After a lack of interest heading into the pay-per-view, Stomping Grounds was a show that exceeded expectations.
Given that there weren’t really any surprises at the PPV, that’s probably mostly due to expectations being set too low. Nothing on the show was dramatically better than it should have been. The PPV succeeded where most good WWE shows do. Even if the build was underwhelming, a talented roster was able to go out to the ring and have good matches throughout much of the card.
The biggest weakness of Stomping Grounds wasn’t a surprise either. It lacked a high-level main event, with the latter half of the card failing to capitalize on the momentum that had been building since the pre-show.
Drew Gulak won the Cruiserweight Championship before the main card got underway, defeating Tony Nese and Akira Tozawa in a triple threat match.
The Bryan & Vinny Show is back today with a few special guests who also attending WWE Stomping Grounds, producer Rob and our friend Marty, who managed to barter his way into a hell of an evening. We’ll talk all the matches on the show, the live experience, the good and bad of Tacoma, and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Going into Stomping Grounds, WWE had yet to announce the special guest referee for Seth Rollins vs. Baron Corbin.
The reveal was left until right before the main event started, with Corbin choosing Lacey Evans to referee the Universal title match. Evans being the referee played into Rollins and Becky Lynch’s real-life relationship being part of their on-screen characters. After Evans slapped Rollins and low blowed him near the end of the match, Lynch came down and took out Evans.
Referee John Cone then counted the pin for Rollins as he retained the Universal title after hitting a Curb Stomp on Corbin.
Evans had added no countout and no disqualification stipulations during the match to help Corbin. She also refused to count to three for Rollins.
In storyline, Corbin got to pick his own referee for the match. The stipulation stemmed from Corbin losing to Rollins at Super ShowDown after Corbin got into an argument with Cone.
Lynch retained the Raw Women’s Championship by submitting Evans with the Dis-Arm-Her in the opening match of the Stomping Grounds main card.
The United States and Cruiserweight titles both changed hands at Stomping Grounds.
Ricochet defeated Samoa Joe to become the new United States Champion. After Joe moved out of the way of a 630 attempt, Ricochet hit a codebreaker and landed the 630 to win the title.
Ricochet was greeted by Triple H, Seth Rollins, Curt Hawkins, Zack Ryder, Carmella, Charlotte Flair, and Heavy Machinery backstage after the match. Later in the show, there was a segment where Ricochet was taking part in a photo shoot. Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, and AJ Styles walked up to him, with Styles telling Ricochet that he’ll see him on Raw tomorrow.
This is the first title that Ricochet has held on the main roster. He was also North American Champion during his time in NXT.
On the pre-show, Drew Gulak defeated Tony Nese and Akira Tozawa in a triple threat match to win the Cruiserweight Championship. Nese was champion heading into the match but didn’t take the fall. Nese was sent to the outside, then Gulak hit a torture rack neckbreaker on Tozawa to become WWE Cruiserweight Champion for the first time in his career.
The Universal Championship will be on the line as Seth Rollins and Baron Corbin face off at Stomping Grounds in Tacoma, Washington tonight.
There will be a special guest referee for the Universal title match, with Corbin getting to pick the ref in storyline. WWE has yet to reveal who the ref will be. Rollins retained against Corbin at Super ShowDown earlier this month after Corbin argued with referee John Cone.
In another rematch from Super ShowDown, WWE Champion Kofi Kingston will defend his title against Dolph Ziggler. This time, it will be a steel cage match.
Becky Lynch will again defend the Raw Women’s Championship against Lacey Evans, and the SmackDown Women’s title will be up for grabs as Bayley takes on Alexa Bliss.
The other matches set for tonight are: Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre, Samoa Joe vs. Ricochet for the United States Championship, Daniel Bryan & Rowan vs. Heavy Machinery for the SmackDown Tag Team titles, Big E & Xavier Woods vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn, and a triple threat match between Tony Nese, Akira Tozawa, and Drew Gulak for the Cruiserweight title.
The pre-show begins at 6 p.m. Eastern time, with the main card starting an hour later.
