Kickoff Show
I have to say, it’s still a tad weird that this pay-per-view is taking place where Money in the Bank usually is. I don’t mind all the rematches but I think it would be better if they put Stomping Grounds right after Wrestlemania and moved Money in the Bank back to its June timeframe.
The Kickoff Show primarily functions on analysis from the panel, video packages, and backstage interviews. I thought this was a pretty good kickoff. The backstage segments were a bit more dynamic than usual. And I found myself actually listening to the interviews and stuff. That doesn’t always happen with these kickoff shows.
Grade: B+
Tony Neese vs Akira Tozawa vs Drew Gulak-Cruiserweight Championship Match
Once again, the cruiserweight match was on the kickoff show. This should’ve been on the main card as the show itself didn’t have that many matches. However, despite the lackluster placement of the match, it was fantastic and showcased the talent of all three men. Gulak looked like an absolute psychopath and the crowd was decidedly in support of him. Tozawa was the MVP in the match though, busting up pinfalls left and right in entertaining fashion.
Winner: Drew Gulak
Grade: A-
Becky Lynch vs Lacey Evans-Raw Women’s Championship Match
It’s a personal thing, but I despise when the champion comes out first. In this case, it suits Becky’s character so I will let it slide. Lynch’s experience came into play here as she did a little bit of guiding throughout the match. Evans’ selling is also fairly inconsistent, which made some of Lynch’s moves look ineffective. I did enjoy the mandible claw with the kerchief though. The main thing was that Lynch did treat Evans like an actual threat, but I think she could’ve used another year or in NXT before this push.
Winner: Becky Lynch
Grade: B
Be the Light
Mustafa Ali did a cool video promo, talking about being the light and protecting others from harm. It’s so him and he is such a good person, both in and out of the ring.
Grade: A
The referee has been chosen!
Baron Corbin revealed that he had indeed chosen a special guest referee. They need to start holding the microphone up higher so he doesn’t have to lean down to talk into it.
Not Graded
Bis E and Xavier Woods vs Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
I’m so glad they’re letting Xavier Woods wrestle more; he’s great in the ring and deserves time to show that. The crowd was certainly into this match and that always helps with momentum, even if it was generally pointless. Kevin Owens did great with the mind games as per usual. It was nice to see Big E get the hot tag and show off his strength. I actually like that the New Day have been somewhat split up like this because it makes all three feel important, as opposed to Woods and Big E just playing second fiddle to Kofi Kingston’s title run. As much as I like the New Day, Owens and Zayn definitely needed this win after being beaten like drums over the last couple of weeks.
Winner: Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
Grade: A-
Us against the world
Alexa Bliss is so good at playing the manipulator. I really, really want to see where this “friendship” between her and Nikki Cross go. Also she wore the Alice in Wonderland gear she couldn’t compete in at Evolution!
Grade: B
Samoa Joe vs Ricochet-United States Championship Match
They finally gave Joe a real title match that wasn’t a squash or botched by terrible officiating! Joe looked like an absolute monster here, totally what he does best. I have to give Ricochet credit for showing some fight and managing to get some offense in. The crowd was also pretty evenly divided too, something I tend to like. I feel like this match is probably the beginning of a feud between Joe and Ricochet, which would be great. On the other hand, maybe it’s freeing Joe up for something bigger and also putting a stop to some of that hot potato-ing that’s been going on lately.
Post match, Ricochet was congratulated by some of the roster and Triple H. I hope that means the brass have high hopes in him.
Winner: Ricochet
Grade: B+
Daniel Bryan and Rowan vs Heavy Machinery-Smackdown Tag Team Championship Match
I totally forgot that this was a hometown crowd for Daniel Bryan. They were amusing with their chants, including “please recycle” and “drive a prius”. Both teams looked great here; it’s obvious they have a lot of respect for each other. Bryan made that very clear in his kickoff show promo. In general, it was some great tag team wrestling and honestly, the best choice for a “cool down” match.
Winner: Daniel Bryan and Rowan
Grade: B
Bayley vs Alexa Bliss-Smackdown Women’s Championship Match
Alexa Bliss’s character work is superb both in-ring and out, I will definitely give her that. She has also improved since her concussions took her out for an extended period of time. I feel like Bliss had control of this match for way too long. We know what happened the last time these two were involved in a feud and this was entirely too reminiscent of that. I think they’re trying to show more facets of Bayley’s character but she definitely doesn’t need to be an eternal underdog. Shoutout to Bayley for always taking brutal bumps; this time it was a sunset flip on the outside.
Winner: Bayley
Grade: B
Ricochet’s first challenger
AJ Styles made it known that he was challenging Ricochet for his newly-won United States Championship. I’m down to see that.
Grade: A
Roman Reigns vs Drew McIntyre
Again, let’s forget that Roman Reigns is somehow feuding with both McIntyre and Shane McIntyre. This was a fairly wild match that included Reigns chasing McMahon around the first section of the crowd. Reigns also did a lot of bumping and selling here; his facial expressions were priceless and it showed what he can do when he isn’t tied up with people past their prime. McIntyre looked like a monster; they actually made him look like the Scottish Psychopath they keep touting him as. This match was also 10x better than their Wrestlemania match, but I can’t harp on that since the man had just come back from cancer treatment.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Grade: B+
Kofi Kingston vs Dolph Ziggler-Steel Cage Match for the WWE Championship
Steel cage matches are one of my favorite matches when done correctly and this was done quite correctly! Ziggler and Kingston had each other’s number and they put on a great show. I loved that it was a solid mixture of in-ring action with attempted pinfalls and submissions as well as attempting to escape the cage. Ziggler was super dramatic the whole match, which really works for this feud. I cackled at Kingston launching himself out the cage to win.
Winner: Kofi Kingston
Grade: A
Here we go again
Roman Reigns is gonna take on Drew McIntyre and Shane McMahon in a two-on-one handicap match. Yay.
Grade: F
Seth Rollins vs Baron Corbin-Universal Championship Match w/ Special Guest Referee Lacey Evans
As much as I sometimes dislike personal relationships being brought into the ring, this was a unique way to do it with Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch’s relationship. Is it bad I wanted Rollins to hit Evans with the chair? The crowd was decidedly not into it after the revelation of the referee and spent the rest of the match chanting their displeasure. Characteristic of a special guest referee, Evans changed the match about halfway through. However, the match itself never really got going. It was very start-stop and was nowhere near top-tier main event level. Rollins deserves so much more as Universal Champion; these matches don’t show his talents at all.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Grade: D+
Final Thoughts
I came into this show with low expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised. All of the matches were pretty good up until the main event totally derailed everything. They haven’t done a good job booking Seth Rollins as a top guy. They need to fix that immediately. Other than that, it was a B pay-per-view and performed as such.
Overall Grade: B
