WWE Main Event TV results
April 17, 2013
Taped 4/16/13 in Knoxville, Tenn.
Aired on Ion Television
By Michael Cupach, PWTorch contributor

[Q1]

-WWE open.

-Main Event music video and then pyro in the arena. Michael Cole welcomes everyone to Main Event and tonight’s episode is all about the Intercontinental Title.

-Wade Barrett comes out to cut a promo on the combatants in the Battle Royal who are in the ring. He says that he didn’t think he should have to defend his title again, then he saw the talent in the ring and isn’t worried. Just then, Great Khali’s music plays and Wade Barrett gets a look of concern on his face. On a personal note, if Great Khali wins another Battle Royal and gets another mid-card title shot...

1 - 10-MAN BATTLE ROYAL - Winner receives IC Title match tonight

It looks like Santino, Yoshi Tatsu, Alex Riley, Justin Gabriel, Drew McIntyre, Jinder Mahal, The Usos, Primo, and Epico are in the match. The Usos team up on Drew McIntyre, and one of them ends up getting eliminated. Yoshi Tatsu gets eliminated by Jinder Mahal at just under the 3:00 mark as Santino fights to stay in the ring on the other side. McIntyre tries to eliminate Khali by himself, Khali chops him down, and then he meanders over to Epico and tosses him out. Mahal charges Khali, he gets tossed at 4:05 when Main Event goes to a break in the middle of the “action.”

(Commercial)

Main Event returns with Khali going to work on Alex Riley and then moving onto Santino and the surviving Uso. Khali is surprising me by migrating around the ring to get a piece of everyone. Barrett is shown looking on as everyone remaining tries to eliminate The Great Khali, but he fights and somehow avoids elimination. Everyone tries it again and the second time is a charm, as they eliminate Khali at 9:30. At this point I am celebrating!

Alex Riley nails the other Uso with a spinebuster and then eliminates him with a dropkick. Riley gets blindsided by Drew McIntyre and finds himself on the apron. Riley fights off McIntyre only to be dropkicked to the floor by Primo.

[Q2] The Final Four are Santino, Primo, Drew McIntyre, and Justin Gabriel. Santino gets eliminated after teasing The Cobra, Drew tries eliminating Primo, but the referee orders him back in the ring. Justin Gabriel eliminates Drew with a head scissor, he thinks he won, but Primo charges him and Justin back body drops him to the floor to win the Battle Royal!

WINNER: Justin Gabriel in 12:54.

-Matt Striker is with Justin Gabriel in the ring, and he asks if he is ready for his title match. Gabriel comments on how he used to be best friends with Wade Barrett, but that was a long time ago and just like his boy, Kofi Kingston, he will win the title tonight! Awkward promo, as Justin tripped over some words, but he got the crowd behind him when he said he was bringing the title home.

-Cole and his co-host for the week, JBL, briefly discuss the confusion over who is the number one contender for the World Title. They throw to highlights from Raw with the attempted Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler re-match when Swagger interfered.

-Up next, the latest on C.M. Punk.

(Commercial)

-Last Monday on Raw, C.M. Punk walked away after failing to defeat The Undertaker at WrestleMania. Clips from his promo on Raw are shown. Punk ended the promo by hugging Heyman and walking to the back. Back live, JBL says that it was hard to watch. Cole then reads a letter from Paul Heyman. Instead of talking about Punk, Heyman talks about Triple H and how he needs to answer Brock Lesnar’s challenge. Even more clips from Raw are shown when Brock destroyed 3MB and then issued a challenge to Hunter for a steel cage match at Extreme Rules. Cole announces that Triple H will be live on Raw to answer.

[Q3]

-Up next, Wade Barrett vs. Justin Gabriel for the IC Title.

