WWE Stomping Grounds 2019: Match Card, Preview, and Predictions
By Bryan Heaton
WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match: Tony Nese (c) vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Drew Gulak
As of this writing, there are nine matches announced for WWE Stomping Grounds 2019, with none set for the Kickoff Show. If I were a gambling man, I’d bet this match is going to be one of two on the Kickoff. The second? Probably something random with The Revival, like a rematch with Hawkins and Ryder even though we don’t do guaranteed championship rematches anymore.
Tony Nese has been doing some of the best work of his career as of late, including capturing the Cruiserweight Championship in front of his “hometown” crowd at WrestleMania 35. Still, it may be time to see a title change. With two formidable challengers, The Premier Athlete’s days as champ should come to an end in Tacoma.
As for the two challengers, it’s a duo with a fair amount of history. Akira Tozawa ran afoul of Drew Gulak when the latter campaigned for a “safer” 205 Live via a “No Fly Zone.” Tozawa earned his way into a championship match via a Fatal 5-Way match, but Drake Maverick neglected to make the title match official.
Gulak, however, returned to 205 Live – after a stopover in NXT – to defeat Tozawa in an impromptu match, leading to a Fatal Four-Way match where the two simultaneously pinned each other. Now we have a Triple Threat contest at Stomping Grounds due to the controversy.
Based on nothing more than my adoration for all things Gulak, I think it’s Drew’s time to hold the gold. He’s returned to his roots as a technical mastermind and vicious brawler, which has reinvigorated his in-ring work. My gut also tells me Gulak is going to pin/submit Tozawa, leading to a Nese-Gulak tilt in the not-so-distant future.