5 Biggest Winners & Losers From WWE Battleground 2016
7. Losers - Stephanie McMahon
Raw’s Commissioner went all-in on Seth Rollins. Selecting him ahead of WWE Champion Dean Ambrose, Stephanie McMahon placed her utmost trust in Rollins to bring the belt back to Monday nights and firmly establish Raw as the premier brand in sports entertainment.
She threw all her eggs in one basket, and ultimately paid the price.
Rollins wasn’t pinned in the night’s main event, but it didn’t matter. Ambrose was victorious, and Stephanie’s plan was an almighty failure. A few short hours after Rollins had personally promised his own victory, Stephanie McMahon was left humiliated, and the anger on her face as the show went off the air said it all.
WWE are already pushing inter-brand competition to the forefront, and Raw is off to a disastrous start. So often considered WWE’s one true flagship show, Raw enters the Brand Split without the World Champion on their books.
They now have significant ground to make up on SmackDown already, and it’s all because their Commissioner picked the wrong guy to start the Draft.
Stephanie has her work cut-out for her. Her prized asset was found lacking, and the much-maligned United States Championship has become Raw’s de facto “top” belt.
There’s every chance that Stephanie will install a second World Title to counter SmackDown, but it’s a move that stinks of desperation. Wherever Raw goes from here, they have a lot of work ahead of them.