Rob Van Dam, Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler, Fandango, Ryback, Curtis Axel, Big E, Kofi Kingston, Bo Dallas, Sin Cara, Heath Slater, Titus O’Neil, R-Truth, Xavier Woods, Zack Ryder, Diego, & The Great Khali would all compete in the Battleground Battle Royal where the last man standing in the match will be crowned the brand new Intercontinental Champion!
After months of combatting The Wyatt Family’s Luke Harper & Erick Rowan, The Usos have narrowly been able to hang on to their WWE Tag Team Titles, but Battleground could very well play host to The Wyatt Family’s first taste of gold as Luke Harper & Erick Rowan would challenge The Usos in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match for the WWE Tag Team Titles where the first team to score two falls over the other team will leave Battleground as the WWE Tag Team Champions.
The night after Money-in-the-Bank, AJ Lee returned from a three-month hiatus to challenge Paige for the Divas Title and, in similar fashion to how Paige upset AJ Lee the night after WrestleMania to win the title, AJ Lee would quickly catch Paige in a roll-up, scoring the three-count to pick up where she left off the night after WrestleMania, reigning as the Divas Champion. Since losing the title, Paige has taken the strange approach of actually forging a friendship with her rival, but the friendship would be put to the ultimate test at Battleground when AJ Lee defends the Divas Title against Paige.
Match Results
- WWE Tag Team Championship: 2-out-of-3 Falls Match: First Fall: Luke Harper & Erick Rowan def. The Usos (c) by Luke Harper pinning Jimmy Uso (c) following a big boot.
- WWE Tag Team Championship: 2-out-of-3 Falls Match: Second Fall: The Usos (c) def. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan by Jey Uso (c) rolling up Luke Harper.
- WWE Tag Team Championship: 2-out-of-3 Falls Match: Third Fall: The Usos (c) def. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan by Jimmy Uso (c) pinning Luke Harper following a double Superfly Splash to retain.
- Divas Championship: AJ Lee (c) def. Paige by pin following the Shining Wizard to retain.
- Rusev (with Lana) def. Jack Swagger (with Zeb Colter) by count-out.
- Seth Rollins def. Dean Ambrose by forfeit.
- Chris Jericho def. Bray Wyatt (with Luke Harper & Erick Rowan) by pin following the Codebreaker.
- Intercontinental Championship: Battleground Battle Royal: The Miz def. Dolph Ziggler, Sheamus, Bo Dallas, Heath Slater, Cesaro, Kofi Kingston, Big E, Alberto Del Rio, Titus O’Neil, Ryback, Diego, Damien Sandow, Curtis Axel, R-Truth, Sin Cara, The Great Khali, Zack Ryder, & Xavier Woods to win the Intercontinental Title.
- WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Fatal 4-Way Match: John Cena (c) def. Randy Orton, Kane, & Roman Reigns by pinning Kane following the Attitude Adjustment on Randy Orton on top of Kane to retain.
Detailed Results
Battleground kicks off with gold on the line as The Usos would put the WWE Tag Team Titles on the line against The Wyatt Family’s Luke Harper & Erick Rowan in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match. The first fall of the match would go to Luke Harper & Erick Rowan as Luke Harper blasts Jimmy Uso with a big boot, pinning Jimmy to score the early advantage. Shortly after this, Jey Uso would get the tag into the match and Jey would surprise Luke Harper with a roll-up, scoring the three-count to even the match up at one fall a piece. Both teams would put it all on the line in the third fall of the match, but both teams would continue to survive with Erick Rowan even kicking out of the Superfly Splash by Jey Uso! Shortly after this, Erick Rowan would manage to hook both of The Usos on the top rope, delivering a double superplex to the champions, but The Usos would still survive! Luke Harper would then hit the Discus Clothesline on Jimmy Uso, but Jey Uso would save the match before both Usos would deliver a double superkick to both Harper & Rowan. Both of The Usos would then climb to the top rope, delivering a double Superfly Splash to Luke Harper as Jimmy Uso finally gets the three-count over Luke Harper as The Usos retain the WWE Tag Team Titles in an incredible match.
