WWE Stomping Grounds 2019 - 5 Possible finishes for SmackDown Tag Team Title match

After the Superstar Shake Up, the SmackDown division hurt most by the brand-switching was its tag team division. Gone were the Bar, as Sheamus was out with an injury, and Cesaro was sent to RAW.

The Usos also joined Monday Nights as part of its tag division. If that wasn't enough, immediately following WrestleMania, Big E had to take some time off in order to deal with a knee issue. Since Kofi Kingston was now the WWE Champion, he wouldn't be challenging for the tag titles with Xavier Woods.

But after a little reshuffling following the Shake Up, Daniel Bryan and Rowan joined the tag team ranks and saved the division. They defeated the Usos for the right to become the new SmackDown Tag Team Champions. After their triumph, however, things were bleak regarding challengers.

The B-Team isn't a serious threat to the champs and the Club was also moved to RAW. That left another heel team in Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev as one of the few remaining teams on the blue brand, but they have only been used at Super ShowDown since 'Mania.

Bryan's promo about the division being a joke was an honest take that showed how shabby his tag team division was. One of the few remaining teams on SmackDown, albeit one new to the dance so to speak, was Heavy Machinery. After Bryan and Rowan won the titles, they ran into Otis and Tucker backstage, and it looked like Otis either wanted to eat the belts or have some alone time with them.

'The Blue Collar Tough' duo then laid out a challenge after Bryan roasted his division, and it was only announced on SmackDown this week that the two teams would be squaring off at Stomping Grounds. Here are five possible finishes for their match.

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#5 The Planet's Champions get disqualified

The Planet's Champs might resort to some chicanery but get caught

Daniel Bryan kicked AJ Styles below the belt in order to win the WWE Championship. He's proven that he's a heel and will do anything in order to win. He'll be the smallest man in the match on Sunday and might try to use a foreign object as an equalizer.

As with all matches on PPVs, how long the feud is supposed to last often determines the outcomes of these matches. If this is a one and done match, the Bryan and Rowan will win and send Heavy Machinery to the back of the line.

If they are to feud over a few PPVs, however, then this is a potential outcome. Both Bryan and Rowan could resort to something illegal or use a chair or something else that would lead to another match.

The next PPV is Extreme Rules, so that could be a way to set up a second match between the two squads. If a team is going to get disqualified, it would be the champions trying to retain their gold.

#4 Heavy Machinery wins the SmackDown Tag Team Titles

Would WWE really put the titles around the new guys this soon?

While Heavy Machinery are one of the few actual teams on the blue brand, I think it would be a huge mistake to have them win the titles now. Not only are they new to the roster, but they aren't new and so good that it warrants a title run. Ricochet is another story.

This might be a placeholder feud until SummerSlam, but one possible finish for the match is that the team of two large men capture the gold. It would be their first title win in WWE and NXT and it would put the titles back around the waists of faces.

Strangers things have happened in WWE, and if giving Rowan and Bryan the titles was a band-aid to fix the problem initially, then it is feasible that the 'Blue Collar Tough' boys win the titles. The rest of the division will become clearer and clearer with each passing week. People have returned from injury (AOP, Big E) and others may return from obscurity (Nakamura and Rusev).

If WWE wants a face team to carry the titles, then this might be the time for a title switch. It would be too soon in my opinion, but there are more teams of heels than faces on the blue brand. Mr. McMahon might also love the goofiness of Otis more than the fantastic heel work of Bryan.

#3 The Planet's Champions retain

It is too soon to take the titles off of Bryan and Rowan

No matter how it happens, the best possible outcome for this showdown is for the Planet's Champions to win and retain their titles. They recently won the belts and deserve a good run for saving a division that was left in shambles. They were going along as a part of Shane McMahon's tyranny, so if they drop the belts right away, it was weird to crown them in the first place.

Heavy Machinery is still new to the main roster whereas both Rowan and Bryan are veterans. Rowan has won the titles with different partners, just like Bryan. They are a great heel act that is unlike any other on the roster.

Bryan is likely staying away from the WWE Title picture since he lost it to Kofi Kingston, so the best use of his talents now is in the tag division. I foresee a match for the titles with the New Day at SummerSlam, so to get to that point, the champs retaining is the most logical finish.

#2 Another SmackDown team interferes and causes a no-contest

AOP was back on TV this week in a backstage segment on SmackDown

One overlooked aspect of SmackDown lately has been the other tag teams on the show. I've mentioned how we have the B-Team, Rusev and Nakamura (if they come back as a team) but also not much else other than the YOLO County Champions.

As injuries have healed, however, a team that might return to WWE, albeit on a different show, could be the Authors of Pain. They were shown backstage on SmackDown this week, waiting outside of the room of Baron Corbin. Rumors even speculated that they would be joining the blue brand once they returned.

They could announce their return to action in destructive fashion by attacking both teams in the middle of the match. They were a part of the 50-man battle royal at Super ShowDown and had a spot with the Viking Raiders and Heavy Machinery. It could have been nothing, or it could have been foreshadowing of a future meeting between teams.

None of the other teams on SmackDown have come out to the ring or said that the division isn't a joke. Perhaps they pick their spot and show that the division isn't a joke by ruining the title match this Sunday.

#1 The Planet's Champions cheat to win

Cheating hasn't been below the New Daniel Bryan. Just ask AJ Styles' groin

In order to retain their titles at any cost, Bryan and/or Rowan might just do something behind the referee's back in order to pick up a cheap win. Bryan did it when he won the WWE Title against AJ Styles, and he's resorted to post-match beat-downs of opponents regularly.

There might be a point in the match where the beef of his opponents becomes too much. 'The Killer Vegan' then finds a way to hit another low blow or hit either Otis or Tucker with a chair or something else. Extreme Rules is the next PPV, so if they cheat with a foreign object, it might be the impetus for another match between the two teams next month.

Rowan also has attacked people when the ref's back was turned, but since he's a legal competitor this time, it wouldn't be seen as interfering. There will likely be some 'big guy posturing' during the match in order for each big man to assert their dominance.

Perhaps Rowan and Bryan show their dominance by tricking the new boys on the block into a trap in order to retain the titles. Heavy Machinery winning the titles would only be in a clean fashion, but there are several situations where they could lose. Getting cheated by the champs is one of them.