9 Match Star Ratings For WWE Stomping Grounds

4. Bayley Vs. Alexa Bliss - SmackDown Women's Championship Match

Kofi Ziggler Stars
WWE.com

Not quite the exercise in atonement many forecast, and not without justification following the sterling build.

Bayley wasn't the totally feckless wallflower of 2017, but she sold for such a long and unbroken stretch that it hardly reflected or did much for her character reinvention. It didn't ruin it, either, so there's that, but the match just sort of existed and vanished in the mind's eye immediately after it ended.

Alexa did a great deal of acting, and slowly dragged Bayley around the ring for a just-there, nominal heat spot in a match badly lacking in build and dynamism. She is an expressive and polished performer, but it doesn't translate to particularly gripping wrestling matches, and all the while, Bayley's new, necessary arc faded from view in parallel with the dimmed crowd heat. She constantly harassed the referee throughout, as if we haven't seen enough of that with Baron Corbin, but she did aim a cracking slap in Bayley's face, with a neat in-character snarling bow, which finally forced Bayley out of her timid shell.

Sh*t got more vicious from there - those traded sunset flip powerbombs, while ill-advised, woke the crowd up - but the subsequent applause was only polite.

Star Rating: **1/2

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!