wrestling / TV Reports
Watry’s WWE Stomping Grounds 2019 Review
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...– Big fan of starting the pay-per-view with Becky Lynch vs. Lacey Evans. Always a bonus to know what is beginning a show, plus a bout that had such high stakes. Becky Lynch may be champion, but her coming out first set the tone. I don’t get caught up in all those little ‘unwritten rules’ in wrestling so whatever. Becky retaining was the right call, definitely predictable but certainly correct. If Lacey Evans was going to get the title so soon, it would have happened last month. Not after losing clean once before. Makes the most sense to have Becky Lynch run with the belt for awhile. She DID defeat Ronda Rousey in the main event of WrestleMania 35 for crying out loud. Back down the card for Lacey I assume until her next shot at the top of the division…
– Slick vignette for Ali. I wrote about him in my 20 Bold Predictions for 2019 column six months ago. His move to the main roster will NOT be wasted. Make no mistake, fans know his talent as do those in power. He may be getting a Sting like vigilante gimmick going here. Ali is the hero in all of us. I dig it. Also dig the ongoing teases for Baron Corbin’s special guest referee pick. Doubt it is Paul Heyman or Brock Lesnar.
– Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn beat Big E and Xavier Woods. Nothing to it. A mild upset due to the Smackdown LIVE Tag Team Title scene. Moving on…
– My potential match of the evening was Ricochet vs. Samoa Joe for the United States Championship. A tad bit disappointed these two did not get 30 minutes and a legitimate chance to steal the show. Still, great match here that was in and out and delivered. Ricochet is the new U.S. Champ! Very exciting. I bet Kacy is super proud of Trevor. My feeling was Joe would retain if Rey Mysterio was due back soon (coming for revenge). If the opposite, then you go with Ricochet. I know the usual fans will whine and cry about Joe losing on PPV again. I don’t care. Ricochet had this moment waiting for him since getting called up. If anything, that allows Joe to move UP the card. Awesome scene afterwards behind the curtain too. Kudos for that scene to truly get the point across. Nobody does it better than WWE.
– Daniel Bryan and Rowan over Heavy Machinery to remain Smackdown Live Tag Team Champions. I won a little side bet with my girlfriend during this one (take a shot). She had picked ol’ Tucky Tucky for whatever reason. I had the champ retaining. Just sucks that WWE always loves to have their stars lose in their home state. Oh well…
…oh wait.
– Bayley defeated Alexa Bliss to keep the Smackdown LIVE Womens Championship. The real story of this match was never the result. We knew that going in. The story was how Nikki Cross would react before, during, and after the bell. We saw that play out. She still believes everything Bliss has told her. Kinda sad for her because the truth will sting that much more. However, Bayley gets a cool victory on pay-per-view and a little redemption from her previous battles with Alexa Bliss, Either way, this felt like a big match that was tossed out there for Stomping Grounds when it could have and should have meant more. My assumption is Bayley sticks on the blue brand, and Bliss heads back to the red brand exclusively to sort out her ‘friendship’ with Nikki. Interesting.
– First pay-per-view of 2019 without a Shane McMahon match. Imagine that. We are in late June. Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns was a match on the stacked WM35 card this year. It did not mean a lot because Reigns was still getting his feet wet (and hair wet?), and Drew just so happen to be the sacrificial heel lamb. We all love Reigns being healthy and able to return to the squared circle, but the company never planned on him being back so soon, so plans had to be made quickly for him. I get it. Here though? it seems like a chapter in the Shane McMahon story more than anything. Reigns and McIntyre are again getting the short end of the stick. They could/should be headlining events right now for a title. Not being pawns in the Best In The World’s game. The two worked hard and put on a good showing. Of course, they would. Both are pros. Just feel there is something missing from these matchups. The highlight of the battle was the fact that Shane McMahon can still do his Coast To Coast finisher. Otherwise, crowd was into the action and were very lively throughout. Big Dog Strong in the end. Reigns got screwed at Super Showdown, so he got his win back at Stomping Grounds. Fine. Bring on the Extreme Rules stipulation in July.
– I mentioned this twice before, but there was very little interest in Kofi Kingston vs. Kevin Owens. Then there was very little interest in the initial Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler. I subtly brought this fact up on the 411 Foresight Wrestling Podcast to suggest fans enjoyed the chase but aren’t enjoying the actual title run for Kofi. Well, here we are yet again. This time with a steel cage added to (hopefully) capture some buzz. Not entirely sure it worked. The match was solid, but none of these are striking me as WWE CHAMPIONSHIP LEVEL bouts. Aren’t clicking. Three title defenses in a row now. Keep an eye on this fact going forward. Kofi winning and Dolph losing – the story of 2019. Credit to who came up with the finishing sequence. Pretty cool.
– Wasn’t there an Intercontinental Title match on this show? Finn Balor vs. Andrade? No? Okay. My bad.
– I must say I was intrigued by the special guest referee hook. As long as it was somebody debuting or we haven’t seen in awhile, the payoff would have worked for me. My expectations were not THAT high but yeah, it has been fun trying to guess. Just giving a quick shout to WWE for actually making a Seth Rollins vs. Baron Corbin main event rematch somewhat interesting. Takes a lot. As for the Stomping Grounds match itself…
– My girlfriend and I (take a shot) were discussing who the ref would be during the entrances. She had Bobby Lashley. No idea why. I had Bray Wyatt… or Lacey Evans. It was the payoff to all the foreshadowing that has been happening as of late with the Becky Lynch-Seth Rollins relationship. You knew it was coming. Also fit the idea that Rollins could not hit her with a steel chair. Made sense. Like I said, expectations had to be keep at a minimum. I mean, it is Stomping Grounds. Your fault if you were waiting for CM Punk or some WWE Hall of Famer returning. Lacey is both shocking enough and still goes with logical story telling. Once the announcement was made, you had to suspect a two on one situation. Seen it a million times. Basic heel/face Pro Wrestling 101. Only a matter of time until Becky Lynch came out. Similar to Backlash 2000 with Stone Cold Steve Austin. The live crowd anticipated the arrival and once things turned into No Disqualification, all bets were off. Great finish. As I always write about, being predictable is not a bad thing when done right.
– For the record, my girlfriend (take a shot) is a casual wrestling fan. She was screaming at Lacey Evans and ate up with everything. Hook, line, and sinker. It may have been ‘boring’ to some of us diehards, but she was cheering like crazy when Becky came out to save the day. That is being a fan and what my last column was about.
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