The inaugural WWE Battleground PPV takes place October 6th at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York. Three weeks earlier at Night of Champions, Daniel Bryan defeated Randy Orton to become WWE Champion for the second time, only to have COO Triple H strip him of the title the next night on Raw, claiming that Bryan acted in collusion with referee Scott Armstrong to make a fast count on the final pinfall. Rather than returning the WWE Title to Randy Orton, the championship was held in abeyance, with Hunter scheduling a rematch between the two at Battleground. At this point one would suspect Bryan isn’t winning the WWE Title at a THIRD straight PPV (he defeated John Cena at SummerSlam), and the oddsmakers at Several Bookmakers seem to agree. Randy Orton sits at -1200 while Daniel Bryan is a hefty underdog at +600. Daniel Bryan’s continual struggle against the corporate WWE structure has dominated the storylines, but you could hardly fill a three hour PPV with Triple H abusing Bryan (not that he doesn’t try to on Raw each week). Alberto Del Rio defends his World Heavyweight Title against Rob Van Dam in a “Hardcore Rules” match, where anything goes and only a pinfall or submission can end the match. Given the rumors that RVD is leaving WWE after Battleground though, Del Rio is currently the favorite to retain his title. Alberto Del Rio -320, Rob Van Dam +240. CM Punk’s summer long feud with Paul Heyman continues into the fall, as Punk faces off with the latest addition to Heyman’s stable – the ferociously fearsome foe known as Ryback. Given Heyman’s proclivity for interfering in matches on behalf of his client, and the sheer physical size of Ryback as compared to Punk, you wouldn’t presume that Punk is a favorite – unless you saw CM Punk defeat a similarly larger and fearsome opponent in Big E. Langston on the final Raw before the PPV. Punk -1050, Ryback +550. Other matches of interest at the Battleground PPV are as follows – AJ Lee defends her WWE Divas Championship against Brie Bella. Brie is a relatively new entrant to the title scene and the odds reflect that. Lee -1700, Bella +800. Goldust and Cody Rhodes fight for the right to employment in a match against Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins of The Shield. Since The Shield is not putting their belts on the line, and Cody Rhodes was only “fired” to give him time off for his wedding, the odds heavily favor the Rhodes family. Team Rhodes -11000, The Shield +3000. Heyman protege Curtis Axel faces fan favorite R-Truth in the opening match of the PPV, with Axel’s Intercontinental Title on the line. Axel -530, R-Truth +350. Kofi Kingston faces Bray Wyatt in the opener. Wyatt and his “Family” are on a hot streak right now and the odds reflect it. Bray Wyatt -1700, Kofi Kingston +800. Last but not least a pre-show match airing live on YouTube, Dolph Ziggler (-190) faces Damien Sandow (+150). All descriptions and accounts in this article are for entertainment purposes only and shouldn’t be taken as actual gambling advice. WWE events are pre-scripted and the odds tend to reflect the creative direction of the writing team, though WWE has been known to make last minute changes before. If you do wager on the PPV, please gamble responsibly. Enjoy WWE Battleground this Sunday!
