Live Instant Reaction - WWE Battleground PPV
By Ben Tucker, PWTorch TV specialist

Overall Score - 7.5

I'm normally a pretty cynical person when it comes to wrestling, but the amount of vitriol being thrown towards Sunday's Battleground is unneeded. Negative reactions to Kevin Owens's loss and the non-finish in the main event miss the bigger picture and the fact that Battleground was a very entertaining show.

Yes, Kevin Owens tapped. After two Attitude Adjustments and being the first man to ever kick out of a top-rope AA, resulting in so many finishers that the match was arguably hurt by it. Owens was protected more than Brock Lesnar before Summerslam last year. Tapping does not make Owens "just another guy." Tapping is what heels do. WWE has always been a face-driven company and it always will be. Owens will rebound because he's an incredible performer. Bray Wyatt fell off post-Cena due to a lack of direction and the neutering of his character. Rusev's feud with Cena was beaten to death and served as the end game for that incarnation of Rusev's character. Owens's character is not damaged by tapping, it enhances his two-faced persona. Could he be losing to R-Truth in two months's time? Sure. But let's not fall victim to a rushed judgment.

The Undertaker's involvement in the main event was about the only way Seth Rollins could realistically leave with the title and it makes storyline sense. Whether a Taker heel turn works or not is up in the air, but I thought that Battleground delivered a fun main event with a finish that left people buzzing.

Almost as big of a surprise as Undertaker's return was the women's match on the show being given a solid amount of time to digest. Charlotte and Sasha Banks delivered the best main roster women's match in years, while Brie Bella excelled in not getting in the way too much. The frequent backstage segments for the women was also a welcome addition. This is a solid start to a long journey for establishing the Women's division as something more than a joke.

Bray Wyatt vs. Reigns was a surprisingly strong match for two people who typically need to be carried to have a memorable match. Wyatt was explosive and aggressive but Reigns, didn't stand out to the live crowd, instead slowly gaining jeers throughout the match. The ending was awkwardly designed to allow Wyatt to get the pin while also working in Harper's interference, but the result was worth it. The Wyatts are much stronger as a unit and this will hopefully be able to give all three men an increased sense of direction.

The opening two matches were solid, with effective heel work from Xavier Woods in a quick Tag Title match, and Orton defeated Sheamus in an okay encounter that was superior to most of their lukewarm contests.

Overall, Battleground delivered multiple surprises and gave each match time to breathe. The show had a solid pace and most of the talents were well protected. I thought everything was booked perfectly fine tonight. If the follow-up is lame, that's one thing, but WWE has dozens of opportunities to prevent that from happening.

Any questions or comments? Message me on Twitter @BTuckertorch!

[Torch art credit Travis Beaven (c) PWTorch.com]

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