John Cena Interview after Battle Ground. In this interciew he told us about the odds and choices he had . He said he had two choices . One was to give up with which he has no chance of getting his titles back and the was to stand up and fight back he chose the other one the hard way with which he had 25 % chances. He said that he was very glad to Leave the Tampa With Still the CHAMP IS HERE

Source: PWInsider.com

Here is a quick write-up of what transpired in Dearborn as ROH taped 4 weeks worth of TV tonight and sent off Kevin Steen.

Bobby Cruise announced that due to food poisoning, Michael Bennett would not appear.

Dark Match: Will Ferrera over Jonathan Gresham with a roll-up and tight grab.

EPISODE #1

1. ROH World Tag Team Title Match: reDRagon of Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly (c) over Monster Mafia (not announced as such) of Josh Alexander & Ethan Gabriel Owens (Ethan Page) to retain.  Really hot opener with good action and some very good near falls late. Alexander looked really good.  He had amateur wrestling headgear on and that led to the crowd chanting “Headgear, Headgear, Headgear & We Want Headgear.”

2. Moose over Hakim Zane.  Moose has a very hip-hop, catchy entrance theme that immediately got fans into him.  Zane used speed & quickness, but Moose was too much as he turned him inside out with a spear for the win.

3. Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian over The Decade of Roderick Strong & Jimmy Jacobs, Jay & Mark Briscoe and WAR Machine of Hanson & Raymond Rowe to earn a future shot at the ROH World Tag Titles.  Early part of the match was each guy getting a slot in the match opposing another with quick tags, giving everyone about equal ring time.  It got a little wild with The Briscoes & WAR Machine going toe to toe and when that settled, it was Decade, primarily Strong, working over Christopher Daniels.  Pre-match, Jacobs had put the bad mouth on both guys for being gone and then returning, the theme of the Decade since their debut about former ROH guys returning.  After a good stretch with Daniels getting beat down, Kazarian finally made the hot tag and turned things around.  The Briscoes and WAR Machine also got involved with nearfalls and big moves towards the end, before Daniels recovered enough and was able to nail Roddy with the Best Moonsault Ever to get the pinfall.   Jacobs & Strong immediately attacked post match, but were fended off by the other two teams, with Briscoes & WAR Machine having their matter remain unresolved.

EPISODE #2

This episode was the Golden Gauntlet Match, which was announced as the winner getting a future shot at the ROH World Title on TV and online it was presented as the winner getting his shot on 8/9 in Philly.

1a. BJ Whitmer over Caprice Coleman
1b. Matt Taven over BJ Whitmer
1c. Matt Taven over The Romantic Touch
1d. Jay Lethal over Matt Taven
1e. Cedric Alexander over Jay Lethal to win the match

This match was quite long, with the first half not being incredibly exciting or newsworthy.  When Touch entered, he and Taven did some miming ala when there were two Doink the Clowns back in the back, since Taven’s been dressing up as Touch.

Things really picked up when Lethal came out.  Fans really were into it.  Taven rammed Selyzia Sparks & Truth Martini’s heads together, eliminating them from the match.  After good back and forth action, Jay Diesel interfered and it created the opening for Lethal to nail the Lethal Injection & advance.

Cedric was out next and the entire segment with Lethal was great.  Super competitive, with Cedric hanging really tough and battling big time.  Lethal was calling for Truth & Sparks, but they never showed.  Cedric perfectly executed his finisher, I believe called Concussion on Delivery, to end this one.  It was treated like a big deal.  I look forward to Elgin-Cedric!

That long bout seemed to take the wind out of the sails of the fans.  This was quite possibly the biggest crowd ROH has drawn in the Detroit area since the late 2000′s.  I’d say there were easily 850-900 people in attendance, many standing SRO, since all GA chairs were filled.

EPISODE #3

1. Adam Cole over Rocky Romero.  Another really good match, and this got fans back into it.  It was paced well enough to allow that to happen.  Cole had his mouth busted open early, as Romero hit a great dive through the ropes.  Cole took over and worked the legs, before finally using the Figure Four to finish things off.

2. Tommaso Ciampa over Adam Page w/ Roderick Strong.  This was a real surprise.  Page was super competitive. Ciampa seemed a little pre-occupied with Strong as well.  Ciampa won with Project Ciampa and cut an “angry” promo about being overlooked by everyone and that he wanted a shot at Michael Elgin.

Silas Young interrupted and told Ciampa that when he wins the title on 8/22 in Milwaukee, he wouldn’t be handing out title shots like Elgin was.  Ciampa popped him in the mouth and sent Silas fleeing.

3. ROH World Title Match: MIchael Elgin (c) over Kyle O’Reilly w/ Bobby Fish.  Elgin called out a mentor to him, Tyson Dux, to even the sides with Fish in O’Reilly’s corner.  This was a fantastic match, quite possibly the best of the night.  It was very hard-hitting and O’Reilly was a wizard with the armbar submissions and hangman’s clutch chokes throughout.  Fans were into it big.  Elgin was finally able to survive and nail a wicked powerbomb for the win.  

Post-match, Silas, then Ciampa, then Cole, then Cedric hit the ring.  Then The Briscoes, then WAR Machine and a huge brawl erupted in and around the ring.  Elgin was out inside, recovering.  Mark Briscoe nailed a moonsault on the collection on the mass on the floor.  Alexander was next and nailed a swanton style dive, high over the top ropes to everyone on the floor.

