{"id":26836,"date":"2016-07-24T22:15:35","date_gmt":"2016-07-25T03:15:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=26836"},"modified":"2016-07-26T01:14:09","modified_gmt":"2016-07-26T06:14:09","slug":"mcneills-liveblog-wwe-battleground-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2016\/07\/24\/mcneills-liveblog-wwe-battleground-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"McNEILL&#8217;s Complete Live Blog of WWE Battleground 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-977493712\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p><em><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-2659\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/StaffMcNeill07_120.jpg\" alt=\"StaffMcNeill07_120\" width=\"120\" height=\"138\" \/>Your Pat McNeill Live blog of WWE Battleground 2016 starts here:<\/em><\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re live from DC.\u00a0 Nothing&#8217;s happened yet.\u00a0 Tom Phillips is in the Social Media Lounge with GM&#8217;s Mick Foley and Bryan Danielson.\u00a0 Send in your questions.<\/p>\n<p>@RealPatMcNeill just sent in a question to both general managers.\u00a0 Why the hell didn&#8217;t either of you goofs pick Nakamura?<\/p>\n<p>Fantasy picks?\u00a0 Foley would have liked to have Terry Funk. Daniel Bryan would have liked to have Shawn Michaels.<\/p>\n<p>I like how both GM&#8217;s talk about taking the focus off the authority figures in a segment where the focus is on the authority figures.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier today, Darren Young picked up Bob Backlund as Bob was hitchhiking to the arena.<\/p>\n<p>Ranallo &amp; Saxton have the call for our preshow bout between The Usos and Breezango. \u00a0Let us take you back to Tuesday, when Tyler Breeze and Fandango were drafted to the Kickoff Show brand.<\/p>\n<p>Tyler Breeze just pinned an Uso, setting up Smackdown Live&#8217;s big tag team feud of the summer.\u00a0 (Seriously, who did the Usos piss off? Or was it something Naomi did? \u00a0You can tell us.)<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-2755916926\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>A video package about our main event of Dean Ambrose vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins, following up on that Seth Rollins heel turn from, um, 25 months ago.<\/p>\n<p>WWE Network wants to slowly morph Renee Young into their version of Megyn Kelly. \u00a0If I were her, I&#8217;d watch out for WWE&#8217;s version of Roger Ailes.<\/p>\n<p>The battle flag opening for Battleground.\u00a0 By the way, I wouldn&#8217;t say no to a signed Sasha Banks battle flag.\u00a0 It&#8217;d be, um, for a friend.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of Sasha, we kick off the program with Charlotte and Bodybuilder Barbie\u00a0against Sasha Banks and whoever.<\/p>\n<p>For those of you who were wondering whether WWE fans would know\u00a0who Bayley is, turns out they do.<\/p>\n<p>The good news is: Bayley &amp; Sasha Banks are tag team partners. \u00a0The bad news? \u00a0I think Deonna Purrazzo is the new #1 contender for the NXT Women&#8217;s Title.<\/p>\n<p>Bayley takes the heat. \u00a0Sasha takes Charlotte&#8217;s head off her shoulders, and it looks like we&#8217;re set for our title match at SummerSlam. \u00a0Now all we need is for Daniel Bryan to option Carmella back to the minors to clear a main roster spot for Bayley.<\/p>\n<p>Up next, it&#8217;s The New Day against The Wyatt Family in the battle for tag team supremacy. \u00a0(Non-title, of course)<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3784872263\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Boy, JBL sure seems broken up about this being his last time teaming with Cole &amp; Saxton on commentary.<\/p>\n<p>The worst job in WWE?\u00a0 Whoever has to explain New Day promos to Mr. McMahon.<\/p>\n<p>Your storyline is all about Zombie Xavier Woods not being much help for his partners.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Who do you tag in? \u00a0Xavier or Big E?&#8221; \u00a0You&#8217;re joking, right, Byron?