Huge Match Set for SmackDown Live Next Week

Daniel Bryan announced on tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live that John Cena will face Nakamura on next week’s show. The winner of that match will be the #1 contender for the WWE Championship and will face Jinder Mahal for the title at SummerSlam.

As of this writing, no other matches or segments have been announced for next week’s show but we will keep you updated.

WWE Battleground Results – 23 July 2017

Welcome to WWE Battleground 2017!

The Punjabi Prison makes a (hopefully) triumphant return after a decade in a match that sees Randy Orton get one more shot at regaining the WWE Championship from Jinder Mahal. It’s no secret that the Punjabi Prison hasn’t had a good track record in WWE, particularly because it’s a weird match with silly rules, but tonight’s definitely has the chance to be the best ever! We’re hoping a decade will allow Randy and Jinder to learn from the mistakes of those before and build a pretty decent match. If nothing else the Prison is always a spectacle.

Also on tonight’s show, John Cena makes his triumphant return to the ring to face Rusev in a Flag Match. This match doesn’t feel all that important because we’ve seen this feud before and because flag matches are generally silly. Regardless, John Cena wrestling is always worth checking out because he’s become an attraction in WWE and here’s hoping his current run will last a while. Rusev’s return has been a very long time coming and fans were hoping that he would be given a strong run upon return and maybe that will be the case if he can eek a win tonight!

There’s a small truth in the women’s division that few people want to acknowledge: Naomi hasn’t had a real contender since winning the title at WrestleMania. Other than fighting Lana on a weekly basis, Naomi’s title run has been marred by a lack of competition. This has happened because the SmackDown ladies have been embroiled in a multi-woman feud for months and months. Tonight the company aims to end this long-running battle royal with a five-way match with the winner becoming the number one contender to Naomi. I don’t think there is a clear winner for this match because the two strongest challengers, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, are both babyfaces. The idea of Lana winning is painfully possible.

Also on tonight’s card, Shinsuke Nakamura takes on Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn looks for revenge against Mike Kanellis, The New Day get another shot at The Uso’s Tag Team Championships, and Kevin Owens will look to regain his US Championship from AJ Styles! Tonight’s Battleground is a pretty stacked card with some crazy match stipulations and it all starts with Tye Dillinger Vs. Aiden English on the Kick-Off Show at 7pm EST. And don’t forget, you can watch Talking Smack after Battleground! Download the free Ringside News app for all your wrasslin’ news, and the Ringside Talk app to join your fellow marks in conversing about the show. Enjoy!

Looking at the Best Possible Outcomes for Battleground

Battleground is nearly upon us. After Sunday, plans will be set into motion. Summerslam depends entirely on what happens at Battleground. Will Baron Corbin be the next to fall to Shinsuke Nakamura? Will the New Day finally become Tag Team Champions? Who will be Naomi’s opponent at Summerslam?

With that in mind, who needs to win this Sunday? Which victories would be ideal? Who will affect Summerslam in the best possible way? We’re going to find out.

Rusev v. John Cena

First off, allow me to say this. This feud is so backwards and unnecessary that it’s almost funny. Do Smackdown really want two of their top stars to fight some anti-American foreigners? Apparently so.

Rusev is capable of so much more than just “I hate America, you fatties.” Cena can cut better promos when he’s not talking about “the flag represents all of us!” I don’t care that they’re fighting again. It’s just that the feud is straight out of the ’80s. All it needs are some prayers and vitamins and the Hulkster could do it. Not good.

I firmly believe that if anyone is to walk away from this victorious, it should be Rusev. Cena’s established; feeding everyone to someone for 10 years straight will do that. Cena can lose. Rusev’s coming back from an injury.

It’s not even a standard match; Cena doesn’t need to eat a pin. Have Rusev back over him with a truck or handcuff him to the ropes or something. Just let Rusev win. If Rusev loses, where does he go from there? Nowhere. A victory will give him a little nudge up the card.

Kevin Owens v. AJ Styles

At Battleground, AJ Styles and Kevin Owens will once again lock horns over the United States Championship. Owens lost the title at a live event in Madison Square Garden, and he hopes to reclaim it. Styles hopes to hold onto the championship for some time.

While many are clamoring for Styles to move back into the WWE title picture, I would like to see him have a meaningful run with the US title. He plans on hosting an Open Challenge, and it would be interesting to see less-utilized guys have a chance to wrestle with him. Styles can make anyone look good, so this Open Challenge should be a great idea.

As for Owens, I’m not quite sure where he would go from here, but he always makes his way back. He lost his first ever feud on the main roster. As Universal Champion, he was a complete joke. But he recovered. He always does. Him losing to Styles will not be the end of his career.

Randy Orton v. Jinder Mahal

While many view the result of this match as a “rock and hard place” scenario, I don’t think it is. There is only one preferable outcome to the Punjabi Prison match. Orton needs to regain his championship.

The Jinder experiment has run its course. Mahal’s been cutting the same weaksauce promos for 8 weeks now. People have stopped caring about the WWE Championship. That’s not good.

While another Orton reign is not something anyone is looking forward to, it would be a lot better. For one, Orton can cut a promo without sounding like a teen currently going through puberty while smoking two packs a day. Mahal’s voice cracks more one promo than there are days in his title reign.

Lastly, Mahal wrestles a fairly pedestrian style that doesn’t exactly light the world on fire. If Orton were to regain the championship, he could actually have good matches. If he were to defend the WWE title against Nakamura, Corbin, or Owens at Summerslam, that could be great. It sounds better than Mahal v. Cena or something.