Cole returned to the ring and grabbed the ROH World Title, setting up to smash Elgin with it.  It doesn’t happen and for his trouble, Elgin powerbombed Cole onto the still recovering group at ringside.

Episode #3 is must-see in my opinion!

Intermission was taken, which was odd at the time of night but good since the segment preceding it was HOT!  It was announced that ROH returns to Michigan, debuting in Kalamazoo (the main city where the Sinclair owned TV station resides) on Saturday, October 11, 2014.

Episode #4

1. ACH over Tadarius Thomas w/ Jimmy Jacobs & Adam Page.  Another simply incredible match.  ACH made the offense of Thomas look like a million bucks! ACH also bled from the mouth in this one.  There was some tremendous, high-energy offense as well,  ACH nailed a 450 Splash for the pinfall.

Post-match, Jacobs told Thomas that losing was not acceptable and was joined by BJ Whitmer in “punishing” both Decade “Young Boys” with a physical beatdown.  Both Page and Thomas appeared ready to stand up and fight back, but opted to heed the directives from the veterans.

2. Tyson Dux over Takaaki Watanabe.  Not much more than a chance for fans to catch their breath before the main event. Dux won with a sliding lariat.

3. “Mr. Wrestling” Kevin Steen over Steve Corino.

Steen was showed with streamers upon his entrance into the ring.  He rolled in them, did snow angels and much more, having a great time.  As Bobby Cruise started the intros, he was stopped by Corino, who handed him a paper ala 2003 when Cruise was Corino’s personal ring announcer.  This was classic!  It was a list of previous greats, who like Steen, had gone on to much more after their ROH runs: Austin Aries, Claudio Castagnoli, Colt Cabana, El Generico, Kerry Von Erich….no, Kevin Von Erich….no, No Von Erich brothers, Eddie Edwards, Eddie Edwards’s Partner (a shot a Davey – ouch!), Tyler Black, Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson and CM Punk.  This was over HUGE with fans soaking it up, and Steen too.  Midway through, Corino offered Cruise a refresher from a bottled water, but Cruise pulled out an airplane bottle of liquor (vodka maybe) and threw that back before concluding and intro’ing Corino, then Steen with great emphasis and dramatic pause.  Steen really was holding it together well, as fans, in unison, chanted many pro-Steen chants.

Corino threw the first punch and it was on.  Fists were flying early, then it went to the floor.  Steen grabbed a Generico mask from a fan and put it on.  Doing so allowed him to channel “The Generic Luchadore” and nail a nice pair of Ole’ Kicks!  Unmasked and back into the ring, Steen continued on offense and paid homage to Colt Cabana, with a Flying Asshole onto Corino in the corner.

The match spilled back on the floor and both men met with a double clothesline, that resulted in a long 19 count for both men.  Steen continued to attack and Corino fought back, neither man giving in.  Steen was unsuccessful in attempting a Package Piledriver, but did nail F-Cinq and finally was able to hit the Package Piledriver to get the win!

As soon as the pinfall was counted, you could see and tell the wave of emotion that washed over him.  It was really special.  He eventually helped Corino up and they hugged.  Jimmy Jacobs hit the ring and stared at both men, just about a year removed from the end of the SCUM era. Jacobs jumped onto to Steen and hugged him too!  Jacobs, Steen and Corino all then hugged, but Roderick Strong & BJ Whitmer hit the ring, showing Jacobs’ move to be a set-up, and they attacked Steen & Corino.  Steen fought them off and sent them off with a double clothesline.

At this point, the entire locker room minus The Decade hit the ring, with balloons, party hats, champagne, silly string and more.  Steen gave a great speech, thanking Cary Silkin for there being a ROH and place to call “home,” he thanked Christopher Daniels for being a strong vet 10 years ago to teach Steen the “right” way to act in pro wrestling and do so in a positive way, he thanked for Briscoes for their role in solidifying the spots of Steen & Generico in early 2007 with their great match, he thank Nigel McGuinness, he thanked the ring crew, he thanked each and every one of the fans, he thanked Todd Sinclair and called him the best referee, he put over Michael Elgin and called Cedric Alexander “The Future” of ROH.  He thanked Sinclair Broadcasting for helping ROH move ahead and thrive.  He was then toasted by the wrestlers and others in the ring and hugged everyone to close the show.

This might have been the most genuine celebration and send-off for a wrestler from ROH ever.  I had the fortune of being their for Punk’s in Chicago and Dragon & Nigel’s in NYC and this was just extremely special.  A one-of-a-kind, you had to be there-type moment.  Steen did one final lap around the ringside area with fans and that was the night!

So, after a good but somewhat flat at times first two episodes, Episodes 3 & 4 were virtual “grand slams” and must watch when they air.  A really fun, memorable, great night with ROH.

As we reported yesterday, there has been speculation that tonight’s WWE Battleground PPV might see a WWE World Title change, as Cena has been pulled from Raw advertisements tomorrow night as he will be filming a new movie.

