| Stomping Grounds | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuringRoman Reigns | |||
| Promotion | WWE | ||
| Brand(s) | Raw SmackDown 205 Live | ||
| Date | June 23, 2019 | ||
| City | Tacoma, Washington | ||
| Venue | Tacoma Dome | ||
| Attendance | 6,000[1] | ||
| Tagline | Kick Ass and Take Names | ||
| WWE event chronology | |||
| |||
Stomping Grounds was aprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV) andlivestreamingevent produced byWWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion'sRaw,SmackDown, and205 Livebrand divisions. The event took place on June 23, 2019, at theTacoma Dome inTacoma, Washington. It was a one-off event.
Nine matches were contested at the event, including one on the Kickoff pre-show. In the main event,Seth Rollins defeatedBaron Corbin in ano countout,no disqualification match to retain Raw'sUniversal Championship withLacey Evans as thespecial guest referee. In other prominent matches,Kofi Kingston defeatedDolph Ziggler in aSteel Cage match to retain SmackDown'sWWE Championship,Ricochet defeatedSamoa Joe to win Raw'sUnited States Championship, andRoman Reigns defeatedDrew McIntyre.
WWE's establishedeventBacklash was originally scheduled to be held on June 16, 2019, inSan Diego, California. On April 29, however, it was announced that Backlash had been canceled and would instead be ahouse show while apay-per-view (PPV) andlivestreaming event titled Stomping Grounds would instead be held on June 23, 2019, at theTacoma Dome inTacoma, Washington. Stomping Grounds featured wrestlers from theRaw,SmackDown, and205 Livebrand divisions. In addition to airing on PPV, the event was livestreamed on theWWE Network.[2][3] Tacoma Dome was the site ofWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW)'sSpring Stampede PPV in 1999 and the failed WCWre-launch that occurred on July 2, 2001, broadcast ofRaw is War betweenBooker T andBuff Bagwell for theWCW World Heavyweight Championship.
The event comprised nine matches, including one on the Kickoff pre-show, that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brands,[4][5] while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows,Monday Night Raw,SmackDown Live,[6] and thecruiserweight-exclusive205 Live.[7]
DuringSeth Rollins'Universal Championship defense againstBaron Corbin atSuper ShowDown, Corbin got into an argument with refereeJohn Cone, allowing Rollins to roll-up Corbin to retain the title. After the match, Corbin attacked Rollins with the "End of Days" and a title rematch was scheduled for Stomping Grounds.[8] On the followingRaw, Corbin revealed that he was able to convince WWE officials to allow him to choose a special guest referee for their rematch, since he felt that it was Cone's fault for him losing at Super ShowDown.[9] Corbin was going to chooseElias, but he was attacked by Rollins, who followed suit and continued to attack Corbin's other potential choices:EC3 andEric Young onRaw,[10] and The B-Team (Curtis Axel andBo Dallas) onSmackDown. Corbin's decision on the special guest referee remained unknown before Stomping Grounds.[11]
AtMoney in the Bank,Bayley won the women'sMoney in the Bank ladder match and later that night cashed in the contract onCharlotte Flair to win theSmackDown Women's Championship.[12] On the June 4 episode ofSmackDown, Flair competed in atriple threat match againstCarmella and Raw'sAlexa Bliss, who appeared via thewild card rule, in order to earn a rematch against Bayley for the title at Stomping Grounds. Bliss, however, won the match, thus Bliss earned the title match.[13]
AtWrestleMania 35,Roman Reigns defeatedDrew McIntyre.[14] Reigns was then drafted to SmackDown in theSuperstar Shake-up, while McIntyre joined forces withShane McMahon, but lost another match to Reigns by disqualification when Reigns appeared on the May 6 episode ofRaw via the wild card rule.[15] At Super ShowDown, Shane defeated Reigns thanks to a Claymore from McIntyre while the referee was incapacitated. Afterwards, another match between Reigns and McIntyre was scheduled for Stomping Grounds.[8]
At Money in the Bank,Becky Lynch retained theRaw Women's Championship againstLacey Evans, who in turn caused Lynch to lose her SmackDown Women's Championship to Charlotte Flair that same night.[12] After more feuding onRaw, another match between Lynch and Evans for the Raw Women's Championship was scheduled for Stomping Grounds.[8]
At Super ShowDown,Kofi Kingston defeatedDolph Ziggler to retain theWWE Championship thanks to interference from fellowNew Day memberXavier Woods. Following the match, an irate Ziggler claimed he would have beaten Kingston had it not been for Woods and then challenged Kingston to aSteel Cage match for the title at Stomping Grounds and Kingston accepted.[8]
