Stomping Grounds is this Sunday and it, unfortunately, isn’t creating much of a buzz. Well, at least buzz in a positive way. The women’s match from RAW will be for the RAW Women’s Championship. The champion Becky Lynch will be facing Lacey Evans for a second time after she retained her title at Money in the Bank last month.
There was an interaction between both competitors in the ring after a lot of back and forth “trash” talking. For what it was worth it wasn’t bad. Each woman threw in a witty line or two that created some chuckles. It was far better than the side by side backstage interview last week. This segment occurred closer to the beginning of the show which made it a little forgettable when all things were considered. If it was placed in the last hour of the show it may have made a bigger impact.
#TheMan @BeckyLynchWWE has heard just about enough out of @LaceyEvansWWE before they go one-on-one THIS SUNDAY at #WWEStompingGrounds! #RAW pic.twitter.com/AllvRUsJv9
— WWE (@WWE) June 18, 2019
Lynch ended the segment by delivering a bexploder to her challenger when Evans attempted to enter the ring. At this point, the match build up is just “meh.” It isn’t horrible, but nothing to write home about. There seems to be something missing.
Prior to the only women’s match of the night, Naomi and Natalya were spotted backstage with Bayley. Social media was brought up again in order to make everyone think that Bayley is the “bad guy” and she refused to hug a fan who was wearing a Nikki Cross shirt. Natalya seemed to believe it.
The biggest news of the night was The IIconics DEFENDED their tag team titles in an actual match! Let’s celebrate that an actual match for the titles presented itself! The champs took on the team of Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss. Bayley was at ringside to watch the match.
Prior to the match Billie Kay made this comment:
“Seriously were there no other tag teams available?”
No, Billie, there wasn’t. The division really is pure imaginary. *Enter cricket sound here*
Bliss was knocked off the ring apron by Kay just before the finish of the match. As a result, Bliss turned to the SmackDown Women’s Champion who was sitting in a chair at the end of the ramp. After shoving Bayley to the ground, Bliss attempted to get into the ring. Bayley kept her from getting back into the match. Kay picked up the win on Cross. Cross reasonably upset shakes her head as she sits in the ring from sheer disappointment.
With there continuing to be little representation from the women lately it is getting harder to choose winners and losers. But there are still some ones to go over.
WINNERS: The IIconics
For once the champions are in the winner’s circle. They actually defended their titles and not just against local talent. The match itself wasn’t anything to write home about, but it actually told a story. They were able to retain their titles which, to be honest, it wouldn’t have been surprising if they lost them at this point.
They haven’t been being used as well as they should be. As a result, having them drop the titles at this point of their reign would have mirrored Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins losing their belts last week. Nonetheless, they did successfully retain their titles.
Now if they can only continue to have actual matches and a tag team division builds then maybe the fans will be interested.
LOSERS: Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross
Alexa and Nikki actually had a tag team title match. Positive. They lost. Negative.
The loss isn’t necessarily just what makes them on the losers list. It is from Bayley who caused too much of a distraction costing them the match. This solidified them being the losers this week.
Although they made the losers list their dynamic as a team seems to get better week after week. They are playing well off each other but Cross is definitely buying into everything Bliss is selling and she shouldn’t be. Hopefully, this doesn’t hurt Cross creatively in the end just to put Bliss over.
Final Thoughts:
In a WWE Exclusive, it appears that Nikki Cross will be in Alexa Bliss’ corner at Stomping Grounds. She is buying into Bliss’ influence that Bayley is the problem. Cross states that Bayley was the one who cost her the tag titles on RAW. Maybe this will unleash Cross’ crazy side that has been held back as of late?
What did you think of RAW this week? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section!! Check back in tomorrow for the SmackDown Winners & Losers.
