Sami Zayn vs. Mike Kanellis
WWE.com
Predictions & Winner: “YOU’RE SIMPLY THE GREATEST!” When it comes to guilty pleasure theme songs, the combination of Mike and Maria Kanellis have one of the better ones. I’ve been following Mike ever since his early ROH days spent alongside “Brutal” Bob Evans. He may have the most generic in-ring repertoire that belongs to a Create-a-Wrestler, but at least his act with Maria has always resulted in some fun promos. Mike’s first official match led to him picking up the dirtiest of wins thanks to his wife’s timely distraction. For this PPV rematch, Zayn’s going to pull out another good match with the lesser opponent in Mike. So we’re going to get another decent match with pretty much the same finish. There’s no way such fresh blood as Mike Kanellis is taking an L in his very first WWE PPV match.
AJ Styles (c) vs. Kevin Owens (WWE United States Championship)
WWE.com
Predictions & Winner: Something crazy went down in my city when the WWE recently came to town – AJ Styles won the US Championship by defeating Kevin Owens at a Madison Square Garden house show. Anyone else thought that that’s the result we were supposed to get during this match when it was first announced? Yep, me too. AJ vs. KO is always worth watching unfold since they have great chemistry against each other in the ring. Could this one turn into Battleground’s Match of the Night? Chances are high that it will be. I can’t imagine the US Championship switching hands so fast after such a monumental moment occurring between both men. AJ’s holding onto the title after surviving a grueling, amazing match with “The Face of America” KO.
John Cena vs. Rusev (Flag Match)
WWE.com
Predictions & Winner: I’ve been waiting ever so patiently for “Handsome” Rusev’s return ever since he was announced as one of the newest members of SD Live. But the comeback storyline/feud he’s getting involved in is quite the letdown. Instead of him getting slotted against Jinder Mahal (someone Rusev had an issue with when they were both Raw Superstars), Rusev is back to his old “evil foreigner” act against “good ol’ Mr. USA” John Cena. Rusev has shown that he’s witty and capable of putting on a surprisingly good match from time to time. I was ready to see him clash with Mahal or even involve himself in the hunt for the United States Championship. Rusev’s being wasted in this old and stale way of presenting a patriotic storyline. At least the match will be somewhat entertaining since Cena’s still capable in the ring. Cena’s getting the win here, of course. Side note – has the competitor representing anything other than the USA ever won a Flag Match?
Jinder Mahal (c) (with Sunil Singh and Samir Singh) vs. Randy Orton (Punjabi Prison Match for the WWE Championship)
WWE.com
Predictions & Winner: “The (Modern Day) Maharaja” is still the man. Randy Orton’s been at Mahal’s throat for the longest time now, but he’s been cut off constantly by Mahal and his cronies. The matches themselves haven’t been anything to write home about, but anything’s better than having to watch another stale and boring Orton title reign. So for the third time, Mahal and Orton will clash for the WWE Championship. And their beef will be confined within the structure that The Great Khali is synonymous with – the Punjabi Prison. This has obviously been done in order to keep out Sunil Singh and Samir Singh. Even when a situation like this arises, unfair shenanigans still end up impacting the end result. Even though there’ll be points where it looks like Orton has the match won, Mahal will still defeat him and keep his tight grasp around the WWE Championship. It’s looking more and more like Mahal vs. Cena’s going to go down at SummerSlam, doesn’t it?
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WWE Battleground 2017: Matches & Predictions