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KYGHT'S PPV EVALUATION - WWE Battleground: Best & Worst Match, Biggest Surprise & Letdown, was this the Worst PPV of 2013?, updated Rankings

Oct 13, 2013 - 12:01:01 PM
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WWE PPV Evaluation - Battleground 2013
By Nathan Kyght, PWTorch PPV specialist


BEST MATCH - THE RHODES FAMILY VS. THE SHIELD

It had the best build-up of any match on the show, and it turns out that the hype was justified. This was a terrific old-school tag match that benefited from the extraordinary charisma of Dusty Rhodes (who managed to seem interesting, literally, just standing there) and a show-stealing performance from a completely rejuvenated Dustin Runnels, who has looked great since his return (whaddup, DDPYoga?). This was a dreadful pay-per-view, but regardless of where it sits in history this match is well worth your time.

WORST MATCH - DANIEL BRYAN VS. RANDY ORTON

But wait! I hear folks cry. It was great until the end! I suppose. But, I'm giving this the worst match of the night nod because you can't subtract the finish and judge it. It was a whole, and the whole was so bad that Stephanie McMahon essentially apologized for it the next night on Raw. The show apparently ended with the crowd chanting "refund." Not good. Add to that the fact that when the re-match was announced for Hell In A Cell? Crickets. (Front row tickets for Battleground in Buffalo were $400, by the way.) The result was that WWE essentially killed interest in the feud as a whole. Daniel Bryan worked hard, he always does. Randy Orton seemed to be holding back (and who could blame him when he knew how this was going to end?). And then someone wrote that ending, someone green-lighted it, and WWE Battleground became a punch line.

BIGGEST SURPRISE - THE BOOKING

Again, this was pre-written. People saw, in print, "And the Big Show punches everyone out and we cut to credits." Scott Armstrong was even back inexplicably.

BIGGEST LETDOWN - THE SHOW

Two shows in a row and I've called this the biggest letdown. Summerslam was my favorite pay-per-view of the year thus far, so the last thing I'm doing is beating up on WWE for the sake of it. Night of Champions was bad, but at least the main event had a finish (albeit temporarily).

BEST MOVE - EXORCIST WALK!

I love me some Bray Wyatt, and the bizarre crab walk in his match with Kofi Kingston was a cool visual. I had also just watched 'The Conjuring,' though, so I was probably still all a-scared.

BEST MATCH FINISH - THE RHODES FAMILY VS. SHIELD

WWE could have dragged this out for another show, but sometimes? Well sometimes the simplest way of telling a story is the best. The Rhodes family went for redemption, the match was awesome, and they won. The late, great Elmore Leonard once said that when he wrote his books, he cut out the parts that people wouldn't want to sit through. This is profound advice.

OTHER THOUGHTS:

- Filler. Lots of it.

- I love A.J. Lee's character, but I'm dumb-founded that they teased her on the air for having the date she won the Divas Title tattooed on her. Is it drastic? Sure, but doesn't it show an incredible passion for the company? Shouldn't that be something to get behind?

- Triple H bought The Big Show's house? Wouldn't he have to sign some paperwork? And now Triple H has to sell it? In this financial climate? Oh, Triple H. You didn't think this through.

- C.M. Punk pinned Ryback with a low blow. That couldn't have even seemed good on paper.

WHAT IT'LL BE REMEMBERED FOR

Hopefully, nothing. This was essentially a $60 episode of Raw, and not even a good episode at that. Hell In A Cell best be off the charts, WWE.

UPDATED 2013 PPV EVALUATION RANKINGS

1 - WWE SUMMERSLAM (2013-08-18)
2 - WWE PAYBACK (2013-06-16)
3 - WWE WRESTLEMANIA XXIX (2013-04-07)
4 – TNA SLAMMIVERSARY (2013-06-02)
5 - WWE MONEY IN THE BANK (2013-07-14)
6 - WWE ROYAL RUMBLE (2013-01-27)
7 - TNA LOCKDOWN (2013-03-10)
8 - WWE EXTREME RULES (2013-05-19)
9 - WWE ELIMINATION CHAMBER (2013-02-17)
10 - WWE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS (2013-09-15)
11 – TNA GENESIS (2013-01-13)
12 - WWE BATTLEGROUND (2013-10-06)


We suggest these recent related articles...
McNEILL's Late Night Deadblog - WWE Night of Champions: Bucklebombs, Light-up Jackets, Poachers, IcoPro, Eddie, more!
KELLER’S WWE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS PPV REPORT 9/20: Ongoing “virtual time” coverage of event including Sting vs. Seth, Cena vs. Seth, Ryback vs. Owens, mystery partner with Reigns & Ambrose, Divas Title, Tag Title, more
CALDWELL'S WWE NOC PPV REPORT 9/20: Live Night of Champions Coverage from Houston - Seth Rollins's double duty
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