What’s the story?
WWE Battleground takes place live on pay-per-view this coming Sunday, and three championships will be on the line at the event. Jinder Mahal, AJ Styles and The Usos will defend their respective championships at the show, and Cageside Seats is speculating that all four individuals may well leave Philadelphia with their titles in tow.
The champions may not be so lucky at SummerSlam however.
In case you didn’t know...
The main event of Sunday’s pay-per-view will see the first Punjabi Prison match in WWE in over a decade, as Jinder Mahal defends the WWE Championship against Randy Orton.
Elsewhere on the card, AJ Styles will put his newly-won United States Championship on the line against deposed champion Kevin Owens, and The Usos will defend the SmackDown Tag Team Championships against record-holding former RAW Champions, The New Day.
Naomi’s SmackDown Women’s Championship will not be on the line at the show.
The heart of the matter
It isn’t unusual for WWE to run a pay-per-view with no title changes, and as such the speculation could prove correct. From a long term storytelling perspective, a title change in any of the matches would make little sense at this point. Jinder Mahal’s run as WWE Champion might not be setting the world on fire, but moving the title back to Randy Orton certainly isn’t the answer to that conundrum.
AJ Styles only recently won the United States Championship, and hot-shotting the title back to Kevin Owens seems unlikely. The United States Championship has been passed around a bit since Chris Jericho won the title, and The Phenomenal One has the opportunity to inject some credibility back into the proud championship. A lengthy reign with competitive defences will do just that.
There is a possibility that The New Day could walk out of Philadelphia as SmackDown Tag Team Champions, but even that is unlikely. The Usos have been an absolute revelation as champions since defeating American Alpha for the straps, and the heel run has worked wonders for the twins’ career. The New Day will inevitably win the blue titles at some point, but it still seems a little early in the game for a title change.
What’s next?
WWE Battleground takes place this coming Sunday (July 23) and will be available live on the WWE Network. Elsewhere on the card, a five-way elimination match will take place for a SummerSlam shot at Naomi’s SmackDown Women’s Championship. Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Lana, Natalya and Tamina will battle for that honour, with Carmella and her Money in the Bank briefcase lurking in the background.
Rusev and John Cena will do battle in a flag match, and Shinsuke Nakamura and Baron Corbin will continue their feud at the show. Breezango will take on a pair of mystery opponents, whilst Tye Dillinger will defeat Aiden English in six minutes with the Tyebreaker on the Kickoff show.
Author’s take
Whilst WWE isn’t quite as title-centric today as it once was, strong Championships still make for a much stronger product. Lengthy and credible reigns are the key to that, and in AJ Styles and The Usos, WWE has the chance to re-establish the secondary titles on SmackDown.
Jinder Mahal still has a lot to prove as WWE Champion, but his reign will certainly improve when he faces someone other than Randy Orton.
It would make sense for the titles to stay where they are on Sunday.
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