Additionally, we posted a leaked spoiler video last week promoting a SummerSlam match between John Cena and Brock Lesnar, and interestingly enough, the promo makes no mention of the bout being for the WWE World Title. According to PWInsider.com, the feeling by some in WWE is this could be another sign of a title change tonight.

For the bout between Brock Lesnar and John Cena at SummerSlam this year, WWE is going with the concept that it’s one of the greatest WWE superstars of all-time (Cena) facing the most dominant athlete of all-time (Lesnar).

Paglino: Brock Lesnar vs John Cena is going to draw whether or not the title is on the line. So why not give the fans an unexpected title change tonight?

The real question is who wins the title in tonight’s main event. Kane and Orton aren’t good choices in my opinion, and I don’t think Reigns is ready to win the title yet. Some people like the idea of Reigns winning and then Rollins cashing in on him, but that diminishes Reigns’ title win, and with WWE positioning him as a top guy right now, you don’t want to steal the spotlight from his first title win with a Money in the Bank cash-in.

So what do you think, who needs to win tonight?

These are the betting odds for WWE Battleground 2014 as of 3:30PM EST

on Saturday.

 The lines, usually released on Thursday were very late

and were just put out this afternoon. A possible reason for this might

be the number of upsets of WWE Money in the Bank from last month.

John Cena is a heavy favorite in WWE World Heavyweight Championship

Fatal Fourway at -1700, which was -2000 at 1PM. The line moved

slightly, most likely because the line itself started so high bettors

simply couldn't resist wagering on the field of Kane, Randy Orton and

Roman Reigns. The field is now +800 moving from +1000 2 and a half

hours ago.

Cesaro is the favorite to win the Intercontinental Title in the Battle

Royal- and he is now at -245, moving from -195 and then -170 before

that. So the line so far has been moving consistently in his

direction. The field is now at +175 moving from +155 and +130 before

that.

Bray Wyatt is the favorite to beat Jercio thus far. The line is not

moving his favor though starting at -170 to-675 before settling at

-530. Jerico started at +450 to +425 to +350 as many are speculating

this will lead to a Summerslam gimmick match.

AJ is the favorite to retain the Divas title at -530, but she was at

-750 just hours ago. Paige started at +450 and is now +350. This is

interesting.

The Wyatts, once again, are the favorite to win the titles from the

Usos. The Wyatts are at -530 which was -425 hours ago, so it looks

good for them based on the lines. The Usos are +350 moving from +305.

In addition lines are up for the first fall with the Wyatts at -180 to

the Usos +140. Heels normally take the first fall in best of three

falls matches regardless of who the eventual winner are.

Seth Rollins is the favorite to defeat Dean Ambrose, who was "injured"

at WWe Raw Monday night. It's a short line however, with Seth at +120

and Dean -160. This line was previously a little wider with Seth at

-190 to Dean's +150.

Rusev is currently the favorite at +600 to Swagger's +400. This line

did not move at all. Rusev got no heat in this feud, many times

backing down from Swagger, which usually indicates that he will

probably be winning this.

Naomi is the favorite at -750 to defeat Cameron at +450. This line

didn't move most likely due to disinterest.

John: This Sunday night in Tampa, Florida it's WWE Battleground. It's an eight match card including the pre-show.

What's noticeable about the Battleground lineup is that the midcard is much stronger than it has been for the last couple of PPVs that have seemed like one or two match lineups. At least this time around we've got matches like Jericho/Wyatt, Ambrose/Rollins and Usos/Wyatt Family that should all be very good with the potential to be excellent depending on the time they are given. The battle royal could be good although they have done too many battle royals in the last few months. The main event isn't as strong as Money in the Bank was, but they could surprise us.

With SummerSlam around the corner, it wouldn't be surprising if several of these matches are repeated at that show. This one is about building to that one, which is why some fans don't see it as being that important. It could still have some great matches.

Joining me for the preview is Christian Michael of TJRWresting.com. Andrew Johnson couldn't join us this month due to life being too damn busy, but he should be back for SummerSlam.

(Note: All graphics are from WWE.com. The banner is courtesy of our friend Steve Melo.)

Kickoff Show: Cameron vs. Naomi

Christian: The Funkadactyls EXPLODE! After this match these two win be totally irrelevant until Total Divas returns in the fall.

Winner- Naomi

John: This match is the result of Cameron turning into an egotistical jerk (I could have used another word that starts with a b) while Naomi hasn't really said much. They had a pull apart brawl to set this one up because they need storylines for Total Divas. Naomi is clearly the better of these two in terms of being able to wrestle. She's pretty good. Cameron looks lost out there even after two years of training. She looks out of place a lot of the time. Give the win to the woman that does the flying ass as a finishing move. That's Naomi, in case you weren't sure.

Winner: Naomi

Intercontinental Title Battle Royal: Cesaro, Bo Dallas, US Champion Sheamus, Fandango, Kofi Kingston, The Miz, The Great Khali, Rob Van Dam, Dolph Ziggler, Big E, Ryback, Curtis Axel, Alberto Del Rio, Sin Cara, Zack Ryder, Heath Slater, Titus O'Neil, Diego, R-Truth, Xavier Woods

Christian: It's a shame Bad New Barrett went down with an injury. He was having the best run with the title since Triple H and The Rock jousted over the title in 1998. There's three guys I'm looking at winning this here. Dolph Ziggler because the dude is a work horse and that's what this title needs. Cesaro because with Paul Heyman leaving him for Brock Lesnar he needs something. The last guy is Bo Dallas just because he's the flavor of the month getting a push right now. Someone hand that man a towel. He's always so wet.

