5 surprising moments from WWE Stomping Grounds 2019

Well, that show on Sunday night was better then anyone could have expected.

WWE Stomping Grounds certainly exceeded its low expectations on Sunday night. It might have been a very predictable show but it was filled with many fan pleasing moments throughout the three hour show. It is more proof if you give this talented roster some time to work, they can provide a really solid pro wrestling show for us to enjoy in 2019.

As I am still figuring out why Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans were part of a WWE pay-per-view main event in 2019, I will try to distract myself and present my list of the top five most surprising moments of WWE Stomping Grounds 2019.

#5 Good Day For the Babyfaces

It was a great day for the good guys.

It is amazing to think how many good guys currently hold titles in the WWE right now. After Stomping Grounds, babyface wrestlers hold both Women’s Championships, the Universal Championship, the WWE Championship, the Intercontinental Championship and the United States Championship. If it wasn’t for the Tag Titles, it would be a really bad time for the heels in the WWE.

The bad times for heels didn’t really change much at WWE Stomping Grounds. Samoa Joe even lost his United States Title. Lacey Evans and Alexa Bliss couldn’t take the Women’s Championships. Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin seemingly ended their feuds with clean losses to the champions. It is pretty surprising to see the heels lose so often this summer. You have to wonder where the credible heels will be found in the wake of Stomping Grounds. It is hard to see them at this moment.

See WWE Stomping Grounds Results, Highlights of event, & more on WWE Stomping Grounds Results page

#4 Heavy Machinery Impresses

Otis took a lot of punishment at Stomping Grounds

It hasn’t been the best time for tag team wrestling in the WWE. Daniel Bryan and Rowan were basically handed the Smackdown Tag Team Championship and then briefly feuded with a Raw Tag Team. Heavy Machinery hasn’t been booked as a credible team since their arrival on the main roster. How could they last in their first lengthy pay-per-view match?

The result was a fun 14 minute match that showcased all four competitors. Tucker attempted a moonsault. Otis stood up to the kicks of Daniel Bryan and traded power moves with Rowan. The crowd was behind Daniel Bryan but verbally supported the match as well.

The match ended with a Small Package. That seems to set up a rematch in the future. After the work on Sunday, we should all be ready for the continuation of the feud. The tag team division could certainly use it.

#3 Long Matches At Stomping Grounds

Even Roman Reigns had a long and solid match on Sunday night. It was an improvement over their WrestleMania match

It is difficult sometimes to love the WWE product. They have long promos and many short rematches throughout their weekly programming. It seems the WWE management is too invested in their poor storylines and forget to properly use their large and talented roster. That changed at Stomping Grounds.

This was the first pay-per-view in a while where all the matches were at least ten minutes. Arguably the show didn’t have a bad match. Some wrestlers who have had little television time to showcase their wrestling talents got a lot of time on Sunday night. The crowd seemed to enjoy the efforts of all the talents. It is surprising to see so much time given to the talented roster, we should all be hopeful it continues for major events this summer.

#2 Ricochet Wins The United States Championship

These two put on quite a show in their show stealing match.

Ricochet is a future main event star.

WWE fans have rightfully been frustrated by how NXT stars are portrayed when they join the main roster. Ricochet is one of the most talented wrestlers in the world and has only had a few opportunities to show his skill set since joining Raw. That changed on Sunday night.

Samoa Joe and Ricochet had the match of the night at Stomping Grounds. It was a wonderful contrast of styles. You had the power moves of Samoa Joe versus the aerial offense of Ricochet. It led to some wonderful counters throughout the match.

It was a little surprising to see Samoa Joe lose his title again so quickly but it certainly shows what the WWE values going forward. Ricochet won his first singles title in his first attempt. Here's to hoping for many more great moments for Ricochet going forward.

#1 A Main Event That Is More of An Angle

Seth Rollins had a bad time for a majority of the main event on Sunday

We certainly didn’t the main event to be a classic encounter but we expected an actual match at least.

One of the biggest selling points of this pay-per-view was the mystery referee of Baron Corbin. There would have been a lot of possibilities that would have got the Tacoma crowd truly invested in the main event. One of those choices was clearly not Lacey Evans.

It logically made a lot of sense. Seth Rollins wasn’t going to attack Evans and it allowed for the predictable inference of Becky Lynch later on. After all, why else have they mentioned for weeks that Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins are dating? It was clearly for this moment at Stomping Grounds.

The match was nearly twenty minutes. It was as slow and predictable as any normal Baron Corbin match. He isn’t exactly known for his exciting matches. This match fit that pattern. Seth Rollins gained the advantage and Lacey Evans would be an expected unfair referee. Eventually after a lot of patience, Becky Lynch finally helps out her boyfriend.

With a new referee, Seth Rollins was able to quickly retain the Universal Championship. Since Corbin is obviously not capable of a good technical match, let us hope this feud is mercifully over. Seth Rollins and the Universal Championship deserves better matches going forward.