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Pre-Show
The panel ran down the card for tonight. At one point, Xavier Woods and Big E joined the panel. Later, Ricochet joined the panel as well. Samoa Joe interrupted him on a split screen.
In the back, SmackDown tag team champions Daniel Bryan and Rowan were about to have an interview when referee Charles Robinson walked into the shot. Bryan freaked out and yelled at Robinson to leave.
Bryan complained about the tag teams being a joke. He said they’re saving the division and everyone should be thanking them. Bryan & Rowan promised to defeat Heavy Machinery later. Bryan demanded they keep all referees out of his shot. This was another great Bryan interview.
Drew Gulak defeated Tony Nese and Akira Tozawa to win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship
This was a good match. Gulak nailed Nese with a dropkick to start it off. Nese tried a backflip, but Tozawa moved. Nese landed on his feet. Nese rolled up Tozawa and caught Gulak in a German suplex for a double pin near fall.
Nese cartwheeled off the apron and nailed Gulak with a superkick. Tozawa nailed a suicide dive on Nese. He then took out Gulak with a dive off the apron. Tozawa hit a dropkick for a near fall on Nese, but Gulak broke up the pin.
Gulak hung Nese on the middle rope and then gave Tozawa a suplex onto Nese. Gulak applied the Gulak Lock on Nese. Tozawa broke up the move with a huge senton.
Nese hit a springboard moonsault onto Gulak’s knees, but Tozawa broke up the pin. In an excellent sequence, Nese attempted a superplex, but Tozawa fought back. Nese ended up in the tree of woe. Gulak jumped up and gave Tozawa a superplex. Nese pulled himself up and missed a 450 Splash. Nese rolled up Gulak, but Tozawa hit a shining wizard for a close two count. The fans reacted big to this near fall.
Nese hit the running Nese on Gulak, but Tozawa rolled him up for a two count. Nese fought back and gave Tozawa a buckle bomb. The finish came when Nese ended up on the apron. Tozawa rocked Nese with a dropkick, which sent him into the barricade. Gulak then hit the Torture Rack into the neck breaker to win the Cruiserweight championship.
Main Show
Raw Woman’s Champion Becky Lynch defeated Lacey Evans to keep the title
On commentary, Michael Cole pushed the idea that Lynch and her boyfriend Universal Champion Seth Rollins have significant title defenses tonight. Corey Graves noted Lynch shouldn’t worry about Rollins title defense later.
The fans popped big for Lynch and chanted “Becky.” Evans rolled to the floor, but Lynch threw her back in. Evans attempted a kick, but Lynch caught the leg. Lynch was firmly in control and sent Evans into the turnbuckles.
Evans whipped Lynch into the corner. Lynch attempted a back kick off the second turnbuckle, but Evans was too far and missed. They re-did the spot and got it on the second try.
Evans dragged Lynch by her hair and wrapped her around the ring post. Evans worked over the ribs and arm. Lynch was selling the ribs but did the Matrix out of a pin attempt. Lynch locked on an armbar, but Evans made the ropes.
Evans pulled out a cloth, wiped herself and, then dropped it on Lynch. Lynch made a comeback and shoved the cloth in Evan’s mouth. She missed a leg drop off the second turnbuckle.
Evans hit a modified stunner and nailed Lynch with a boot for a two count. The finish came when Evans missed a moonsault and Lynch locked on the Dis-arm-her for the win. Evans tapped out immediately. The commentators highlighted the quick tap out in the replay. Graves said it was a good idea to tap out immediately.
Kayla Braxton interviewed Paul Heyman as he walked out of Baron Corbin’s locker room. Braxton wondered if Heyman would be the special referee for later. Heyman pointed out that the WWE Champion Kofi Kingston and Universal Champion Seth Rollins are here as well. Heyman walked off
Corbin stepped out of his locker room. He announced that he had chosen his special referee and picked an unbiased referee that will call it down the middle. After, he’ll deal with Brock Lesnar.
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn defeated The New Day
The bell rang, and Owens superkicked Big E off the apron. He rocked Woods with a superkick and hit a frog splash for a near fall. Big E made it back up on the apron. The heels isolated Woods and cut him off from Big E.
