WWE Battleground 2017: 8 Things WWE Got Right

4. Putting Stipulations On The Top Matches

Yes, a Flag Match does conjure up images of the 1980s, and the Punjabi Prison does make it hard for fans in attendance to become invested (those who have paid for tickets can barely see through the layered bamboo structure), but would John Cena vs. Rusev or Randy Orton vs. Jinder Mahal have been better without the stipulations?

Hardly. People would have been complaining had Cena went through the motions to beat Rusev in a straight singles match, and we've already seen Mahal vs. Orton without any bells and whistles. Rightly or wrongly, Battleground's marquee bouts needed the stips to give them any chance of standing out amidst the glut of WWE pay-per-views.

Had WWE decided against stipulations, both matches may have pre-judged before they started. That can't be considered a better alternative. At least the writers tried to make something unique of an event that just seemed to get in the way on the road to SummerSlam.