10 Ways WWE Screwed Up At Battleground 2017
3. 28 Awful Minutes
WWE’s decision to revive the Punjabi Prison stipulation was always strange. It fits Jinder Mahal’s background, but the gimmick has never produced an exciting match. The first, between Big Show and Undertaker, was clunky and slow-paced throughout, and the second incarnation was even worse, with The Great Khali and Batista labouring their way through a tiresome 15-minute affair at No Mercy 2007.
Pair the stipulation’s terrible track record with the lack of quality throughout the Randy Orton vs. Jinder Mahal feud thus far, and you have a recipe for failure. Predictably, Battleground’s main event fell completely in-line with those expectations, resulting in one of the most tedious headlining matches in recent memory.
The fans were bored to tears, with chants of “delete” and “trust the process” reverberating around the arena. The promised “barbarity” was nowhere to be found. Heat, fire, and spirit were non-existent. High spots? The Singh Brother falling through the table was great, but aside from that, nothing.
The Punjabi Prison should’ve stayed in the past. This was 28 wasted minutes that nobody who watched the show will ever get back, and another terrible 2017 bout for Orton, who’s having the worst in-ring year of his career.