Winner- Dolph Ziggler wins the vacant Intercontinental Championship

John: There are 20 men announced for it. Damien Sandow and Adam Rose were originally in it, but both of them were removed so they could be a part of some angle on the show. This is such a tough match to call because there are so many choices that make sense. They could go with a former champion like Dolph Ziggler or Kofi Kingston just because they are popular guys. Sheamus and The Miz are also solid choices although I think they're going to have a feud after this is over, which means they might eliminate each other near the end. Cesaro is probably the favorite although I don't think he really needs it.

My pick is Bo Dallas. It would be an awesome way to elevate him. He's got the kind of character where he wins matches, but he's yet to have a real feud. If he won this match by eliminating nobody until the final one or two people at the end it would be the kind of cheap win that would fit his character. Dallas has also done promos ripping on injured guys like Daniel Bryan and Bad News Barrett. If he holds the title for a few months and Barrett comes back as a face there's a feud right there. All you have to do is Bolieve!

Winner: Bo Dallas

Divas Title: AJ Lee vs. Paige

Christian: This has heel turn for Paige written all over it. She should've went full heel after losing the title, but her and AJ are now "frenemies". Let the girls go 10+ to show what they have. This could and should be the Divas feud we know the WWE Divas are capable of having. Hopefully the fans in attendance will be smart enough to watch and enjoy the match and not chant for an unemployed guy that bounced on them. This is a multiple PPV feud to me.

Winner- Paige regains the Divas Championship

John: It's a win for AJ Lee. Giving her a three week title reign wouldn't accomplish anything. The story will be that AJ Lee is able to find a way to win the match (maybe with a rollup reversal of some kind) and when it's over Paige will snap. That heel turn by Paige will either take place after the match or Monday on Raw. Then they can have another match at SummerSlam where Paige can get the title back as a heel. It should be good if they get around 10 minutes although most divas matches at PPVs get about 7 minutes. Either way I'm looking forward to it.

Winner: AJ Lee

Jack Swagger (w/Zeb Colter) vs. Rusev (w/Lana)

Christian: In this corner playing Ivan Drago we have Rusev. In the opposite corner playing Apollo Creed is Jack Swagger. Lana takes the role of Ludmilla Drago and Zeb Colter plays Duke. The only thing missing is someone to play Rocky Balboa and knock this Russian out at SummerSlam.

You can tell that the Rusev character is working because the fans are getting behind whoever steps up to him. He has that good kind of heat. Swagger has been a pseudo face anyway since teaming with Zeb. All this match does is give the fans a real reason to get behind Swagger. I'd like to see this be a multiple PPV feud and them have some competitive matches. A Swagger win would be cool and better for the story overall before Rusev wins the feud outright, but more than likely Zeb will be looking for the yet to be cast Balboa to throw in the towel for his man.

Winner- Rusev

John: This feud has to make WWE officials happy because it has really worked so far. While both wrestlers deserve a lot of praise, Zeb Colter and Lana have been phenomenal as well. There were reports that Rusev was going to face Big Show possibly at SummerSlam and that may still happen, but I hope not. They can get two major matches out of this feud even if Rusev wins here like I expect.

Rusev continues to impress me. He's pretty good in the ring for a guy that's bigger and not that experienced. He has so much untapped potential. Swagger's going to have a good match with him. It will be hard hitting, the crowd will be loud during all of it and it should make for a really fun atmosphere. Rusev wins after 10 minutes in what will be his most competitive matchup so far. Hopefully we get to see it again.

Winner: Rusev

Tag Team Titles: The Usos vs. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan (2/3 Falls)

Christian: I just beg that WWE lets this match go like 25-30 mins. I hate 2/3 Falls matches where the first two falls end in a total of five minutes and then the final fall goes 15 mins. Let this one cook on the oven for a while. These two teams have great chemistry together so let's see it play out one more time. And that's it. One MORE time. We've had enough Usos vs. Wyatts matches to last a lifetime.

Winners- Luke Harper and Erick Rowan win the Tag Team Championships 2 falls to 1

John: When they had the match at Money in the Bank three weeks ago most people thought the champs would lose, but I picked them to retain and they did. The reason is because the Wyatt Family really don't need gold to stay over. Their characters will be successful with or without the titles. They've had so many matches together and they are generally pretty good. Since it's 2/3 Falls they'll likely tie it up 1-1 and then have a hot finish after 20 minutes. While I am a huge fan of The Usos as the faces of the tag division, my feeling is that they're dropping the gold here because they wouldn't have done the match otherwise.

If the Usos retain, don't be surprised if The Ascension debuts Monday on Raw to attack them and lead to a huge tag match at SummerSlam. My pick is Rowan/Harper because they could feud with Goldust & Stardust right away. There's nothing wrong with building up other teams. It's great for the tag division.

