WWE Stomping Grounds 2019: Preview and predictions

Previews and predictions for every match on the card at the inaugural edition of the WWE Stomping Grounds pay-per-view event.

A new addition to the 2019 pay-per-view calendar, the inaugural edition of WWE Stomping Grounds will take place at the Tacoma Dome this Sunday night on the WWE Network and the card finally seems to be in place.

While there are a few new matchups in here, the big theme for Stomping Grounds seems to be rematches. Both world title matches on the men’s side are repeats of Super ShowDown, although both have new twists to them, the Raw Women’s Championship Match between Becky Lynch and Lacey Evans is a rerun of Money in the Bank and Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre are having a WrestleMania rematch.

However, there is a little excitement brewing for the United States Championship bout as Ricochet gets a shot at singles gold as he takes on Samoa Joe, and Heavy Machinery will take a crack at Daniel Bryan and Rowan for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. We’ll take a look at all those matches and more throughout this WWE Stomping Grounds preview and give a prediction for each bout, starting with the Triple Threat Match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.

Triple Threat Match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship

Tony Nese (c) vs. Drew Gulak vs. Akira Tozawa

205 Live has been putting on some excellent matches as of late and I’m expecting no different from this one, even if it may end up on the Kickoff Show. I’m hoping that’s not the case as the in-ring work has been so stellar, but we all know that doesn’t matter sometimes.

Nevertheless, WWE Cruiserweight Champion Tony Nese faces his toughest challenge to date since winning the title from Buddy Murphy at WrestleMania, as he now has to take on both Drew Gulak and Akira Tozawa. The top two contenders made their way into this match by both scoring pinfall victories over each other in a fatal four-way match to determine a new No. 1 contender, a controversial ending that now puts Nese’s title in jeopardy as he doesn’t even have to lose to lose his title.

Prediction: I’m looking for a really good match here. Everyone on 205 Live has been killing it lately with little to no fanfare, and hopefully this match gets onto the main show. These three have been in the ring with one another enough to create some great chemistry, and I’m going with Drew Gulak here for the win. He may not pin Nese, but he leaves Stomping Grounds as the new Cruiserweight champ.