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WWE Battleground Botched Finish?

Ever since the crazy ending of the AJ Styles/Kevin Owens US Title match at Battleground on Sunday night, rumors have been swirling over whether or not that was the finish that was supposed to happen. As we all saw, there was a ref bump that led to some of the worst acting I have personally ever seen in a WWE ring and a squirrelly roll-up finish where Styles’ shoulders were obviously off the mat.

Various reports are suggesting that this was not the way the match was supposed to end. Apparently, Styles raised hell when the match was over, and there was said to be a chaotic atmosphere in the back once the bout was over.

Owens was not favored to win this match in the last set of betting odds for WWE Battleground, and since those are normally right on the money, that was the first sign something might have gone awry. We should see something on SmackDown Live tonight to give us some clarification on the US Title issue.

I wouldn’t be surprised, if this actually was a botch and the match wasn’t supposed to end that way, to see WWE turn this into some sort of angle heading into SummerSlam. I can’t see them stripping Owens of the title and handing it back to Styles this close to one of the biggest PPVs of the year.

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Roman Reigns Warns Philly Fans

WWE Battleground, which was led by the SmackDown Live roster, took place in what is usually a ruckus Philadelphia crowd. Last night, however, saw a much more tepid audience. RAW superstar Roman Reigns noticed it. Following the pay-per-view event, Reigns acknowledged the Philly crowd’s response and insinuated he would’ve brought a louder crowd.

Told yall I'm The Big Fight. Heard Philly was a little quiet tonight, better bring their best when we return!! #Raw #MyYard #B2R https://t.co/dETfoN2sXe

— Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) July 24, 2017

As you can imagine, Reigns’ tweet was met with a lot of eye rolling and sarcasm on Twitter. All that’s left if for WWE to officially turn him heel. He’s already playing the role to perfection everywhere.

WWE Battleground Social Media Score

WWE Battleground ranked at #4 among series & specials for Sunday night in Nielsen’s social media TV ratings, falling behind Game of Thrones, Power, and Phelps vs. Shark: Great Gold vs. Great White.

The SmackDown Live PPV had 172,000 interactions on Twitter with 33,000 unique authors, down from the 232,000 interactions and 42,000 authors that WWE Great Balls of Fire drew. Battleground also had 171,000 Facebook interactions with 97,000 unique authors. That is down from the 249,000 interactions and 135,000 unique authors that RAW’s Great Balls Of Fire drew.

And, just as an aside, the vast majority of Twitter posts I saw on my time line were not very flattering to WWE or last night’s show.

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We’ve received an update this morning from Bet Wrestling on the current WWE Battleground betting odds. Though the smart money is not in yet (that usually happens Sunday afternoon), we’ve seen some shifts in the odds for tonight’s SmackDown brand PPV event. In particular, the women’s match has seen a major shift.

WWE Championship – Punjabi Prison Match
Jinder Mahal(c) -260 vs Randy Orton +180

WWE United States Championship
AJ Styles(c) -210 vs Kevin Owens +160

Smackdown Tag Team Championship
The Usos(c) -215 vs The New Day +165

Flag Match
John Cena -1125 vs Rusev +575

Fatal 5 Way for the Smackdown Women’s Championship #1 Contendership
Natalya -215 Charlotte +195 vs Becky Lynch +2100 vs Lana +3000 vs Tamina +4500

Shinsuke Nakamura -270 vs Baron Corbin +190

Aiden English +330 vs Tye Dillenger -490

Sami Zayn +135 vs Mike Kanellis -175

As we can see, John Cena is a major favorite in the flag match tonight. His odds have actually widened even further since the last betting update. Tye Dillinger is also a heavy favorite, actually the next-best favorite on the show.

Interestingly, all of the champions are favored to walk out of the show tonight with their belts in hand. This can obviously change when the smart money comes in this afternoon, but as of now, no major changes look to be in store for the title picture on a show that has seen much less hype than Great Balls Of Fire two weeks ago.

One would think that Mahal is a lock to remain champion, so if there were any betting odds shifts this afternoon in the title matches, it would probably come in the US or Women’s Championship matches.

The post WWE Battleground Betting Odds: Sunday Morning Update appeared first on TopRopePress.com – Wrestling News, WWE News, TNA News, Wrestling Results.

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After tonight’s SmackDown Live, the WWE Battleground card is taking shape. With Shinsuke Nakamura and Baron Corbin’s scheduled match never getting off the ground tonight, these two men have been added to the June 23rd card.

