5 Ups And 7 Downs From WWE Battleground 2017

5. Quarter-Speed

shinskue nakamuara baron corbin
WWE.com

If you saw Shinsuke Nakamura’s NXT debut match against Sami Zayn last year, then you get this reference. Since that match, Nakamura has been wrestling many times at about half-speed, which is still better than most wrestlers on the roster. It’s not a bad thing, but more of a reality of his opponents, and WWE style, etc.

But Sunday’s match against Baron Corbin might as well have been half of that. Corbin cinched in bearhugs to really grind things to a halt, throwing hands while Nakamura threw kicks and knees to stay in the match. Still, it was a slow-moving match that finally started picking up toward the end, just in time for Corbin to counter a reverse exploder with a low blow for the DQ.

Yep, after slogging along, Corbin got himself disqualified and we were treated to that finish – followed by Corbin returning to hit End of Days on an injured Shinsuke. Just in case anyone was confused as to who is a WWE pet project and who isn’t a company creation.

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Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.