Stomping Grounds - 6/23

[#AbsoluteUnit]

Not digging Booker's beard.

[BaconBits]

I want Corbin to win tonight. Seth’s reign has been hot garbage, because face Seth is hot garbage.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

^Well, you're not wrong.

[BaconBits]

Becky has cooled off pretty significantly since Mania.

[Yer Maw]

Anyone in the UK staying up until 4 to watch this? I know I'm not.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

ok that was cool

edit: not steen and zayn winning

[BaconBits]

Anyone in the UK staying up until 4 to watch this? I know I'm not.

Youâ??ll be bummed when you find out itâ??s Ernest â??The Catâ? Miller as special guest ref.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

Bayley is looking like she's about to lose her title.

[BaconBits]

Bayley is looking like she's about to lose her title.

I’d be okay with that. Having an autistic teenager as your champ is a bad look.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

I’d be okay with that. Having an autistic teenager as your champ is a bad look.

Meh.

[Yer Maw]

Youâ??ll be bummed when you find out itâ??s Ernest â??The Catâ? Miller as special guest ref.

Somebody call my momma!!

[#AbsoluteUnit]

YES! I called Samoa Joe would lose the U.S. Championship before Extreme Rules.

[BaconBits]

YES! I called Samoa Joe would lose the U.S. Championship before Extreme Rules.

I think it might mean Seth is winning and Joe is the next contender.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

I think it might mean Seth is winning and Joe is the next contender.

Sure, why not?

[BaconBits]

Solsafir is a pretty cool band. Rowan has the good taste.

[Yer Maw]

Every match so far: someone does a clothesline and the recipient does a flip

[BaconBits]

Every match so far: someone does a clothesline and the recipient does a flip

Actual selling is a lost art.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

Bryan and Rowan bore me

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Bryan and Rowan bore me

Now go to your room and think about what you've done

[#AbsoluteUnit]

Now go to your room and think about what you've done

Like I've said to you before sir....you are much better than this.

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Has it been Stepping Grounds or actually good?

[BaconBits]

Has it been Stepping Grounds or actually good?

It’s mildly entertaining.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

I like aggressive Bayley!

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Baha boobs on the ground.

[BestSportsEntertainer]

I like aggressive Bayley!

There's an A word that appropriately describes Bayley.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

There's an A word that appropriately describes Bayley.

I know where you're going with this, but this is a PG website.

[Sufferin' Succotash]

This is pretty much all NXT people.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

Just a friendly reminder; Reigns defeated McIntyre 2 months ago at WrestleMania.

[HOMOFLEXUAL DYNAMITE]

Damn Spidey wasn't lying.

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Damn Spidey wasn't lying.

About what?

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

In Spidey we trust.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

Good match.

[BaconBits]

Can this feud please be over now?

[klunderbunker]

Can this feud please be over now?

When it's over, Shane i likely moving on to the title picture. So no, it cannot be over. It will never be over between the two of them (points for whoever gets that last reference).

[#AbsoluteUnit]

Kofi had a cage match at MITB, no? Seems legit.

[klunderbunker]

Kofi had a cage match at MITB, no? Seems legit.

Miz and Shane did.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

Miz and Shane did.

I'm an idiot. Apologies.

[klunderbunker]

I'm an idiot. Apologies.

I can't remember what happened on Raw this week. It happens.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

Nice finish!

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Underwhelming to say the least

[BestSportsEntertainer]

I don't understand people who love Corbin just because everyone hates him

[klunderbunker]

We have to sit through a Corbin main event AND a promo?

[BaconBits]

Baron Corbin is extremely intelligent within kayfabe.

[klunderbunker]

Baron Corbin is extremely intelligent within kayfabe.

It makes sense. Still part of a bad story.

[BestSportsEntertainer]

If you're just going to chant AEW at WWE events, THEN MAYBE DON'T GO AND GIVE THEM YOUR MONEY!

[BaconBits]

It makes sense. Still part of a bad story.

I’m not saying it’s a good story.

[BaconBits]

If you're just going to chant AEW at WWE events, THEN MAYBE DON'T GO AND GIVE THEM YOUR MONEY!

Neckbeards arenâ??t that smart.

[klunderbunker]

I’m not saying it’s a good story.

That's good for a mini sigh of relief.

[BaconBits]

That's good for a mini sigh of relief.

