WWE Stomping Grounds 2019: United States Championship match preview

Ricochet will challenge Samoa Joe for the United States Championship at Stomping Grounds.

So far, Ricochet’s transition from NXT to the main roster has been pretty seamless. It’s hard to ignore talent the caliber of someone like Ricochet. He performs feats of agility that are usually only seen in movies where they have wires and about 50 takes to do it. So in the wake of an unfortunate injury to Rey Mysterio Jr., it isn’t any surprise that Ricochet is the man stepping in to face Samoa Joe for the United States Championship at Stomping Grounds.

On paper the match looks like a clash of styles: the powerhouse vs. the aerialist. But don’t let Joe’s size fool you; he’s also been know to leave his feet and display some startling agility. Ricochet earned the right to challenge for the title after an amazing fatal five-way elimination match opened the “go-home” episode of Monday Night Raw this week. He outlasted some big names including Braun Strowman, Bobby Lashley and Cesaro before pinning The Miz clean off his 630 senton.

This could be the start of a big push for Ricochet, especially if he winds up winning his first main roster title. Even Chris Jericho thinks it’s Ricochet’s time to shine. During a recent episode of his podcast, Talk is Jericho, the former WWE Superstar mentioned how a win for Ricochet would actually benefit both he and Joe in the long run.

It would make sense to continue Ricochet’s momentum by letting him gain the win and the United States Championship. However, Joe just came off a loss to Mysterio at Money in the Bank so unless he moves up the ladder to challenge for the Universal Championship a loss might send him into obscurity where he doesn’t belong.

Regardless of the outcome, watching these two Superstars in their first one-on-one encounter should be rewarding and could set up another battle down the road. Stomping Grounds is Sunday June 23 on WWE Network.