The wrestling event that failed to move into second gear
In short: In the world of professional wrestling, a 'no contest' can be a narrative tool or a creative failure. When WWE launched Battleground in 2013, it aimed for a new annual tradition but instead delivered a night so underwhelming it was voted the worst major show of its year.
WWE planned Battleground as its fresh yearly October pay-per-view, debuting at Buffalo's First Niagara Center on 6 October 2013. However, the promotion quickly shifted its strategy, moving the event up to July in 2014 and eventually discontinuing it as a primary PPV after 2017. The inaugural event was a commercial struggle, securing only 114,000 pay-per-view buys—the second-lowest figure in the previous 17 years of the company's history.
The night was defined by high-stakes storylines that lacked satisfying resolutions. The main event featured Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton competing for the vacant WWE Championship. Rather than a definitive finish, the match ended in a 'no contest' after Big Show interfered, attacking both competitors and the referee. This lack of closure drew sharp criticism from critics like James Caldwell of Pro Wrestling Torch, who argued that ending a title match without a result failed to build goodwill with an audience already losing interest.
While the main event faltered, other matches provided scripted victories for established faces. Cody Rhodes and Goldust defeated The Shield in a high-stakes match where the Rhodes family's jobs were on the line. Additionally, Alberto Del Rio retained the World Heavyweight Championship by forcing Rob Van Dam to submit in a Hardcore match. Despite these moments, the event was widely panned as 'house show level,' leading to significant fallout including the firing of Big Show and a series of retaliatory matches at subsequent events like Hell in a Cell.
The legacy of Battleground is one of transition. It served as a bridge between the era of the Over the Limit PPV and the modern brand-exclusive era. While it eventually disappeared from the main roster's lineup, its history remains a case study in how narrative 'no contests' can backfire when they fail to provide the spectacle expected by a paying audience.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Battleground (2013)
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