Woods almost made the tag, but Zayn knocked Big E off the apron again. Woods fought back, and Big E got the hot tag. He ran wild on the heels and hit a big splash on Zayn for a near fall.
Woods lifted Big E on his shoulders and dropped him on Zayn. New Day set up for Up Up Down Down, but Zayn shoved Big E into the ring post. Woods landed on his feet, but Zayn caught Woods with a kick.
Zayn hit the Helluva kick, and Owens followed up with the pop-up powerbomb for a very close two count. Big E speared Zayn through the ropes. Woods climbed up, but Owens tripped him up. Owens hit the stunner on Woods for the win.
Nikki Cross approached Alexa Bliss in the back. Cross can’t wait for the world to know the real Bayley like they do. Bliss said it’s them against Bayley and the world.
Ricochet defeated Samoa Joe to win the United States Championship.
This was a good match with lots of good back and forth action. Ricochet used a tilt-a-whirl head scissors and dropkick to send Joe to the floor. Joe moved out of the way of a sliding dropkick. He took over and sent Ricochet back first into the apron.
Ricochet fought back, but Joe quickly regained control. Joe slowed the pace down with a chin lock. Ricochet fought back and rocked Joe with a kick to the head. He followed up with a hurricanrana and a springboard clothesline. Ricochet hit a dive to the floor.
Ricochet hit a missile dropkick and moonsault for a two count. Joe caught Ricochet with a power slam for a near fall. Ricochet attempted a handspring elbow, but Joe caught him with a German suplex. Joe then hit a huge clothesline for a very close near fall.
Joe locked on the Coquina Clutch, but Ricochet made it to the apron. Ricochet went for the 630, but Joe moved.
Ricochet rolled through, and Joe hit a clothesline. Ricochet landed on his feet and caught Joe with the code breaker. Ricochet hit the 630 splash on Joe to win the U.S. title.
In the back, Seth Rollins, Heavy Machinery, Carmella, Charlotte Flair, Curt Hawkins, and Zack Ryder congratulated Ricochet on his win. Triple H also congratulated him.
SmackDown Tag Team Champions Daniel Bryan & Rowan defeated Heavy Machinery to keep the titles
Bryan got a massive reaction from the hometown fans. They broke into a gigantic “Daniel Bryan” chant. Rowan was about to start the match, but the fans chanted for Bryan. Otis and Bryan went back and forth. The fans booed Otis anytime he had the advantage.
Bryan fought back with kicks, but Otis slammed him down. Rowan made the blind tag and took out Tucker. He slowed the pace down and worked over Tucker’s neck.
Bryan hit the running dropkick in the corner, and Rowan followed up with a big splash. Bryan worked over Tucker’s leg. At one point, the fans broke into a “Drive A Prius” chant.
Bryan hit the running dropkicks in the corner on Otis but, Otis countered the third kick with a powerbomb for a near fall. The fans booed Otis and broke into a “Daniel Bryan” chant. Otis missed the Vader Bomb.
Bryan rocked Otis with the Yes Kicks, but he absorbed them. He fought back and hit the Caterpillar. Tucker missed a moonsault, but his legs still caught Bryan. Otis and Rowan traded clotheslines in the middle of the ring.
Bryan made the blind tag and took out Otis. He attempted a suicide dive, but Tucker nailed him. Tucker hit a crossbody to the floor on Rowan. In the ring, Tucker went after Bryan, but Bryan used a small package for the win.
Bliss had the early advantage. She slowed the pace down and applied a chin lock. Bayley briefly fought back, but Bliss took back over. Bliss slapped Bayley, but Bayley fought back with a clothesline. Bayley caught Bliss with a big knee that sent her to the floor.
Bayley missed the dropkick through ring post, and Bliss sent Bayley shoulder first into the ring post. Bliss worked over Bayley’s shoulder and arm. Bliss attempted a tilt-a-whirl, but Bayley countered with a back suplex.
