WWE Raw live results: Stomping Grounds fallout
Date: June 24, 2019
Location: Angel in the Winds Arena in Everett, WA
The Big Takeaway —
Undertaker returned to save Roman Reigns, who was getting his ass kicked by Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre. Taker and Reigns will face Shane and McIntyre at Extreme Rules. Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins vs. Lacey Evans and Baron Corbin in a winner take all tag match was also announced for the PPV.
AJ Styles beat Ricochet in the non-title main event. Kofi Kingston beat both Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens in separate non-title matches.
The real story of this show was the new rule. If you haven’t heard, they aren’t having any wrestling during commercial breaks, so they had to come up with angles throughout the show to facilitate that. It made the show noticeably worse.
Show Recap —
It appears they’re only shooting one side of the arena, which only has an overall capacity of 10,000. There doesn’t appear to be anyone in the upper level, either.
Seth Rollins came out to start the show. He received a good reaction and started his promo with, “So, about last night.” He mentioned Baron Corbin and was interrupted by Becky Lynch. Lynch also received a big reaction. She wore yellow Nikes with “The Man” written on them.
Rollins gave Corbin credit for being smart enough to know he couldn’t out-wrestle him, which is why he got Lacey Evans as the referee. However, Corbin wasn’t smart enough to realize he had the best back-up on the planet. The crowd chanted for Lynch, who acted humble.
Lynch said, “it pays to be the Man’s man.” Lynch said they proved why they were the champions of their divisions. Evans tapped out when it came time to fight, then tried to steal a title from someone else, but Lynch slapped the head off her empty shoulders.
Corbin’s music hit when Evans attacked Lynch from behind. Rollins watched as Lynch made her own comeback. Rollins pulled Lynch off, then she shoved him. Rollins smiled and stepped aside so Lynch could continue the assault. Corbin ran out to attack Rollins, but Rollins fought him off.
Corbin noted that the fans were chanting for Lynch because she saved him again. Corbin suggested Rollins fly home, put on an apron and make Lynch a sandwich. Corbin said he would be champion if not for Lynch. Corbin said Evans was the only real woman around here and would gladly have her as a partner against them any time, anywhere.
Evans challenged them to a mixed tag match at Extreme Rules, which received mild booing from the crowd. Lynch was fine with that as long as Evans was fine with getting her arm ripped off. Lynch also had one condition: if Evans and Corbin lost, that was it for them. No more matches.
Evans wanted one thing. Rollins didn’t care what the condition was and accepted. Corbin said both titles would be on the line. Winner takes all. Rollins and Lynch seemed unconcerned.
8-man tag team elimination match: The Usos and Big E & Xavier Woods defeated Daniel Bryan & Rowan and The Revival
Michael Cole explained that once one person was eliminated, their usual partner would be eliminated too. Bryan received a big hometown reaction and played babyface.
Bryan was going to start the match but Scott Dawson tagged himself in, which the crowd didn’t appreciate. He also shoved Bryan on his way in. Bryan eventually tagged in and ran wild on Woods. Bryan went for a dive but nailed Dawson, perhaps on purpose. Bryan then gave Woods a missile dropkick. Bryan followed with Yes kicks and went for a rollup but Woods kicked out.
Woods kicked Bryan into the ropes and Dash Wilder gave him an uppercut. Woods then put Bryan in a schoolboy for the pinfall. Bryan and Rowan were eliminated at 3:30. The crowd booed. The Revival then gave Woods a Shatter Machine to eliminate New Day 30 seconds later.
They went to commercial and Cole said the match would be “reset and restarted” with Revival and The Usos. This all felt very rushed.
Back from break, The Usos took out Revival with dives. When everyone got back into the ring, the bell rang and Cole said the match has now been restarted. Dawson gave Jimmy Uso a superplex, but Jey came off the top (leaping off Wilder who was draped over the top rope) with a splash on Dawson for the pinfall win.
The restarted match went about 3:20. I usually put the full match time above, but I have no idea how to count this one, officially.
Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley will have a tug-of-war tonight. They showed footage of Strowman pulling a 17,000 lbs tractor-trailer, which looked as realistic as it sounds.
MizTV with guests R-Truth and Carmella
Miz introduced Truth and Carmella, who came out worriedly looking around. Miz told Truth to relax because the 24/7 rule has been suspended for this interview. Miz talked about all the title changes, then showed footage of his favourite one, Truth winning the title from Drake Maverick at his wedding. Miz then questioned Truth about ruining a man’s wedding.
Truth said the title was no joke. He hasn’t been able “to eat, drink, or be merry, if you know what I mean.” He said WWE superstars have been showing up to his house, dressed as the police, asking him to turn down his music and telling him that his car was on fire. “I’m smarter than that.” Carmella spoke about how much the title meant to him.
Maverick interrupted. He said winning the 24/7 title was the highlight of his career, but his marriage has been suffering ever since the wedding and they haven’t even consummated the marriage yet. Truth told him fibre was good for that. The crowd chanted “constipated.”
