WWE Stomping Grounds: Five key questions for Sunday's event

Seven WWE titles will be on the line at Stomping Grounds on Sunday night - but what are the key storylines going into the event?

Raw and SmackDown wrapped up their final preparations this week as the finishing touches were put on WWE's second Box Office event of June.

The curiously-named Stomping Ground takes place in Tacoma, Washington at midnight on Sunday, so what are the key questions which will require answers in the Pacific north-west? WWE Editor Jefferson Lake takes a look...

Who will referee Rollins-Corbin?

Baron Corbin welched on his promise to provide the name of the man who will be the special guest referee for his Universal title match against Seth Rollins and so there will be at least one surprise announcement at Stomping Grounds.

A look at the SkyBet odds - which can occasionally be the nearest equivalent of spoilers - has two men down as the same price to don the match official's jersey for this one.

Brock Lesnar is, perhaps somewhat obviously, one of the names in the frame, while the other is much more intriguing: Shane McMahon.

The bookmakers, of course, are not always right, but Shane-O has been flexing his muscles of influence with increasing regularity on television this week, consuming segment after segment on both Raw and SmackDown in what may or may not be part of a storyline.

Could the boss's son be about to implement the ultimate display of nepotistic power and insert himself into the Universal title picture?

Will Sasha Banks return?

On a card featuring several second (or even third) instalment matches of ongoing feuds, the match for the SmackDown women's title between champion Bayley and challenger Alexa Bliss has an air of freshness about it. With Nikki Cross also in the mix, and an intriguing storyline having been built going into the match, it is one of the more engaging contests on the card.

It almost does not need it, but the conspiracy theory of choice is that Sasha Banks will return to

provide back-up for Bayley to turn a two-against-one into a much more even contest.

With Bliss and Cross almost playing the faces on SmackDown this week - Bayley towered over Bliss with a sense of menace, drank her coffee and, notably, threw the first punch in the melee - that could also lead to Bayley and Banks turning completely to the dark side.

Whatever happens, it will certainly be one to watch.

Is this Lacey Evans' last-chance saloon?

Having lost to Becky Lynch at Money In The Bank, this really is now or never for Lacey Evans, who has impressed with her character work on the main roster and is almost unquestionably a diamond in the rough.

Beating Lynch - the conqueror of Ronda Rousey and the woman coronated as the ace of the company at WrestleMania - seems like a long shot for Evans, who is still a relative newcomer to the main roster having made her debut at the main roster in January.

The feud between the two feels like it is reaching the blow-off point, but stand-out next opponents for Lynch are in fairly short supply. Alexa Bliss is involved in a program with SmackDown champion Bayley, Nia Jax and Ruby Riott are injured, Sasha Banks is missing in action and Natalya and Naomi are babyfaces and not logical opponents for Lynch.

Will Samoa Joe and Ricochet steal the show?

The short answer is, probably: Yes. Ricochet won the chance to challenge Joe for his United States championship by coming through a high-quality fatal five-way on this week's Raw as he closes in on his first main-roster championship.

Sunday's match between the two promises to be perhaps the ultimate example of two styles clashing. Joe is a hard-boiled veteran not afraid to utilise a strong style when necessary, while Ricochet is almost balletic in his movement and is one of the most athletic wrestlers on the current roster; while Joe stomps mudholes in people, Ricochet would barely leave footprints if he was to run on snow.

Their match will, therefore, be a real culture clash but that only adds to the intrigue as two of the best in the current business go head to head.

Can Heavy Machinery make the main-roster grade?

WWE's main roster is full of tag teams who excelled in NXT but have found life hard on Raw and SmackDown, where the duos division is often seen as second fiddle to the world of singles.

The Ascension, The Vaudevillians and Authors of Pain have all struggled to make an impact after moving up from NXT, where they all held tag-team gold. Only recently have The Revival began to replicate their strong booking at Full Sail on Monday nights.

Heavy Machinery were never tag champions in NXT but will get the opportunity to take the SmackDown straps when they take on Daniel Bryan and Rowan on Sunday night. Bryan's time in the main-event spotlight has seemingly been put on hold but could he be about to return to the top of the card by dropping the tag