WWE Battleground is set to be a historic night for the two rosters of WWE, not only will it be the final time that many superstars face each other, but it is also the final time that two teams will compete together after both The Wyatt Family and The Club were split during the draft.
Tuesday night saw Rusev drafted to Raw and The Miz drafted to SmackDown because they both had the two mid-card titles. But their match ups at Battleground mean that the titles could actually switch brands.
The United States Championship used to be exclusive to SmackDown until the Brand Extension was ended a few years ago and the Intercontinental Championship was only contested on Raw, this seemed to have been switched following this brand split but it could easily change if the challengers were to win their matches on Sunday night.
Zack Ryder takes on Rusev for the first time for the United States Championship which has come as a shock to many of the WWE Universe as it seems WWE are finally giving Zack the push he deserves.
Poor Zack shocked the world when he climbed the ladder and retrieved the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 32 before The Miz and the returning Maryse cheated their way into taking the title off him less than 24 hours later.
Many thought this was WWE’s way of punishing Zack and as ever the WWE veteran took it in his stride so hopefully this weekend pays off and Zack is able to dethrone the Bulgarian Brute.
This is highly unlikely since Rusev is still in a position in WWE where he is trying to maintain credibility. But with the added factor that the United States Championship could head back to SmackDown, you have to think Zack has a little more of a chance.
The Miz returns to face Darren Young after he won what was a impromptu battle royale, and this could well be one of the stand out matches of the night. Darren has been under the guidance of Bob Backlund for the past few months and this seems to have made a big difference to his in-ring ability.
The Miz is currently in breach of his 30 day title defence clause and the fact that he has been away from WWE for a while filming The Marine 5: Battleground means that WWE haven’t been able to do a lot with him as Champion.
The Miz hasn’t done a lot with the belt and I think if Darren Young is truly going to be ‘great again’ then giving him the gold would be a big step towards this. Both men have possible distractions at ringside so that could hopefully be a deciding factor here.
The Tag Team Titles are obviously not on the line at Battleground so they will definitely remain with The New Day on Raw and Charlotte is also in breach of her 30 day title defence clause since her last defence was against Paige on June 20th. This title isn’t on the line this weekend either which means there is a chance that SmackDown could be getting their own women’s title again.
The only other title that could change brands on Sunday night is the WWE Championship, the odds favour Raw in this one since it’s two verses one but at the same time Dean Ambrose should easily take the title back to Smackdown because it would be unfair to leave the Tuesday night show with only one Championship.
There have been rumours that the WWE Champion is set to work both shows in the future, but it looks like this is unlikely since both Seth and Dean have shown that they have allegiances to their own show.
The title could easily be split back into the two titles it was before WWE unified the belts in 2013. This would mean that the ending of Battleground will once again be undetermined so that both Seth and Dean can be given a title each to take back to their brand.
Even if none of the titles that are on the line actually change hands on Sunday night it is shaping up to be a historic ending to WWE’s current era as many feuds are set to end and rivalries are finalised.
