WWE Stomping Grounds Review 06/23/2019

Hello Misfits! It’s the Wrestling Classic here with my review for WWE Stomping Grounds. This was the first ever Stomping Grounds PPV. I had really low expectations going into and the card didn’t appeal to me much. However, it was too close to home for me not to attend the event live. I live in Vancouver and Tacoma was just a three hour drive so whether the show had me excited or not, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to see some live WWE action. 

The entire hard camera side besides the floor was tarped off due to low ticket sales and we got upgraded floor seats due to our area being tarped off. Although, we had updated floor seats we still snuck up to seats in the upper bowl to get a better view as everyone in our section decided to stand for the show than sit. There may have been low ticket sales but the crowd the that showed up was loud and happy to be there. I feel like fans who dont spend too much time online that didn’t read or see that their was a portion of the arena tarped off wouldn’t notice that it was because of the active crowd. 

The creative may not be the greatest, but it doesn’t change the fact that the roster is stacked with talent. There are seven championship matches and a few matches to settle grudges. Most of the time the events that I have the lowest expectations for exceed my expectations. Let’s find out if Stomping Grounds followed that pattern.

Image via WWE.com

This show is coming to us from the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington.

– The show opened up with great hype video for the event.

– The commentating is split between the Raw and Smackdown teams. Michael Cole, Renee Young and Corey Graves will call the Raw matches while Tom Phillips, Byron Saxtpn and Corey Graves will call the Smackdown matches. Nigel McGuiness, Vic Joseph and Aiden English are there for the 205 Live match.

Cruiserweight Championship
Drew Gulak def. Tony Nese (C) & Akira Tozawa
in 11:20 by pin fall
 If you read my reviews regularly, you know I usually miss the kick-off show. I was there live this time though, so I had the pleasure of being there for the kick-off. I have to say that the 205 guys really put on one helluva match. It was fast pace, hard hitting and had multiple believable false finishes. The crowd was really into it and it got them fired up. Gulak picked up the win after hitting the argentine neck breaker on Tozawa. I couldn’t be happier that Gulak won. He has been one of my favourites since the reboot of the cruiserweight division and inception of 205 Live. Drew always stood out and had character above being a really good in ring technician. It’s about time he got his run with the championship. This was a banger of a kick-off show match and if these are the quality of matches I’ve been missing on the kick-offs or even more importantly 205 Live, than I need to invest some time to watch back at some matches.

Raw Women’s Championship
Becky Lynch (C) def. Lacey Evans
in 11:30 by submission
Becky Lynch went from main eventing Wrestlemania and defending two championships at Money in the Bank…to kicking off shows like Stomping Grounds. It all made sense why this match kicked off the show by the end of the show but initially I was thrown off. It was similar to Royal Rumble where they had Becky and Asuka kick off the show because they had plans for her later in the night. This was a solid match. There were some sloppy spots where you could easily put the blame on Lacey. Regardless, I admire how well Lacey has been doing since being pushed this hard so fast in a big program without really getting to settle in. Becky won which wasn’t what I predicted to happen because I felt like they needed to do something with her to shake things up again because the sizzle around her character seemed to have cooled off. They found a different way to do that by the end of the night and also continue this feud between Lacey and Lynch. This match was solid but nothing unforgettable.

– There was a video package for Ali where he is walking the street talking about the heart he has. There were people dealing with their inner demons and I’m pretty sure Ali made a lady quit drinking by looking at her. Thats one way to cure alcoholism. This might feel like a reboot of Fatu’s “making a difference” gimmick but I’m sure its going to be great.

– Kayla Braxton was outside of Baron Corbin’s locker room door and she said Paul Heyman was in the room. Heyman was asked if he’s going to be the referee in the Corbin/Rollins match later, but Heyman avoided it. Heyman simply mentioned that Seth Rollins and Kofi Kingston were there, so he teased that Lesnar could be there. Heyman left. Baron Corbin walked out of the room saying if she keeps hanging out there he will think she wants more than information. That’s not a PG insinuation. Anyway, Corbin said he found his referee and he left.

Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn def. The New Day (Xavier Woods & Big E)
in 11:05 by pin fall
This was one of my favourite matches of the night. I wasn’t so excited for this match because I felt like it was just thrown on the card for the sake of beefing up the card without any real tension between the two teams. If anything Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn have been a thorn in the sides of Rollins and Kofi rather than Woods and Big E? Maybe, I’m just missing stuff. They made sure this match didn’t follow the typical tag team match formula and it I really appreciated that. Owens and Zayn were aggressive right off the bat and they had The New Day fighting from under. Owens and Zayn tried to make quick work of The New Day but they wouldn’t stay down. They kept a great pace throughout the match and everyone looked good by the end of it. The fans were chanting for all four guys by the end of the match. Owens picked up the victory after hitting the stunner on Woods. I’m really glad that Owens and Zayn picked up the victory since they have been losing a ton on weekly television as of late. I highly recommend checking this match out to anyone who skipped out on Stomping Grounds.

United States Championship
Ricochet def. Samoa Joe (C)
in 12:25 by pin fall
This was a clash of styles that meshed to tell a great story. I was really curious to see how Ricochet’s speed and flappy style would vibe with Joe’s hard-hitting submission style. Similar to Joe’s feud with Mysterio, it ended up being a great contrast of style. This was an excellent match. It went back and fourth allowing both guys to show their strengths. Joe showcased his veteran experience while Ricochet hit Joe with his unique offence. They had several sequences in the match where it looked like one guy was going to hit a big move, then there was a counter and it kept getting better. Richochet picked up the victory after a codebreaker and a 630 splash. I was shocked to see Ricochet win but it was a pretty cool moment. Ricochet is the future and if they continue to book him strong this way going forward with some solid big victories, we could have future top star on our hands. Its time for Joe to move on to bigger things such as focusing on the Universal or WWE championship. Watch this match too.

– Ricochet was met backstage to applause and celebration with the likes of Seth Rollins, Carmella, Charlotte Flair and Heavy Machinery. He also had a brief moment with Triple H.

Smackdown Tag Team Championship
Daniel Bryan & Erick Rowen (C) def. Heavy Machinery
in 14:25 by pin fall
Daniel Bryan was over as hell in his home state. This was a solid match between the two teams in terms of quality and storytelling. This followed more of a formula than the tag match earlier in the show. This was almost a sprint to the finish. Heavy Machinery came out looking great even if they lost. Otis looked like a star the way he held his own against Bryan and Rowen at times. Otis has been the one that Bryan has been focusing on when claiming that Heavy Machinery likes to joke around more than take the division seriously and he came out to work tonight. Tucker looked great as well but is lacking some of that charisma Otis has. The finish came when Bryan caught Tucker with a small package. The right team won and with a finish that’ll allow us to see a rematch down the road.

Smackdown Women’s Championship
Bayley (C) def. Alexa Bliss w/ Nikki Cross
in 10:35 by pin fall
First things first, its so great to see Alexa Bliss back in the ring. If you haven’t seen her 365 special on the WWE Network, be sure to go check it out. These two always have decent matches but even though they tried to make it feel personal, it just lacked any heat. Although they have real-life tension, the matches between Alexa and Sasha always came off so much more believable and full of heat whereas these matches are technically good but lack any real excitement unless you’re big Bayley fan. Cross accidentally costing Bliss the win because Bliss couldn’t do her finisher when she wanted due to Cross getting in the ring. Bliss didn’t get to nail the Twisted Bliss successfully as Bayley got her knees up. This was followed by a Bayley-to-Belly that allowed Bayley to retain her championship. I still think Alexa and Nikki go after the tag team titles soon but we’ll see.

– Ricochet was shown getting a photoshoot with the US Title. The team of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson walked up to him. AJ Styles walked up to them and they all posed together. Styles congratulated Ricochet and said he would see him tomorrow night.

Roman Reigns def. Drew McIntyre w/ Shane McMahon
in 17:20 via pin fall
This match was better than their match at Wrestlemania, but the only issue here is that the wrong guy won. The fans are slowly getting back to booing Roman Reigns and this superman booking of his where he just doesn’t lose even though he’s against all odds is the reason why. I know he lost to Shane McMahon at Super Showdown in Saudi Arabia but I think a lot of us rule that one out because one it was against Shane McMahon and two it was on a show a lot of people like to think of as a glorified house show. McIntyre looked strong and got some really good offence on Roman including a brutal sounding reverse Alabama Slam on the announcers table. Although, I feel like this was just for Reigns to work from under and have more of a heroes comeback. Shane McMahon got involved a handful of times. He even hit a coast to coast on Reigns but that didn’t keep the Big Dog down. The spot where Shane pulled the referee out of the ring should have led to a DQ finish, but they could explain that by saying that the referee was too afraid to disqualify Shane because Shane is the boss. The finish came when Reigns hit a superman punch and spear on McIntyre for the win. I personally dont see how losing to Reigns twice does anything for Drew. However, Lashley once beat Reigns and that did nothing for him either.