<\/p>\n<p>Finally, we get the staredown between Xavier and Bray. \u00a0And Xavier finally snaps out of it and goes after Bray. \u00a0Hurrah! \u00a0And Bray finishes Xavier with Sister Abigail. \u00a0Wow, things got quiet.<\/p>\n<p>Oh my goodness. \u00a0Roman Reigns is back in WWE. \u00a0The fans boo the sight of his Twitter profile. \u00a0Not a good sign.<\/p>\n<p>Lana is out, dressed as Melania Trump. \u00a0Lana announces to management&#8230;I mean, the WWE Universe that Rusev is the only one who can have her.<\/p>\n<p>Now let&#8217;s meet our International announce team of La Parka and Funaki.<\/p>\n<p>Rusev vs. Ryder for the United States title. \u00a0Zack Ryder&#8217;s dad thinks he&#8217;ll win. \u00a0Zack&#8217;s mom picks Rusev. \u00a0Has The Big O weighed in yet?<\/p>\n<p>Saxton explains that Ryder&#8217;s gear for this match was inspired by\u00a0Mike&#8217;s Airbrush City at the Paramus Mall. \u00a0(Okay, not really.)<\/p>\n<p>Yeah, Rusev wins, and it&#8217;s time for the Bulgarian Brute to beat up Zack some more. \u00a0Mojo Rawley runs out to make the save. \u00a0If you&#8217;re rooting for Rusev to kill this guy, you probably subscribe to the WWE Network.<\/p>\n<p>Backstage, Mick Foley is telling Stephanie McMahon about his prime rib dinner at Golden Corral.<\/p>\n<p>Seth Rollins tells his bosses that Roman Reigns is a wild animal. \u00a0A wild, juiced up animal who&#8217;s freaked out on speed and&#8230;(cut to the announce table.)<\/p>\n<p>Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens. \u00a0Those wacky Quebecers just can&#8217;t get along.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve seen this match about a dozen times. \u00a0Fortunately, it&#8217;s been really good about a dozen times. \u00a0That last move was either a ridiculous botch or one of the best sell jobs of all time.<\/p>\n<p>Okay, so it was a botch.<\/p>\n<p>Zayn gives Owens a brainbuster on the apron. \u00a0This was on purpose. \u00a0The crowd chants &#8220;This is awesome&#8221;. \u00a0I chant &#8220;That looked painful&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Saxton puts over the &#8220;impassioned disdain&#8221; in this feud. \u00a0That sounds like something I would type after a half dozen Mountain Dew Pitch Blacks.<\/p>\n<p>Zayn wins with the Heluva Kick after both men take enough German suplexes to give Otto Wanz a headache.<\/p>\n<p>And now, enjoy Corey Graves&#8217;s final appearance as part of the WWE All-Star Panel.<\/p>\n<p>(Yes, I did hear JBL say that Bayley&#8217;s appearance on the main roster tonight was a one-off. \u00a0Not buying it. \u00a0Did you HEAR that crowd reaction?)<\/p>\n<p>We don&#8217;t have a popcorn match on WWE pay-per-views. \u00a0But if we did, it would be Becky Lynch against Natalya.<\/p>\n<p>This is a pretty good grudge match. \u00a0Nattie keeps working the sharpshooter, and Becky finally has to tap. \u00a0This feud must continue!<\/p>\n<p>Shane and Daniel Bryan give Dean Ambrose a pep talk before the main event. \u00a0Ambrose listens, sort of.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton on August 21st at SummerSlam. \u00a0The main event nobody demanded!<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of stuff nobody demanded, time for Darren Young&#8217;s Intercontinental Title shot against The Miz.<\/p>\n<p>BREAKING NEWS: John Layfield has officially added the word &#8220;fictitional&#8221; to the English language.<\/p>\n<p>Cole points out that Backlund held the WWF Title for 1,235 days. \u00a0To give you an example of how long that is, 1235 days ago, Raw regularly drew above a 3.0 rating.<\/p>\n<p>Backlund bumps for Maryse, then bumps for Miz. \u00a0Then Maryse pretends Backlund hit her, yadda yadda yadda, double countout. \u00a0That finish probably looked better when they drew it up in AutoCAD.<\/p>\n<p>Coming up next, The Club gets one last chance to #BeatUpJohnCena.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, one of the big reveals from DNCLeaks was that Debbie Wasserman Schultz was paying interns to #BeatUpJohnCena.