WWE’s Battleground 2017 pay-per-view is scheduled for this upcoming Sunday night and it appears as though the card has been finalized outside of any last-minute additions, which means it’s time for another look at the superstars on the SmackDown roster who have been skipped over.
For whatever reason, these men and women from the blue brand weren’t deemed important enough to find a spot for at the event—at least as far as it’s currently being advertised. Some of those omissions might be justified, while others below are a bit more questionable. Let’s take a look at who will be sitting this show out.
Sami Zayn / Mike and Maria Kanellis
Sami Zayn fell victim to Mike Kanellis in the latter’s debut match on SmackDown this week, but this feud is still worthy of a pre-show match at the very least, although Zayn vs. Kanellis would be something I would have expected to be on even the main card.
Is this an instance where the Punjabi Prison and other main card matches are going to be long enough that we don’t have room for anybody else, or does WWE just not value either of these two enough to dedicate time to it?
At best, this is a match that will be announced later on in the week when WWE goes through the timing schedule and figures they can toss it into the mix, but it’s a shame these guys aren’t currently being promoted for the card.
The Myriad of Midcarders
There’s certainly a variety when it comes to the midcarders and upper-midcarders who aren’t in the mix for Battleground, as we have a jobber like James Ellsworth along with much higher up talent like Dolph Ziggler.
In almost all instances, it seems like this is a case of “creative has nothing for you right now.” We haven’t seen much effort put into Luke Harper or Erick Rowan for months and there’s been zero interest in Sin Cara since even before he switched over to SmackDown in the Superstar Shake-Up.
The main person this is a shame for, though is Chad Gable. He’s the type of guy you think they’d have something for after his stellar performances against Kevin Owens and AJ Styles recently, along with Jason Jordan’s split from American Alpha to join the Raw roster as Kurt Angle’s long-lost son.
SummerSlam is going to be stacked, and it’s hard to imagine that these guys are going to get much attention on that card, either, so it’s certainly a shame WWE wasn’t willing or able to figure out a way to use them at Battleground.
From the Women’s Division
It’s quite strange how often WWE has booked Naomi in a position where she isn’t defending her SmackDown Women’s Championship on a pay-per-view. Is there a reason for this, or is it some kind of subconscious thing where they don’t value her title reign enough to want to craft a storyline for it?
Instead, we have a Fatal 5-Way to determine the No. 1 contender to her title for SummerSlam, which will feature Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Natalya, Tamina and Lana.
Also left out in the cold, though, is Carmella, who could theoretically cash-in her Money in the Bank contract to receive a title match at any moment, rendering her not in the same position as someone else who was just kept off the card because they weren’t good enough.
Obviously, Nikki Bella hasn’t returned, so it’s no surprise that she isn’t advertised for this event in any capacity. SummerSlam would probably be the time she’d come back, but even that isn’t a guarantee.
From the Tag Team Division
There’s a conundrum here as The Fashion Police indicated on this week’s SmackDown that they will be facing someone at Battleground, but with a mystery behind it, that means we don’t have a clue who they will necessarily be going up against.
Primo is currently injured, which seems to rule out The Colons as Epico won’t just fight Breezango on his own, and there are only two other tag teams currently on the blue brand: The Hype Bros and The Ascension.
Neither of those teams had anything to do this week, and neither are in a good position to be chosen for this spot anyway. Both had segments where they were ruled out as the attackers and there’s even a chance The Hype Bros break up soon.
Will we see the debut of a new tag team added to the roster or a new team formed from some people who aren’t doing much right now? Very curious….
The Usual Suspects
To round us out, there’s Chris Jericho and Kane. There’s no need breaking down the same information regarding the two of them being on hiatus, as they’ll be taking time off indefinitely and we have no indication of when they’ll return. Same shit, different event.
Do you think these men and women or any others not on this list should have been booked on the card in some fashion? How would you have utilized them if given the opportunity? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