Winners: Luke Harper & Erick Rowan Win The Tag Team Titles 2-1

Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose

Christian: I think as much as we all are looking forward to this match, WWE is going to cut it short leaving us wanting more, which in my opinion is genius. There is so much hatred between these two that a standard match shouldn't suffice. A ten minute slugfest that the referee can't control and then calls for a double DQ is what this PPV calls for. Then at SummerSlam we get Rollins and Ambrose in a No DQ match that might be one of the best matches of the year in WWE. There's no need to rush this. Let this go a while. Show the WWE Universe what these two can do.

Match ends in a Double Disqualification

John: It's a match that a lot of us are looking forward to because we haven't seen them go at it in singles on the main roster. They had a feud in FCW, but that's not something that most fans have seen. They've also been wrestling each other at house shows for the past two months. Their chemistry should be great. I expect them to get 10 to 15 minutes and for the crowd to be really into it. These two are part of WWE's very bright future. It's just the beginning for them.

My prediction is that Rollins will realize he can't beat Ambrose, so he'll hit Ambrose with the Money in the Bank briefcase in front of the ref for the DQ finish. The fans will hate it, but it's all about building to another match at SummerSlam that could be a Street Fight, No DQ, Last Man Standing or something with no rules. This feud is going two or three PPVs for sure. It's not going to end here, which is fine with me.

Winner: Dean Ambrose via DQ

Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt

Christian: I don't want to say the same thing about this match as the Rollins/Ambrose match, but I don't see this as a one and done scenario. I think Chris Jericho might actually get the win here. We all know Jericho's deal is he comes in, puts on great matches and puts over guys. I think in the long run he will put Wyatt over, but the evolution of Bray Wyatt might need a loss here.

It could send him into a frenzy because he's not taking over like he wanted to. He's only won one PPV match since WrestleMania and he needed a ton of help to do so. So he might have to go back into the deranged monster he was and not someone that panders to the crowd with his singing. Then in the end he puts Jericho out of action in a vicious way that really launches Wyatt the way Cena should have.

Winner- Chris Jericho

John: It's a match I'm looking forward to a lot. I saw their match in NXT last year and it was solid, but Wyatt's improved a lot since then. The build for this one has been solid, which is no surprise considering they're both such great talkers. It does seem similar to the Wyatt/Cena build in a lot ways too.

Wyatt could really use a win here. It's not going to end the feud since they are penciled in for SummerSlam as well, but he can still win in a cheap manner to keep it going for him. Jericho doesn't win major matches as much as he used to because he knows as well as anybody how important it is to put over the younger guys and that's what he came back for. Wyatt lost the feud to Cena. He could use this win and at SummerSlam too. This finish can be cheap. That one at SummerSlam can be more decisive.

Winner: Bray Wyatt

WWE World Heavyweight Title Fatal 4-Way: John Cena vs. Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton vs. Kane

Christian: When a match has a predictable outcome like this one you just hope you get some entertainment value out of it by being a great match. The likely scenario is Kane doesn't feel like letting Randy Orton win so he tries to win and that's leads to the two of them fighting.

The Roman Reigns factor in this match is the interesting one. He's the new shiny toy in WWE's toy box, but it's too soon for him to win the title. I doubt he takes the fall in this one. That's what Kane is for. Maybe Orton depending on the scenario. Reigns will most likely dominate the match. He'll hit a Spear on Kane as he goes for the pin Orton comes in with the RKO and then Cena hits the AA on Orton to pin and retain.

Look for Rollins to try and cash in and Ambrose be there to stop him to continue that feud and lead Triple H to bring in "Plan C" the next night on RAW. Plus if Orton costs Reigns that pin it leads to a big SummerSlam match between the two.

Winner- John Cena retains the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

John: It's a win for Cena. Anything else would have to be considered a major surprise. There's some speculation that they might have Cena lose the title because he's filming a movie, which will apparently cause him to miss Raw on Monday. If you really think WWE would have him drop the WWE Title after three weeks you're really overthinking it. Missing one show is not a big deal. As long as he's there for most of the other weeks leading up to it then he should be the WWE Champion. It's not the right time to put it on Reigns. Keep building it up, have him win the Royal Rumble and the WWE Title at WrestleMania 31. The other two don't make sense. Keep it on Cena.

It's hard to imagine Reigns getting pinned. Reigns would move on to a SummerSlam match against either Orton or Triple H. They could even do it as a triple threat to stack the deck against Reigns and then he would somehow emerge victorious. The point is that the involvement of Reigns is to further the storyline of him against Triple H. I really doubt he's leaving as the WWE Champion.

The action should be really good because the three veterans have been in so many big matches like this one although they've all worked with each other so much over the years that it feels stale too. They will make Reigns look strong and the crowd will be behind Reigns for everything he does. Cena will get the win by pinning Kane or possibly Orton in a match that should last about 20 minutes.

Winner: John Cena

After the win, Triple H will be furious at ringside and he'll call out Seth Rollins to try to cash in on a tired Cena. Dean Ambrose will come after him to prevent that from happening, so Cena will leave the show as WWE Champion. The next night on Raw, Brock Lesnar will be introduced with Paul Heyman as "Plan C" and will be named Cena's opponent for SummerSlam. Since Cena isn't supposed to be on Raw, they can save the big face to face showdown for the week after that. There's plenty of time to build it up.

