Implemented in 2013, Battleground was an annual WWE pay-per-view for five years, having been discontinued after 2017 and now resurfaced as a premium NXT event.
The first Battleground took place in October, but for the next four years, it took place in July. The 2017 edition, the last one before the discontinuation, was exclusive to SmackDown. Battleground will have its 6th edition this Sunday, May 28, in Lowell, in the US state of Massachusetts.
It’s therefore worth checking out our list of the ten best battles in Battleground history, in chronological order.
Battleground 2013
Cody Rhodes & Goldust vs. The Shield ( Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins )
Cody Rhodes was fired from WWE after he lost a match on the September 2 episode of Raw. His brother, Goldust, started pulling strings to try to get Cody reinstated in the company.
On the September 30 episode of Raw, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon decided that the Rhodes brothers would face the WWE tag team champions, The Shield ( Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins ), in a match that would not have the title on the line at Battleground. If Cody and Goldust won this match, Cody would be readmitted; but if they lost, Goldust and Cody’s father, Dusty Rhodes, who at the time was a trainer in NXT, would be fired and the Rhodes family would be banned from WWE.
Battleground 2014; WWE Tag Team Championship :
2 out of 3 Falls; The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso) (c) vs. The Wyatt Family (Erick Rowan and Luke Harper)
At a time when Bray Wyatt and John Cena were involved in a rivalry in which Erick Rowan and Luke Harper were constantly helping Wyatt during his matches, The Usos, who were tag team champions at the time, interceded and allied with John Cena , allowing Cena to beat Wyatt in a Last Man Standing match at Payback .
With the feud between Cena and Wyatt over, Harper and Rowan focused on The Usos, having beaten them in a non-title match on the June 2 episode of Raw .
Thanks to that victory, Rowan and Harper received a WWE Tag Team Championship opportunity at Money in the Bank, but lost.
However, the rivalry between the two duos continued. On the June 30 episode of Raw , The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan and Luke Harper) defeated The Usos and Sheamus. A week later, Harper and Rowan defeated The Usos, which led to a best-of-three match between the two teams being scheduled for the title at Battleground.
Battleground 2014; WWE World Heavyweight Championship :
John Cena (c) vs. Kane vs. Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns
At Money in the Bank, John Cena won a ladder match to win the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship, thus becoming world champion for the 15th time . The following night on Raw , Triple H ruled that Cena would defend the title at Battleground against Kane, Randy Orton and Roman Reigns , three men who had also participated in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at Money in the Bank .
Battleground 2015; Sheamus vs. Randy Orton
At Money in the Bank, Sheamus won the Money in the Bank Ladder match, in a match that also featured Randy Orton, as well as Dolph Ziggler, Kane, Kofi Kingston, Neville and Roman Reigns.
On the June 15 episode of Raw , Orton attacked Sheamus after a match between The Irishman and Dean Ambrose . That same night, Sheamus attacked Orton during a match between Viper and Kane. Three weeks later, Orton attacked Sheamus after a match between Celtic Warrior and Roman Reigns . It was later announced that Orton and Sheamus would face each other at Battleground .
Battleground 2015: Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns
On the May 21 episode of SmackDown , Roman Reigns helped Dean Ambrose beat Bray Wyatt, by interfering in the match to hit Wyatt with a Superman Punch .
A week and a half later, on Raw , Reigns defeated Wyatt to retain his spot in the Money in the Bank Ladder match at Money in the Bank , but Wyatt got revenge on the pay-per-view , by attacking Reigns as he was preparing to win. the Money in the Bank suitcase . Also during this event , a match between Reigns and Wyatt was scheduled for Battleground .
Battleground 2015; WWE United States Championship :
John Cena (c) vs. Kevin Owens
On the May 18, 2015 episode of Raw , NXT Champion Kevin Owens responded to United States Champion John Cena ‘s weekly United States Championship Open Challenge . However, instead of facing Cena , Owens attacked him and said that both would fight under the conditions defined by him.
On the same night, Owens announced that the match between the two would take place at Elimination Chamber , with no titles at stake. At the pay-per-view , Kevin Owens surprised everyone and everything, getting the better of John Cena after executing a second Pop-up Powerbomb . Meanwhile, a rematch for Money in the Bank was scheduled, with Cena emerging victorious this time .
Still, Owens challenged Cena to a WWE United States Championship match at Battleground during the June 15 episode of Raw . In between, at The Beast in the East event, Owens lost the NXT Championship to Finn Bálor .
Battleground 2016; Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens
Former tag team mates, but also rivals in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and Ring of Honor, Sami Zayn (known on the independent circuit as El Generico ) and Kevin Owens maintained the love/hate relationship in WWE.