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;John Cena&#8217;s coming home to the place he started!&#8221; \u00a0Where&#8217;s that? \u00a0The Today Show?<\/p>\n<p>Enzo Amore auditions for the role of life coach. \u00a0The highlight here is WWE Network trying to bleep the word &#8220;crap&#8221; from Enzo&#8217;s promo. \u00a0And failing. \u00a0(How you doin&#8217;?)<\/p>\n<p>This is a really long match. \u00a0And a really good match. \u00a0And Cena eventually hits Styles with an Attitude Adjustment off the second rope for the win. \u00a0So much for that feud.<\/p>\n<p>WWE Network ad. \u00a0I don&#8217;t think Noelle Foley will get to be Cactus Jill.<\/p>\n<p>This is followed by The Gift of Jericho. \u00a0Y2J is interviewing Randy Orton on the Highlight Reel.<\/p>\n<p>Randy Orton comes out, pumped and bumping fists with the fans. \u00a0Which means he&#8217;ll be turning heel any minute now.<\/p>\n<p>Jericho is going to give Randy the gift of Jericho. \u00a0Something tells me Orton would prefer a Hickory Farms gift card.<\/p>\n<p>Orton says his RKO has &#8220;No enhancement needed&#8221;. \u00a0Oh, dear.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, Orton eventually hits the RKO from Outta Nowhere. \u00a0Tune in to Smackdown on Tuesday for more information.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s time for our main event. \u00a0And why not? \u00a0We have&#8230;seventeen minutes of satellite time left.<\/p>\n<p>You know what this show needs? \u00a0If you said &#8220;separate entrances for all four authority figures&#8221;, give yourself a big hand.<\/p>\n<p>Roman Reigns comes out for his title match and&#8230;that&#8217;s definitely a reaction from the crowd.<\/p>\n<p>JoJo gets to ring announce the main event. \u00a0This may be one of the bigger stories of the show.<\/p>\n<p>Ambrose vs. Rollins vs. Reigns. \u00a0They give Roman some potentially crowd-pleasing spots, but the crowd seems more interested in booing Reigns.<\/p>\n<p>It strikes me about five minutes into this match&#8230;we sure have seen a lot of Ambrose vs. Rollins lately.<\/p>\n<p>All three men knock each other down. \u00a0Now would be a great time for the Social Outcasts to do a run-in. \u00a0(But they don&#8217;t.)<\/p>\n<p>Ambrose and Rollins join up to powerbomb Reigns through a table. \u00a0(And there was much rejoicing.)<\/p>\n<p>Roman rallies and beats up both opponents by himself. \u00a0This is getting close. \u00a0Ambrose rallies and pins Reigns with Dirty Deeds. \u00a0Shane McMahon takes a victory lap, grinning like an idiot. \u00a0Okay, that was worth having Shane at ringside.<\/p>\n<p>So, I think we&#8217;re due for postgame coverage. \u00a0Join James &amp; Greg on PWTorchLivecast at the bottom of the hour. \u00a0VIP members, you get us oldsters in a VIP roundtable, coming soon.<\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2720857097\"><div id=\"pwtor-1843200896\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Your Pat McNeill Live blog of WWE Battleground 2016 starts here: We&#8217;re live from DC.\u00a0 Nothing&#8217;s happened yet.\u00a0 Tom Phillips is in the Social Media Lounge with GM&#8217;s Mick Foley and Bryan Danielson.\u00a0 Send in <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2016\/07\/24\/mcneills-liveblog-wwe-battleground-2016\/\" title=\"McNEILL&#8217;s Complete Live Blog of WWE Battleground 2016\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":23526,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,20],"tags":[3182,3181,155,2253],"class_list":["post-26836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-results_wweppvs","category-tv_wwetvreports","tag-battleground-2016","tag-battleground-ppv","tag-pat-mcneill","tag-wwe-battleground"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2016\/06\/BattlegroundCena.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26836"}],"version-history":[{"count":42,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26926,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26836\/revisions\/26926"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}