WWE Battleground 2017 Predictions

credit: wwe.com

WWE United States Championship Match
AJ Styles (c) vs Kevin Owens

Well the volume on this feud got turned up real fast, huh?  The program between Owens and Styles, although good, seemed to be going down a very familiar path.  Back in April, Styles won a triple threat match to become #1 contender for Owens title.  However, at Backlash in May, Owens retained the belt controversially when he trapped Styles leg in the announce table, thus winning by count-out.  But Styles got himself back into the title picture by winning the Independence Day battle royal on the July 4th show.

So it seemed like there was a very good chance that Styles was going to win the belt from “KO” at Battleground.  A guy like Styles doesn’t miss that opportunity twice, right?  But then shockingly, and refreshingly, Styles won the title off Owens at a Madison Square Garden house show on July 7th.  Now, Owens is usually an angry guy but since losing the U.S. strap, he’s been downright miserable.  With that being said, Sunday’s Battleground match should be really, really good.

Sandwiched between these two shows, however, was Money In The Bank and it was there that during the Smackdown MITB match, that something very telling happened.  In what was one of the highlights of the entire show, Styles came face to face with Shinsuke Nakamura, a pairing that hadn’t battled each other since their one and only match in January of 2016 at New Japan’s Wrestle Kingdom 10.  On that night, the two icons put on an absolute thriller for the IWGP Intercontintal title in what would be Styles last match for that company before heading to WWE.  So when Nakamura also signed just a few weeks later the chance that these two would meet again soon became a reality.  I think it’s going to happen at Summerslam.  In that scenario, Styles house show title win now makes perfect sense.  He wins the belt there, takes care of Owens in a mandatory rematch at Battleground, and now he’s clear for the Nakamura Summerslam match.  Count on it.

Winner and still champion: AJ Styles