Final Thoughts

John: It has the potential to be a really good show in terms of the in-ring action. What hurts Battleground is that it's leading up to SummerSlam, which is seen as the really major show. The average fan doesn't think of Battleground as a big deal even though it has the potential to be excellent if the midcard matches deliver like we think they should.

Below is the final lineup for Sunday's WWE Battleground pay-per-view:

WWE World Heavyweight Championship

- John Cena (c) Kane vs. Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton

2 out of 3 Falls for the WWE Tag Team Championships

- The Usos (c) vs. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan

WWE Divas Championship

- AJ Lee (c) vs. Paige

Battle Royal for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

- Cesaro, Kofi Kingston, The Great Khali, Rob Van Dam, Dolph Ziggler, Big E, Ryback, Curtis Axel, Alberto Del Rio, Bo Dallas, Sheamus, Fandango, Sin Cara, Zack Ryder, The Miz, Diego, R-Truth, Xavier Woods, Heath Slater, Titus O'Nei

l

- Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt

- Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose

- Rusev vs. Jack Swagger

Kickoff Show Match

- Cameron vs. Naomi

Make sure to join us here on the website this Sunday for live WWE Battleground coverage.

John Cena’s name has been officially removed from the advertisements for WWE Raw the night after WWE Battleground. Up until a few days ago,John Cena was still advertised, but he will not be there as he has to be on the set of the Trainwreck movie that he is appearing in. 

There are many people who think that this could be a sign of Cena dropping the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on Sunday at WWE Battleground. These same people backstage that Roman Reigns would be the next man up as WWE needs to “pull the trigger” on him and let him carry the championship.

It will be very interesting to see what WWE decides to do tomorrow night from Tampa, the site of WWE Battleground. We also know that Brock Lesnar has been scheduled to return to WWE Raw the following night, so it will be interesting to see how they use him upon his return to hype up WWE SummerSlam in August.

Isenberg:  I find it hard to believe that WWE will give Roman Reigns the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WWE Battleground.

Personally, I would not mind it, but WWE has already sent out advertisements for Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam and Reigns has been rumored to fight either Randy Orton or Triple H at the big event in Los Angeles.

I would still bank on Cena retaining and WWE finding a simple way to bring Lesnar back to WWE with Paul Heyman on Monday to begin the road to SummerSlam.

It’s no secret that several of the major U.S. pay-per-view providers have been frustrated with the WWE since theWWE Network launched this February. Outside of WrestleMania XXX, which was offered by most providers, it has been up to their digression whether or not to include the monthly WWE events in their paid line-up. 

Despite this, WWE began a hard pitch against traditional PPV at last month’s Money in the Bank event, where you can notice a major difference in how the commentary and production team advertised the show. Statements like “don’t pay for traditional PPV when you can get Money in the Bank for just $9.99″ were made to directly influence the fans away from companies like Comcast, DirecTV, etc. 

Today an email went out to all WWE subscribers – the title read “watch Battleground LIVE, only on WWE Network”. The email previews the main matches for the show, and contains multiple ads for the Network, without a single mention of cable providers. It’s worth noting that this Sunday’s event, at this time, is still be offered by most PPV providers. 

Last year's inaugural Battleground PPV was a complete disaster, and that's being very nice to how much of an atrocity it was. The PPV drew only 114,000 PPV buys, one of the worst in WWE history. As soon as the PPV ended with Big Show involving himself in the main event, I had drew the proverbial line in the sand and said that this PPV should not return. But as you know, the least of WWE's concerns comes from an avid wrestling fan over the Internet. Needless to say, this year's PPV juxtaposes last year's show in a plethora of ways as it is shaping up to be on the of the best PPV's of 2014, well, at least I think so. With that said, allow me to give 10 bold (and I can't emphasize that enough) predictions for this Sunday's Battleground pay-per-view.

9. The mid-card titles get unified as Sheamus wins the Battle Royal.

I am well aware that the favorite to win the battle royal and become the new Intercontinental Championship is Cesaro. Yet I am beyond skeptical as to picking him to be the winner. I would be more inclined to pick Cesaro to win had WWE build him to be an actual threat. Two straight clean pinfalls to current jobber Kofi Kingston and losing the upper hand to Big E. Langston has certainly lowered his stock. Now I know the popular M.O. for WWE is to make a guy look weak on TV, and look strong on PPV. I don't think it applies in this matter, however. WWE has reported to us that Bad News Barrett will be there to hand the Intercontinental Title to the winner of the battle royal and I don't think that he will just willingly hand it over. And I don't see WWE doing a heel vs. heel feud for the IC title, even if Barrett were to attack Cesaro and turn back face in the process. Sheamus unifying the titles and engaging in a feud with Barrett would be intriguing to me, especially considering the quality of matches that these two have engaged in the past. The only other guys that have a chance in my estimation, besides Cesaro, would be Dolph Ziggler, The Miz and Bo Dallas. I highly doubt that WWE gives the title to a heel, but I wouldn't be shocked in the slightest if it were to occur.

8. Cameron goes over Naomi

I'm glad that WWE has finally decided to split up these two as I believe Cameron has a bright future, Naomi as well. Nonetheless, I am glad they chose to put this on the pre-show. God knows how much negativity would be pointed in WWE's way to have two straight PPV's with two Divas matches on the main card.

