:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/46779578/20150614_Battleground_LIGHT_matches-HP_PTPNewDay.0.0.jpg)
Tag Team Championship
The Matchup:
The WWE Tag Team Champions, Darren Young and Titus O'Neil of the Prime Time Players, defend their titles for the first time against the New Day at the Battleground pay-per-view, being held in the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The Prime Time Players are at a disadvantage because they will not know which members of the New Day-Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, and Big E-will compete until the match begins.
The Road to Battleground:
Last month, the New Day were basking in the power of positivity. Fresh off successfully defending the Tag Team Championships in the first ever tag team Elimination Chamber match, Kofi Kingston was announced as one of the participants in the annual Money in the Bank ladder match. New Day made their intentions known of winning that match and using the "Freebird Rule" with the MITB briefcase, while continuing to dominate the tag team division.
On an episode of SmackDown, the Prime Time Players defeated the Ascension and the Lucha Dragons in a triple threat match to become the new number one contenders for the Tag Team Championship. Their opportunity would arrive at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view. Since Kofi had been thoroughly wrecked in the MITB ladder match earlier in the evening, specifically by Roman Reigns powerbombing him atop of a ladder and then, later, outside the ring onto everyone else, Xavier Woods joined Big E in defending the titles. It did not go well.
NEW . . . TAG CHAMPS!
NEW . . . TAG CHAMPS!
Show 'em how you feel, Titus:
Well, New Day certainly were not dancing. Though they have been through some trying times as of late, Xavier, Kofi, and Big E remain those beacons of positivity for the WWE Universe and have picked up some wins leading into the rematch between the two teams. The only issue here is that the Prime Time Players have also looked impressive, gaining victories over other teams in the division.
The Stakes
The WWE Tag Team Championship is on the line. These two teams simply do not like each other, so bragging rights on which is the better team is also a motivation for getting a victory. I predict that the New Day win the titles for a third time. But I am an unforgiving New Day mark so I just want them to win. It seems as though they would be better to carry the division through the remainder of the summer at least.
Who do you think wins the battle for tag team supremacy?
WWE Battlefield Battleground airs Sunday, July 19 on the WWE Network at 7 pm central time. Join us here at Cageside Seats in the live thread!