For those lucky enough to have missed Sunday’s Battleground, understand that WWE spent three hours swinging and missing. Outside of the New Day’s dramatic victory, the show ranged from confusing to boring.
The pay-per-view was ill received by anyone who wasn’t a die hard Great Kahli fan, and this includes WWE Hall of Famer, Jim Ross.
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On his blog, Jrsbarbq.com, Good Ol’ JR had some thoughtful critiques of Battleground mainly John Cena‘s Flag Match and the illustrious Punjabi Prison match:
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“Any time two major, main event level matches have little to no ‘near falls’ included due to the structure of their match i.e. the Punjabi Prison bout and the Flag Match, it’s a risky premise. I’m still not sure that I could pass a quiz on the rules of the Punjabi Prison match, which had challenging sight lines for TV through all the bamboo, etc. Those basic challenges can make it hard for the live audience to emotionally invest.”
Anyone who watched Battleground will attest to Ross’ assertions. It was simply hard to care. For one, we all knew that there was simply no way John Cena would lose to Rusev in his big return. The fact that it was a Flag Match made sure that all interest would evaporate.
On a recent episode of his podcast, Bischoff on Wrestling, the former WCW boss had quite the hot take regarding the creation of this match. For Bischoff, the concept of a flag match is outdated and something fans just won’t be able to get into:
“What’s a Flag Match?! What the hell is a Flag Match?! It’s like it’s been around for a thousand years and everybody knows what a Flag Match is. So, I am going to take your flag? Or, you’re going to take my flag? I am sorry… do not care. Boring.”
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Bishoff predicted correctly. The match was slow and lacked any modicum of dramatic intrigue.
As for the Punjabi Prison match, well it may have been flawed from the beginning. Many fans complained that they could not see the actual match due to the cumbersome structure.
The match itself was painfully paced and a lot of fans may have been asleep by the time Samir Singh took his big fall from the top of the bamboo cage. His crash likely woke them up just in time for Great Kahli’s interference though, which allowed the night to end on a sour note for most fans.
One day, WWE will go back to just one PPV a month. When the decision is made, they’ll point to 2017’s Battleground as a reason why two shows a month is just a bad idea.
