- Jinder Mahal & the Singh Brothers kick off the show with the Punjabi Prison surrounding the ring. Jinder says the Punjabi Prison will be the final resting place of Randy Orton's legacy. The Singh Brothers then run down the rules of the Punjabi Prison; there are two cages surrounding the ring. The inner cage has four doors that can be opened when a wrestler calls for it. Each door will be open for 60 seconds, and once those 60 seconds are up, it gets locked shut and won't reopen. Or as Sunil Singh puts it, the door will "never, ever, athen, ever." That's what he said. The outer cage has no doors and must be climbed over. The winner is the first man to escape both cages. Jinder then says there are no rules in the Punjabi Prison. Was he not listening? They just explained the rules. Jinder says he will hit Orton with the Khallas off the top of the cage and says he will walk out of the Punjabi Prison as WWE Champion. Jinder speaks in Punjabi until Randy Orton comes out. Orton says Jinder is either the bravest person he's ever met, or he's dumb to want to be locked in a cage with himself. Orton says the Singh Brothers are the only reason Jinder is WWE Champion and now Jinder has isolated them outside of the cage. Orton says that at Battleground, there will be no escaping for Jinder and that he has nothing to lose, but Jinder has everything to lose. Orton climbs the outer cage and at the top, he says that will be his view at Battleground before he takes the WWE Championship back. Orton poses atop the cage to close out the opening segment.
- Jimmy Uso with Jey Uso vs Kofi Kingston with Big E & Xavier Woods-Kofi kicks off with a one-man Unicorn Stampede followed by a corner basement dropkick for a one count. Kofi twerks in Usos face, which sends Uso charging at him. Kofi sends him over the top rope and hits a unique plancha. Uso moves out of the way when he sees Kofi coming, so instead of jumping Kofi teeters on the top rope, then flips onto Uso when he gets back in position. It looked pretty cool. After a commercial break, we come back to Uso working over Kofi with a headlock. Uso controls the match until Kofi hits a double stomp on a standing Uso. Kofi mounts a comeback with a dropkick and a jumping clothesline before hitting the Boom Drop. Kofi calls for Trouble in Paradise, but Uso catches him on his shoulders and rams Kofi into the corner for a near fall. Kofi hits a pendulum kick from the apron and goes to the top rope, but Uso meets him there with a palm strike. Uso goes for a superplex, but Kofi shoves him down. Jey Uso hops up on the apron to distract, but Big E & Xavier Woods sending him running. Kofi hits a diving crossbody, but Jimmy Uso rolls through and pins Kofi for the three and the win. Pretty solid match.
- Backstage, Shane McMahon talks to the participants in the Fatal 5-Way #1 contenders match at Battleground. Shane discusses who could have a competitive match tonight, so Charlotte says she wants to get her hands on Lana. Natalya interjects, saying she wants to fight Lana. Becky says she wants to fight Lana, but Tamina steps in and says no one is fighting Lana tonight. Natalya suggests Charlotte face Becky, but Charlotte says that wouldn't be competitive. Charlotte & Becky argue, prompting Shane to agree with Natalya and books the match for tonight.
- Renee Young has a sit-down interview with Chad Gable about Jason Jordan being Kurt Angle's son. He says he had no idea and Jordan never told him anything about it. He says that he's supporting Jordan still, but for him, he's got a whole new beginning ahead of him.
- Mike Kanellis with Maria Kanellis vs Sami Zayn-So after a month or so of doing basically nothing except having an awesome entrance theme, Mike
BennettKanellis makes his WWE in-ring debut. Zayn takes the fight right to Kanellis, beating him down in the corner before Kanellis rolls out of the ring. Zayn follows him out and clotheslines him to the ground before throwing him back in the ring. Zayn clotheslines Kanellis out of the ring again before throwing him into the barricade. Back in the ring, Kanellis mounts some offense, but Zayn comes right back with a clothesline before hitting an exploder suplex into the corner. Zayn sets up for the Helluva Kick, but Maria jumps into the ring and shields Mike from Zayn. Instead of DQing Kanellis, the ref just tells her to get out of the ring, allowing Kanellis to sock Zayn with a straight right before hitting a Samoan Driver for the three and the win. Wow. I mean, I don't think Mike Bennett is really anything special as a wrestler...but he's better than this. He got his ass kicked the entire match and only won because Maria interfered. Then again the "only successful because of his wife" gimmick isn't too far off from Mike Bennett's actual career. - John Cena comes down to the ring with the American & Bulgarian flags hanging from opposite poles. He runs down the card for Battleground but then says the match people will remember is his flag match against Rusev. Way to bury the rest of the card, John. He says he doesn't like Rusev for constantly ragging on America and says that he's ready to wave the American flag in victory. Cena then talks about how great America is and says that no matter what happens to America, the flag always flies. He ends by grabbing the flag, saying that at Battleground, the American flag will fly high. He is then attacked from behind by Rusev, who gives him a superkick before locking in the Accolade. Cena is able to power up to his feet but collapses back down and blacks out. Rusev then grabs the Bulgarian flag and waves it. I don't give half a sh*t about this match, but if Rusev decides to bust out this Bulgarian flag again-
-my interest will return. - Backstage, Shinsuke Nakamura approaches AJ Styles. Styles thinks he wants to discuss their match tonight or reminisce about Japan, but Nakamura instead points at the United States Championship and basically says he wants it.
- Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair-Natalya sits in on commentary for this match. The two go back and forth to start before Becky hits two arm drags and a single leg dropkick. Charlotte comes back with a roll up for a near fall before Becky goes for the Dis-Arm-Her, but Charlotte blocks it and rolls out of the ring before the commercial break. We come back to the two trading blows in the ring. Charlotte chops Becky to the ground before hitting a big boot and a knee drop for a near fall. Charlotte goes for the Figure Eight, but Becky blocks it and hits a diving forearm. Becky makes her comeback, hitting the Bexploder before hitting a forearm shot for a near fall. Becky goes for the Dis-Arm-Her again, but Charlotte blocks it and takes out Becky's knee with a chop block. Charlotte goes for Natural Selection, but Becky blocks that and goes for the Dis-Arm-Her again. Charlotte turns it into a roll up for a near fall before hitting a big boot for a near fall. Charlotte goes to the top rope for a moonsault, but Becky dodges it and locks in the Dis-Arm-Her. Despite multiple attempts to break the hold, Becky keeps it locked in, forcing Charlotte to tap out. Another good match tonight. After the match, the two shake hands before Tamina & Lana come down to the ring. Natalya takes the opportunity to jump Becky from behind, allowing the heels to beat down her & Charlotte. After tossing Becky & Charlotte out of the ring, Natalya tries to put Tamina in the sharpshooter, but Lana saves her. Tamina then superkicks Natalya before staring down Lana and leaving.
- Renee Young interviews Naomi. She says she'll congratulate whoever wins at Battleground, but says that at SummerSlam, there is no stopping her. She is interrupted by Carmella, who reminds Naomi that anywhere she goes, she will follow with the Money in the Bank briefcase.
- It's the Fashion X-Files: The Truth is Not H. Fandango says it might be ghosts or aliens, but Breeze says those though don't exist. They mistake Aiden English warming up as a ghost and a delivery guy turning on the light as an alien. He gives them a box which contains the head of Fandango's toy horse from last week with a note reading "Battleground."
- AJ Styles & Shinsuke Nakamura vs Baron Corbin & Kevin Owens-Corbin attempts to attack Nakamura from behind during his entrance, but Nakamura sees him coming and the two brawl. Owens runs out for the double team, so Styles runs down to even the odds. The two teams hold their ground before the commercial break. We come back to Corbin catching Styles with a straight right off a springboard. The heels get the heat on Styles until Styles catches Owens with a dropkick. Nakamura tags in and gives Owens some Good Vibrations before hitting an enziguri. Nakamura follows up with a knee drop but goes flying out of the ring when Corbin pulls the ropes down. Corbin throws Nakamura back in the ring, allowing Owens to hit a senton for a near fall. Corbin tags in and stomps away at Nakamura before tagging Owens back in to beat down on Nakamura. The heels control the match until Nakamura connects with an inside-out heel kick. Styles gets the hot tag and goes to the ground and pound on Owens. Styles strikes away at Owens before hitting a sliding forearm for a near fall. Owens dodges a corner splash, but Styles connects with an atomic facebuster for a near fall. Styles goes for the Ushigoroshi, but Owens slides out and clotheslines Styles. Corbin tags in and tosses Styles all the way across the ring. Styles is able to fight back and locks in the Calf Crusher, but Corbin breaks the hold by getting to the bottom rope. Styles sets up for the Phenomenal Forearm, but Owens yanks him down onto the apron. Nakamura takes the fight to Owens until Corbin takes out Nakamura. Back in the ring, Corbin goes for the End of Days, but Styles flips out of it and hits an enziguri. Styles follows up with a Pele kick, sending Corbin into his corner. Owens makes the blind tag before Styles goes for the Styles Clash. Owens stops it by superkicking Styles and hits the Pop-Up Powerbomb for the three and the win. One last good match to close out the night.
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