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WWE Battleground 2017 is almost here and as we gear up for the return of the Punjabi Prison, let’s take a look at the card and the rumours.
WWE Battleground 2017 will be headlined by Jinder Mahal defending the WWE Championship against Randy Orton inside the Punjabi Prison. The other two titles on the line are AJ Styles defending the US Championship against Kevin Owens and The Usos defending the SmackDown Tag-Team Championships against the New Day.
However, the SmackDown Women’s Championship will not be on the line and 5 women will take part in a Fatal-5-Way match to determine the #1 contender at SummerSlam 2017.
Elsewhere on the card, Shinsuke Nakamura faces Money In The Bank holder Baron Corbin while Mike Kanellis makes his WWE PPV debut against Sami Zayn.
On the pre-show, we’ll see the “Perfect 10” Tye Dillinger face Aiden English once again.
Let’s take a look at the rumours ahead of the PPV.
WWE’s plan for John Cena
John Cena will be facing Rusev at WWE Battleground in a flag match. Cena looks certain to win as of now and he is the clear favourite according to the betting odds at -1125.
As of now, it looks like the plan for Cena will be to over Rusev to build up steam on the way to SummerSlam. According to our sources, Cena could be facing Jinder Mahal at SummerSlam in order to help cement Jinder Mahal as a main-event level competitor.
New #1 contender
As first reported by Sportskeeda, Natalya is the favourite to win the #1 contender’s match to see who will face SmackDown Live Women’s Champion, Naomi, at SummerSlam 2017.
Until yesterday, the betting odds had Charlotte as the heavy favourite to win the Fatal-5-Way match at Battleground but a late and dramatic shift in the betting odds now sees the “Queen of Harts” as the firm favourite to be the #1 contender.
Will Naomi vs Natalya be the title match for SummerSlam? There’s a chance that a dusty finish could lead to other weapon getting added but this last part is just a prediction?
PPV Debut win for Mike Kanellis
Mike Kanellis made his in-ring debut against Sami Zayn on SmackDown last week. After a pretty good showing from Kanellis, he looked all set to eat a Helluva Kick from Zayn when Maria interjected herself into the proceedings by shielding her husband.
In the chaos, Mike Kanellis poked Zayn in the eye and pinned him after a Samoan Driver.
Kanellis will make his WWE PPV debut tonight as he faces Zayn again and barring a late change, the former Impact Wrestling and ROH star could be set for a debut win on PPV. As of now, the betting odds have Kanellis at -175.
No title changes
As of now, we shouldn’t expect any title changes at WWE Battleground. According to the latest betting odds Jinder Mahal, The Usos and AJ Styles all look set to retain their titles at Battleground.
Jinder Mahal faces Randy Orton in a Punjabi Prison match and at present, betting odds have him as the favourite to retain with -260.
Styles will defend his US Championship against the man that Styles defeated for the championship, Kevin Owens. Styles is favoured in the betting odds at -260. The Usos will also be defending their SmackDown Live Tag-Team Championships against New Day and it looks like The Usos will be retaining their titles too as they are favoured to win at -215.