Bayley gave Bliss the sunset flip bomb into the turnbuckle. Bliss rolled to the floor and Cross checked on her. Bayley attempted a suicide dive on Bliss, but she pushed Cross in the way. Bliss took over with a sunset flip bomb on the floor.
Bliss went up for Twisted Bliss, but Cross came in the ring. She was mad at Bayley for hitting her with the suicide dive. The referee made Cross leave the ring. Bayley went up after Bliss, but she pushed her off. Bliss went for Twisted Bliss, but Bayley got her knees and hit the Bayley-to-Belly for the win.
They recapped Drake Maverick defeating R-Truth to win the 24/7 Championship last week on SmackDown. R-Truth regained the title at Maverick’s wedding. Maverick’s wife posted a tweet that she wants a divorce, and the fans booed.
In the back, new U.S. champion Ricochet was taking pictures when Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows approached. They joined in on the photo shoot. AJ Styles approached and told Ricochet he’ll see him tomorrow.
Roman Reigns defeated Drew McIntyre (w/Shane McMahon)
McIntyre and Reigns brawled in the aisle way before the bell rang. Reigns hit a huge dive over the top rope to the floor. Reigns chased McMahon through the crowd. This gave McIntyre the chance to gain control.
Reigns made a brief comeback, but McIntyre used a suplex for a near fall. He slowed the pace down and worked over the arm. They traded stiff shots in the middle of the ring. Reigns set up for the Superman Punch, but McMahon jumped up on the apron. Reigns hit the Superman Punch on McMahon instead.
McIntyre and Reigns brawled on the floor. Reigns missed the Drive-by and McIntyre dropped him face first on the announce table. McIntyre then gave Reigns a superplex for a two count. McIntyre set up for the Claymore kick but Reigns countered with backslide for a near fall.
McIntyre hit the Glasgow Kiss and climbed to the top. Reigns caught him with the Superman Punch for a near fall. Reigns hit the spear, but McMahon attacked the referee. The referee might have injured his knee during the attack.
McMahon dragged Reigns to the corner and hit coast-to-coast. McMahon threw the referee back in the ring, but McIntyre only scored a two count.
The finish came when McIntyre went for the Claymore Kick, but Reigns hit the Superman Punch. He tossed McMahon out of the ring and hit the spear on McIntyre for the win.
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston defeated Dolph Ziggler in a Steel Cage to keep the title
At the start of the match, Ziggler teased a superkick and Kingston teased the trouble in paradise. Ziggler tried to climb out, but Kingston pulled him back in. Ziggler attempted to slingshot Kingston into the cage, but Kingston held on. He tried to climb out, but Ziggler stopped him.
Kingston fought back and caught Ziggler with a dropkick off the second turnbuckle. Kingston shoved Ziggler into the cage and rolled him up for a near fall.
Kingston tried to climb out, but Ziggler pulled him back in. They fought on the top turnbuckle. Kingston shoved Ziggler off. Instead of escaping, Kingston hit a cross body. Kingston tried climbing out again, but Ziggler stopped him.
Ziggler and Kingston ended up on the very top of the cage. Ziggler tried to wiggle out, but they fell back in the ring. Kingston hit the SOS for a close two count. Ziggler attempted a suplex, but Kingston landed on his leg. Kingston injured his leg on the landing. Ziggler used a kneebar to work the leg.
Ziggler caught Kingston with a superkick, and Kingston almost fell out the door. Ziggler pulled him back in, but Kingston grabbed onto the steps. Kingston went for trouble in paradise and Ziggler locked on another submission.
Ziggler hit the Zig Zag for a two count. Kingston applied a front face lock, and Ziggler tried to escape out the door. Kingston dragged Ziggler back in, but Ziggler poked Kingston in the eyes. The finish came when Ziggler slowly crawled out of the cage door. Suddenly, Kingston leaped through the second rope over Ziggler for the win.
In the back, Drew McIntyre was furious about losing to Roman Reigns. Shane McMahon announced Reigns vs. McIntyre & McMahon in a handicap match tomorrow night on Raw.
WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins defeated Baron Corbin with Special Guest Referee Lacey Evans
On commentary, Michael Cole noted Rollins’ girlfriend Becky Lynch retained her title earlier tonight when she defeated Lacey Evans. Rollins came down to the ring with a steel chair. He promised to attack anyone that wants to be referee with the chair.
Corbin then introduced special guest referee Lacey Evans. The commentators pointed out that Rollins wouldn’t attack Evans. The fans broke into a huge “Becky” chant. Before the bell rang, Corbin attacked Rollins with the chair.
Corbin had the early advantage. The fans broke into a “This is Stupid” chant, and Renee Young agreed with the fans. The fans also broke into “CM Punk” and “Boring” chants. Corbin missed a clothesline, and Rollins rocked him with an enziguri. Rollins fired back with hard chops against the ropes.
Rollins hit the sling blade and blockbuster. He sent Corbin to the floor and followed up with a suicide dive. Rollins hit a knee and superkick, but Evans made a slow count. Corbin easily kicked out. The fans broke into another “Becky” chant. Rollins fought back and gave Corbin a powerbomb through the announce table.
Rollins demanded Evans count out Corbin, but she counted very slowly. Evans then changed the rules and made it a no count out match. Corbin regained control and hit a chokeslam for a near fall. Rollins made a comeback and hit a huge frog splash. Evans faked a shoulder injury so she couldn’t make the count. Corbin brought in a chair and beat down Rollins. Evans made the match no disqualification, and the fans broke into a massive “Becky” chant.
Rollins used the Falcon Arrow on the chair, but Evans wouldn’t make the count. Rollins got in Evans’ face, so she slapped him twice and kicked him. She then gave him a low blow. Corbin hit the End of Days, but Becky Lynch ran out and attacked Evans. Cole pointed out it’s no disqualification so Lynch can attack Evans.
John Cone is now the referee for the match. Corbin was unhappy because he’s the same referee from Super Showdown. Rollins made a comeback and hit the Curb Stomp for the win.
After the match, Lynch and Rollins hugged and celebrated. Lynch slapped Rollins on his butt and held the ropes open for him. They sat on the apron.
It was not unexpected that All Elite Wrestling would sell out its next major event, All Out, on 8/31 at the Sears Center in suburban Chicago, or even that it would do so instantly.
But what happened was still stunning. With only two matches announced, a Chris Jericho vs. Hangman Page match to determine the first AEW champion and the strategically announced Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley match released the day before tickets would go on sale with the hope of sparking a ticket rush, the 10,400 seat building sold out in 15 minutes, the length of time it took to process that number of tickets. That was neither surprising, nor the story.
The story was, according to professionals in the ticket industry, was that the show had the most activity when tickets first went on sale of any ticket to a pro wrestling event in history by a wide margin.
Akira Tozawa and Drew Gulak will both be challenging for the Cruiserweight Championship at Stomping Grounds.
After last week’s number one contender’s match ended without a definitive winner, WWE announced on tonight’s 205 Live that Tony Nese will defend the Cruiserweight title against Tozawa and Gulak in a triple threat match at Stomping Grounds on Sunday.
Tozawa, Gulak, Humberto Carrillo, and Oney Lorcan faced off in a number one contender’s match on 205 Live last week. It ended with Gulak and Tozawa pinning each other at the same time, setting up the triple threat match for Stomping Grounds.
Gulak hit a superplex on Tozawa at the end of the number one contender’s match. They both went for a cradle on the mat and simultaneously pinned each other.
The Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington is hosting Stomping Grounds on Sunday. Here’s the updated card for the pay-per-view:
Universal Champion Seth Rollins defending against Baron Corbin (special guest referee to be announced)
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston defending against Dolph Ziggler in a steel cage match
Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch defending against Lacey Evans
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley defending against Alexa Bliss
Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre
United States Champion Samoa Joe defending against Ricochet
SmackDown Tag Team Champions Daniel Bryan & Rowan defending against Heavy Machinery (Tucker & Otis)
The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Tony Nese defending against Akira Tozawa and Drew Gulak in a triple threat match
The SmackDown Tag Team titles will officially be on the line at Stomping Grounds.
