SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT
MARCH 6, 2019
HULU STREAMING TV
REPORT BY MIKE MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Renee Young, Byron Saxton, Percy Watson
REASONS TO WATCH…
- EC3 shines compared to other Main Event stars.
- A few good wrestling moves.
- A bit of good wrestling action.
(1) APOLLO CREWS vs. EC3
The streak of Main Event rematches continues, as does the announcers’ discussion on EC3’s character: Byron pointed out that EC3 came from money and education and doesn’t even need to be in the ring – he is just using WWE as a platform for people to see who he is.
Crews got to work early with an arm drag into an arm bar on EC3. EC3 got to his feet and ran the ropes while Crews repeated ducked and dodged. Crews eventually landed a drop kick and another arm drag, bringing EC3 again to the mat. EC3 again rose to his feet and pushed Crews against the ropes, which led to a violent rope break. EC3 delivered a series of front kicks to Crews who was down in the corner, while already selling the damage from Crews’s arm bars.
EC3 chopped and elbowed Crews, then landed a standard suplex. He covered Crews for a two-count, then applied a rear chinlock. Crews righted himself with some very mild crowd support, but EC3 whipped him back to the matt and reapplied the chinlock. Again the wrestlers got to their feet, but EC3 kicked Crews in the gut then planted him with a body slam. EC3 said, “Say my name: E C 3!” to the crowd while gesturing his initials before bouncing one side of the ropes and landing an elbow drop.
Crews crawled to the corner and got to his feet. EC3 ran in and attempted a double axe handle but Crews sidestepped, causing EC3 to smash chest-first into the turnbuckle. EC3 staggered backward as Crews hopped up to the middle rope and leaped off to land a high cross body and cover for a two-count. EC3 sprung up from the pin and turned Crews inside out with a big clothesline. The crowd did not respond.
Crews gathered momentum and knocked down EC3 four consecutive times with a clothesline, jumping reverse elbow, jumping clothesline, and enzuigiri. On that last move, EC3 was dazed and slipped through the ropes out to ringside. Crews rolled EC3 back into the ring and began to climb the outside of the corner. Meanwhile, EC3 got to his feet and struck the ropes, causing Crews to lose his balance and fall to the canvas. Crews stood up, shaken, allowing EC3 to apply the One Percenter – a DDT except EC3 is facing the same direction as his opponent – for the pin and three-count.
The referee moved in to raise EC3’s left hand in victory, but EC3 violently motioned for him to come round to the other side to raise his right hand instead.
WINNER: EC3 by pinfall.
(Meyers’s Analysis: I‘m pleasantly surprised with the ending – I thought Main Event had a new predictable pattern of giving win streaks to its wrestlers, but EC3 came back with a win after last week’s loss to Crews. The match itself was nothing special, though it did have some fast paced, slam-bang action. It was novel to see EC3 selling his arm in such a brief match. His interaction with the referee post-match served two purposes: The extended selling of an injury, and looking like an arrogant prick.)
-Main Event recap session:
- Replay of Reigns and Rollins in-ring interaction from Raw
- Replay of Rollins and Ambrose backstage interaction from Raw
- Replay of Corbin, McIntyre, and Lashley attacking Reigns and Rollins; Ambrose coming to their aid and reuniting the Shield from Raw
- Recap of Flair’s 70th Birthday Party and Batista’s intervention from Raw
- Replay of Triple H in-ring promo responding to Batista from Raw
- Match rundown for upcoming PPV, Fastlane
(2) TYLER BREEZE & KALISTO & LINCE DORADO vs. JINDER MAHAL & SINGH BROTHERS
Samir started off against Dorado and got in some dance moves after knocking Dorado down early with a shoulder block. Dorado kipped up, then leveled Samir with a standing dropkick. Dorado approached the opponent’s corner threateningly, but did nothing, which allowed Samir to club him from behind with a forearm. Samir moved Dorado into a neutral corner and continued with the blows, but Dorado fought back with a series of right hands. Samir tagged in Sunil, who entered the ring only to be met with a high cross body from Dorado, who pinned for a two-count.
Dorado smashed Sunil with a vertical chop to the chest and tagged in Kalisto. The two members of Lucha House Party combined forces to deliver their dual body splash to the prone Sunil, and Kalisto covered for a two-count. Breeze then tagged in and cleared the ring of all Singhs, allowing the show to cut to commercial.
Back from the break, we see Breeze tagging in again in what appeared to be a hot-tag situation. Mayhem ensued briefly with most wrestlers involved. Once Mahal was knocked out of the ring, Kalisto tagged in and took Sunil down with the Salida del Sol, allowing Dorado to tag in and land a shooting star press for the three-count.
WINNERS: Tyler Breeze & Kalisto & Lince Dorado by pinfall.
(Meyers’s Analysis: Even in a match this brief, I’m always impressed by the coordination of the final series of events in a six-man tag match. Prior to that, however, Breeze had multiple superkicks that were nowhere near the mark. Someone may need to tell him that Main Event matches are actually being recorded for broadcast. Good, predictable, brief action in this match.)
SHOW SCORE (0-10): 5.8
FINAL THOUGHTS: EC3 is the highlight of this episode as we wonder if he will continue to flounder at the C-level in spite of the weeks of buildup leading up to his arrival on the main roster. Nothing much else to see here, except a sleepy crowd.
NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S REPORT: 1/27 WWE Main Event TV Report: Percy tells story of EC3’s privileged upbringing, EC3 faces Apollo Crews, plus No Way Joe vs. Rezar
Best part of the commentary on EC3:
Byron “…victory after victory after victory, just like he always says”
Renee “What, in the hallway?”
seriously, WHY DON’T THEY LET EC3 TALK!