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The WWE Battleground 2017 pay-per-view will take place July 23, 2017 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA and will be a SmackDown-exclusive event. Follow along here for spoilers and information on the event's card, lineup of matches and news regarding the pay-per-view.

Here are my predictions for the 2017 WWE Battleground PPV. Check back for Battleground 2017 results and review coverage here.

SmackDown presents WWE Battleground 2017 Spoilers

WWE Championship Punjabi Prison Match: Jinder Mahal (c) vs. Randy Orton

Bringing back the Punjabi Prison is equal parts hilarious and awesome. What a great way to utilize this current gimmick Jinder Mahal is doing. I love it. The outcome of this match entirely depends on WWE's direction for John Cena. Does he face Jinder Mahal as the next challenger for the WWE Championship (or in a non-title feud) at SummerSlam, does he move on to AJ Styles with the United States Championship, or does he do something else entirely?

There's a good chance we see either Styles vs. Cena at SummerSlam, or a Triple Threat that also includes Owens. If that's the case, then Randy Orton has a HUUUUUGE chance to win this Punjabi Prison match, but I think he'll be cashed in on by Baron Corbin.

PREDICTION: Honestly, I'm not sure at this point. 51% Orton, 49% Mahal.

Note: Kevin Owens is no longer champion. AJ Styles is. I'm just too lazy to change this.

United States Championship Match: AJ Styles (c) vs. Kevin Owens

With AJ Styles winning the title at the MSG house show, the sides have flipped. Instead of Owens defending the United States Championship against AJ Styles, it will be AJ Styles defending it against Kevin Owens. I figure the title change had to have been made for a reason and that reason can't be "to give the title back to Owens at Battleground" or anything ridiculous like that, so I'm going with a retention here.

PREDICTION: AJ Styles retains the championship.


SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match: The Usos (c) vs. The New Day

I'd have to imagine this is where The New Day become champions, since the lame count out finish at Money in the Bank was a means to stall this feud.

PREDICTION: The New Day win the belts here.


Flag Match: John Cena vs. Rusev

This is Rusev's return match as well as John Cena's, but we all know who the bigger star is here. This is Cena's match to lose and Rusev will just have to figure out something else to do after coming up short.

PREDICTION: John Cena wins.


No. 1 Contender's Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match: Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Lana vs. Natalya vs. Tamina

The winner of this match faces Naomi (or Carmella, if she were to cash in) at SummerSlam. I have to imagine this goes to Tamina, as it seems like she's the one building up something with supporting Lana in the fight against Naomi. It's strange how often they've booked Naomi to not defend her title on pay-per-views since she's won the belt. Why is that?

PREDICTION: Tamina gets the win.


Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Baron Corbin

This one is tough. Do they keep Nakamura in a strong position where he basically hasn't lost yet, sacrificing some momentum for Mr. Money in the Bank and falling victim to the same problems they've had before where the man who holds the briefcase keeps losing, or do they give Corbin the win so he can start building up to an eventual cash-in?

PREDICTION: The smart bet is that Corbin wins, since he's Mr. Money in the Bank. However, history has shown that WWE likes to have the briefcase holders lose matches, so I'm going with Nakamura.


Pre-Show Kickoff Match: Aiden English vs. Tye Dillinger

I'm glad Dillinger is on the card, but what? Why is this happening? They haven't been feuding with each other and we still have no Sami Zayn vs. Mike Kanellis match added to the mix, which would be a much better fit. Very strange choice. It would have even made more sense to have Chad Gable fight Aiden English so we'd have Gable doing something.

PREDICTION: Tye Dillinger wins, unless the reasoning behind this was some strange "lol wouldn't it be funny if English won a match?" mentality WWE could very well adopt, but I hope that's not the case, as Dillinger deserves much better than to be a jobber.

The Fashion Police

In some way, whether a match or a backstage segment, The Fashion Police are supposed to find out who trashed their office.

PREDICTION: Since it's unlikely to be The Hype Bros or The Ascension or The Colons, I'd imagine we need a new tag team to debut on the SmackDown roster, but I have no idea who that could be. Here's hoping it isn't Blake and Murphy or The Singh Brothers.


Mike Kanellis vs. Sami Zayn

It took them a while to announce this, but at least they finally did, even if it was Wednesday night on YouTube. Strange. Anyway, this match can go either way, but I can see WWE merely replicating the exact same results from SmackDown and hoping nobody cares that they rinsed and repeated.

PREDICTION: Kanellis wins.