The 2017 Battleground was the fifth annual Battleground professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's SmackDown brand division. The event took place on July 23, 2017, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This was the final Battleground held until 2023, as Battleground was expected to return as a Raw event in 2018, but following WrestleMania 34 in April that year, brand-exclusive PPVs were discontinued, resulting in WWE reducing the amount of yearly PPVs produced. In 2023, the Battleground event was revived for WWE's developmental territory, NXT.
Promotional poster featuring Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton
The event was held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
SmackDown is a brand of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE that was established on March 25, 2002. Brands are divisions of WWE's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on a weekly basis when a brand extension is in effect. Wrestlers assigned to SmackDown primarily appear on the brand's weekly television program, Friday Night SmackDown, also referred to simply as SmackDown. It is one of WWE's two main brands, along with Raw, collectively referred to as WWE's main roster. The brand extension was discontinued between August 2011 and July 2016.
Stephanie McMahon was the first SmackDown General Manager
WWE Hall of Famer Theodore Long served as SmackDown General Manager twice, lasting a combined six years
Image: Cody Rhodes with his Undisputed Championship (Birmingham UK, April 2024) (3) (cropped)
Image: Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley 2017 05 12 22 17 58 ILCE 6500 DSC05420 (34569288882) (cropped)