Steel Cage Match
WWE Championship
Kofi Kingston (C) def. Dolph Ziggler
in 20:00 seconds by escaping the cage first
Dolph Ziggler gets a shot at Kofi Kingston once again but this time its in a steel cage so Kofi’s buddies can’t cause a distraction. Its off that the heel would request a steel cage match so that the babyface’s friends couldn’t get involved. Talk about backwards storytelling. The other thing I’m not a fan of when it comes to steel cage matches now is that its no longer just about escaping but superstars are able to win by pinfall or submission too. I loved the days when the only way you could win was by escaping. The match was solid but felt a little long. I feel like there was a lack of drama too because nobody really believed that Ziggler was going to win. I think it would have been awfully surprising if he did. There was also a lack of near falls or guys trying to escape. I feel like if someone is trying to escape through the door they should request the door to be open rather than the refs just opening it when someone starts heading that way. I found the finish to be very creative and I don’t recall it ever being done that way before. Ziggler was making his way out crawling through the doorway when Kofi leaped over him, through the ropes to hit the ground first. If you haven’t watched the entire match, be sure to check out the closing moments.

– Kofi Kingston was interviewed by Charly on his way up the ramp stating he respects Ziggler’s effort but Kingston said he would leave with his WWE Title and that’s what he did. New Day continued to celebrate.

– Drew McIntyre and Shane McMahon were shown walking backstage where Kayla Braxton showed up for an interview. Shane McMahon announced that Drew and Shane will face Roman Reigns in a 2 on 1 handicap match on Raw.

No Countout & No DQ
Special Referee – Lacey Evans
Seth Rollins (C) def. Baron Corbin
in 18:25 via pin fall
I have to admit, Lacey Evans being the special guest referee was a surprise. I didn’t see it coming as I was really expecting Lesnar or Heyman to be the ref. This was clever because Rollins was not going to beat up a women with a chair on WWE television. What became definite the moment Lacey Evans was announced as the special referee is that Becky Lynch would be getting involved in this match at some point. This made the Raw Women’s Championship match going on first make sense and proved that the WWE wants to run with using the real-life relationship between Becky and Rollins for TV. They’re both the leaders of their divisions and call themselves “The Man,” so it makes sense right? This is far from the first time the WWE has used real-life relationships on screen so I dont know why some people were complaining.
Anyway, the match was chaotic and a bit of a clusterfuck but in a good way. We’ve had a ton of straight up good matches on this card, so for the sake of variety I think this match being an overbooked story is perfectly fine. The one thing that stood out to me was that Lacey kept making new rules for the match which technically referee’s can’t do without approval but let’s just pretend this specific special referee was given full authority. Evans would do whatever she could to make sure Rollins couldn’t win. This led to a pissed off Rollins getting in Evans face only to be slapped twice and then a low-blow. Corbin capitalized with an End of Days but it was the low-blow by Evans that brought Becky Lynch out. John Cone came in the ring as the referee after Lynch took out Evans. Rollins fought back eventually hitting a curb stomp for the win. The show went off the air with Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch hugging and acting like the best of friends.

Final Thoughts
This show technically did not have a bad match. Every match delivered and was good in its own way. The crowd was alive even though it wasn’t a sell out crowd. The superstars delivered. The only issue is that nothing super memorable happened on this card that will make you remember it forever. I guess you can talk about Ricochet and Gulak becoming champions as memorable moments or even the entire Rollins/Lynch angle if you’re into those two that much but for me it was a solid wrestling show without anything extra. I think if you didn’t watch it and you have a free Sunday that you should definitely check it out. Be sure to check out Owens and Zayn vs The New Day, Ricochet vs Joe and the Cruiserweight Championship triple threat match. Ya Dig?
Final Rating – 6.5/10

What were your final thoughts on Stomping Grounds? What final grade would you give the event? Where would you rate it on a scale of ten? Do you agree with my review? Leave your comments, opinions and thoughts below in the comments section.