10 Ways WWE Screwed Up At Battleground 2017

10. 50/50'ing Mike Kanellis

Mike and Maria Kanellis only arrived in WWE on 18 June, but they’ve already been booked into oblivion. They debuted with the dead-on-arrival "power of love" gimmick at Money In The Bank, and missed the next episode of SmackDown, playing only a low key role thereafter.

Sami Zayn’s over-exuberance eventually annoyed them to the point that Mike attacked the former NXT Champion, and they wrestled on the 18 July episode, with Kanellis winning. It was Mike’s first big move since joining the company, and a sign that WWE were going to give him the chance to build some momentum. Unfortunately, they completely undid this by having Zayn get his win back at Battleground, rendering the affair pointless.

50/50 booking is one of the biggest factors hindering WWE’s ability to get new stars over. Nobody has the chance to gain momentum when every win is countered by a loss, and while it was nice to see Sami win on pay-per-view, WWE have totally flubbed this feud. It’d be premature to say Kanellis has been buried, but he already looks like a dud, and one of SmackDown’s least inspiring acts.