Backstage, “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” Seth Rollins was being interviewed about his match with Dean Ambrose when “The Lunatic Fringe” assaults Seth Rollins in the backstage area and agents are quick to separate the fight. WWE COO Triple H then arrives on the scene, ordering that Dean Ambrose be kicked out of the arena!
After her shocking return last month and even more shocking win over Paige to regain the Divas Title, Battleground would see AJ Lee defend the Divas Title against the former champion whom AJ Lee has befriended in Paige. During the competitive matchup, Paige would seemingly be as upset with AJ Lee’s lack of offense as she was about not being able to defeat the champion, but in the end, it was AJ Lee hitting the Shining Wizard on Paige en route to picking up the win, successfully retaining the Divas Title.
Battleground would serve as the site of a war between nations as “The Real American” Jack Swagger, with Zeb Colter in his corner, would go one-on-one with “The Hero of the Russian Federation” Rusev, with Lana in his corner. During the match, Jack Swagger would manage to lock the Patriot Lock in on Rusev, but Rusev would make it to the ropes and, after the hold was broken, Rusev would fall to the outside of the ring. Swagger would follow Rusev to the outside, locking in the Patriot Lock again on the outside of the ring. However, Rusev would counter, sending Swagger skull-first into the steel ring post before Rusev slides back into the ring just before the referee gets to the count of ten as Rusev wins the match via count-out. After the match, WWE’s ringside doctor would tend to the unconscious Jack Swagger, but, at the instruction of Lana, Rusev would drag the helpless Swagger into the ring, locking the Accolade in on Swagger before Lana finally calls off the assault.
With his match against Dean Ambrose apparently called off after Ambrose was ejected from the arena by the order of Triple H, “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” Seth Rollins would make his way to the ring. Rollins would reveal that he is out there to accept his victory over Dean Ambrose via forfeit, forcing the ring announcer to announce Rollins as the winner of the match that did not even happen! Seth Rollins then made his exit, but he was ambushed on the ramp by Dean Ambrose, who assaults Rollins throughout the crowd. Rollins would briefly fight back, but Dean Ambrose would pull Rollins off of the ringside barricade onto the Spanish announce table. Security would try to break up the fight, but Dean Ambrose would break free, again jumping on “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” before a slew of referees come out to try and break things up. WWE COO Triple H then comes out and, with the help of some agents, Dean Ambrose is finally restrained, but Seth Rollins is then the one to jump on Ambrose. Order is eventually restored as Dean Ambrose is literally carried away while Triple H raises Seth Rollins’ hand in victory.
After having his return to WWE ruined by The Wyatt Family, Chris Jericho would set his sights on taking down The Wyatt Family as “Y2J” would go one-on-one with the leader of The Wyatt Family, Bray Wyatt, with Luke Harper & Erick Rowan in his corner. During the match, Luke Harper would grab the ankle of Chris Jericho and the referee would spot Harper’s interference and would eject Luke Harper & Erick Rowan from ringside, leaving Bray Wyatt to face Jericho on his own! Both men would give it their all in this intense match, but it was Chris Jericho who would surprise Bray Wyatt with the Codebreaker that would result in a victory for “Y2J”.
Outside the arena, Seth Rollins is on his way out of the arena following his brawl with Dean Ambrose earlier in the night, but after dismissing the security guards that were escorting him out of the building, Rollins could visibly sense something was wrong. Rollins’ instincts would prove to be accurate as, with Seth Rollins’ back turned, Dean Ambrose would come out of his hiding spot in the trunk of a car, but Rollins would dodge the charging Ambrose. “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” would then scramble to get away from Ambrose, but Ambrose would catch up to Rollins and Ambrose would slam Rollins on a car hood. Ambrose and Rollins then brawl on the roof of the car before Rollins kicks Ambrose off of the car, allowing Rollins to hop into the car and quickly speed away, narrowly avoiding Dean Ambrose for the time being.
