SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE MAIN EVENT #321, HULU STREAMING TV
NOVEMBER 21, 2018
REPORT BY MIKE MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph, Percy Watson
REASONS TO WATCH…
- Nigel’s full-fledged favoritism for Foxy.
- Crews’ impressive feat of strength.
(1) EMBER MOON vs. ALICIA FOX
Fox’s hat fell off as she was entering the ring. She looked down at the floor, then waved her hand dismissively at the hat and continued on with her entrance. She really hit the ground running. Incredibly, Nigel dramatically stated, “To me, Alicia Fox is one of the greatest Superstars in WWE history.”
After pausing the stream to let that sink in, Moon and Fox locked up in the middle of the ring. Moon eventually flipped Fox to the mat, but Fox got up and knocked Moon down with a shoulder block, and waggled her finger “no” in the air. Moon stood up defiantly, and Fox was taken aback. Moon applied a side headlock and flung Fox down to the canvas, but Fox locked Moon in a head scissors. The crowd started to chant “Ember Moon” when Moon escaped the hold with a kip up. Fox looked on in disbelief. They lined up for another collar and elbow tie up, but instead Fox reared back and leveled Moon with a right forearm and followed up with a boot to the prone Moon.
Fox ran the ropes, hopped over Moon, and stopped dead in her tracks on the rebound as Moon had kipped up again and was ready to meet her. Moon looked intense, and delivered a drop kick to Fox who fell backward into the corner. Moon charged the corner but Fox blocked with a reverse elbow, and shouted, “Get out of here, son!” Moon charged the corner again, but Fox positioned herself on the top rope and performed a sunset flip on Moon for a two-count. Moon countered with a schoolgirl sweep on Fox, and also got a two-count.
The wrestlers got to their feet and Fox went behind Moon to deliver a clubbing blow to her back before whipping her to the mat by her hair. Fox landed three kicks to Moon, and then a swinging neck breaker after Moon got to her feet. Just as the fans started a “Let’s go Ember” chant, Fox dropped down and applied a chin lock to Moon. Moon got to her feet, but Fox used her hair for a second time to fling her back to the mat, never relinquishing her hold. Fox rained down with Sheamus-style blows from behind across Moon’s chest. Fox looked offended as the crowd began to boo her, then wrenched her chin lock some more.
Moon got to her feet and began slowly moving toward the ropes with her arm outreached, so Fox jumped on her back, piggy back style. This didn’t bring Ember down, but for some reason it prevented her from continuing on toward the ropes. Inexplicably, she slowly turned her back to the near ropes and reached out toward the far side of the ring. Finally, Moon put an end to this madness by doing a modified fireman’s carry slam, separating the two on the mat.
Moon knocked Fox down twice, then landed kicks on her opponent and finished the combo with a spinning right hand slap, knocking Fox down again. Moon attempted a springboard high cross body off the middle rope, but Fox ducked and dodged, then landed a sloppy looking big boot near Moon’s head. Fox pinned Moon halfheartedly for a two count, then laid in a more thorough pin, hooking the far leg, but only got another two-count. Frustrated, Fox shouted, “I can count! You can’t count!” at the referee. The following exchange took place among the announce team:
Vic: It looked like a two to me, Percy.
Percy: Me too.
Nigel: I’d say it was three – I’d give her a three.
Fox approached Moon in the corner, but Moon surprised her with an enzuigiri, using the top rope as support. Moon then landed a reverse elbow to Fox’s jaw. Moon hopped up to sit on the top turnbuckle, locked Fox in a suplex position, and pivoted around 180 degrees to land on her feet on the mat and delivered a standard vertical suplex to Fox. As Fox slowly got to her feet, Moon returned to the corner and climbed to the top turnbuckle. When Fox was upright, Moon took flight and landed the Eclipse for the three-count.
WINNER: Ember Moon by pinfall.
(Meyers’ Analysis: Another fresh face on Main Event in Ember Moon. As usual, Fox‘s attitude and antics are her strong points. Moon may be talented, but I‘m not sure she has the prowess to carry Fox to a great match.)
-Main Event recap session:
- Recap of Charlotte vs. Ronda Rousey from Survivor Series
- Replay of Rousey in-ring promo from Raw
- Replay of Charlotte in-ring promo from Smackdown
- Replay of Charlotte vs. Billie Kay and Peyton Royce from Smackdown
- Replay of Daniel Bryan in-ring promo from Smackdown
- Recap of Braun Strowman’s elbow injury from Raw
Check out this week’s episode of PWTorch’s Wrestling Night in America with Greg Parks…
In this episode of Wrestling Night in America, PWTorch columnist Greg Parks is joined by PWTorch.com contributor Jeff Vandrew Jr. to talk about the WWE landscape after Survivor Series. They also talk about the recently registered trademarks by the Elite group, and the upcoming ROH Final Battle PPV. They answer caller questions on Daniel Bryan’s top three babyface opponents, why WWE won’t let us miss Roman Reigns, and more.
