SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT
MAY 1, 2019
HULU STREAMING TV
REPORT BY MIKE F. MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Renee Young, Byron Saxton, David Otunga
REASONS TO WATCH…
- Show now boasts a generous three-match format.
- Women’s tag champions compete.
- Rawley turns up the fire.
(1) MOJO RAWLEY vs. HEATH SLATER
Mojo entered first wearing his new attire: A dark blue sleeveless robe with a large hood shrouding his face. We could catch glimpses of his face paint as he made his way to the ring. Meanwhile, Slater’s gimmick remains the same: He’s got kids. The bell rang, and Rawley emerged from a crouching position in the corner, removed his hood, and began a vicious assault against Slater. Slater got in a flurry of several punches, momentarily stunning Rawley, but Rawley ran the ropes and knocked Slater out of the ring with a shoulder tackle.
Rawley joined Slater at ringside, knocked him down again, then repeatedly screamed in Slater’s face. Rawley rolled Slater back into the ring, then executed an Alabama slam and covered Slater for the three count.
WINNER: Mojo Rawley by pinfall.
(Meyers’s Analysis: Interesting Main Event match – a borderline squash for the slightly redesigned Rawley. His face paint and wardrobe are the most obvious changes, and he has increased his nastiness quotient from a 5 to a 7.)
-Main Event recap session:
- Recap of the Kevin Owens / New Day journey
- Replay of Cole interviewing Kofi from Smackdown
- Replay of Kevin Owens’s action figure segment from Smackdown
- Replay of Firefly Fun House
- Replay of Roman Reigns vs. B-Team from Smackdown
- Match rundown for upcoming PPV Money in the Bank
- Replay of Styles-Rollins contract signing from Raw
(2) CESARO vs. CEDRIC ALEXANDER
The match started with fast-paced back and forth action, but Cesaro soon had the upper hand and locked in a chinlock in the middle of the ring. When Alexander began to break free, Cesaro drove him into the mat with a back suplex. The wrestlers exchanged blows – Cesaro landing European uppercuts, and Alexander dealing chops. The power of Cesaro was too much, and Alexander found himself in another chinlock.
Alexander elbowed his way free and ran the ropes but Cesaro immediately doused that brief momentum with a big boot to Alexander’s face. Alexander was able to land a series of offensive moves, finally knocking Cesaro to the mat. Alexander performed a handspring to bounce off the ropes, flying at Cesaro with a reverse elbow, but Cesaro sniffed out the attack and countered with another European uppercut to the backside of Alexander’s head. Cesaro covered for a believable two-count.
Cesaro charged twice at Alexander in the corner but both times Alexander got his boot up, then leveled Cesaro with a missile dropkick. Alexander dodged another uppercut before sliding between Cesaro’s legs and rolling him up for a pin and three-count.
WINNER: Cedric Alexander by pinfall.
(Meyers’s Analysis: A couple interesting things about Cesaro’s role in this match: 1. He wasn’t given a proper ring entrance. 2. He‘s still wearing Cesaro/Sheamus trunks, despite the uncertainty of their alliance and Sheamus’s show affiliation. The match itself was a 50/50 endeavor, with an edge given to Cesaro as Alexander appeared to “get away with a victory” rather than truly owning his opponent. And speaking of 50/50, this was a rematch of Alexander‘s Raw debut , which he lost.)
(3) ALICIA FOX & TAMINA vs. THE IICONICS (C)
The IIconics made their slow walk down the ramp, which gave them time to insult the people of Kentucky and its sport teams. This was met with a moderate smattering of boos.
Tamina started off for her team, and the IIconics took turns being too terrified to start off against her. Tamina observed their antics with a vapid expression on her face. Finally, Royce locked up with Tamina and Tamina fired her back into her corner. Kay tagged in and attempted a German suplex, but Tamina wouldn’t budge. She twirled Kay to the mat, then backed up, holding her hands outward.
This allowed Fox to tag in blindly, surprising Tamina. Fox entered the ring, grabbed the top rope with both hands and did a bizarre foot-shuffling warm up dance, then faced her opponents with her arms held up in a posture similar to a begging dog. This clearly confused Kay, and most of the audience, as it allowed Fox to charge in and land two drop kicks. Royce tagged in and absorbed a drop kick of her own. Fox covered for a one-count.
Royce landed a knee lift to Fox’s abdomen, then dragged her to the IIconics corner. Kay tagged in for a brief double team, allowing the champions time to strike their IIconics pose. Tamina tagged back in and grabbed Kay by the hair. Kay shrieked for her life. Tamina splashed Kay in the corner, then knocked her to the mat with a head butt. Tamina scooped Kay onto her shoulders, but Royce entered the ring and pulled Kay down to safety. She then ran to her opponents’ corner to knock Fox off the apron. Tamina tossed Royce out of the ring, and was rolled up by Kay but kicked out at two.
Royce tagged in, unbeknownst to Tamina. Kay, now partaking in a double team, booted Tamina in the face, then held her up for Royce to land a running knee to Tamina’s face. Royce covered for the three-count.
WINNERS: THE IIconics by pinfall.
(Meyers’s Analysis: It’s difficult to take the IIconics seriously as tag champions, and by extension, it‘s difficult to take the women’s tag division seriously. It’s laughable that any champion would compete on Main Event, and this was a perfect illustration of what WWE thinks of the division. Also, this was a heel on heel contest so I’m not sure how or why the crowd should react. Fox was legitimately funny to watch, and the ending sequence of the match was decent.)
SHOW SCORE (0-10): 7.9
FINAL THOUGHTS: Main Event has bucked its two-match formula and has upped the ante to three matches. Seeing Cesaro compete almost gave the show a feeling of star power – which is sad, considering it also featured the women’s tag champions. Still an interesting episode.
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