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Stomping Grounds is in the books and in my opinion, it was a pretty solid show from start to finish with no part-timers at all. It just goes to prove that when WWE invests in the full-timers, they deliver and then some!
So one of the biggest questions heading into the main event was who the special guest referee was going to be. When Lacey Evans was announced as Baron Corbin's choice, needless to say, the fans were not very happy.
There were 'boring' chants which was fine, but then they were compounded by AEW and CM Punk chants, which I thought was supremely disrespectful to the Superstars inside the squared circle. If you have a problem with WWE Creative, why do you want to derail the hard work of a performer like Seth Rollins who gives it his all every time he competes?
In any case, this article is my attempt to justify WWE's decision in making Lacey Evans the guest referee.
#5 Seth Rollins could not assault her with the chair
Let's get the most obvious reason out of the way first. Baron Corbin picked a variety of potential referees who would call the match based on his heelish instructions. And each one of them ate steel thanks to Seth Rollins.
Rollins promised at the start of the match that anyone Baron Corbin had picked would bear his brunt. But gosh and golly, how can the top babyface of the company hit a woman and especially a lady, with a steel chair?
In many ways, this was the only decision that Baron Corbin could make so as to swerve the crowd. I know that a lot of you expected it to be someone like Bray Wyatt, but I didn't want Wyatt's storyline mixed up here.
# 4 It added a lot of drama to the contest
Had the match been between Seth Rollins and AJ Styles, I would have been okay with no interference. But because Baron Corbin isn't exactly AJ Styles in the ring, the interference was quite necessary. With all due respect to the main, I wouldn't say that he is main event caliber just yet.
The inclusion of Lacey Evans into the contest added so many layers to the match. The audience went along for the ride as she changed the rules, did not make counts, and finally slapped Rollins on the face. And when Becky Lynch interfered in the match, the applause was quite thunderous.
Seth Rollins said that WWE puts on the best pro wrestling on the planet, in a Tweet. While that may be debatable, I will commend WWE for making the show seem like it was worth my time.
#3 It opens up the door for Seth and Becky storylines
I know that a lot of people may not exactly be open to Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch storylines, because it's so 'sports entertainment' and not 'smark friendly'. Let me counter this by saying that I watch Impact Wrestling on a regular basis who've pulled off this storyline quite well.
Even though Johnny Impact and Taya Valkyrie were heel Champions, the two of them played a power couple on TV making for some very interesting content. I love it when there's a crossover of some sort in terms of content.
And this is because no storyline can happen in isolation, as is often portrayed in WWE. We exist in a system and one thing generally influences the other.
This may only be the start of Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch storylines but in due time, I suppose we'll see a lot more similar storylines happen.
#2 It kept part-timers out of the show
I guess one of the reasons why the audience actually turned against the match is because they expected a legend to return. However, in my opinion, the fact that we did not see Mick Foley or Shawn Michaels in a referee's garb was a big positive. And this is because this was a show by the full-timers who proved that they can deliver.
After the debacle that was The Undertaker vs. Goldberg in Saudi Arabia, the audience has yearned for the full-timers to be given the air time they deserve. This was a step in the right direction. WWE still has a really long way to go because a lot of talented Superstars like Robert Roode and Rusev weren't even on the Stomping Grounds card.
This felt like one of the best pay-per-view events in months. It will even give Vince McMahon more confidence in his full-time performers.
#1 It gave a much-needed character boost to Lacey Evans
Lacey Evans was a standout star when she was in NXT and even though she was pushed into a position of prominence in the main roster, she did not really get over. In fact, I've been very vocal in my 'Best and Worst' countdowns about Evans actually pulling the appeal of Becky Lynch down significantly during her time in the WWE main roster.
I mean Becky Lynch was the hottest commodity in the company leading up to WrestleMania. And ever since, even though she enters to a barrage of cheers, her program with Evans actually turns people off as we've noticed on RAW with the fan enthusiasm dropping.
This was the first actual heel work that she got to do since NXT. Calling herself a lady and calling the others 'nasties' does not really qualify.
Vince McMahon is a genius!
