WWE Stomping Grounds: The winners and losers from Sunday night's event
Monday 24 June 2019 14:07, UK
Although there was only one title change at Stomping Grounds, the winners and losers in Tacoma were not limited to the world of championship titles.
Some programs ended, some continued, and some appear to just be getting started after a curious event which lacked any major shocks but still provided some intrigue, as well as several very good matches.
WWE Editor Jefferson Lake takes a look at four superstars whose position was enhanced by the event, and four who perhaps took a step backwards in the Pacific north-west...
Winners
Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch
Since their double title victory at WrestleMania, Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch have gradually made their real-life romance more public.
First came the rumours, then the coded messages on social media, and then the completely out-in-the-open couple pictures on social media.
Their relationship was heavily referenced in commentary throughout Stomping Grounds and especially during the main event, when Lacey Evans was named as Baron Corbin's special guest referee of choice.
Lynch then helped Rollins overcome those odds and the closing image of the event was the pair raising each other's arms in a moment of mutual triumph and one which cements their position as the golden couple of the company.
Heavy Machinery
The argument could easily be made that the former NXT tag team, competing for main-roster silverware for the first time, were the sleeper MVPs of the whole event.
Otis' enormously likeable personality and charisma by the bucketload are already well known but on Sunday night he also exhibited good in-ring psychology and some serious strength.
It was something of a break-out event for Tucker, too, who proved himself to be no slouch in the ring as the duo put in a performance which suggests good things lie ahead.
Daniel Bryan
Despite being the heel, the Rasputin-styled Bryan was cheered to the rafters in his native Washington and had the crowd in the palm of his hand for the duration of his match.
Breathtaking high spots were kept to a minimum as Bryan once again proved himself the master of psychology and a man capable of making everyone around him look better.
Despite not currently being in a main event singles position, he remains one of the most valuable members of the WWE roster and someone who can be counted on to deliver high-quality performances with a ruthless reliability.
Losers
Samoa Joe
Although he was involved in a superb match with Ricochet, Samoa Joe woke up on Monday morning as a former champion.
Joe has now held the United States championship twice since moving across from NXT but is yet to win any of his battles for the company's top-tier singles belts.
At 40, he still has time to be pushed to that level, and his fans - of which there are many - live in hope that he will be given the status his ability and reputation deserve.
Dolph Ziggler
There is a school of thought that Ziggler was brought in to work with Kingston as his first opponent as WWE for two reasons - to make Kofi look strong and because there were concerns about the willingness of other competitors, notably Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, to travel to Saudi Arabia.
Kingston could now theoretically move on to either of those targets if his run with Ziggler has now come to an end.
For more or less the entire history of wrestling, cage matches have signalled the end of a singles program and Kingston's decisive victory in Sunday night's contest suggests Ziggler's time in the title picture has come to an end.
Lacey Evans
Character-wise, this was a great nice for Lacey Evans. She got her 'sassy Southern belle' gimmick more over than it has perhaps been at any point during her time on the main roster.
But she was fairly decisively beaten by Becky Lynch in the Raw women's title match and also came up short - again, with some good psychology - as the special guest referee in the main event.
Throw in a couple of missed spots in her match with Lynch and overall this was a pretty disappointing night for Evans.