7. Dean Ambrose defeats Seth Rollins via DQ or Pinfall

Predicting who will win this match for me is extremely difficult. On one hand, you have Dean Ambrose, who have taken pinfall losses to Kane and Randy Orton, and has been jumped on multiple occassions. At the same token, you have Seth Rollins, who has had his Money In The Bank cash in attempts be thwarted by Dean Ambrose. I can't definitively say who has the upper hand going into this PPV. The reason why I am leaning towards Ambrose, is because I cannot bear the thought of Ambrose having two straight PPV losses at the hands of Seth Rollins. I also wouldn't be shocked if it ends in a No Contest, but why do that on a PPV? Expect a great match between these two. Now, I understand that Seth Rollins also needs to look strong as MITB winner, I understand. But I'm looking at perspective and who needs a win more. Ambrose is always giving Rollins backstage promos on how he better watch out, but if he should lose, aren't those all just empty threats? Anyways, if given enough time, this could very well be the match of the night, though another match on the card may have something to dispute.

6. Paige vs. AJ : A Technical Masterpiece with AJ coming on top

These two females have been the best the Divas division has had to offer so far and the two singles matches the two have engaged in this year were more like preview matches for something better. Don't expect any roll-ups or leverage pins in this one. I believe these two will have the best Divas match of the year. I can see their chemistry being something very unique. It would be far too soon to put the Divas title back on Paige, considering she had just lost it the night after Money In The Bank. I am anticipating that the match goes at least five minutes, and I really anticipate a great match with the crowd...

...showing much respect to them.

5. Jericho puts Bray Wyatt over in another great match.

Jericho serves as the role model for veterans asked to return to WWE. Put over a young star in the making. While I really don't like the prospect of having Jericho lose in his first PPV match back in WWE, Bray Wyatt has two straight PPV losses on his shoulder and I don't think WWE wants that to be a trifecta. This is another match of the night candidate. Bray Wyatt has proven he can have great singles matches with some of WWE's established stars, such as Bray Wyatt's match with Daniel Bryan at Royal Rumble and John Cena at WWE Live events and WrestleMania. Jericho will do a great job of controlling the pace of this match, and perhaps with some interference from the other two members of the family, i believe Wyatt picks up the win. Now Jericho is slated to be around WWE beyond Battleground so Jericho may pick up a win here and continue their feud onto Summerslam. That is an option, but Bray Wyatt needs a convincing win, and he needs one badly. Did you hear the crowd chant "boring" on one of Wyatt's promos the other day? What a world!

4. Rusev wins the battle of The Accolade vs. The Patriot Lock in a multicultural feud

You couldn't have built up the match between these two any better than how it was done on RAW. The crowd was into it. Zeb Colter got into Lana's face and presidents were compared. And finally, Jack Swagger got the edge on Rusev, putting the crowd into a controlled frenzy. While I don't expect the match to match the intensity of the build up, I think Colter and Lana's pre match promos should get the crowd amped up. I fully expect Rusev to pick up the win, much to the crowd's dismay. It will be great heel heat for Rusev. But I like what they are doing with Swagger in the process. He is not jobbing to Rusev, but rather, he is beginning a fresh turn in his character, and if Zeb has to speak for him every single time, then I am just fine with that as well.

3. John Cena defies the odds...AGAIN!

All, John Cena and the announcers have been talking about over the weeks is how John Cena doesn't have to be pinned to lose the match, which is true in a fatal four way. I mean, how in the world can John Cena compete against not 1, not 2, but 3 of the cream of the crop in WWE?! I mean, it's not like he just defeated 7 other superstars to even get that title or anything. And look at how much Cena is struggling to lift up Kane. It's not like he has picked up bigger guys with relative ease like Khali, Henry or Big Show.  Statistically speaking, Cena only has a 25 percent chance of coming out victorious, but he has faced worse odds in the past, such as the last PPV in Money In The Bank. Orton, Kane and Reigns really don't have a definitive chance of winning this match, if the leaked Summerslam commercial is any indication. It is far too early to give an undeveloped Reigns the title, far too late in Kane's career to give him an extended run, and Orton just enjoyed a decent run with it earlier this year. Cena will ride off into the sunset with both titles hanging over his shoulders and will face the Authority's supposed "Plan C" at Summerslam (if you don't know who Plan C is, you really need help. Far more than i can ever offer you.)

2. The Usos vs. Wyatts steal the show and The Wyatts come out victorious

Every time The Usos and The Wyatts get it on together, the crowd always get into it and the amount of near falls are enough to at least give a slight spike in heartbeats. They have been nothing short of phenomenal in the past couple of months. Standard tag team matches have been amazing between the two. But now a 2 out of 3 falls matches? Oh boy. Expect to see a lot of superkicks, big men performing suicide dives and lots of near falls. And let's face it, no team is sweeping the others. It's going down to the final fall, and I believe the Wyatts will finally get over that hump and win the titles. The Usos have been a great pair of tag team champions as they have held it with pride ever since the night after Elimination Chamber. Yet, I cannot see The Wyatts losing on PPV once again to the Wyatts. I believe the Wyatts have paid their dues and just like the Usos before they

...won, deserve to hold the titles and at least give the Wyatts some gold for the first time. Seeing how much time WWE is giving the Usos in their matches, WWE may very well keep the titles on them a bit longer. But I believe a new pair of people will be holding those Unified titles, and The Wyatts are more than capable of holding their own in the ring.

