5 Biggest Winners & Losers From WWE Battleground 2016
1. Winners - SmackDown As A Whole
Dean Ambrose’s successful WWE Title defence means so much more than a simple individual victory, however.
The ramifications for his home brand are huge, and as the entire SmackDown roster poured out of the locker-room to celebrate with Ambrose as Battleground concluded, they all looked like winners.
SmackDown’s been in the doldrums for years. Its reputation has been beaten-down, dragged through the mud, and written-off on countless occasions over the past decade. Raw has always been positioned as the company’s “top show”, even during the previous Brand Split, but after Battleground, things are finally shifting in a positive direction.
The Draft did little to reignite fans’ interest in the blue brand, but last night hammers home WWE’s dedication on putting it on at least a level-footing with Stephanie McMahon’s Raw. SmackDown is now the only place where you can see the WWE Champion in-action, and with Daniel Bryan’s assertion that SD will emphasises pure in-ring competition going forward.
The show feels important for the first time in years, and last night played a huge role in that.
Of course, much of this will be undermined if Stephanie strides out and announces a second World Title on this week’s Raw. For now, though, SmackDown is in an excellent position.