Stomping Grounds has come and gone, and just like an onion ring in your chips, it was a pleasant surprise.
The action was great in the ring, and there were some exciting booking decisions as well. Was it all great? No, not exactly. Even with an overall positive show, there are things to nitpick. Here are five things we learned from Stomping Grounds.
1. Low Expectations Lead to Surprising Fun
Stomping Grounds came out of the gates on fire. Fans were not sold on the card full of rematches, but the match quality overall was fantastic. From the opening triple threat for the Cruiserweight Championship forward, the night had huge matches. Ricochet and Samoa Joe had a great battle for the United States Championship, and both tag team matches were fun in their own way.
The only match from the first half of the card that could be seen as disappointing was the Raw Women’s Title match between Becky Lynch and Lacey Evans. It never seemed to get into a groove and felt clunky at times. This won’t help people warm to Evans, especially those who feel she is a few steps behind in her ring work. She’ll get there in time, but for now it’s time for someone else to step up to The Man.
2. The Midcard Title Scenes Can Be Exciting
WWE’s hot and cold booking of their midcard singles titles looks to be warming up for the summer once again. Ricochet and Samoa Joe absolutely delivered in their bout, and an exciting future feud was teased. While getting his championship photos taken, Ricochet was approached by the Good Brothers and finally AJ Styles. The Phenomenal One told Ricochet he’d “see him tomorrow”.
With Ricochet, Finn Balor, and Drew Gulak holding the midcard singles titles, the match quality for the workhorse belts will be off the charts. There are hungry competitors for all the titles as well. Andrade has his sights on Balor, and Tony Nese should be gunning for Gulak. This makes the belts desirable, and must-see television once again.
3. The Tag Division on SmackDown Will Be Fine
Speaking of divisions that are going to be okay, the funeral for the tag team division on Tuesdays may have been a little premature. Heavy Machinery gave Daniel Bryan and Rowan all they could handle in the tag team title match. Some felt Otis and Tucker might be overmatched by such experienced wrestlers, but they look like a legitimate force for the future.
The other tag team match on the card showed there are other viable teams available to challenge the champions. The New Day are always a threat and are immensely popular. If WWE wants to, they could really push Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn into the tag team title picture. They make for a dynamic and exciting team.
4. Shane McMahon’s Heat is Incredible
The amount of “go-away” heat that Shane McMahon has is outstanding. His “Best in the World” schtick, initially seen by some as a thinly-veiled dig at CM Punk, is wearing thin. He’s gone from sporadic appearances to taking up tons of air time and pinning Roman Reigns. The talents of Drew McIntyre and Elias are being diminished just for the push of McMahon.
Reigns, however, has been the beneficiary of Shane’s intense heat. First the heat helped make Miz a genuine babyface. Now Shane’s presence is making fans cheer for the notoriously divisive Reigns. If WWE was using Shane to make Reigns a more likeable babyface, then mission accomplished. Hopefully they now let Shane walk away in some fancy Jordans, only popping up for the occasional big match.
5. Top Two Matches Disappointed
It wasn’t all roses on the Stomping Grounds card. Both the WWE Championship bout and WWE Universal Championship matches were both below-par for different reasons. Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler had a decent enough match, but Ziggler was never presented as a real threat to Kingston’s WWE Title reign. That made all of the drama in the match fall flat.
The Universal Title match between Baron Corbin and Seth Rollins was more angle than match. Lacey Evans was the special guest referee, and most fans could predict what happened next. Referee shenanigans, followed by Lynch coming out to support her boyfriend Rollins and beat up Evans. Rollins retains, because again no one believed Corbin would walk out as champion. Between the two main events, Stomping Grounds ended much flatter than one would have expected at it’s opening.
We learned lots from Stomping Grounds about the future of WWE. The roster is deep and immensely talented. However, WWE’s booking might hold their main event scene back from being all it could be. Will WWE capitalize on all their strengths, or will they fall into the trap of the same old thing? Only time will tell.
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You can find the author of this article on Twitter @EvanGomes_. Thanks for reading!