WWE has announced that SmackDown Tag Team Champions Daniel Bryan & Rowan will defend their titles against Heavy Machinery (Tucker & Otis) at Sunday’s pay-per-view. The show is taking place at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington.
Heavy Machinery defeated The B-Team (Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas) on tonight’s SmackDown. Bryan and Rowan were on commentary for the match, with Bryan pushing that Tucker and Otis are legitimate athletes but are too focused on joking around.
Bryan & Rowan’s program with Heavy Machinery began on the May 28 episode of SmackDown. They accepted a challenge from Heavy Machinery but refused to face them that night.
The updated lineup for Stomping Grounds is listed below:
Universal Champion Seth Rollins defending against Baron Corbin (special guest referee to be announced)
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston defending against Dolph Ziggler in a steel cage match
Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch defending against Lacey Evans
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley defending against Alexa Bliss
Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre
United States Champion Samoa Joe defending against Ricochet
SmackDown Tag Team Champions Daniel Bryan & Rowan defending against Heavy Machinery
The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
A tag team match has been added to this Sunday’s Stomping Grounds card.
Two members of the New Day, Big E and Xavier Woods, will face off against Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. This stems back to the weeks following WrestleMania, where Kevin Owens replaced Big E as a member of the New Day until he turned his back on the team, laying out Kofi Kingston. Owens, alongside on again/off again friend Zayn have continued the feud in recent weeks.
Despite not being a part of tonight’s wildcard rule list, The New Day appeared tonight on Raw to take on Baron Corbin, Zayn and Owens in a six man tag match. It was mentioned just as the match was starting that this tag match was added to Stomping Grounds.
The other member of The New Day, WWE champion Kofi Kingston, will face Dolph Ziggler in a cage match on Sunday in a rematch from Super Showdown.
Stomping Grounds will take place at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington.
After winning a number one contender’s elimination match, Ricochet is set to challenge for Samoa Joe’s United States Championship at Stomping Grounds on Sunday (June 23).
Ricochet defeated The Miz, Braun Strowman, Bobby Lashley, and Cesaro in the five-way elimination match. Joe tried to attack Ricochet after, but Ricochet sent him over the ropes and took him out with a dive.
Strowman eliminated Cesaro and Lashley in the number one contender’s match. Despite being eliminated, Lashley gave Strowman a spear and Cesaro hit a Neutralizer on Strowman. That allowed Ricochet to eliminate Strowman after hitting a 630. Cesaro and Lashley helped Ricochet pin Strowman.
Strowman attacked Ricochet, Lashley, and Cesaro after, but Ricochet ended up winning by hitting a Codebreaker and 630 on Miz.
Stomping Grounds is taking place at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. Here’s the updated card for the pay-per-view:
Universal Champion Seth Rollins defending against Baron Corbin (special guest referee to be announced)
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston defending against Dolph Ziggler in a steel cage match
Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch defending against Lacey Evans
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley defending against Alexa Bliss
Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre
United States Champion Samoa Joe defending against Ricochet
There will be a special guest referee for Seth Rollins and Baron Corbin’s Universal Championship match at Stomping Grounds.
That stipulation was announced on Raw tonight, though WWE has yet to reveal who the referee will be. In storyline, Corbin gets to pick the special guest referee.
Hoping that Corbin would repay the favor if he becomes champion, Sami Zayn wanted to be the referee. Zayn was the outside referee for Rollins vs. Kevin Owens in the main event of this week’s Raw. Rollins was about to defeat Owens, but Zayn disqualified Rollins for hitting Zayn when he hit a suicide dive on Owens.
Rollins attacked Zayn at the end of this week’s Raw. Corbin came out and attacked Rollins, but Rollins countered when Corbin went to hit him with a chair. Rollins then laid out Zayn with chair shots and a stomp as Corbin watched from the ramp.
Paul Heyman cut a promo on Raw and said he and Brock Lesnar will no longer announce when Lesnar is going to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase. Heyman teased that Lesnar could be the referee at Stomping Grounds.
