WWE Stomping Grounds took place on Sunday 23rd June at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. Some of the matches look decent so let's take a look.
The match on the Kick Off Show was a triple threat match for the Cruiserweight Championship as Tony Nese defends his title against Akira Tozowa and Drew Gulak. Highlights of the match include: Tozowa hitting a suicide dive on Nese followed by a cannonball on Gulak; Gulak suplexing Tozowa onto Nese; and Gulak putting Nese in the Gu-Lock, which is stopped by Tozowa hitting a Senton. Nese hits the Running Nese on Gulak but Tozowa tries to pin him with a schoolboy. Tozowa knocks Nese from the apron and Gulak hits a Torture Rack Neckbreaker on Tozowa to get the win. Triple threat matches withthe Cruiserweights are generally good and this one did not disappoint. I'm a little surprised that Gulak won only because I thought he would be Champion round about Summerslam. However, it is thoroughly deserved and I can't wait to see how Gulak does as Champion.
Winner: Drew Gulak (0 for 1)
The first match on the show is for the RAW Women's Championship as Lacey Evans challenges "The Man" Becky Lynch. Becky mocks Lacey and is absolutely dominant in the beginning. However, Becky hurts her midsection and Lacey takes advantage after hitting a reverse DDT. Becky gets back into it and applies an armbar. Both ladies try to win it but Becky gets Lacey to submit to the Dis Arm-Her to get the win. This was quite a good match although I thought that Lacey was a little sloppy.
Winner: Becky Lynch (1 for 2)
Next is The New Day taking on the team of Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. Owens takes out Big E on the apron then him and Zayn proceed to beat the fuck out of Xavier Woods. Woods manages to survive their assault but Owens and Zayn keep on preventing him from tagging in Big E. Eventually, Woods does tag in Big E, who destroys Zayn. Zayn and Owens come close when they hit a Helluva Kick followed by a Pop Up Powerbomb on Woods. In the end, after Big E spears Zayn off the apron, Owens hits a Stunner on Woods to get the win. This was a good match and I enjoyed the story that they told with Owens and Zayn taking out Big E at the beginning and focusing their assault on Woods.
Winners: Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens (2 for 3)
We now get a match that I was quite looking forward to seeing: Ricochet challenging Samoa Joe for the United States Championship. After mocking Ricochet, Joe sends him into the side of the ring to get the advantage. Ricochet hits 2 step up enziguris, giving him the chance to get back some momentum. Joe manages to apply the Coquina Clutch but Ricochet gets out of it by going through the ropes. He then goes on to hit a code breaker followed by the 630 Splash to get the win. This was a fun match to watch and I'm happy that Ricochet got the win.
Winner: Ricochet (3 for 4)
Next up is the Smackdown Tag Team Championship match as Heavy Machinery challenges "The New" Daniel Bryan and Rowan. Otis and Tucker use their strength to keep Bryan down. Bryan manages to tag in Rowan and he mows down Tucker with a running crossbody. Later on, Rowan hits his shoulder on the ring post and this gives Tucker the chance to tag in Otis. He goes on to hit the Caterpillar on Bryan. However, in the end, after Tucker takes out Rowan, Bryan puts him in a small package to get the win. This was a fun, back and forth match between the teams, which was a pleasant surprise. We all know how awesome Bryan is but I wasn't sure how this would go. After this, I was impressed with Heavy Machinery and hopefully, they will get another opportunity.
Winners: Daniel Bryan and Rowan (4 for 5)
We now get our second Women's Championship match as Alexa Bliss challenges Bayley for the Smackdown Women's Championship, even though Alexa is from RAW (go figure). Anyway, Alexa bounces Bayley's head off the turnbuckle to get the advantage. Alexa slaps Bayley in the face and she doesn't take well and clotheslines Alexa. Bayley starts her comeback and after she hits a sunset flip bucklebomb, Bayley hits Nikki Cross with a suicide dive when she was checking on Alexa. Alexa takes advantage of it and tries to hit Twisted Bliss. However, Bayley get the knees up then hits Belly-to-Bayley to get the win. The match was pretty good although I feel that it could have been better.
Winner: Bayley (5 for 6)
Next up is Roman Reigns taking on Drew McIntyre. McIntyre goes after Reigns as he is coming the aisle and the bell rings when they take the fight into the ring. After Reigns hits McIntyre with a suicide dive, he chases after "The Best in the World" Shane McMahon. However, McIntyre intercepts him and goes on to press his advantage with some help from Shane. McIntyre applies a triangle hold but Reigns gets out of it and hits a Samoan drop to start his comeback. Shane tries to interfere but he gets hit with 2 Superman punches. Later on, Reigns hits a Spear but Shane pulls the referee out of the ring. Shane then hits the Coast to Coast but Reigns kicks out. Reigns then goes on to hit another Spear to get the win. The match was pretty good and hopefully, he can move away from this feud with Shane. However, based on what happened at RAW the following night, I guess that isn't happening.
Winner: Roman Reigns (6 for 7)
The penultimate match is a Steel Cage Match for the WWE Championship as Dolph Ziggler challenges Kofi Kingston. Both guys both try to escape the cage early on before Ziggler gets the momentum. They spend most of the match throwing each other into the cage along with a few slaps. Kofi comes close after hitting a springboard crossbody and they end up fighting on top of the cage, falling to the ring after a headbutt. Kofi inadvertently gets the win after Ziggler almost superkicks him out of the door. In the end, Ziggler is on the verge of crawling out of the door but Kofi dives over him to the floor to get the win. Whilst I enjoyed the ending, I felt that it was a slow paced match, which surprised me. I feel that they could have had a better match.
Winner: Kofi Kingston (7 for 8)
The main event is Baron Corbin challenging Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship with a referee chosen by Corbin himself. That turned out to be Lacey Evans. As expected, Lacey lets Corbin get away with murder while doing a slow count whenever Rollins does a cover. Rollins powerbombs Corbin through the announce table and Lacey does start counting him out but then decides to make it a no countout match. After Corbin beats the fuck out of Rollins with a chair, Lacey again changes the rules to make it no disqualification. Rollins hits a falcon arrow but Lacey refuses to make a count. When Rollins confronts her, she slaps him then low blows him. This is enough to make Becky Lynch come out and attack Lacey. The referees come out to stop it and John Cone comes in to referee. When Corbin tries to hit the End of Days, Rollins gets out of it and hits the Curb Stomp to get the win.
I have mixed feelings about this match. Corbin getting Lacey Evans to be the referee, who has a grudge against Rollins' girlfriend Becky Lynch, is a quite clever choice. There were some decent moments but it wasn't as good as it could have been.
Winner: Seth Rollins (8 for 9)
I thought that most of Stomping Grounds was pretty good. Most of the matches were quite good and the Cruiserweight Championship was the best match of the night by a considerable distance. However, I feel that some matches, especially the main event, could have been better.
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