Show

WWE Stomping Grounds

Match Results

Time and location

Sunday, Jun 23 | 7 PMET/4 PMPT

Tacoma Dome
Tacoma, WA

Drew Gulak def. Tony Nese and Akira Tozawa to win WWE Cruiserweight Title

TACOMA, Wash. — After a long, hard-fought campaign, Drew Gulak now finds himself perched at the top of the 205 Live mountain after snapping Tony Nese’s reign to become the new WWE Cruiserweight Champion.

Drew Gulak shows no mercy as he brutally launches Akira Tozawa onto Tony Nese during the WWE Stomping Grounds 2019 Kickoff.

The saying “every man for himself” was echoed throughout this Triple Threat clash, with bodies flying in and out of the ring and a series of nail-biting near-falls. Nese, the fighting champion that he is, had his work cut out for him. That reminder came moments after the opening bell when Akira Tozawa shot straight through the ropes with a diving attack on Nese and followed up by leveling Gulak with a flying senton on the outside. Not far behind was Gulak and his cache of excruciating submission holds. Combating both of these forces, Nese relied on his awe-inspiring strength, at one point lifting Tozawa with a suplex before flattening him onto Gulak.

The pivotal moment in this roller coaster affair occurred when The Premier Athlete attempted to deliver Running Nese onto Gulak, but Gulak countered with a Torture Rack. As The Philadelphia Stretcher dropped Nese on the apron, the running missile that is Tozawa launched into Nese with a dropkick out of nowhere. With the champion out of the ring, Gulak found an opening to sync in a whiplash-inducing Torture Rack Neckbreaker on Tozawa to pull out the win and finally complete his mission to raise the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.

WWE.com