It’s a throwaway feud, so I get why the story isn’t so strong.

[BestSportsEntertainer]

One of my biggest takeaways from this is how sick I am of heel authority figures.

[BaconBits]

One of my biggest takeaways from this is how sick I am of heel authority figures.

There isn’t any authority figures here?

[BestSportsEntertainer]

There isn’t any authority figures here?

I'm sick of the general sense of heels always having the upper hand on faces and faces constantly having to overcome the odds. Having heel authority figures like they do now basically enables this. Combine this with the heels (like Corbin and Shane) not being interesting at all, and the problem only gets magnified.

It's an underrated reason 2016 Smackdown was so good. No heel authority figures to screw faces over for cheap heat, and the product was much better.

[klunderbunker]

Stomping Grounds 2019
Date: June 23, 2019
Location: Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, Washington
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips, Renee Young

It’s the show that no one was asking for, featuring a bunch of rematches from the show that fans didn’t want to watch in the first place. The big question here is who will be the guest referee in the Universal Title match with Baron Corbin challenging Seth Rollins. I’m not sure what to expect here, though everything outside of the main events doesn’t look too bad actually. Let’s get to it.

Click on the link below for the full review.

And WWE And Impact And WCW (http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/06/23/stomping-grounds-2019-and-wwe-and-impact-and-wcw/)

[Jack-Hammer]

WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Tony Nese vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Drew Gulak - ***3/4
WWE Raw Women's Championship: Becky Lynch vs. Lacey Evans - **1/2
Tag Team Match: The New Day vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn - ***3/4
WWE United States Championship: Samoa Joe vs. Ricochet - ***3/4
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship: The New Daniel Bryan & Rowan vs. Heavy Machinery - ***1/4
WWE SmackDown Women's Championship: Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss - **3/4
Singles Match: Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre - ***
WWE Championship Steel Cage Match: Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler - **1/2
WWE Universal Championship: Seth Rollins vs. Baron Corbin - **

The first seven matches on the card ranged from solid to great. The last two main event title matches, however, pretty much petered out.

The Cruiserweights delivered in a really fun, high energy, fast paced match.

Becky vs. Lacey II was solid, Lacey's trying and there were some positioning issues here and there but nothing bad. It's time to move Becky onward.

New Day vs. Owens & Zayn was a lot of fun and it was great to see the latter finally win something. I'd like to see them stick around as a tag team.

Samoa Joe vs. Ricochet was also great. There were times I wasn't sure which way WWE was going with the win and it was a cool moment for Ricochet. Given Triple H's hug afterward, Ricochet strikes me as someone Trips will really fight hard for.

The blue brand tag title match was exactly what it needed to be: fun and energetic with Bryan & Rowan helping to elevate Heavy Machinery to another level while retaining their titles/

Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss was pretty good and it was nice to see Bayley finally get a win over Alexa Bliss.

Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre was pretty good, better than it had any right to be considering how many times we've seen it. What hurt this match was Drew McIntyre continuing to be sacrificed for the purpose of keeping Shame McMahon running around for no apparent reason. 2019 was supposed to be a big year for Drew and it's disappointing to see such a talent relegated to the role of a heavy and sidekick instead of challenging for and winning World Championships like he should be.

Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler was okay, but flat. Nobody's just really interested in this program. Ziggler's a talented guy, always has been, but his "it should've been me" stuff has been going on for a few years and it's just beyond stale. Ziggler's damaged goods right now and nothing short of an overhaul in his look and persona is all that can remotely help revitalize him. Kofi retained, so please move him on.

Seth Rollins vs. Baron Corbin just didn't have it. There was just too much going against the match. To be honest, I didn't mind Lacey Evans as the special referee as there's logic to it considering Rollins couldn't get all slap happy with the steel chair on her as he could have with a man. The problem is that the crooked special ref is something that's been done to death, we've seen it a few times this year already and it's just not any fun. Another problem is that Baron Corbin was involved in this match. Corbin is someone who should be in the tag team or mid-card scene, he's just not got the stuff right now as a main eventer. Please....please move Rollins onto someone else and don't try to squeeze another month out of this program.

All in all, I give the show a C+, MAYBE a B- if I really, really stretch things. A really good undercard all in all but the top title matches suffered from overdone angles and uninteresting challengers. Still, it could've been a much, much worse show than it was.