The 2014 Battleground was the second annual Battleground

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

and

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event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

produced by

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

. It took place on July 20, 2014, at the

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, and was the first Battleground event to air on the WWE Network, which launched in February. It was the last WWE pay-per-view event to incorporate the WWE scratch logo, as the following month, WWE rebranded and began using the logo that was originally used for the WWE Network. Nine matches were contested at the event, with two being shown on the Kickoff pre-show. The main event saw John Cena defeat

Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor who is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand but is currently out of action due to a back injury. H ...

, Kane, and Roman Reigns in a

fatal four-way match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The event received 99,000 buys (excluding WWE Network views), slightly down on the previous year's 114,000 buys.

Production

Background

On October 6, 2013,

held a new

(PPV) event titled Battleground that replaced Over the Limit. The event was originally intended to be an annual October PPV for the promotion. The following year, a second Battleground was announced, but it was moved up to July. It was scheduled to be held on July 20, 2014, at the

. This second event in turn established Battleground as WWE's annual July PPV. In addition to PPV, this was the first Battleground to air on WWE's online streaming service, the WWE Network, which launched earlier in February.

Storylines

The card consisted of nine matches, including two on the Kickoff pre-show, that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed

villains A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character as ...

heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches, with results predetermined by WWE's writers. Storylines between the characters played out on WWE's primary television programs, ''

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

'' and '' SmackDown''. At Money in the Bank, John Cena won a

ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself becom ...

for the

vacant Within the context of building construction and building codes, "occupancy" refers to the use, or intended use, of a building, or portion of a building, for the shelter or support of persons, animals or property. A closely related meaning is th ...

WWE World Heavyweight Championship to become a 15-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion. The next night on ''Raw'',

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as on ...

scheduled Cena to defend the title at ''Battleground'' in a

Fatal 4-Way match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. So ...

against Roman Reigns, Kane and

. On the June 30 episode of ''Raw'', AJ Lee returned to WWE (her last appearance was the ''Raw'' after WrestleMania XXX) and defeated Paige for the

Divas Championship The WWE Divas Championship was a women's professional wrestling championship in WWE. The championship was created by WWE in 2008, and was introduced as part of the WWE brand extension via a storyline by then SmackDown General Manager Vickie ...

for a second time. On the July 11 episode of ''Smackdown'', AJ was scheduled to defend the title against Paige at the event. On the June 30 edition of ''Raw'', it was revealed that

WWE Intercontinental Champion The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, currently defended on the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roster ...

Bad News Barrett Stuart Alexander Bennett (born 10 August 1980) is an English-American professional wrestling commentator, actor, and former professional wrestler who holds both British and American citizenship. He is currently signed to WWE, where he is a colo ...

suffered an injury on the June 27 edition of ''SmackDown'' when he was thrown into the barricade by Jack Swagger. Due to this, he was stripped of the championship. Michael Cole also announced that there would be a Battleground Battle Royal at Battleground for the

WWE Intercontinental Championship. On the same edition, Cesaro,

The Great Khali Dalip Singh Rana (born 27 August 1972) is an Indian professional wrestler and wrestling promoter better known by his ring name The Great Khali. He is best known for his tenure in WWE where he became the first Indian-born WWE World Heavywe ...

, Kofi Kingston, and Damien Sandow were added to the battle royal. On the July 1 edition of ''

Main Event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

'', Dolph Ziggler, Rob Van Dam,

Ryback Ryback Allen Reeves (né Ryan; born November 10, 1981) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE where he performed under the ring name Ryback. One of the eight finalists on WWE's '' Tough Enough 4'', Reeves l ...

, Curtis Axel and Big E were added to the match. On the July 4 edition of ''SmackDown'',

Alberto Del Rio José Alberto Rodríguez Chucuan (born 25 May 1977) is a Mexican-American professional wrestler, professional wrestling promoter, sports commentator, and mixed martial artist, currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as a c ...

and

Bo Dallas Taylor Michael Rotunda (born May 25, 1990) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Bo Dallas. Rotunda is a third-generation professional wrestler; his grandfather Blac ...

were added to the match. On the July 7 edition of ''Raw'', Fandango and Sheamus were added to the match. On the July 14 edition of ''Raw'', Sin Cara, The Miz,

Titus O'Neil Thaddeus Michael Bullard Sr. (born April 29, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former arena football player. He is the Global Ambassador of WWE and also performs for the promotion as a wrestler under the ri ...