After the injured former champion, Bad News Barrett, vows to get his Intercontinental Title back as soon as he is able, it was then time to crown a brand new Intercontinental Champion as Big E, Alberto Del Rio, Cesaro, R-Truth, Ryback, Curtis Axel, Zack Ryder, Titus O’Neil, Damien Sandow, Heath Slater, Diego, Sin Cara, Xavier Woods, The Great Khali, Kofi Kingston, Bo Dallas, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz, & United States Champion Sheamus would compete in the Battleground Battle Royal with the last man standing in the ring being named the new Intercontinental Champion. The Great Khali would be the first to make an impact, eliminating Xavier Woods and Zack Ryder before Sheamus would blast Khali with the Brogue Kick. Sheamus, Cesaro, Ryback, Curtis Axel, Dolph Ziggler, Titus O’Neil, Sin Cara, Big E, & Kofi Kingston would work together to eliminate The Great Khali from the match. The next Superstar to go was Sin Cara, who was eliminated by Bo Dallas. Curtis Axel then tosses R-Truth out before Damien Sandow sends Curtis Axel packing. Diego then sends Damien Sandow to the outside before Diego gets tosses out by Ryback. Shortly after this, Sheamus uses the Brogue Kick to eliminate Ryback from the match. After spending most of the match on the outside, The Miz would try to score a quick elimination at the expense of Sheamus, but Sheamus would knock Miz down, who immediately goes under the bottom rope to the outside. Bo Dallas then eliminates Titus O’Neil from the match before Dolph Ziggler is able to eliminate Alberto Del Rio. The Miz then enters the match again, but after getting knocked down by Big E, Miz again rolls to the outside of the ring. In an amazing feat of strength, Cesaro then hoists Big E over the top rope to the outside. Cesaro then tries to eliminate Kofi Kingston, but Big E catches Kofi, keeping Kingston in the match for a short time before Cesaro eliminates Kofi from the match. With his attention on Kofi Kingston, Cesaro is caught by surprise when Heath Slater comes from behind, eliminating Cesaro from the match! However, a Brogue Kick from Sheamus would eliminate Heath Slater from the match before Dolph Ziggler eliminates Bo Dallas from the match. Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler would then go to war with both men pulling everything out of their arsenal to try and eliminate each other before Dolph Ziggler was able to knock Sheamus off of the ring apron, eliminating the United States Champion. Ever the opportunist, The Miz would then jump back into the ring, quickly eliminating Dolph Ziggler to win the match and become the new Intercontinental Champion!
Then it was time for the main event as John Cena would defend the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against The Authority’s hand-picked “face of the WWE” Randy Orton, The Authority’s hired hit man Kane, and the explosive Roman Reigns in a Fatal 4-Way Match, where the first Superstar to score a pinfall or submission will be the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. The story of the match would quickly become Randy Orton & Kane, who worked together to maintain control of John Cena and Roman Reigns throughout the match, even to the point of Kane standing guard while Randy Orton attempted to pin Cena and Reigns, but when Randy Orton and John Cena paired off on the outside of the ring, Kane would get the better of Roman Reigns, attempting to pin Reigns. Orton would spot Kane’s attempt to win the match and the partnership between Kane and Orton would quickly dissolve as Orton shoves Kane and Kane responds with an uppercut to “The Viper”! Later on in the match, it would come down to John Cena and Roman Reigns with Roman Reigns hitting the Spear on Cena, but Kane would narrowly break up the pinfall. Roman Reigns and Kane would then square off with Reigns taking out Cena, Orton, and Kane with three running kicks to the head. Roman then sizes Orton up for the Spear, sending “The Viper” crashing through the barricade on the outside! Reigns then slides back into the ring, looking for the Spear on Kane, but Kane would catch Roman Reigns, looking for the chokeslam. However, Roman would fight out and would blast Kane with the Spear, but Cena would come in, breaking up the pinfall. Cena then tosses Roman Reigns to the outside before hitting the Attitude Adjustment on Kane, but Roman breaks up the pin. Roman then tries to take the pinfall for himself, but Cena breaks it up! Cena then hits the Attitude Adjustment on Roman Reigns, but Kane breaks up the pinfall before hitting a huge chokeslam on Cena. Kane then plants Roman Reigns with a chokeslam, but Roman Reigns kicks out of the pinfall that followed. Kane then tries for the Tombstone Piledriver, but Roman Reigns fights back, hitting Kane with another Spear. Randy Orton then breaks up the pinfall, hitting the RKO on Roman Reigns. Cena then slides in, hitting the Attitude Adjustment on Randy Orton on top of Kane as Cena is finally able to score the three-count to successfully retain the WWE World Heavyweight Title!
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