1. Battleground becomes second best PPV of the year so far.

They say time heals all wounds, and I think this PPV will provide some validity to that famous saying. How many PPV's this year can you definitively say has a better card than this one? You can argue WrestleMania, which did have a better feel to it due to all the close near falls and shocking moments in that PPV and Extreme Rules, due to all the stipulated matches, but I think from top top bottom, this year's Battleground will be a great improvement over last year's complete dud. Now another famous saying says don't judge a book by its cover, or in this case, don't judge a PPV by its card. The matches still actually need to be play out before any premature predictions come out, but I see a lot of potential on this card. We are going to see a new IC title, and it will most likely lead to a feud with Bad News Barrett in the future. We are also going to see young talent get some quality time, and there's John Cena! (okay, fine). but you get the idea. This card has great potential and I think will be beneficial for all parties involved.

Battleground is just around the corner and the card has been officially finalized. Overall, there are eight matches scheduled, with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship being defended in a Fatal Four-Way main event.

Over the past few years, some fans have complained that the WWE has not put enough focus into the so-called “B-list” pay-per-views (anything not named Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, or Survivor Series), and rightly so. Last year’s edition of Battleground is the perfect example of the WWE phoning it in for a pay-per-view.

That event saw a vacant title remain vacant after interference from the Big Show, and the undercard was pathetic to say the lease (aside from the Rhodes Brothers/Shield matchup that stole the show). Fans voiced their dissatisfaction by not only complaining about the finish of the event, but more importantly by refusing to purchase the pay-per-view in the first place. The 2013 edition of Battleground registered only 114,000 buys, which is the second lowest total in the last 17 years.

Thankfully for fans, the WWE can no longer get by putting in little effort, as their goal is to now attract as many subscribers to the WWE Network as possible. This has led to increased focus on events that would have previously been neglected, such as Battleground. This year’s event has shaped up nicely, however, with several entertaining contests that actually have legitimate backstories scheduled to take place.

The most entertaining contest of the night will likely be Dean Ambrose against Seth Rollins. Since the Shield dissolved a few weeks back, Ambrose has been intent on exacting revenge from former partner and current Mr. Money in the Bank, Seth Rollins. There is no doubt that Rollins and Ambrose will steal the show at Battleground, as they are two of the best workers in the game and know how to tell a story

Additionally, matches such as Bray Wyatt vs. Chris Jericho and Jack Swagger vs. Rusev have been built up very well. The midcard at a WWE pay-per-view is typically reserved for filler matches that have little, if any, backstory, usually resulting in bathroom break/beer run matches for the fans in attendance. This is not the case this year though, with the company devoting time to build up each match on the card.

onestly, after looking at the card, it seems like the main event will be the least exciting match of the night, as it is all but confirmed that John Cena will walk out still holding the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. With that said, it should still be an entertaining match, even if the outcome is not really in question.

In all, this year’s edition of Battleground shows that the WWE can construct a card that is solid from top to bottom if they just devote a little time to building feuds. Hell, even the Divas match between Paige and AJ Lee has a great backstory and should be an entertaining contest.

The WWE Network, love it or hate it, has resulted in one positive effect on the company as a whole: it has forced the WWE to focus more on less popular pay-per-views such as Battleground. In all, if the WWE hopes to retain and attract subscribers, they will have to step up their game each and every month, not four times per year. Thus far, I have to give them credit and say that they are doing an adequate job.

How do you feel about the Battleground pay-per-view? Have pay-per-views in general improved since the launch of the WWE Network? Check back on Saturday afternoon for Battleground predictions, and don’t forget to join us on Sunday for live coverage of the event.

One of the key reasons that WWE signed KENTA was because the WWE Network will be expanding into Japan next year and because of that reason, they have wanted a big Japanese star.

Additionally, KENTA will play a big role in WWE's attempt to expand their reach in the Japanese market, as NXT, where he will report to initially, just secured a deal to air on J-Sports, a Japanese satelitte channel.

KENTA is scheduled to arrive in Orlando, Florida this week. WWE has another press conference scheduled with him then.

Damien Sandow and Adam Rose have been removed from the Intercontinental Championship Battle Royal taking place this Sunday at WWE Battleground. The match now has 20 participants. Here's the updated card for WWE Battleground:

Fatal Fourway For The WWE World Heavyweight Championship:

John Cena (c) vs. Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton vs. Kane

Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose

Tag Team Championship Match: 

The Usos vs. Erick Rowan & Luke Harper in a 2/3 Falls match. 

Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt.

Rusev (w/Lana) vs. Jack Swagger (w/Zeb Colter)

Divas Championship Match:

AJ Lee (c) vs. Paige

20-Man Battle Royal for the vacant Intercontinental Title

Bad News Barrett will present the IC Championship to the winner

• Cesaro
• Kofi Kingston
• Great Khali
• Rob Van Dam
• Dolph Ziggler
• Big E
• Ryback
• Curtis Axel
• Alberto Del Rio
• Bo Dallas
• Sheamus
• Fandango
• Sin Cara
• Zack Ryder
• The Miz
• Diego
• R-Truth
• Xavier Woods
• Heath Slater
• Titus O'Neil