Maverick challenged him to a one-on-one rematch. Carmella was sympathetic because Maverick just wanted to win his wife back. Maverick said no, he wanted the title back. Miz got word in his earpiece to confirm that no one would interfere. Truth told “Hornswoggle” that he accepted.
R-Truth (w/Carmella) defeated Drake Maverick to retain the 24/7 Championship (0:13)
The match started after a break and Truth won immediately with a reverse STO.
Afterwards, the usual losers ran down to go after Truth. Cedric Alexander was closest to winning the title but was fought off by Gran Metalik. A brawl broke as everyone ran to the back. Charly Caruso tried to interview Maverick after but he just sulked and walked away.
The winner take all mix tag match was made official for Extreme Rules. Corbin and Evans spoke about their plan for the match. Corbin said people treat Rollins like he’s Superman. Evans said even Superman had Kryptonite, and Rollins’ Kryptonite was Lynch. Corbin said they would win, then maybe they would become the power couple of WWE. Corbin walked away and Evans basically had no reaction to this statement.
(I missed it earlier, but as Miz walked backstage, Abby the Witch could be seen in the background poking her head out for a second.)
[Second hour]
2-on-1 handicap match: Shane McMahon & Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns
Shane made Mike Rome call him best in the world, then had him clarify that Shane and McIntyre would be in the ring at the same time for the match. Corey Graves seemed baffled that this wasn’t made clear already.
Reigns was on the offensive at the beginning, but they got the better of him and attacked him with the steel steps. McIntyre gave Reigns a Claymore kick, then picked him up so Shane could hit a spear. Shane held up Reigns so McIntyre could give him another Claymore kick.
Shane went to the top to set up for coast-to-coast. Undertaker’s gong went off and the lights went out. When they came back on, Undertaker stood in the ring as the crowd went nuts. Taker took out both Shane and McIntyre, who bailed up the ramp. The crowd loudly chanted for Taker and chanted “holy shit.” Taker’s music hit, the lights turned blue and he posed.
The full match and post-match took less than 6 minutes. After a break, they showed a full replay of Taker’s appearance.
To recap, Reigns got beat up and was done after 3 minutes. He was an afterthought once Taker came out and was still on the mat selling when the segment ended.
They aired footage from earlier of Lashley trying to pull a light post down with a rope. The rope snapped instead.
Braun Strowman defeated Bobby Lashley in a tug-of-war
Strowman won and Lashley beat him up after. This sucked.
Caruso interviewed AJ Styles. She asked how he was feeling, so Styles spoke about his recovery. She interrupted him because what she really wanted to know was why he challenged Ricochet. (Then why not open with that question?) Styles said he got tired of sitting at home, then spoke about the great match Ricochet and Samoa Joe had last night.
Suddenly, No Way Jose’s music played and Styles become distracted. He left the interview when he noticed Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows dancing in the conga line. Styles asked what the hell happened to them. Anderson was upset and asked what happened to Styles. Gallows told Styles they’d prove him wrong tonight.
The Viking Raiders defeated Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson (3:21)
Anderson and Gallows were in control of Erik until Ivar made the tag. Ivar ran wild and took out Gallows with a suicide dive. Ivar and Erik gave Anderson the Viking Experience for the pinfall win. Styles watched on TV backstage and was unimpressed.
Nikki Cross approached Alexa Bliss backstage and took the blame for her loss. Bliss said Bayley has a way of manipulating people. Cross said there must be a way for Bliss to get her rematch and Bliss said they’ll just have to come up with a plan. Cross remained by her side until she realized Bliss wanted to be alone, then left.
After a break, Natalya and Naomi warned Cross about Bliss. Bliss showed up and wondered why Cross was talking about her behind her back, especially to a neon Bayley buddy (Naomi). Naomi got in Bliss’ face and called her a little girl. Cross stood up for Bliss, so Naomi told Natalya that she can learn about Bliss the hard way. Naomi said she would beat Bliss in their match tonight.
Mojo Rawley vs. Heath Slater
The match never happened. Truth was being chased and ran to ringside. Slater took the opportunity and gave Truth a neckbreaker to win the title. The crowd was happy (they could be heard chanting “he’s got kids” during the previous backstage segment). It didn’t last long, though, because Truth eventually caught Slater with a reverse STO to win back the title.
Cedric Alexander gave Truth a lumbar check to win the title. EC3 gave Alexander a headlock driver to win the title. Carmella grabbed the belt from him, and the distraction allowed Truth to roll him up to win the title back. Truth and Carmella ran off.
Ricochet spoke to Sarah Schreiber about what winning the US title meant. He looked forward to facing Styles tonight, someone who he always looked up to. He wanted to prove he was worthy of winning the US Championship.
Kofi Kingston came out and was about to be interviewed by Caruso, but they were interrupted by Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. They told Caruso to leave because she never has any good questions. They had questions for him instead: “Why are you here?” “Who do you think you are?” “Why don’t you just get the hell out of here, man?”