Xavier Woods Austin Watson (born September 4, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Xavier Woods. He appeared on WWE's NXT brand as one-half of the current NXT Tag T ...

, Zack Ryder, Heath Slater, R-Truth, Adam Rose and Diego were added to the match. At Battleground, it was announced that Bad News Barrett was to award the Intercontinental Championship to the winner of the battle royal. On July 16, Sandow and Rose were pulled from the battle royal. On July 20, Sandow was reinstated into the battle royal and Fandango was pulled from the battle royal. Van Dam did not appear in the battle royal due to an injury. On the June 30 edition of ''Raw'', Chris Jericho returned to the WWE only for The Wyatt Family ( Bray Wyatt,

Luke Harper Jonathan Huber (December 16, 1979 – December 26, 2020) was an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Luke Harper (later simply Harper) from 2012 to 2019, and in All E ...

, and Erick Rowan), thus setting up a match between Wyatt and Jericho at the event. Following Money in the Bank,

WWE Tag Team Champions WWE (formerly the WWF, the WWWF, and Capitol Wrestling) has maintained at least one primary tag team championship for its male performers since 1958 (except for a two year interim between 1967 and 1969). During periods of brand division, separate ...

The Usos continued their feud with Wyatt Family members Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. On the June 30 edition of ''Raw'', The Wyatt Family defeated The Usos and Sheamus. On the July 7 edition of ''Raw'', Harper and Rowan defeated The Usos. On the July 11 edition of ''SmackDown'', The Usos were scheduled to defend the title against The Wyatt Family in a

2-out-of-3 falls match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

at the event. On the June 2 edition of ''Raw'', Seth Rollins turned on The Shield by attacking both Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns, siding with The Authority in the process. In the ensuing weeks, Rollins and Ambrose attacked each other, and each interfered in the others matches. The feud intensified when Kane assisted Rollins in winning the

Money in the Bank ladder match The Money in the Bank ladder match is a multi-person ladder match held by the professional wrestling promotion WWE. First contested at WWE's annual WrestleMania event beginning in 2005, a separate Money in the Bank pay-per-view was established ...

at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view on June 29. On July 12, it was announced that Rollins and Ambrose were scheduled to face each other at Battleground. On the June 30 edition of ''Raw'', Jack Swagger and

Zeb Colter Wayne Maurice Keown (born November 29, 1949) is an American professional wrestling manager, booker and retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Dutch Mantel (also spelled Dutch Mantell). Keown debuted in 1972, as Wayne Cow ...

confronted Rusev and

Lana Lana may refer to: *Lana (given name) *Francesco Lana de Terzi (1631–1687), Italian Jesuit priest and scientist *Lana (wrestler), professional wrestler and pro wrestling manager *'' Wild Energy. Lana'', a 2006 Ukrainian fantasy novel Sciences * ...

about their anti-American views. Swagger and Colter issued a challenge to Rusev, which was accepted on the July 14 edition of ''Raw''. Also confirmed for the event was

Cameron Cameron may refer to: People * Clan Cameron, a Scottish clan * Cameron (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Cameron (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) ;Mononym * Cam'ron (born 197 ...

squaring off against Naomi, which took place on the Kickoff pre-show. After they lost to AJ Lee and Paige on the July 7 edition of ''Raw'', Cameron and Naomi attacked each other, effectively breaking up

The Funkadactyls The Funkadactyls were a professional wrestling Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Stable, tag team consisting of Naomi (wrestler), Naomi and Cameron (wrestler), Cameron. The women initially worked for WWE as the dancers and Manager (profess ...

and setting up a match for the event. On July 20, a match between Adam Rose and Fandango was scheduled for the Kickoff pre-show.

Event

Pre-Show

During the Battleground Kickoff pre-show, Adam Rose defeated Fandango, and

defeated Naomi.