-On Tune In Radio HERE
-On Apple Podcasts HERE
-Or search “PWTorch” or “Pro Wrestling Torch” on your podcast app of choice
(2) APOLLO CREWS vs. JINDER MAHAL (w/ Sunil & Samir Singh)
As Mahal made his entrance, the announce team explained that Mahal was looking for redemption against Crews, who defeated him on Main Event two weeks ago. The wrestlers locked up and barreled into the corner. When the referee called for a clean break, Mahal, on the outside, gathered himself and slowly backed away while making Zen postures. After another lock up, Crews moved Mahal into the corner this time, and also backed off from the corner cleanly.
Mahal charged at Crews from the corner but Crews blocked his strike attempt and returned fire with a right hand of his own. Crews applied an arm bar to Mahal, but Mahal countered with a knee lift to Crews’ midsection. Mahal whipped Crews into the corner, but Crews grabbed the top ropes and lifted himself up and over the charging Mahal, then performed some wasted-motion flips in the center of the ring for no purpose other than to dazzle potential onlookers. Crews then mimicked Mahal’s Zen poses. Mahal angrily ran toward Crews who leapfrogged the attack and went on to level Mahal with a drop kick. Mahal got to his feet and buried more knee lifts into Crews’ midsection. Crews dropped to one knee in the corner and Mahal planted a front kick to Crews’ skull.
Mahal lifted Crews to his feet and landed a forearm across his face. Mahal started to whip Crews to the ropes, but Crews reversed the whip and delivered a flying reverse elbow to Mahal, who rolled out to ringside. Crews started to leap over the top rope at Mahal, but Mahal dodged so Crews modified his plan and landed on the ring apron, his back to his opponent. After leaping over Mahal’s attempt to sweep his legs out from beneath him, Crews landed a kick to Mahal’s head, then executed a standing moonsault from the ring apron to Mahal. Mahal was knocked to the floor and Crews landed on his feet.
-Ad break with no ad
Back in the ring, Mahal had somehow gained the upper hand and whipped Crews hard into the corner. Mahal postured angrily while Crews grasped at his lower back. Mahal approached and applied a chin bar. Nigel indicated that the former WWE Champion was working on his inner peace. Crews got to his feet but Mahal leveraged him back down to the mat in a side headlock. Mahal arched his back while cinching in the headlock, doing a nice job to show effort to wear down Crews rather than appearing to rest. In spite of this, Crews again struggled to his feet and took Mahal down with a belly to back suplex.
Mahal writhed in agony on the mat, cradling his taped-up midsection. Vic pointed out that his ribs were brutalized two weeks ago by Brock Lesnar. Both men slowly got to their feet, and Crews offered his boot to the charging Mahal. Mahal grabbed Crews’ foot / bait, allowing Crews to deliver an enzuigiri to the larger opponent. Mahal staggered backward to the center of the ring, and Crews followed him and landed a kick to Mahal’s gut. Crews bounced off the ropes and front kicked the kneeling Mahal in his head. Mahal quickly got to his feet but was leveled again by Crews with a flying clothesline. Crews kipped up, and postured for the crowd and lined up for his standing moonsault. Mahal quickly got up and Crews adjusted to land on his feet, impressively. Crews clutched his knee, allowing Mahal to move in and land a super kick, knocking Crews to the mat. Mahal essentially collapsed onto Crews for a pin and two-count.
Mahal lifted Crews to his feet and set him up for a vertical suplex, but Crews escaped the hold and landed another enzuigiri before lifting Mahal into the military press. It took a second for Crews to elevate Mahal and fully extend his arms, but once he did he shouted “Too easy!” and dropped Mahal to the mat. This was a straight up power move by Crews, quite a showcase. Crews then executed a successful standing moonsault for the pin and three-count.
WINNER: Apollo Crews by pinfall.
(Meyers’ Analysis: A standard singles Main Event match. If nothing else, WWE did not resort to 50/50 booking this time, giving Crews consecutive victories against Mahal. The bigger surprise is that the Singh brothers did nothing to assist Mahal during the match. WWE maintains its stance that meditation and relaxation are only things that a bad person would do, using Crews to make fun of these practices.)
SHOW SCORE (0-10): 6.6
FINAL THOUGHTS: Match #1 was amusing, mostly for Fox and Nigel’s clear favoritism for her. Crews continues to show impressive feats of athleticism and strength, but only carries a moderate connection with the audience.
CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S REPORT: 11/14 WWE Main Event Report: Alicia Fox vs. Dana Brooke, Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder vs. Tyler Breeze & Apollo Crews
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