Dolph Ziggler def. Damien Sandow (Kickoff Match)

In the explosive Battleground Kickoff Match, Dolph Ziggler conquered Mr. Money in the Bank Damien Sandow in their first-ever singles match, scoring a huge victory with the Zig Zag on WWE’s newest pay-per-view.

Exclusive Kickoff match photos

The furious conflict between The Showoff and “The Intellectual Savior of the Masses” — streamed live on WWE.com, the WWE App, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo!, Google+, Samsung Smart TVs, Xbox, Sony PS3, Pinterest and Pheed — quickly proved itself a fitting precursor to a pay-per-view predicated on the field of battle.

Prior to the bell, the always-confident Sandow pledged to the “Unwashed Masses” that he would decimate his opponent. He also hinted that — if conditions seemed right — he might also choose Battleground to cash in his guaranteed Money in the Bank contract opportunity on either Alberto Del Rio or Rob Van Dam.

And despite Sandow’s ability to grab near fall after near fall in the height of the action, the resilient Ziggler refused to give in. As a result, Sandow opted to kick things up a notch by removing his protective knee pad and launching a knee-infused blitzkrieg on the former World Heavyweight Champion. However, his strategy unraveled moments later, when he injured his knee and cleared the way for The Showoff to triumph with the Zig Zag.
 
While Ziggler has found himself bogged down in a series of confrontations with COO Triple H and The Shield in the past month, his pre-pay-per-view victory will certainly catapult the dynamic Superstar back into contention for a number of WWE  championships.

And although the ruthless Sandow ultimately fell short — clutching his knee in pain — the WWE Universe have surely not seen the last of him. After all, he is still our “Uncrowned World Heavyweight Champion!”