Kingston informed Owens that he had a zit on his face that was bleeding (not true). Zayn called Kingston a paper champion who was just known for getting help from his friends, the same friends he and Owens beat last night. Kingston said the New Day was a brotherhood and a bond that will never be broken.
Kingston also reminded them that he beat Owens by himself at Money in the Bank, beat Ziggler by himself last night, and would beat Zayn by himself tonight. Zayn called Kingston arrogant and delusional. Kingston said the title wasn’t just about him, it was about the fans. He was tired of hearing them talk and told him to get in the ring.
[Third hour]
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston defeated Sami Zayn (w/Kevin Owens) in a non-title match (8:10)
Cole mentioned the stat about Kingston that only four other men have held championships in WWE for more time in the post-WrestleMania era. The others are Hulk Hogan, John Cena, Triple H and The Miz.
There was a spot early on where Zayn distracted the referee and Owens attacked Kingston outside the ring. Kingston made a comeback, but Zayn cut him off and suplexed him into the turnbuckle. Zayn followed later with a Michinoku Driver for two.
Kingston brought down Zayn with a double knee strike. Kingston tried a springboard move but Zayn caught him with a boot for two. Zayn went for a Blue Thunder Bomb, but Kingston countered into a rollup for the pinfall win.
Owens wasn’t impressed and challenged Kingston to a match right now. Kingston accepted.
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston defeated Kevin Owens (w/Sami Zayn) via countout in a non-title match (1:37)
Kingston was immediately distracted by Zayn, so Owens gave him a superkick. Owens tried a senton but Kingston got his knees up. Owens hit another superkick and went for a pop-up powerbomb on the outside, but Kingston fought him off. Kingston gave him an S.O.S. on the edge of the ramp, then slipped back in the ring before the ten count. Kingston wins by countout.
Zayn attacked Kingston after the match, but Kingston sent him to the outside, then took out both men with a big dive.
As Kingston backed up the ramp, Samoa Joe ran down and attacked him from behind. Joe launched him into the video board, then gave him a Uranage onto the stage (there’s no give to the stage, so this looked quite painful). Officials backed off Joe and checked on Kingston. As they did, Joe ran back in and put him in the Coquina Clutch.
Reigns & Undertaker vs. Shane & McIntyre was announced for Extreme Rules.
Alexa Bliss (w/Nikki Cross) defeated Naomi (1:14)
Naomi tried a baseball slide but hit Cross by mistake. Naomi tried to tell Cross it was meant for Bliss. As Naomi went back in the ring, Bliss caught her with a DDT for the quick pinfall win. This was Naomi’s own fault, frankly.
Bliss attacked Naomi afterwards. Bliss told Cross to join in but she didn’t want to. Cross reluctantly shoved down Naomi. Natalya ran out, so Bliss and Cross bailed.
This was dumb. The babyfaces didn’t think that maybe it would’ve been a good idea for Natalya to be at ringside?
Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross defeated Natalya & Naomi (4:42)
Natalya gave Bliss a Michinoku Driver for two, then followed with consecutive snap suplexes. Bliss tagged in Cross who ran wild on Natalya. Cross hit a flying high cross for two, then Bliss made a blind tag as Natalya fought back on Cross. Cross, who should’ve been kicked out of the ring by now, gave her a swinging neckbreaker, then Bliss jumped in the ring to pin Natalya for the win.
AJ Styles defeated U.S. Champion Ricochet in a non-title match
The match started with dueling chants. Quickly into the match, Anderson and Gallows sauntered to ringside. Styles and Ricochet continued wrestling, then Gallows tripped Ricochet as he came off the ropes.
Styles didn’t take advantage, but instead grabbed a mic and said they weren’t about to ruin this match. He told them to leave. As they left, Cole said the match would be restarted after the break. This is brutal.
After the break, they stood on opposite sides of the ring and the referee motioned for them to start. They did, but the bell never rang, so maybe this is still technically part of the original match.
Styles gave Ricochet a Pelé kick. Styles had a small amount of blood on his nose and forehead. Ricochet sent Styles to the outside and followed with a Fosbury flop, which got a one count. Ricochet followed with a kick, but again Styles kicked out at one. Styles followed with a suplex into the corner for two.
Styles caught him with an elbow but Ricochet responded with a step-up enziguri and both guys went down. The crowd responded with a very mild “this is awesome” chant. Ricochet used forearms, a hurricanrana, shoulder tackle, flying clothesline, and standing shooting star press for two.
Styles came back with an inverted DDT for two. Ricochet used a jackknife cover for two, then Styles nailed strikes and a clothesline for two. Ricochet hit a swinging brainbuster and a lionsault for a nearfall. Styles avoided Ricochet’s 630 splash attempt, nailed a forearm, then followed with a Phenomenal forearm for the pinfall win.
After the match, Styles helped Ricochet to his feet and gave him his title belt. They celebrated together and Styles hugged Ricochet as the show went off the air.
This was a good match by the end but the whole thing sorta fell flat. Like last week’s main event, this would’ve been way better if they just gave them the full time (with commercial break) and not done the angle at the beginning.