Jinder Mahal Flaunts 50th Day of WWE Championship Reign

The ‘Modern Day Maharaja’ Jinder Mahal on his Instagram, posted the following on his 50th day as the WWE Champion:

“Showing my dominance on the 50th day of being the 50th WWE Champion … Long Reign The Maharaja. #WWE #wwechampionship #ModernDayMaharaja”

Showing my dominance on the 50th day of being the 50th WWE Champion … Long Reign The Maharaja. #WWE #wwechampionship #ModernDayMaharaja

A post shared by The Maharaja (@jindermahal) on Jul 11, 2017 at 9:02pm PDT

Jinder Mahal pinned Randy Orton to become the 50th WWE Champion at Backlash on May 21.

Three Matches Announced for Tonight’s SmackDown Live

WWE has announced that Jinder Mahal would be facing Tye Dillinger in a non-title match on tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live. In addition to that match, they have also announced Xavier Woods vs. Jey Usos and Baron Corbin vs. Nakamura.

Check back here at 8PM ET for our live play-by-play coverage of the event.

Rumored Stipulation Confirmed for WWE Battleground

PWInsider has confirmed speculation that WWE is planning on bringing back the Punjabi Prison match for the upcoming WWE Battleground pay-per-view event.

PWI claims that their sources have informed them that the match will indeed taking place on the card. The match is expected to see Jinder Mahal defend his WWE Title against Randy Orton. This will be the 3rd Punjabi Prison match in WWE history.

Seth Rollins Appears at SmackDown Event & Challenges Jinder Mahal

Seth Rollins made an appearance at Saturday’s WWE Live Event and challenged Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship. The incident went down while Jinder Mahal was cutting an in-ring promo and Rollins made his surprise appearance and cut a promo as well. This led to a match between the two. The match ended in disqualification when the Singh brothers interfered.

You can check out footage below:

Originally Shinsuke Nakamura was scheduled to face Mahal at the event, however Rollins’ filled in as the replacement.

Escape Rooms Are No Match for These Four Superstars

I recently went to an escape room, and it was pretty fun, no doubt about it. These escape rooms are not for everyone, though. To quote famed poet Gerald Gilum (also known as G-Eazy), “Never going nowhere unless your team is strong.” You’re going to need a good team to make sure you get out of that room.

If you were hypothetically going to solve an escape room, you’d need a hypothetically good team. However, what if that hypothetical team was to be made up of wrestlers? You’d need to pick a team of good wrestlers, then. Here are four in particular who could help you solve the challenges.

Jinder Mahal

Yes, I would put Jinder “Modern Day Maharajah” Mahal on my team. Why? It mainly comes down to two reasons. First off, Jinder’s rich, and these rooms don’t come for free. The one I went to wasn’t so bad; we ended up paying around 6 of your American dollars per head. Still, if Jinder’s got money, then he’s got money.

Secondly, Jinder’s got the Singh brothers by his side. They only really take orders from Mr. Mahal himself, so he’s got to be there. The rooms come with all sorts of puzzles and challenges, and let’s be honest, not everyone can be the brains of the group. So the brains should figure out what exactly needs to be done, tell Jinder, who will then tell the Singh brothers. Does the challenge require a Pascal’s triangle up to 64? Hey Jinder, could the Singh Brothers help out with that? Should two people dance the Biyelgee, the traditional Mongolian dance? Jinder, could the Singh brothers help out with that?

You will have to keep Jinder under control, though. If he gets angry or frustrated, it could be a problem. This is the same guy who lost two different matches because of his deep-seated hatred for Rob Gronkowski and American Football. It would be ideal if you kept him under close watch, and make sure all he does is boss the Singh brothers around.

Sami Zayn

Ahhyessir, Sami Zayn would be a real helpful guy in an escape room. You never know which solution is the right solution, so you’d need someone who could analyze all the different possibilities. Enter Sami Zayn.

As evidenced on his various backstage segments on both Raw and Smackdown, Zayn is an analytical guy, perhaps overly so. Still, if he has an idea, it’s generally worth listening to. Rewind to the six man tag team match before Money in the Bank. Styles and Nakamura listened to his advice, and their team won! Sami Zayn has some good ideas.

He is the type of guy to think of all the different possibilities. Are these numbers a code or coordinates? Are these letters an anagram or music notes? Is that the Alphabet song or Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star? As long as you have Zayn on your team, you don’t have to worry about missing out on a key clue that might be overlooked by lesser teams.

John Cena

Solving an escape room is challenging. It can be disheartening. Maybe you’re solving the puzzles all wrong. Heck, maybe you can’t even find the puzzles. You really feel like throwing in the towel.

John Cena will not let you do that. He will tell you to Never Give Up™ just because the room’s a bit difficult. He’d also tell you to Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect™ the escape room that you find yourself in. You’ve got to hustle and move quickly to solve the puzzles, and you’ve got to show loyalty to your team by sticking with them, and you’ve sure as hell got to respect your team, and respect yourself. You’ve also got to respect the room by never giving up and attempting to win. By showing respect, you show effort. Something like that.

Bray Wyatt

Teleportation powers. Nothing more needs to be said.

Punjabi Prison Match Returning Next Month?

It looks like the Punjabi Prison match may be making a return to WWE very soon.

There has been speculation that the upcoming match that is rumored to take place at July 29th WWE Battleground event between Randy Orton and Jinder Mahal will be a Punjabi Prison match. It’s being said that staff workers at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia did measurements in the arena to fit a large bamboo structure. Word also going around is that employees of WWE have been instructed to take the Punjabi Prison structure out of storage.

Pro Wrestling Sheet’s Ryan Satin mentioned on Twitter that Orton is expected to take time off but he will still be around for the Punjabi match at Battleground: