Within a couple hours worth of time, WWE will air its latest and newest pay-per-view live on the WWE Network. That PPV will be Stomping Grounds.
As of this writing, WWE has yet to announce a Kickoff match for their Kickoff Show as per usual – although that is not to say that they won’t announce a match right before showtime – but the PPV still has a heap of other matches in store.
Both World Title matches offer two special stipulations. One will be held inside of a steel cage. The other features a mystery special referee. Both WWE Women’s Title matches revisit old feuds. Meanwhile, a Samoan Submission Machine defends his United States Title against some hungry competition. Speaking of hungry, Tag Team Title contenders are packing beef, but hope to leave the ring with gold. We also get a WrestleMania rematch and 205 boys hope to steal the show.
In short, here is a rundown of the entire PPV card as it stands right now:
Universal Championship Match
Seth Rollins (c) vs. Baron Corbin
SmackDown Women’s Championship Match
Bayley (c) vs. Alexa Bliss
WWE Championship Match – Steel Cage Match
Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler
Raw Women’s Championship Match
Becky Lynch (c) vs. Lacey Evans
Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre
United States Championship Match
Samoa Joe (c) vs. Ricochet
WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match
Tony Nese (c) vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Drew Gulak
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match
Daniel Bryan and Rowan (c) vs. Heavy Machinery
Tag Team Match
The New Day (Xavier Woods and Big E) vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
WWE Stomping Grounds airs live on the WWE Network at 7 p.m. ET / 5 PT and is expected to last between three-and-a-half to four hours. Not including the Kickoff Show, which kicks off an hour prior at 6 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT. Stomping Ground’s Kickoff Show will stream live on the WWE Network, WWE.com, the WWE App, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch and Twitter. Join us back here at 6 p.m. for the Kickoff Show.
We’re live on the Kickoff Show with our Kickoff Panel: Charly Caruso, Booker T, David Otunga and Jonathan Coachman.
At one point briefly, Xavier Woods and Big E come out to talk their match, as well as Kofi’s. They say that Kofi does not need their help to beat Dolph Ziggler in a steel cage, but when it comes to their tag team match against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, “we are going to stomp on their grounds!” Get it, y’all? Get it?
Later, Baron Corbin is interviewed by Kayla Braxton. Corbin says he’s had people knocking on his door all day, but he made a decision. But he’s going to keep it a secret for now, because he wants to “keep Seth Rollins on his toes before I put him on his back!” He says Rollins is scared because he knows Corbin had him beat, but tonight, he will slay The Beastslayer.
After, Ricochet joins the panel to discuss how special this United States Championship opportunity is for him. He knows Samoa Joe is going to be a challenge for him, but he promises to take advantage of this opportunity. Samoa Joe pops up on the titantron saying he heard him talk trash, but Ricochet’s going to be put to sleep later tonight.
Daniel Bryan and Rowan have a backstage interview that turn into a promo. Both men run down both Heavy Machinery and The New Day for embarrassing the tag team division, so he says they are going to not only defend their tag titles tonight against Heavy Machinery, but they are trying to defend the sanctity and respect of the tag division itself.
Later, Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre cut their own intimidating promo against Roman Reigns. Drew promises that he’s going to beat down Roman to the point that he is going to go home and his family won’t even recognize him.
Up next, our Kickoff Match:
Cruiserweight Championship – Nese (c) vs Tozawa vs Gulak
Right from the start, nonstop action from all three men with Gulak dealing the first blow. Within the first minute of the match, Tony Nese manages to german suplex Gulak whilst O’Connor Pinning Tozawa. Tozawa retaliates by suicide diving onto both
Then, a missile dropkick from Tozawa to Nese. Tozawa goes for the pin, but Gulak breaks it up. Gulak gets thrown back out the ring allowing Tozawa and Nese more time in the ring.
Gulak goes for the Gu-Lock, but Nese finds himself reversed onto the apron in a kind of reverse suplex motion. While Nese is draped over the middle rope, Gulak suplexes Tozawa onto Nese’s limp body.
During the ad break, Tozawa locks Gulak into a deadly octopus stretch. Gulak looks like he’s moments away from tapping until Nese gets back in the ring to lift Tozawa into a suplex position before throwing him at Nese. Later, Gulak locks Nese into Gu-Lock, but Tozawa breaks it up with a diving senton from the top rope. He pins both men separately, but both men respectively kick out.
Tozawa tries to deadlift Gulak into a fireman’s carry and follows up with a facebuster followed by a dropkick for another kickout.
Nese rocks Gulak with a kick, followed by a springboard moonsault. He covers him, but Akira breaks it up. Nese and Tozawa trade chops. Both men find their way on the top rope. Nese falls into the tree of woe position, but Gulak leaps to the top for a diving suplex onto Tozawa. While Gulak is prone on the mat, Nese goes for a 450 Splash, but Gulak evades it. He tries to powerbomb Nese, but Nese turns it into an Air Raid Crash. Almost gets the pin till Tozawa breaks it up.
Nese tosses Tozawa to the outside and hits Running Nese. Before he could cover Gulak, Nese trades pins with Tozawa, before powerbombing him into the corner for another near fall. Nese and Gulak trade blows before Nese hits a german suplex in the corner. Goes for Running Nese again, but gets an elbow.
Gulak tries to hit a Torture Rack Neckbreaker, but reverses to the apron where he gets kicked by Tozawa. Gulak hits the Torture Rack again for a shocking three count!
Winner and NEW Cruiserweight Champion, Drew Gulak.
Grade: A – Gave me exactly what I want to see in a Cruiserweight PPV match and a little bit extra. Fun from start to finish and it’s nice to see Gulak finally get that title. Great way to kick off a show and get that crowd hot for a show that not a lot of people went in excited for.
Up next, the main card.
Raw Women’s Championship – Becky Lynch vs Lacey Evans
To kick off the main card with an already electric crowd at the Tacoma Dome, we’ve got the Raw Women’s Championship match. Mega boos for Lacey Evans and cheers erupt for the champion.
At the start of the bell, we get a collar and elbow tie up into the corner that quickly descends into slaps and pushes from both competitors. Lynch locks in a leg lock on Lacey (say that five times fast) before Lacey gets to the ropes. Lynch rocks Lacey until she falls out of the ring, but Lynch stays on her.
Back in the ring, Lacey goes to kick Becky, but Becky grabs the leg. Lacey begs her to put it down. Becky twirls her around the ring into a tornado like circle before sweeping the legs.
Lacey back out the ring, but Becky continues to dominate with a dropkick through the middle rope. Lacey finally gets the upper hand and tosses Becky back in the ring, but gets caught by a Backslide Pin for a two count. Lacey is back on her. She twists Becky’s back and leg into the turnbuckle from the outside before kicking Becky in her head and getting back in the ring. Worth mentioning that Becky has been favoring the mid-section.
Several minutes after the fact, Lacey continues to dominate, but Becky remains resilient.
Eventually, Becky manages an Armbar, but Lacey gets out of it. Later, Becky builds momentum with a comeback spot; a flurry of clotheslines, including one in the corner, followed by a Bex-sploder for a two-count.
Becky goes for the middle rope leg drop, but Lacey gets out of the way. Lacey goes for a springboard elbow drop, but Becky gets the knees up.
Lacey then hits a Stunner type springboard followed by a kick to the mid-section for a near fall. Lacey then goes for what appeared to be a moonsault, but Becky pushes her off, then immediately locks in a Dis-Arm-Her where Lacey taps immediately.
Winner and STILL Raw Women’s Champion: Becky Lynch
Grade: C – Better than their last PPV match and Lacey is clearly improving every time she steps in the ring. While the match had its moments, it was very hot and cold. Too many moments where it seemed too one sided for my tastes. Lacey got five minutes, then Becky got five minutes. Not bad, but not great. Plus, it was a little sloppy in parts.
Up next, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens take on Xavier Woods and Big E
Xavier Woods and Kevin Owens start the match, but KO superkicks Big E off the apron, then superkicks Woods. KO and Zayn hit their signatures (frog splash, Blue Thunder Bomb, Swanton) but Woods keeps kicking out.
KO stays on Woods by stomping a mudhole in the corner, then a cannonball, followed by a flurry of sentons. All while goading Big E’s inability to help from outside the apron. KO tags to Zayn who stomps and punches Woods. The ref pulls Zayn off of Woods, but while the ref’s back is turned, KO kicks Woods in the head.
Wood attempts a comeback with a series of chops but Zayn brings him down with a Crossface. Woods reverses into a pinfall attempt. He tries to reach to Big E, but Zayn won’t let it happen before tagging back to KO. Woods hits an enzuigiri and nearly tags to Big E. But Zayn tags to KO before stopping the tag attempt from Woods.
KO gets the tag again, but Woods hits him with a facebuster. KO tags to Zayn, but Woods finally tags to Big E.
E hits a series of belly to bellys for a comeback spot, followed by a back elbow and a big splash for a near fall on Zayn. Big E grabs Zayn from behind, but Zayn elbows him repeatedly before perching in the corner. He attempts a tornado DDT but shoves Zayn off and hits a uranage. Big E tags Woods, who lifts Big E onto his shoulders for a super splash, but KO breaks the pin up.
After sending Big E to the outside, Zayn tags to KO. Zayn nails a Helluva Kick on Woods. KO follows up with a Pop Up Powerbomb for the 1 … 2 … Big E breaks it up!
Zayn and Woods battle on the apron until Big E hits a spear on Zayn off the apron. Woods hits the top rope, but gets stopped by Owens, who hits a Stunner on Woods for the win.
Winner: Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.
Grade: C – This one lacked the drama, stakes or intrigue of the last match, but this also featured four incredible wrestlers and they made the most of their time, particularly in the final minutes when the match really popped and surprised me.
Backstage, Alexa Bliss thanks Nikki Cross for being in her corner and believing her that Bayley’s a bully. Bliss apologises for dropping the ball on their Tag Title match last Monday, but Cross doesn’t blame Bliss. She blames Bayley, which is why she’s determined to help Bliss win the title tonight.
Up next, Ricochet challenges Samoa Joe for the United States title.
Collar and elbow tie up at the bell before Joe slaps Ricochet around every time they lock up. He gets one chop and some forearms on Joe thanks to his quickness. He sends Joe into the corner then a dropkick.
Outside, Joe drives Ricochet spine first into the apron. Joe continues to dominate, at one point dropping Ricochet on top of his neck and clobbers him with a clothesline. Ricochet attempts a comeback, but gets dropped by a step up enzuigiri from Joe. He then locks Ricochet in a sleeper hold as the crowd cheer The One and Only on.
With Ricochet’s hands draped on the ropes, he hits a sit out powerbomb on Ricochet for a nearfall before locking in another rest hold that Ricochet breaks out of. Ricochet hits his comeback spot until Joe is on his back following a kick right to the ear. Ricochet follows up with a hurricanrana, sending him to the outside. Ricochet nails Joe with a Spaceman Plancha Suicida.
Missile dropkick springboard then a springboard moonsault that hurt Ricochet’s midsection, delaying the pin; two count.
Joe gets back into this with a powerslam. Then he catches a springboard flying Ricochet with a german suplex followed by a clothesline.
He attempts an arm triangle, but Ricochet elbows. He attempts a kick, but Joe reverses. Joe attempts a Coquina Clutch, but gets to the apron and snaps Joe’s neck. Ric gets to the top rope, then a 630, but Joe gets out of the way. Double knees to Joe’s face, then a 630 Splash for a NEW champion!
Grade: C+ – I usually try to steer away from using pluses or minuses in my grades, but this one seems necessary. It’s more or less just as decent as the last two matches, but the title change was a pleasant surprise.
Up next, Daniel Bryan defends his Tag Team Titles in his home state with Rowan against Heavy Machinery.
Daniel Bryan and Otis start things off. Bryan tries to make up for the size advantage with kicks to Otis’ legs and midsection. Otis eats (no pun intended) every one of those shots with little to no effect. He uses his power advantage on Bryan, but the crowd aren’t having it; booing the faces in favor of their home state boy.
Heavy Machinery favor the power advantage. Tucker gets the tag after a double stalling suplex.
Bryan gets the tag to Rowan, who hits a cross body followed by a dropkick on to Tucker for a “Please Recycle!” chant. The champions continue their own bit of power tandem tag team offense. Bryan gets the tag again; hitting an assisted dropkick followed by a clothesline from Rowan. Rowan tags back in to isolate Tucker’s legs.
Tucker and Rowan tag to their partners pitting Otis and Bryan against each other.
Otis attempts a Vader Bomb but Bryan avoids it. This allows Bryan to hit his YES! Kicks. But Otis, again, eats them. Thrusting rather than feeling pain. Eventually, hitting an exploder suplex before setting up The Caterpillar. He hits it then tags Tucker to hit a tag team move before Rowan breaks it up.
Tucker plants Bryan then goes to the top rope for a moonsault, but only connects to Bryan’s legs; legs to legs. Tucker and Bryan tag their partners, pitting Rowan vs Otis. They collide before Bryan tag himself. Otis and Tucker don’t notice until Bryan intereferes.
Bryan goes for a suicide dive, but Tucker blocks it. Tucker dives onto Rowan on the outside before Bryan gets a sneaky roll-up on Tucker to retain the titles.
Grade: D – Yeah, this one did nothing for me. Maybe it’s the crowd (chants were more entertaining than the match, chanted for the heels) but I just wasn’t feeling it. Didn’t click for me. Some parts were sloppy as well. Least favorite match of the night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB7nTXdbQ7c
Bayley defends her SmackDown Women’s Title vs Bliss.
Starts with shoves from both parties, followed by punches traded between the two of them. Aggressive, Bayley tries to finish this early, but gets a two count.
Bayley slams Bliss into each turnbuckle before Bliss retaliates and does the same for a two count. Bliss keeps a rest hold locked in for a couple minutes. Bayley tries to get back in this before Bliss nails a backbreaker. Bliss finds a unique way to stomp Bayley’s skull in the mat repeatedly for a two count. Bliss whips Bayley in the corner. She runs to the corner, but stops mid way just to slap Bayley in the face.
Bayley gets fired up from the slap enough to clothesline Bliss and stomp a mudhole into The Goddess. We get respective reversals for Bayley’s elbow drop and Bliss’ DDT until Bayley hits a high knee. On the outside, Bliss sends Bayley’s surgically repaired shoulder into the turnbuckle post.
Back in the ring, Bliss goes for a pin, but Bayley kicks out.
Bliss goes for a hurricanrana, but Bayley reverses into a backbreaker. Bayley follows up with a sunset flip powerbomb into the corner.
Bliss slides to the outside where Nikki Cross checks on her. Bayley targets Bliss, but Bliss pushes Cross in her way. Bliss sends Bayley shoulder first into the stairs. Bliss then hits a sunset powerbomb on the outside. “This is my title, Bayley!” Bliss screams before tossing Bayley back in the ring. She then sets up Twisted Bliss, but Cross hits the apron to go at Bayley.
After the distraction, Bliss goes for Twisted Bliss, but Bayley gets the knees up and hits a Bayley to Belly for the retain.
Grade: B – With a little more time, this could have been an A. Great stuff. Good story in the match piggy backing off the rivals history. If not for the Cruisers bout, this would be
Drew McIntyre vs Roman Reigns
Before the bell rings, Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns brawl at the ramp. They finally hit the ring and stay on each other after the bell. Roman dives onto Drew with a suicide dive. Roman chases after Shane McMahon, but Drew catches him. Drew stays on him for several minutes back in the ring. Rest hold.
Roman eventually tries to fight back with some headbutts, but Drew knocks him back down with a clothesline. More rest holds. This time a Regal Stretch from Drew. Roman eventually creates space with a Samoan Drop.
They trade blows until Roman hits a clothesline.
Superman Punch time,but Shane attempts a distraction, only to get Punched twice. Back in the ring, Drew ducks a Drive-By and hits a reverse Alabama Slam onto the announce table. Back in the ring, he hits a spinning Rock Bottom on Roman for a near fall.
Drew hits a superplex for a nearfall. Goes for a Claymore, but Roman reverses with a Backslide Pin, only to get a Glasgow Kiss in response.
Roman hits a superman punch for a near fall.
Roman spears him, but Drew kicks out just as Shane pulls the ref out. Shane interferes while the ref is down. Drew tries to capitalize for a near fall.
Superman Punch followed by another spear for the win for Reigns.
Grade: D+ – In many ways, this is better than their disappointingly short Mania match and many parts of it was great, but Shane REALLY brought this match down. Just like how he brought this whole feud down a notch. Could’ve been great without him. Some parts felt boring as well.
Kofi vs Dolph in a Steel Cage for the WWE Title
Kofi evades Trouble in Paradise, then stops Dolph from climbing the cage. Dropkick by Dolph before attempting to escape again, gets stopped.
They trade moves and stop each other for several minutes until Kofi suicide dives to the outside.
Grade: B – Good stuff.
And now, finally, the main event: Baron Corbin vs Seth Rollins for the Universal Title
Since Rollins has been attacking every guy who has hinted at taking the special ref job, Corbin hired Lacey Evans to be the ref.
Before the bell officially starts, Lacey allows Corbin to attack Rollins several times with a chair. Lacey takes it before ringing the bell. Corbin makes the cover, and Rollins kicks out despite a fast count from Lacey. Baron then drives Seth back first into the barricade. Crowd chants “This is stupid!” as the Constable dominates The Beastslayer both in and out of the ring.
Rollins eventually gets his comeback spot in and makes the cover after the super kick, but Lacey makes an incredibly slow count allowing Corbin all the time in the world to kick out. Rollins then goes for an apron powerbomb, but Rollins gets caught with a punch in mid-air.
Eventually, Rollins nails Corbin with a powerbomb onto and through the announce table. But Lacey reluctantly and slowly counts out Corbin. Instead of making a 10-count, Lacey declares this a No-Count Out match.
Rollins drags him back in the ring. Then sets up a Curb Stomp. Corbin slides out the ring, Rollins goes for a suicide dive, but Corbin catches him with a punch. Then chokeslams Rollins for a 2-count.
After a frog splash from Rollins, Evans goes for another slow count, but “injures” her shoulder before she can make the three count. Corbin nails Rollins with a chair, but Lacey doesn’t call for a DQ. She just watches as Corbin beats him with a chair. Lacey then makes this a No DQ match.
Rollins hits a Falcon Arrow on the chair, but Lacey does not count. She slaps Rollins. Corbin hits an End of Days after Lacey low blows Rollins and that’s Becky Lynch’s cue to run down and beat the holy hell out of Lacey, hitting a Bex-sploder into the barricade.
Referee John Cone replaces Lacey, which distracts Corbin long enough to hit a super kick, then a Curb Stomp to retain the title.
Grade: C – Decent, interesting with a fun finish.
Overall grade: B- – Surprisingly good with a few hiccups.