Plus, the blue brand’s Women’s Division is in a state of flux with Naomi having no clear #1 Contender to her SmackDown Women’s Title, so the ladies will fight it out in a Fatal Five Way at Battleground for that #1 Contender’s spot. It’s doubtful at this time if Naomi will have an actual title match on this card. This will be the second of the past three SmackDown Live PPVs where the Women’s Title has not been on the line in a match.

WWE Battleground Updated Match Card

WWE World Title Punjabi Prison Match
Jinder Mahal vs Randy Orton.

WWE United States Title
AJ Styles vs Kevin Owens.

SmackDown Tag Team Titles
The Usos vs The New Day.

Flag Match
Rusev vs John Cena.

Fatal Five Way Elimination Match
Charlotte vs Lana vs Becky Lynch vs Tamina Snuka vs Nattie.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Baron Corbin.

WWE Battleground will air live on WWE Network on Sunday, July 23rd, beginning at 8:00 pm EDT. The preshow will kickoff at 7:00 pm EDT.

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Following the July 4th edition of SmackDown Live, two new matches were announced for the blue brand’s Battleground pay per view.

John Cena, labeled as a “free agent,” reappeared on SmackDown Live for the first time since early April. He wasn’t the only WWE superstar to make a comeback. Rusev finally returned, after being sidelined due to injury. Cena challenged Rusev to a classic Flag on a Pole Match for the Independence Day episode of SmackDown Live, but Rusev declined. SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan seemed to like Cena’s idea and booked the match for Battleground.

#SDLive kicks off with fireworks. Now let me make it official. @JohnCena vs. @RusevBUL in a flag match at #WWEBattleground. #YesYesYes

— Daniel Bryan (@WWEDanielBryan) July 5, 2017

Also added to WWE Battleground is a US Title match between Kevin Owens and AJ Styles. Styles outlasted over a dozen other SmackDown Live superstars, including Sami Zayn, Tye Dillinger, Dolph Ziggler, Jason Jordan, Luke Harper, Erick Rowan, Mojo Rawley, Zack Ryder, Fandango, Tyler Breeze, and others, to secure the #1 Contender spot against Owens.

WWE Battleground Match Card

WWE Championship – Punjabi Prison Match
Jinder Mahal vs Randy Orton.

WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship
The Usos vs The New Day.

WWE United States Championship
Kevin Owens vs AJ Styles.

Flag Match
John Cena vs Rusev

WWE Battleground takes place live from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Sunday, July 23, on the WWE Network.

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Braun Strowman Bumps Finn Balor From Roman Reigns Storyline

As everyone saw Monday night on RAW, Roman Reigns made a SummerSlam challenge to the winner of Brock Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe match at Great Balls of Fire. That brought out Samoa Joe, which lead to a Reigns vs. Joe match later on RAW (interrupted by a returning Braun Strowman).

Interestingly, the spot of interrupting the Reigns/Joe storyline was originally set for Finn Balor. One would assume Balor would have gone on to face Reigns at Great Balls of Fire. But according to a report from Sportskeeda, once Strowman was medically cleared, Balor was bumped out of the picture. After watching RAW on Monday, it’s pretty clear that the company does not have a long term direction for Balor at this time (he defeated Bo Dallas on the show).

Major Updates on WWE Battleground and TLC

The next scheduled SmackDown Live pay per view is Battleground, which takes place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. It seems we can now expect John Cena to be apart of that show in some fashion.

Wells Fargo Center is excited to announce the addition of “Free Agent” @JohnCena to WWE Battleground on 7/23! –> https://t.co/S88paBBzi9 pic.twitter.com/J2wCtz3rfy

— Wells Fargo Center (@WellsFargoCtr) June 19, 2017

With our earlier report that Cena is scheduled to work the Live Event the day after SummerSlam, perhaps “Big Match John” will be around more than expected this summer. Again, his official return is set for the 4th of July.

Looking further ahead, WWE’s 2017 pay per view schedule added another date today. Tables, Ladders and Chairs will take place on October 22nd in Minneapolis. It will be a RAW-brand offering. Last year, it was a SmackDown show in December.

This announcement has some interesting repercussions. First, RAW now has pay per views scheduled for both September (No Mercy) and October. You would then expect the same from SmackDown. One of those should be Hell in a Cell. We were told last year that the gimmick pay per views (such as TLC, Hell in a Cell and Money In The Bank) would rotate brands every year.

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