In December 2014, at NXT Takeover: R Evolution, Sami Zayn captured the NXT Championship from Neville. After the match, Kevin Owens appeared to congratulate his friend, but then ended up attacking him. At NXT Takeover: Rival, Owens defeated Zayn to capture the NXT Championship . Months later at NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable, Owens injured Zayn in a title match that ended in a no contest .
More than May year later, at Royal Rumble 2016, Sami Zayn returned to the ring after his injury sustained at NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable, having eliminated Kevin Owens from the Royal Rumble match . On the March 7, 2016 episode of Raw , Zayn made his main roster debut and featured in a feud with Owens .
Weeks later, at WrestleMania 32, Zayn cost Owens the loss of the Intercontinental Championship in a ladder match that was eventually won by Zack Ryder . On the following night’s Raw , Owens attacked Zayn , leaving him unable to participate in a Fatal four-way match to determine the top contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship .
Meanwhile, Owens and Zayn finally faced each other on the main WWE roster at Payback, with Owens getting the upper hand after performing a Pop Up Powerbomb .
At Money in the Bank, both Owens and Zayn participated in the Money in the Bank Ladder match, but the winner was Dean Ambrose . On the June 20 episode of Raw , Zayn defeated Owens and challenged him a week later to a new match, this time at the Battleground pay-per-view .
Battleground 2016
Big Cass, Enzo Amore and John Cena
vs. The OC ( AJ Styles , Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson)
On the May 30 episode of Raw , John Cena returned to WWE programming after recovering from a shoulder injury that sidelined him for five months. AJ Styles came out to welcome him, until his former The Original Club teammates, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, showed up ready to fight. Cena and Styles looked ready to take on Gallows and Anderson, but Styles betrayed Cena and attacked him along with his friends, turning heel and bringing back The Original Club.
Days later, a match was scheduled for Money in the Bank that WWE described as a “ WrestleMania Dream Match”. On the June 13 episode of Raw , Cena presented Styles with two contracts : one allowed Gallows and Anderson to be present in the immediate vicinity of the ring, the other banned them from the ringside zone. And Styles chose the latter.
AJ Styles beat Cena at Money in the Bank with interference from friends Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson , but the feud continued in the following weeks, first with Styles and Gallows attacking Cena during a match with Karl Anderson, then with Cena and Styles costing him each other the opportunity to be in attendance at the WWE Championship match at Battleground .
The Club attacked Cena again on the July 4 episode of Raw , but Enzo Amore and Big Cass showed up to save Cena , which led to the booking of a match between the two factions at Battleground .
Battleground 2016; WWE Championship :
Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins
In November 2015, Seth Rollins relinquished the WWE World Heavyweight Championship due to injury. Rollins would return at Extreme Rules 2016, attacking WWE Champion Roman Reigns after he successfully defended the title against AJ Styles . The following night on Raw , Shane McMahon announced that Rollins was going to challenge for the title at Money in the Bank . At Money in the Bank, Seth Rollins won the WWE Championship by beating Roman Reigns, but soon after lost the title to Dean Ambrose, who cashed in the contract he won that same night .
The following night on Raw , a match between Rollins and Reigns to determine the main contender for the title ended in a double countout , which led to Ambrose asking to defend the WWE Championship against both of them. However, Roman Reigns was suspended for 30 days for violating the WWE Wellness Program, but this suspension expired even before Battleground , which did not jeopardize the match. During that month, Reigns was not involved in the televised shows , while Ambrose defended the title against Rollins twice: on July 18, on Raw , there was a double pin tie , while the next day, on SmackDown , Ambrose beat Rollins .
Battleground 2017; WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship :
The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) (c) vs. The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods)
At Backlash, The Usos retained the SmackDown Tag Team Championship after a victory over Breezango (Fandango and Tyler Breeze) , having repeated this victory on the following episode of SmackDown .
On the May 30 episode, The Usos declared that no team could beat them, but were interrupted by The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods), debuting on SmackDown, where they transferred during the Superstar Shake – up .
However, a match was scheduled between the Usos and the New Day for Money in the Bank , with the pair consisting of Kofi Kingston and Big E winning via countout after the Usos left the ring, which meant that Jimmy and Jey Uso remain champions . On the following episode of SmackDown , The New Day mocked The Usos for leaving the match and Big E defeated Jimmy Uso.
A week later, The Usos defeated The Hype Bros (Mojo Rawley and Zack Ryder), preventing them from becoming the main contenders for the title, but were confronted by The New Day, who challenged them to another match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship . The Usos accepted. On the July 4th episode, New Day and The Usos engaged in a rap battle hosted by singer Wale. The New Day were declared the winners after being attacked by the Usos. In the two weeks that followed, members of both teams were involved in two singles matches . Xavier Woods defeated Jey Uso, while Jimmy Uso defeated Kofi Kingston.