WWE Stomping Grounds 2019 Review

Written By Token

I can't be the only one that went into this show saying, "This won't be a good show", but I'll gladly admit I was wrong! The buildup to these matches have been underwhelming over the past few weeks as they're mostly rematches from Super Showdown and MITB. As for the matches themselves, I must say they didn't turn out to be so bad after all......well, I can't say that for every match. Let's take a look at what went down last night!

Tony Nese (C) Vs. Drew Gulak Vs. Akira Tozawa (WWE Cruiserweight Championship)

Talk about a match that SHOULD HAVE NOT been on the preshow! This was an excellent triple threat match as all 3 guys gave it their all prospectively! Tozawa delivered some amazing dives as Tony was very hard hitting and Gulak showed his technicality. All 3 styles combined here made this into an incredible match. Gulak at one point had a submission hold on Nese but then Tozawa came out of nowhere with the Senton Splash for the near fall! Gulak and Nese continue to brawl as Nese attempted the Running Knee in the corner but Gulak countered it. Gulak then attempts a Torture Rack Neckbreaker but Nese lands on the apron but gets taken out by Tozawa. Gulak picks up Tozawa and nails him with the Torture Rack Neckbreaker for the win! Drew Gulak wins the Cruiserweight Championship and I'm happy for him!

Becky Lynch (C) Vs. Lacey Evans (WWE RAW Women’s Championship)

This match was just no good. Botches happen and that's okay, but there were quite a few in the match that was just disturbing to watch. Not in a disgusting way, but would just make people shake their heads. Lacey pulled off some new moves throughout the match while Becky would fight back any time she was in trouble, and the fans were behind her 100%. Becky locked on the Dis-Arm-Her to Lacey and she tapped immediately! Becky Lynch retained her RAW Women's Championship!

Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn Vs. The New Day

The bell rings then KO nails Big E, who was on the apron, with a Superkick and performs multiple Frog Splashes to Xavier Woods. Xavier Woods kicks out of them but they were enough to slow him down in the match in the beginning. Big E finally gets the hot tag and goes wild on the opponents, nailing multiple Belly to Belly Suplexes to Zayn. Xavier Woods tags back in but almost loses as he was hit with a Helluva Kick from Zayn then a Pop up Powerbomb by KO for the near fall as Big E broke up the pin at the last minute! KO and Woods are now alone as Woods was gonna hit a diving attack but KO stops him and performs the Stunner for the win for his team! This match was good I must say!

Samoa Joe (C) Vs. Ricochet (WWE United States Championship)

Good match between these two! Started off a little slow but picked up as the match went on. Ricochet's selling in this match was just hilarious though as he would flip onto the mat and spread his legs wide open whenever taking a big move. He would come back with some big moves of his own and would attempt a 630 Splash but Joe swiped him out of the way. Joe hits a clothesline but Ricochet counter-flipped it and hits the Codebreaker then finally nails the 630 Splash for the win! Ricochet wins the United States Championship and I must say I'm happy for him but at the same time I was disappointed because I just wished that Joe would've had a lengthy run with the title.

Daniel Bryan & Rowan (C) Vs. Heavy Machinery (WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championships)

Daniel Bryan got a HUGE ovation during this match as this PPV was in his home state of Washington. Heavy Machinery were booed loudly but that was to be expected since Bryan was loudly cheered. The match itself was good as Otis and Tucker did well in their attempt to capture the Tag titles. Rowan went toe to toe with those guys but whenever Bryan would come in the fans would erupt as he would go to town on them. Tucker was the legal man as Otis and himself tried to hit the Compactor on Rowan but Bryan makes the sneak tag and takes out Otis. Tucker takes out both guys but once he tried to pin Bryan, Bryan would roll him up for the win for his team! Bryan and Rowan retained the Smackdown Tag titles!

Bayley (C) Vs. Alexa Bliss (WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship)

Decent match here as fans were hot in the beginning for both Alexa and Bayley. Alexa worked over Bayley's right arm in order to slow her down throughout the match. Bayley fought back and even almost had the match won at one point. Alexa herself almost had the match won as she attempted the Twisted Bliss but Bayley blocked it with her knees. Bayley then nails the Bayley to Belly Suplex for the win, retaining the Smackdown Women's Championship!

Roman Reigns Vs. Drew McIntyre

Both guys went at it before the match even started! Now for the match itself, I don't know what it was but I just couldn't get into it. The wrestling was fine, but that was about it. Shane McMahon was ringside so you knew he was gonna get involved. Drew leaped off the top rope but catches a Superman Punch in mid air then as Roman almost had the match won, Shane pulled the referee out of the ring. Shane took this opportunity to hit the Coast to Coast to Roman and throws the referee back into the ring as Drew covered Roman but he kicked out. Roman nails another Superman Punch then Shane tries to get involved again but Reigns tosses him out of the ring. Roman hits a Spear and gets the win! Roman DID NOT need this win. I absolutely hope this will be the end of the rivalry between these two. As for Shane, I can see him continuing to feud with Roman that will comminate at Summerslam.

Kofi Kingston (C) Vs. Dolph Ziggler (Steel Cage; WWE Championship)

Another match that I honestly couldn't get into. The match itself was a little boring but there was a cool spot I liked during it. The cage door was open at one point when Ziggler delivered the Superkick to Kofi and Kofi fell down, but he fell by the opened cage door and was hanging halfway out of the door! Ziggler grabbed him just in time to continue the match. Ziggler hits the Zig Zag then covers Kofi for the near fall and tries to come up with another way to pin him but failed. Both guys are out by the end as Ziggler crawls to the opened cage door while Kofi is a couple feet away from him. Realizing that Ziggler is about to win, Kofi's only answer to this was to do a Suicide Dive out of the ring onto the floor! Kofi retains the WWE Championship in an underwhelming Cage Match, but that was a very cool finish to the match.

Seth Rollins (C) Vs. Baron Corbin (WWE Universal Championship)

Before the match, Baron Corbin announced the special guest referee and it turned out to be none other than Lacey Evans! The match itself was fine but wasn't too special at first. Fans weren't interested at first as they kept chanting randomly while Corbin was beating down Seth. Whenever Seth would pin Corbin, Lacey would do the usual heel tactic by counting slow. Match started to pick up as both guys were outside of the ring then Rollins Powerbombs Corbin through one of the announce tables! Lacey starts counting to 10 but once she got to the count of 9, she changes the stipulation by eliminating counts outs. Corbin then starts attacking Seth with a chair and obviously Lacey was allowing it. Seth got the upper hand by hitting the Falcon Arrow but Lacey yet again didn't count to three as she pretended to have a bothered right shoulder. Seth gets angry by this point and gets into Lacey's face then suddenly she slaps him twice and kicks him in the gut! Once that happened, I knew immediately was what gonna go down next. Corbin hits the End of Days but before covering Rollins, Becky runs out and attacks Lacey! Another referee steps in and this distracted Corbin as Rollins hits the Curb Stomp for the win! Seth Rollins retains the Universal Championship and celebrates with Becky to end the PPV!

This PPV overall was surprisingly good even though it had its downs. Good matches, but most of these matches really needed some good storytelling in them. Going forward, WWE really needs to build up their PPVs better because even though the matches deliver occasionally, the stories going into the matches are lackluster and that's something they need to change in order to get people excited for these kind of shows in the future.

Show Rating: 7.3/10