10/25 WWE Main Event Report: The Revival vs. Bobby Roode & Chad Gable, Jinder Mahal vs. Zack Ryder, Reigns announcement recap

WWE MAIN EVENT #317
OCTOBER 25, 2018
AIRED ON WWE NETWORK
REPORT BY MIKE MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers:  Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph, and Percy Watson

REASONS TO WATCH…

– Nigel’s fascination with Samir Singh.
– Gable’s high-flying energy.

(1) JINDER MAHAL (w/ Singh Brothers) vs. ZACK RYDER

Vic made sure to mention Mahal’s “historic WWE title run” during his entrance.  Ryder mugged for the crowd as he approached the ring, wearing a bizarre vest / spiked armor apparatus, complete with dangling chains.  Percy commented on his “new look.”  Mahal and the Singhs glared and pointed at Ryder, but then transitioned into the smiling, peaceful zen pose when Ryder entered the ring.  Ryder struggled to get a “woo” chant going as the bell rang.

Mahal struck first with a front kick to Ryder’s abdomen, followed by an elbow to Ryder’s back.  Mahal struck Ryder’s face with a closed fist, and whipped Ryder into the ropes, but Ryder delivered a face plant to Mahal on his rebound.  Mahal trotted awkwardly to the corner, followed by Ryder.  Ryder mounted Mahal using the middle rope, and began the classic 10-count punches, but became distracted by Sunil at ringside after only three punches.  I will be forever unfulfilled due to this interruption.  As Ryder’s attention was directed toward Sunil, Mahal slithered out of the corner and delivered a chop block to the rear of Ryder’s left knee, sending him to the mat.

Using the ropes for leverage, Mahal landed three big knee drops to Ryder’s chest before grinding his knee into Ryder’s throat as the referee counted to a rope break.  Mahal broke the hold, and did more zen posturing as Ryder got to his knees.  Mahal delivered a clubbing blow to the back of Ryder’s head, and then landed a knee to Ryder’s back before applying a rear chinlock.  The crowd started a very mild “woo” chant as Ryder got to his feet and punched Mahal in the gut.  Mahal pushed Ryder backward against the ropes, and hit a reverse elbow on the rebound to send Ryder to the mat again.  More zen posturing.

As Zack was on his back, Mahal bounced once off the ropes and dropped his knee on Ryder’s chest.  Mahal walked away, then decided to double back not for another move, but for a pin.  Ryder kicked out at two.  Ryder crawled to the edge of the ring and draped himself over the middle rope, inviting Mahal to use his leg to choke Ryder against said rope.  The Singhs taunted Ryder from ringside as the referee called for another rope break.  This shot of the Singhs led to the line of the night, by Nigel:  “The great comeback story of 2018:  The return of Samir Singh.  Samir Singh had an injury that would’ve put most people in the morgue.”

Meanwhile, Mahal had Ryder in the middle of the ring again, and applied another rear chinlock.  Ryder got to his feet, but Mahal used leverage and a side headlock to force Ryder back to the mat in what could’ve passed as a legit wrestling maneuver.  Nigel pointed out that Mahal comes from great breeding stock, and is the nephew of “Stampede Wrestling legend, Gama Singh.”  Ryder struggled and eventually got to his feet to deliver more body blows, and eventually a forearm to Mahal’s face.  Rider, finally free, attempted to whip Mahal into the corner, but Mahal reversed and Ryder did a hard belly flop after bumping into the corner back-first.

Jinder slowly approached the prone Ryder, lifted him from behind by his hair, and planted a big elbow into Ryder’s head.  Another clubbing blow.  Then Mahal applied a chinlock / arm bar in the center of the ring.  Ryder got to his feet, more quickly than before, and escaped by blasting Mahal with a jawbreaker.  Ryder landed four punches, moving Mahal backward into a corner.  Ryder attempted another whip, and was again reversed into the corner.  As Mahal chased, Ryder lifted lifted both knees into the charging Mahal.  Mahal was stunned, and as he turned back toward the corner, Ryder scaled the second rope and landed a missile dropkick.

Ryder delivered a forearm to Mahal in the corner, then lined up for the Broski Boot.  Mahal was barely yanked outof the way by Samir, leading to Ryder being hung up on the bottom rope.  Nigel indicated that Samir was “certainly earning his rupees here today.”  Mahal and Ryder struggled with one another across the ropes, with Ryder standing on the ring apron and Mahal in the ring.  Ryder somersaulted over Mahal and attempted a sunset flip, but Mahal grabbed hold of the ropes to prevent the move, then kneeled on Ryder’s shoulders for a pin attempt, but the referee noticed the rope leverage and stopped the count.  Mahal, distracted, let down his guard, allowing Ryder to complete the sunset flip for the pin and victory.

WINNER:  Zack Ryder by pinfall.

(Meyers’ Analysis:  Nigel’s commentary was the highlight of this segment, and the match is skippable.  Mahal was clunky in the ring, and doesn’t seem to know what to do sometimes.  Three rest holds in a six-minute match is excessive.  Despite how brief the match was, it feels like the wrestlers repeated a lot of its content.)