-Matt Striker is with Wade Barrett backstage. He asks if his luck has taken a turn for the worse after losing to Miz at WrestleMania and then losing last Monday on Raw. Wade takes shots at Striker's career and then reminds Striker that he won his title back the night after Mania. Barrett calls Gabriel a daredevil nut who jumps out of planes, meanwhile he is a bare knuckle fighter in his spare time.

(Commercial)

Mike's Reax: So far, this has been a bland show with so many Raw clips being played. Hopefully Barrett vs. Gabriel can bring this show back to life.

-Michael Cole plugs Smackdown’s main event of Sheamus and Randy Orton vs. Big Show and Mark Henry on Friday.

-Jobber entrance for Wade Barrett. Justin Gabriel, on the other hand, gets his full entrance.

2 - IC champion WADE BARRETT vs. JUSTIN GABRIEL – Intercontinental Title match

JBL reiterates that it only takes three seconds for anything to happen in the ring, so there is really no underdog. Huh? Each team in baseball gets 27 outs, so JBL is essentially saying a 15-0 team would be on equal footing as an 0-15 team. Barrett relies on his brawling to take advantage early and he grounds Justin Gabriel. Wade misses a clothesline and Gabriel kicks Wade in the stomach and trips him again. Wade rolls to the floor to collect himself and surprisingly Main Event *doesn’t* cut to a break!

Wade re-enters the ring and backs Justin into the corner and pounds away on him. Barrett uses the middle rope to choke Gabriel, then ties him up in the ropes and tries to boot him in the face, but Gabriel ducks and sends Barrett to the outside. Wade lands on his feet, though, and Justin dives over the top rope, but Barrett sidesteps him and then nails him with a big boot. Main Event goes to commercial at 3:30.

(Commercial)

Main Event returns 6:20 into the match with Wade Barrett mule-kicking Justin in the stomach before hitting him with a Bossman Slam. Michael Cole then relates a story about Wade Barrett’s scar on his back and how he got it fighting in England years ago. Suplex by Barrett almost puts Gabriel away, but not quite! Chinlock by Barrett slows the pace down, Gabriel tries fighting out, but Wade cuts off his comeback.

[Q4] Gabriel goes at Barrett with a Stinger Splash in the corner, then follows up with a series of kicks. He then tries to take down Barrett, but Wade throws him straight up into the air and he drops straight down! Gabriel counters Wasteland, then he tries a springboard crossbody on Barrett, it connects, but it doesn’t put Barrett away. Gabriel tries a 450 splash, but Barrett moves and Justin lands on him feet.

Winds of Change by Barrett, but it doesn’t put Gabriel away so Barrett picks him up and tries a pumphandle slam, but Gabriel counters into an inverted DDT for a two count. Picture-perfect moonsault by Gabriel gets a two count, then Gabriel then sets up Barrett for the 450, Wade rolls away again and Gabriel is fired up! Wade goes to the apron, where he rakes Gabriel's eyes and then puts him away with the Bullhammer!

WINNER: Barrett by pinfall in 13:39.

Mike's Reax: Pretty good match between these two, as Gabriel held his own and scored a few credible nearfalls. Ultimately, it was obvious that Wade would beat Justin because he has not been seen on WWE TV in the last two or three months (outside Saturday Morning Slam, maybe). But, this was an enjoyable match to watch.

-Next, what’s up with Ryback?

(Commercial)

-Clips and highlights from Raw are shown surrounding what is happening between John Cena and Ryback. The long and short of it is that Ryback is sick of looking up from the bottom of the ladder and he is here to show Cena that he is better and more deserving of the WWE Title than Cena is. On Raw, Cena called out Ryback and told him about the wars he has been in, then The Shield entered the arena and beat down Cena while Ryback watched and didn't come to his aid.

-Michael Cole plugs Raw on Monday with The Undertaker being in action for the first time on Raw in three years. He recaps the IC Title match from earlier and signs off at the top of the hour.

Thank you for reading! For more from me, please follow me on Twitter @MJCupach. Also, check out my weekly Smackdown blog here on PWTorch.com!

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