On the May 14 episode ofSmackDown,Sami Zayn, who appeared via the wild card rule, became involved inKevin Owens' feud against The New Day (Kofi Kingston,Big E, andXavier Woods).[16] The following week, Kingston defeated Zayn.[17] On the May 28 episode, Kingston defeated Owens in a non-title rematch from Money in the Bank.[18] The following week, Woods and Kingston defeated Owens and Zayn.[13] On the June 11 episode, The New Day defeated the team of Dolph Ziggler, Owens, and Zayn.[19] On the followingRaw, wild card guests The New Day defeated the team of Owens (also appearing via the wild card rule), Zayn, and Baron Corbin in atwo out of three falls match. A tag team match between New Day's Big E and Woods againstOwens and Zayn was then scheduled for Stomping Grounds.[10]
On the June 11 episode of205 Live, afatal four-way match betweenDrew Gulak,Humberto Carrillo,Oney Lorcan, andAkira Tozawa occurred to determine the number one contender againstTony Nese for theWWE Cruiserweight Championship on the Stomping Grounds Kickoff pre-show. The match, however, ended with both Gulak and Tozawa scoring a double pin.[20] The following week, 205 Live General ManagerDrake Maverick decided that Nese would defend the title against both Gulak and Tozawa in a triple threat match.[21]
On the June 10 episode ofRaw,United States ChampionSamoa Joe was a guest onThe Miz's "Miz TV", only to get interrupted byBraun Strowman,Bobby Lashley,Ricochet, andCesaro, each stating a claim to challenge Joe for his title.[9] The following week, afatal five-way elimination match between Strowman, Lashley, Ricochet, Cesaro, and Miz occurred to determine Joe's challenger for the title at Stomping Grounds, which was won by Ricochet.[10]
AfterSmackDown Tag Team ChampionsDaniel Bryan andRowan berated the SmackDown tag team division on the May 28 episode ofSmackDown,Heavy Machinery (Otis andTucker) interrupted and challenged the champions to a title match, which was accepted but for a later time.[18] On the June 11 episode, Bryan and Rowan were set to have atitle unification match with thekayfabe Yolo County Tag Team Champions, a couple of "local" wrestlers with cardboard belts. Heavy Machinery came out before the match and accused Bryan and Rowan of avoiding their challenge. Bryan said that Heavy Machinery needed to earn the opportunity and had them instead face the enhancement talent, who Heavy Machinery quickly defeated.[19] Bryan and Rowan were then scheduled to defend the SmackDown Tag Team Championship against Heavy Machinery at Stomping Grounds.[11]
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| English commentators | Michael Cole(Raw) |
| Corey Graves(Raw/SmackDown) | |
| Renee Young(Raw) | |
| Tom Phillips(SmackDown) | |
| Byron Saxton(SmackDown) | |
| Vic Joseph(205 Live) | |
| Nigel McGuinness(205 Live) | |
| Aiden English(205 Live) | |
| Spanish commentators | Carlos Cabrera |
| Marcelo Rodríguez | |
| German commentators | Carsten Schaefer |
| Tim Haber | |
| Calvin Knie | |
| Ring announcers | Greg Hamilton(SmackDown/205 Live) |
| Mike Rome(Raw) | |
| Referees | Danilo Anfibio |
| Mike Chioda | |
| John Cone | |
| Lacey Evans | |
| Darrick Moore | |
| Charles Robinson | |
| Rod Zapata | |
| Interviewers | Charly Caruso |
| Kayla Braxton | |
| Pre-show panel | Jonathan Coachman |
| Charly Caruso | |
| Booker T | |
| David Otunga |
During the Stomping Grounds Kickoff pre-show, Tony Nese defended 205 Live's WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Drew Gulak and Akira Tozawa. In the climax, after Nese was pushed out of the ring, Gulak performed anArgentine neckbreaker on Tozawa to win the title.[22]
The actual pay-per-view opened with Becky Lynch defending the Raw Women's Championship against Lacey Evans. In the end, Lynch forced Evans to submit to the"Dis-Arm-Her" to retain the title.[23]
Next, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn faced The New Day (Big E and Xavier Woods). In the end, Owens performed astunner on Woods to win the match.[23]
After that, Samoa Joe defended Raw's United States Championship against Ricochet. The end came when Ricochet performed aRecoil and a630° senton on Joe to win the title. Immediately after the match, Ricochet was congratulated backstage by Seth Rollins,Curt Hawkins,Zack Ryder,Carmella, Charlotte Flair, Heavy Machinery (Otis and Tucker), and WWE Chief Operating OfficerTriple H.[23]
In the fourth match, Daniel Bryan and Rowan defended the SmackDown Tag Team Championship against Heavy Machinery (Otis and Tucker). In the end, Tucker performed a cross-body on Rowan on the outside of the ring. Bryan then pinned Tucker with a small package to retain the titles.[23]
Next, Bayley defended the SmackDown Women's Championship against Raw's Alexa Bliss (who was accompanied byNikki Cross). During the match, Bayley performed a suicide dive on Cross. In the end, Cross inadvertently distracted Bliss. Bliss attempted"Twisted Bliss", however, Bayley countered by raising her knees. Bayley performed a"Bayley-to-Belly Suplex" on Bliss to retain the title.[23]
After that, Roman Reigns faced Drew McIntyre (accompanied by Shane McMahon). During the match, Shane attempted to distract Reigns on numerous occasions. Reigns performed a Spear on McIntyre only for Shane to pull the referee out of the ring during a pinfall attempt. Shane performed a Coast-to-Coast on Reigns and McIntyre scored a nearfall. In the end, as McIntyre attempted a "Claymore", Reigns countered with asuperman punch and performed aspear to win the match.[23]
In the penultimate match, The New Day's Kofi Kingston defended SmackDown's WWE Championship against Dolph Ziggler in a Steel Cage match. In the end, as Ziggler was attempting to crawl out of the cage door, Kingston jumped over Ziggler and through the door to escape the cage first to retain the title.[23]
In the main event, Seth Rollins defended the Universal Championship against Baron Corbin, who revealed the special guest referee to be Lacey Evans. Throughout the match, Evans favored Corbin as a way to redeem herself from her loss earlier in the night against Becky Lynch, Rollins' real-life girlfriend. After Rollins performed apowerbomb on Corbin through the English announcers' table, Evans counted up to 9 before changing the stipulation of the match to aNo Countout match. Corbin then attacked Rollins with a steel chair that Rollins brought earlier. Rather than disqualifying Corbin, Evans added that the match was now also aNo Disqualification match. Corbin attempted to perform aDDT on Rollins on the steel chair, only for Rollins to counter and performed a"Falcon Arrow" to Corbin onto the steel chair. Rollins attempted a pin on Corbin only for Evans to refuse. An irate Rollins turned his attention to Evans, who slapped and performed a low-blow on him, allowing Corbin to perform the"End of Days" on Rollins. Before Evans could count the pin, however, Lynch ran out and brawled with Evans. Referees emerged and separated Lynch and Evans, one of them beingJohn Cone, who in turn replaced Evans as referee, much to Corbin's dismay. In the climax, as Corbin attempted another "End of Days", Rollins countered into asuperkick and followed up with"The Stomp" to retain the title.[23]
The event received mostly positive critical reactions. Jason Powell ofPro Wrestling Dot Net described Stomping Grounds as a "straight forward show" that ended in a "polarizing" main event. Though the "wrestlers worked hard", the show featured "bad title feuds" that Powell wished would end. The main event angle was judged more worthy of aRaw than a pay-per-view, Kingston-Ziggler "suffered from it being so difficult to believe that Ziggler was a threat", and Reigns-McIntyre was "very good", but McIntyre "still seems like he's just another guy they are feeding to Reigns rather than someone they have a real plan for". Also, "WWE has been labeling Ricochet as a sensation and this win is the first time they've actually made him feel like it".[23]
Erik Beaston ofBleacher Report praised the event, giving the Rollins-Corbin match the highest grading of A+, quoting "This was an outstanding example of the theatricality of professional wrestling and a throwback to an era when storytelling was as integral a part of any given match as the ring work itself", and the SmackDown Tag Team Title Match and the New Day vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn both received the second-highest grade of A. The Raw Women's Championship Match received the lowest grading of C, quoting "This was a match in which it never felt like the competitors were on the same page. The action was disjointed, the psychology wonky at times and the finish came from out of nowhere".[24]
The event received 11,000 pay-per-view purchases,[25] but live attendance was one of the lowest of WWE's PPV history. Due to the low attendance, the TV side of the arena was tarped off in order to make the arena look more full during the television broadcast of the event.[26]
Stomping Grounds would be a one-off event for WWE, asBacklash was reinstated for June the following year.[27]
The following night onRaw, a brawl broke out between Universal Champion Seth Rollins, Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch, Baron Corbin, and Lacey Evans. This led to alast chancewinners take allmixed tag teamextreme rules match for both the Universal and Raw Women's championships being scheduled forExtreme Rules.[28][29]
Roman Reigns faced Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre in ahandicap match. Shane and McIntyre dominated Reigns untilThe Undertaker came to his aid, setting up ano holds barred tag team match at Extreme Rules.[28][30]
OnSmackDown, Dolph Ziggler faced WWE Champion Kofi Kingston in atwo out of three falls match in order to be inserted into the championship match at Extreme Rules, but was unsuccessful.[31]
Nikki Cross apologized to Alexa Bliss, feeling that it was her fault that Bliss lost.[28] OnSmackDown, wild card guest Cross defeated Bayley to earn Bliss a rematch for the SmackDown Women's Championship at Extreme Rules.[31]
Heavy Machinery (Otis and Tucker) earned another opportunity for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship at Extreme Rules by defeating the team of Kevin Owens and Dolph Ziggler.[30]
On205 Live, Tony Nese defeated Akira Tozawa to earn a rematch against Drew Gulak for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship at Extreme Rules.[32]