Rollins retained the Universal title against Corbin at Super ShowDown last Friday. Corbin tried to bring a steel chair into the ring at the end of the match. Corbin and referee John Cone argued, and Rollins rolled up Corbin to get the win.
Stomping Grounds is taking place at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington on June 23. Here’s the current lineup for the show:
Universal Champion Seth Rollins defending against Baron Corbin (special guest referee to be announced)
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston defending against Dolph Ziggler in a steel cage match
Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch defending against Lacey Evans
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley defending against Alexa Bliss
Three title matches have been added to the card for Stomping Grounds.
Universal Champion Seth Rollins will defend his title against Baron Corbin, Kofi Kingston will defend the WWE Championship against Dolph Ziggler in a steel cage match, and Becky Lynch will defend the Raw Women’s Championship against Lacey Evans. All three of those matches were announced during today’s Super ShowDown broadcast.
Rollins vs. Corbin and Kingston vs. Ziggler are both rematches from Super ShowDown.
Rollins retained against Corbin at Super ShowDown after Corbin argued with the referee. Corbin tried to bring a steel chair into the ring, Corbin and referee John Cone argued, and Rollins rolled up Corbin to get the win.
Corbin gave Rollins the End of Days after the match. Brock Lesnar came out with a steel chair and his Money in the Bank briefcase, but he never cashed in. Rollins low blowed Lesnar, repeatedly hit him with chair shots, and gave him a curb stomp on the MITB briefcase.
The steel cage stipulation for Kingston vs. Ziggler at Stomping Grounds was set up by their match today. After Ziggler superkicked Xavier Woods on the outside, Woods kicked Ziggler when the referee wasn’t looking. Kingston then hit Trouble in Paradise on Ziggler to win.
Ziggler did a post-match interview backstage, calling Kingston a coward and demanding the steel cage match.
Lynch and Evans’ storyline has continued since Lynch defeated Evans at Money in the Bank last month. On this week’s Raw, Lynch caused Evans vs. Charlotte Flair to end in a disqualification.
Stomping Grounds is taking place at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington on June 23. Bayley will defend the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Alexa Bliss at the pay-per-view, and Roman Reigns will face Drew McIntyre.
Raw’s Alexa Bliss will challenge for Bayley’s SmackDown Women’s Championship at Stomping Grounds.
On tonight’s SmackDown, Bliss defeated Charlotte Flair and Carmella in a number one contender’s triple threat match to get the title shot at Stomping Grounds. Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville got involved in the match and tried to pull Carmella out of the ring, which led to Bliss hitting a DDT on Carmella and getting the win.
Bliss was appearing on SmackDown as part of the Wild Card rule. The number one contender’s match was set up when Bayley appeared on Bliss’ Moment of Bliss talk show segment earlier in the episode.
Stomping Grounds is taking place at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington on June 23. The pay-per-view replaced Backlash on WWE’s schedule. Backlash was originally scheduled for San Diego, California on June 16, but it was canceled when Super ShowDown moved from May to June.
It was stated on this week’s Raw that Roman Reigns will face Drew McIntyre at Stomping Grounds.
A WWE pay-per-view is officially set for Tacoma, Washington this June.
The Tacoma Dome announced today that they’ll be hosting WWE Stomping Grounds on June 23. This will be the first time WWE has used the Stomping Grounds PPV name.
Backlash was originally scheduled to take place at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California on June 16, but that was canceled and replaced by Stomping Grounds. The June 16 event in San Diego is now a house show. Dave Meltzer reported in the most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the switch of dates and locations for the PPV was pretty much a done deal.
WWE’s next show in Saudi Arabia is now scheduled for June 7, which would have meant Backlash would have taken place nine days after that show.
Tickets for Stomping Grounds will go on sale to the general public this Friday (May 3) at 10 a.m. Pacific time. The pre-sale will start this Wednesday (May 1) at 10 a.m. Pacific. The Tacoma Dome is advertising Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton for the PPV, though whether that match will happen or not remains to be seen.
Everett, Washington is hosting the June 24 episode of Raw.