-Main Event recap session:

• Replay of Roman Reigns’s leukemia announcement from Raw (edited with a dramatic music bed and slow motion cuts of Reigns and the audience)
• Replay of Shawn Michaels and Triple H’s promo, and Undertaker and Kane’s pre-taped response from Raw
• Replay of Ronda Rousey-Nikki Bella contract signing for Evolution from Raw
• Match rundown for upcoming PPV Evolution
• Replay of Charlotte Flair-Becky Lynch brawl at Performance Center from Smackdown

(2) BOBBY ROODE & CHAD GABLE vs. THE REVIVAL

When Nigel asked Vic about the “peculiar pairing” of Roode and Gable, Vic asserted that there’s nothing peculiar about it, and that Roode is a perfect mentor for Gable, and pointed out that Roode is a former NXT and United States champion.  Roode and Gable made simultaneous “glorious” poses at the song’s instrumental climax.  As the Revival made their entrance, Nigel indicated that they have being stringing together win after win.

Roode started off against Wilder.  The two locked up at mid-ring, and exchanged a series of whips, arm drags, and shoulder blocks when Roode eventually went for a pin and Wilder frantically scrambled out before even a one-count, and retreated to his corner to pause the action.  Wilder appeared distraught, and received some whispered advice from Dawson on the apron.  Dawson eventually tagged in, and motioned to Gable on the apron, inviting him to be tagged in.  Dawson dropped to his knees and put his fists up, mocking Gable’s stature.  It should be noted that Dawson is only marginally larger than Gable.  Demonstratively up for the challenge, Gable tagged in.

The two locked up in the center of the ring, and Dawson twisted and maneuvered Gable into a neutral corner.  The referee approached to break up the hold, and Dawson backed off cleanly, which Nigel described as an act of good sportsmanship.  The wrestlers fired off a series of rapid chain wrestling moves and pins, culminating with Gable applying an arm bar to to Dawson, who was face-down on the canvas.  Gable guided Dawson to his feet, allowing Dawson to use a handful of Gable’s hair to neutralize the arm bar and then blast Gable with a European uppercut, sending him rolling out to ringside.  Roode, like a standard WWE babyface ninny, completey turned his back on Dawson to ask if Gable was alright.  Dawson rewarded this foolishness with a clubbing blow to the backside of Roode’s head.

Wilder dashed into the ring and the Revival began to double team the non-legal Roode by whipping him into his own corner.  Roode side stepped the charging Wilder, ducked a clothesline by Dawson, and made his way to his own corner.  With Roode as bait, the Revival approached the opposite corner, and were surprised with a missile dropkick from Gable who had scaled the corner behind Roode.  Gable and Roode delivered “stereo overhead tosses” to the Revival, who rolled out of the ring.  Gable and Roode made “glorious” poses as the Revival were stunned at ringside.

After a break with no ad, order had been restored in the ring and Wilder had Gable trapped in a rear chinlock.  Strangely, the referee slapped the mat rhymithcally three times, not as a pin count, but seemingly to fire up Gable and/or the crowd.  Gable struggled to his feet and landed three body blows, and inched toward his own corner.  Wilder, sensing this, headbutted Gable, knocking him to the mat toward the Revival’s corner.  Wilder lifted Gable by his arm while tagging in Dawson.  Gable escaped a double-team effort by the Revival, crawling through Dawson’s legs, then leaped at the side-by-side Revival, who caught Gable in midair.  The Revival suspended Gable momentarily before Gable defied physics and delivered a double-DDT to the duo.  Gable got to his feet and made a leaping tag to Roode.

Roode clotheslined Dawson twice to the mat, then knocked a lurking Wilder off the aprong to the ringside.  Roode chopped Dawson’s chest in the corner before whipping him into the ropes and delivering a back body drop.  Wilder found himself in the ring for some reason, so Roode clotheslined him in the corner, and did the same to Dawson in the opposite corner.  Roode, from the second turnbuckle, attempted the Blockbuster but the Revival ducked, causing Roode to land hard, flat on his back.  Gable entered, and removed Wilder from the ring with a unique hurricanrana over the top rope, and followed up with a tumbleweed senton onto Wilder on the floor.

Gable, in sort of a victory trot, ran around the corner of the ring to be met with a big clothesline from Dawson.  Dawson then scrambled into the ring, but Roode was waiting and executed a main event (Main Event?) spinebuster to Dawson.  Roode covered for a two-count.  Roode performed his hand-twirling gestures and indeed got much of the crowd to yell “Glorious!”  Roode front-kicked Dawson, but Dawson pushed Roode into the corner, backed up, charged in with a clenched fist but Roode used the corner for leverage and gave Dawson dual big boots.  The two wrestlers then had an awkward exchange:  Roode missed a chop, Dawson went for a punch but pulled it for some reason while Roode ducked anyway, then Dawson went for a DDT and landed hard on his back while Roode did not go with him, holding the rope to prevent the landing.  Strange looking sequence resulting from what appeared to be a miscommunication.

Gable tagged in, unbeknownst to Dawson, who had pinned the now non-legal Roode.  Gable locked his arms around the baffled Dawson from behind, maneuvered him face-first into the corner, then executed his backward somersault into a German suplex for the pin and three-count.

WINNERS: Bobby Roode and Chad Gable by pinfall.

(Meyers’ Analysis:  A standard tag match.  It’s refreshing to see Gable’s high-energy moveset against the Revival.  Bobby Roode was Bobby Roode.  Five minutes isn’t enough time for a compelling tag match.)

SHOW SCORE (0-10): 6.0

FINAL THOUGHTS: Nothing must-see on this episode.  Standard pre-Raw matches, with Chad Gable’s speed and energy being the highlight.

CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S REPORT: 10/18 WWE Main Event Report: Top reasons to watch, plus No Way Jose & Zack Ryder vs. The Revival, Rhyno vs. Konnor