The New Day Are Champions
WWE Battleground started with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods against The Uso’s for the Smackdown Tag Team Championships. A really fun match to kick off the night in Philadelphia, especially since we rarely see Kofi and Woods work together. It was a great paced match, always keeping it fast and athletic. After some reversals, 4 extremely close 2 counts and a flying elbow across the entire ring from Woods, The New Day became champions.
A match that lasted around 15 minutes felt longer and that is a good thing. A lot of offense and the crowd appreciated the efforts. It is amazing to me that The New Day, who have accomplished everything, are still entertaining and thriving once again. A few months off did not hurt them at all and only made the fans want to see them more. I will say that the title change keeps it fresh and hopefully do great things for a potential rematch at SummerSlam. As much as I love Breezango, they are not there yet to hold a lengthy and important tag team feud heading into Brooklyn.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Baron Corbin
Shinsuke and Baron battled at WWE Battleground in a physical contest. Knee strikes and physicality from Nakamura knocked down Baron for a brief period. The deep six took out Nakamura, but he was able to kick out at 2. At the end of the match, Baron costed him the bout. He hit Nakamura low and then would come back into the ring to finish him off with an End of Days.
So, I am not sure how this helps Shinsuke Nakamura feel like a main event guy. Is he in this feud to help Baron continue to be a strong heel? Isn’t that what the briefcase should be doing, anyways? I am still awaiting to see the Nakamura that gave us excellent matches in NJPW and in NXT. It really is about timing and finding that right fit that helps him on the mic. This match was a letdown and should have been much more developed, more consistent and actually help the face over the heel.
