Honestly, with the way the WWE have been going lately I was going to skip the Stomping Grounds PPV. With the Super Showdown still fresh in a lot of fans memory, this PPV wasn’t doing it for me. If you read online, fans have been shitting on the product for a while now. With the emergence of AEW and their successful, Double or Nothing the WWE have got to get things right. I’m not one on the AEW bandwagon because you can throw events together, but we’ll see after months being on TV. Anyways, I’m happy to say that I’m glad to tune into the PPV because it wasn’t bad at all. Let’s go over everything and see the final verdict. Let’s see how things turned out at the inaugural Stomping Grounds PPV.
We kicked things off with Becky Lynch defending her Raw Women’s Championship against Lacey Evans. These two battled at the Money in the Bank PPV and Evans cost Lynch the SmackDown Women’s title. This match had its moments and I think Evans has a bright future. Earlier on in the match, Lynch seemed to be frustrated with Evans because she’s still green. Throughout the match, Evans showed great athleticism in the match. Lynch showed how great she is in the ring as she put on a great amount of offense on Evans. Evans goes to the top but Becky cuts her off and sends her to the mat. Lynch immediately applies the Disarm-Her and Evans taps out as soon as it’s locked. Winner and Still Raw Women’s Champion: Becky Lynch
Match Rating: 3/5- Not a bad opening match between these two.
We had the New Day taking on Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. They have been feuding for a while now and Big E even said that Owens attacked his injured knee backstage. Kevin Owens started the match aggressively by taking out both Woods and Big E. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn had plenty of nearfalls in the beginning of the match. After working on Woods for a while, he finally made the hot tag to Big E. Big E put in work while taking out Owens & Zayn. Big E hits a big Spear, sending Sami from the apron to the floor and the barrier. Woods with an enziguri to Owens. Woods goes to the top, but Owens knocks him off. Owens nails a big Stunner to Woods and covers for the pin to win. Winners: Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
Match Rating: 3.75/5- This was a really good tag match between these four.
Samoa Joe put up his United States Championship against Ricochet. As we all know, Samoa Joe got his championship back after Rey Mysterio injured his shoulder. Ricochet won a Fatal 5-Way match on Raw to become the new #1 contender for the title. Throughout the match, Samoa Joe used his power on Ricochet along with his speed and agility. Ricochet is just amazing and his pushed has been well done since hitting the main roster. Joe goes for the Coquina Clutch, but Ricochet breaks free and drops Joe over the top rope, sending him to the mat. Ricochet goes to the top now as fans cheer him on. Ricochet lands on his feet as Joe moves. More back and forth. Ricochet drops Joe over his knees. Ricochet goes to the top and hits the 630 for the pin to win the title. Winner and New United States Champ: Ricochet
Match Rating: 4.25/5- This was a really good match. Awesome match and a great moment when Triple H greeted Ricochet as he waited for him in the Gorilla Position.
We had Daniel Bryan & Rowan defending their SmackDown tag titles against Heavy Machinery. These two teams have been going at each other over the last few weeks. With Daniel Bryan being in this match, we knew it would be good. In NXT, Heavy Machinery showed potential and this match proved they’re here to stay. With the Stomping Grounds PPV being in Washington, the crowd was clearly behind Daniel Bryan. Bryan did his thing in this match, but Otis from Heavy Machinery is very impressive. For a big man, Otis is agile, and he still have the power. Bryan runs the ropes for a dive to Tucker but Tucker rocks him at the ropes. Tucker leaps and takes out Rowan on the floor. Tucker rushes back into the ring but Bryan immediately rolls him into the pin to retain. Winner and Still SmackDown Tag Champs: Daniel Bryan & Rowan
Match Rating: 3.5/5- This was another really good match and would love for this feud to continue.
Bayley put up her newly won SmackDown Women’s Championship against Alexa Bliss. This feud between these two have gotten personal and Nikki Cross have been tossed in. Alexa Bliss have had a long history of concussions and this match scared me at moments. This was a really good wrestling match between these two. Bliss done a lot of work on the arm of Bayley and Bayley used her power throughout the match. Cross hit the ring as Bliss was going for her finisher after Bayley hit her with a suicide dive. Bliss pushes Bayley back to the mat and goes for Twisted Bliss but she lands on knees. This leads to Bayley hitting the Bayley-to-Belly suplex for the pin to retain. Winner and Still SmackDown Women’s Champ: Bayley
Match Rating: 3/5- This was a pretty match between these two. Where will things go with Nikki Cross costing Bliss the championship.
We have a WrestleMania rematch as Roman Reigns taking on Drew McIntyre. Roman Reigns have been feuding with Drew McIntyre along with Shane McMahon for a while now. McIntyre helped Shane McMahon beat Reigns at the Super Showdown event. The match between these two was really physical as expected between them. Coming into the match, my thinking was that McIntyre needed this match badly. As expected, Shane McMahon got involved several times. In the end, Drew readies for a Claymore now, yelling at Reigns to get up. Drew charges for it but Reigns nails a Superman Punch instead. Shane charges but Reigns sends him back to the floor. Reigns follows up with a big Spear to Drew for the pin to win. Winner: Roman Reigns
Match Rating: 3/5
Kofi Kingston defended his WWE Championship against Kofi Kingston. These two faced each other at Super Showdown and Xavier Woods helped Kingston retain. With that happening, this match was held inside a steel cage. As far as this match, these two worked their asses off as the crowd was definitely into it. They put on a good wrestling match with Ziggler trying to escape several times throughout the match. In the end, Ziggler tries to crawl out of the door again. Kofi grabs his legs and pulls him back. Ziggler with a thumb to the eye and a kick to the face to knock Kofi back. Ziggler has the door opened again as he tries to crawl out once again. Kofi leaps over Ziggler and lands on the floor first, winning the match and retaining the title. Winner and Still WWE Champion: Kofi Kingston
Match Rating: 3.5/5
We had the main event as Seth Rollins defended the Universal Championship against Baron Corbin. These two met each other at the Super Showdown also and afterwards, this rematch was announced. Many fans hated Corbin, but I’m actually a fan of his as he’s an agile big man. Lacey Evans was chosen to be the special guest referee. Throughout the match, she wouldn’t acknowledge Rollins pinning Corbin. When Corbin had the pin, she made several fast counts. After getting into it with Rollins, she hit the low blow and that brought out Lynch. She cleared the ring of Evans, the new referee came, and Rollins hit the Stomp for the win. Winner and Still Universal Champ: Seth Rollins
Match Rating: 2.75/5
Overall Rating: 7/10- The Stomping Grounds PPV was much better than expected. Below are my top 3 matches of the night. The triple threat Cruiserweight match was probably the second best match of the night. Vince need to do more with 205 Live because those guys can work. With great tag team action last night, the WWE need to push the tag divisions. We have teams like the Usos, Revival, Viking Raiders and a few other teams who didn’t wrestle.
- Samoa Joe© vs. Ricochet
- New Day vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
- Daniel Bryan & Rowan© vs. Heavy Machinery
What did you think about the Stomping Grounds PPV? What was your favorite match or matches from the Stomping Grounds PPV? Leave some feedback about anything related to the Stomping Grounds PPV.