Preliminary matches

The actual pay-per-view opened with The Usos defending the

WWE Tag Team Championship WWE (formerly the WWF, the WWWF, and Capitol Wrestling) has maintained at least one primary tag team championship for its male performers since 1958 (except for a two year interim between 1967 and 1969). During periods of brand division, separate ...

against

and Erick Rowan of The Wyatt Family in a

two out of three falls match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

. Harper and Rowan won the first fall after Harper executed a Big Boot on Jey. The Usos won the second fall after Jey pinned Harper with a roll-up. The Usos won the third fall after performing a double Samoan Splash on Harper, meaning The Usos retained the title. Next, AJ Lee defended the WWE Divas Championship against Paige In the climax, AJ applied the black widow, which Paige countered and then performed a Paige Turner on AJ for a two count. Paige attempted the PTO, but AJ and Paige traded covers. AJ performed a Shining Wizard on Paige to retain the title. After that, Rusev faced Jack Swagger. The ending saw Swagger apply the Patriot Lock on Rusev outside the ring but Rusev escaped the hold by pulling Swagger into the ring post and Swagger was counted out. After the match, Rusev applied The Accolade on Swagger. Next, Dean Ambrose was scheduled to face Seth Rollins, but Ambrose was ejected from the arena by

for fighting with Rollins backstage. Rollins subsequently had himself declared the winner by forfeit. Later, as Rollins was leaving the arena, he was attacked by Ambrose but managed to escape. In the fourth match, Bray Wyatt faced Chris Jericho. During the match, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan were ejected from ringside after attempting to attack Jericho. The match ended when Jericho performed a Codebreaker on Wyatt to win the match. In the penultimate match, the battle royal for the vacated

WWE Intercontinental Championship The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, currently defended on the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roster ...

was contested. In the end, Dolph Ziggler performed a Superkick on Sheamus to eliminate him but The Miz, who had been hiding outside the ring, eliminated Ziggler to win the title.

Main event

In the main event, John Cena defended the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against

, Roman Reigns and Kane in a

. During the match, Cena applied the STF on Orton but Reigns broke the hold. Reigns performed a Spear on Cena but Kane broke the pinfall. Reigns performed a Spear on Orton through the barricade. Reigns performed a Spear on Kane but Cena broke up the pinfall. Cena performed an Attitude Adjustment on Reigns but Kane broke up the pinfall. Kane performed a Chokeslam on Cena and a Chokeslam on Reigns for a near-fall. Reigns performed a Spear on Kane but received an RKO from Orton. Cena performed an Attitude Adjustment on Orton onto Kane and pinned Kane to retain the title.

Aftermath

The Swagger-Rusev match, promoted as "United States vs. Russia", was marked in controversy after Lana made comments prior to the match blaming the United States for "recent current" world events and praising Russian president

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

to help build heat for Rusev. Some in the media viewed the promo as a veiled reference to the crash of

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17) was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Russian forces on 17 July 2014, while flying over eastern Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed. Cont ...

three days earlier. In response to the backlash, a representative of WWE said that the segment "was in no way referring to the Malaysia Airlines tragedy", adding that the Rusev-Lana storyline "has been a part of WWE programming for more than three months. WWE apologizes to anyone who misunderstood last night's segment and was offended." In response to WWE's statement, '' Pro Wrestling Torch'' newsletter assistant editor James Caldwell viewed the comments as hollow, noting that reasonable viewers could conclude that Lana was referring to the plane crash. "WWE tacking on a fake apology with an insult to people's intelligence makes WWE sound even worse. All-around, it's a messy statement that conveys a lack of understanding, sensitivity, and maturity from WWE to be a decent corporate citizen", wrote Caldwell. Swagger did not appear on ''Raw'' the next night, but he had a rematch with Rusev on

, which Swagger won by disqualification. On the July 21 edition of ''Raw'', Triple H named

Brock Lesnar Brock Edward Lesnar ( ; born July 12, 1977) is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, former mixed martial artist (MMA), amateur wrestler, and professional American football player who holds both American and Canadian citizenship. He is ...

the number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship held by John Cena, and scheduled a title match between them at SummerSlam. The 2014 Battleground would also be WWE's final PPV to incorporate the WWE scratch logo, as the following month, WWE rebranded and began using the logo that was originally used for the WWE Network.

Results

References

External links

Battleground Website
{{WWEPPV, Battleground

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