5 Ups And 7 Downs From WWE Battleground 2017

3. (Blank) On A Pole

As a general rule, “object” on a pole matches are risky propositions. They often result in painfully slow climbs to retrieve the object, changing the dynamic of the match and resulting in a lower quality.

That’s exactly what happened at Battleground, with John Cena and Rusev tangling in a flag match. Both men employed their best slow climbs and crawls to retrieve the flags, then crawled their way up the ram to plan their flag in a stand on the entranceway. As a result, we saw less wrestling and more punching. We saw less strategy and moves and more brute force.

It just didn’t really click, which was evident because we’ve seen Rusev and Cena wrestle on PPV before, and it’s been perfectly fine. But this was definitely down a notch or two, leaving fans to cheer simply for the flag itself and the guy who was holding it.

Maybe they’ll put both men’s dignity in a jar and suspend that from the ring next.