SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE MAIN EVENT #331
JANUARY 30, 2019
AIRED ON HULU STREAMING TV
REPORT BY MIKE MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Renee Young, Byron Saxton, Percy Watson
REASONS TO WATCH…
- Play “Spot the Botch!” in Match #1.
- Play “Spot the Laziness!” in Match #2.
(1) LUCHA HOUSE PARTY vs. JINDER MAHAL & THE SINGH BROTHERS
Mahal started off against Dorado as the announcers discussed how Mahal is looking to turn things around after being eliminated from the Royal Rumble after fewer than 30 seconds. The two intertwined until Mahal powered Dorado into the corner, and backed off to perform his breathing exercise as Renee added, “In through the nose, out through the mouth.” Mahal used strength again to power Dorado up into a vertical suplex before applying a chinlock.
Sunil tagged in and began taunting Dorado in Punjabi, but Dorado interrupted with an inverted atomic drop and a nice kick / chop combination. Dorado then landed a springboard moonsault and a drop kick to Sunil before tagging in Kalisto, who entered and immediately tagged in Metalik. Kalisto and Dorado performed the Lucha House Party double splash on Sunil, then Metalik conducted his fancy footwork on the middle rope before landing a missile dropkick to Sunil. Metalik covered Sunil for a one-count.
Sunil tagged in Samir who absorbed two chops from Metalik before firing him through the ropes, tumbling to the floor at ringside. Mahal tagged in and hopped down from the ring apron to roll Metalik back into the ring, lumberjack style. Mahal drove his knee into Metalik’s back after a failed pin, and went on to deliver a back body drop for another two-count. Mahal maneuvered Metalik into no man’s land where he was punished by the Singhs, who eventually delivered a double suplex before Samir locked a chinlock on Metalik.
Samir had Metalik mounted atop the top turnbuckle, but Metalik swatted him down to the mat with a vertical chop to the chest. Metalik scaled the ropes, then the ring post, before bouncing off the top ropes into a high cross body to Samir. The wrestlers crawled toward their respective corners – Kalisto and Sunil tagged in simultaneously but Kalisto got the advantage with a springboard seated senton. Kalisto landed a series of nice lucha maneuvers before covering, but Samir dove in to break up the pin. Dorado entered the ring and hit a (nearly botched) handspring diamond cutter, causing Samir to roll out to ringside. Outside of the ring, Metalik punished Samir for his interference by landing a seated senton off the ring steps.
In the ring, Kalisto tagged in Dorado before hitting Sunil with the Salida Del Sol. Meanwhile, Dorado stood atop the top ropes and executed a beautiful shooting star press and covered Sunil for the three-count and victory.
WINNERS: Lucha House Party by pinfall.
(Meyers’ Analysis: Another decent display of LHP‘s talents with the Singh Brothers acting as dance partners for the exhibition. You could tell a fun story by mixing in Mahal‘s plodding power with the buzzing flies of the Singhs, but with such a short match time there’s no real opportunity.)
Main Event recap session:
- Dramatic recap of the final moments of the Women’s Royal Rumble
- Replay of Lynch / Rousey / Charlotte in-ring confrontation from Raw
- Replay of Daniel Bryan unveiling sustainable WWE championship belt
- Preview of women’s tag team qualifying match for Elimination Chamber PPV: Sasha Banks & Bayley vs. Alicia Fox & Nikki Cross on next week’s episode of Raw
(2) B-TEAM vs. THE ASCENSION
As B-Team made their enthusiastic entrance, Renee indicated that she is a huge fan of the B-Team and she “wants them to win everything WWE has to offer.” On the other hand, the announce team pointed out how the Ascension always seems to be in a bad mood. Victor was sporting elaborate new black and green spiral face paint, while Konnor merely had his lips sewn shut.
Axel started off against Viktor while a very faint “B-Team” chant echoed within the arena. The two exchanged a series of moves, then Viktor leveled Axel with a shoulder block. Viktor ran the ropes, and when a wrestler would normally jog and hop over the prone opponent, Viktor opted for a much fancier handspring and roundoff instead. Sticking his landing, Viktor held his hands aloft and shouted, “Ascension rules!” and we cut to commercial.
Back in the ring, Axel got the upper hand on Viktor, culminating with the Mr. Perfect neck snap. The crowd cheered when Axel posed, and went along with his leading of the B-Team chant. Axel landed a Perfect-Plex on Viktor, and as the ref counted the pin, Viktor was clearly lifting his head to make sure Konnor was coming in to make the save, and therefore a kickout was not needed. Konnor ran toward the ropes but Dallas pulled down the top rope, causing Konnor to flip over and out to ringside. Dallas tagged in and B-Team combined to land a suplex / neck breaker combo to Viktor, followed by a pin and three-count by Dallas.
WINNERS: B-Team by pinfall.
(Meyers’ Analysis: Not much to see here. The match loses style points when Viktor so clearly was on the lookout for the pre-planned pinfall breakup by his partner. In any situation attempting to resemble a true competition, one should never rely on the partner to break a pin – always kick out.)
SHOW SCORE (0-10): 5.2
FINAL THOUGHTS: Lucha House Party always brings brief flare to a show, but there was nothing new on offer. Same goes for the second match, except without the flare. Skippable show.
CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S REPORT: 1/23 WWE Main Event TV Report: Odd trio mix of announcers calling action, No Way Jose vs. Mojo Rawley, Rezar (w/Drake) vs. Tyler Breeze
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