What’s the story?
The next stop on WWE’s pay-per-view schedule is Battleground, which takes places in Philadelphia this coming Sunday. The go-home episode of SmackDown Live finalised the card, which will be headlined by the return of the Punjabi Prison as Jinder Mahal defends the WWE Championship against Randy Orton.
Tye Dillinger vs. Aiden English was added to the Battleground card last night and will be the Kickoff show match for the second time this year.
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WWE Battleground will be the fourth SmackDown Live exclusive pay-per-view of 2017, following in the footsteps of Elimination Chamber, Backlash and Money in the Bank.
All of SmackDown’s top stars are scheduled to compete on the show, which will feature Rusev’s return to action as the Bulgarian Brute takes on John Cena in a flag match. The stacked card leaves little room for manoeuvre, meaning Tye Dillinger and Aiden English must make do with a place on the Kickoff show for the second time in 2017.
The heart of the matter
Aiden English and Tye Dillinger have been feuding for a number of months now, with Dillinger consistently holding the upper hand throughout the feud. The Perfect 10 has stalled somewhat since jumping to the main roster, as Dillinger has been stuck facing English on a frequent basis. In fact, more than 50% of Tye Dillinger’s singles matches on SmackDown Live have been against the former Vaudevillian.
WWE is obviously still interested in Dillinger, but The Perfect 10 simply doesn’t fit into the plans right now. English is arguably at the very bottom of the SmackDown Live food chain right now, the former NXT Tag Team Champion working as an enhancement talent for the likes of Tye Dillinger and Mojo Rawley.
The Battleground pay-per-view will consist of seven main show matches, one of which will see Breezango take on mystery opponents, with Dillinger and English kicking the night off on the pre-show.
What’s next?
Battleground 2017 will be the 10th WWE pay-per-view of 2017, and the fifth instalment of the July pay-per-view. The 2016 edition was the first pay-per-view of the post-draft world and featured The Shield triple threat in the main event, whilst this year’s show will see Jinder Mahal defend the WWE Championship against Randy Orton in the headlining bout.
Elsewhere, AJ Styles will defend the United States Championship against former champion Kevin Owens, The Usos will put their tag titles on the line against The New Day, Shinsuke Nakamura will do battle with Baron Corbin, and Rusev and John Cena will continue their rivalry in a flag match.
Author’s take
Tye Dillinger vs. Aiden English is the most Kickoff show in WWE today, up there with Curt Hawkins vs. Apollo Crews. It is a shame for Dillinger to be stuck in this never ending feud with English, but something is better than nothing. Here’s hoping Tye picks up the clean and convincing win, before moving on to bigger and better things.
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