SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT
MAY 22, 2019
HULU STREAMING TV
REPORT BY MIKE F. MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Renee Young, Byron Saxton, Sam Roberts
REASONS TO WATCH…
- Sam Roberts is back. Who will he upset this time?
(1) NATALYA vs. TAMINA
A smiling Natalya made her way down the ramp, high fiving fans. She stopped to put a pair of cat’s ears on a little girl – very reminiscent of Bret Hart’s sunglasses offerings. The wrestlers started things slowly, with Natalya struggling to execute moves against her larger opponent. She eventually had Tamina trapped in a corner and was able to land multiple punches, but again wasn’t able to whip Tamina toward the opposite corner. Tamina reversed the attempt and whipped Natalya into the corner, but Natalya dodged the incoming spear and Tamina’s shoulder rammed into the ring post. Natalya quickly rolled up Tamina for a two-count.
Natalya attempted to apply the Sharpshooter, but Tamina kicked her off, and proceeded to clobber Natalya in a corner. Meanwhile, Sam claimed that Natalya has an ego issue that interferes with her in-ring performance: She concentrates on her family name, realty show, and “gigs that her cat can get now that Grumpy Cat is no longer with us.”
Natalya elbowed her way out of a chinlock, but Tamina threw her down to the canvas by her hair. Tamina then draped Natalya’s neck over the middle rope and applied pressure from behind as the ref counted the illegal maneuver. Sam continued his criticism of Natalya, saying that she feels the need to remind everyone of her last name and family history every ten seconds.
Natalya gained a bit of momentum and ran the ropes toward Tamina, but Tamina leveled her with a reverse elbow. Natalya went down again after catching a superkick from Tamina, which was good for a Tamina two-count. Tamina set up for a suplex, but Natalya reversed it into a small package pin for a two-count, then immediately transitioned into a Sharpshooter after Tamina’s kickout. Tamina tapped after three seconds.
WINNER: Natalya by submission.
(Meyers’s Analysis: Not much to see here. Natty is fine, but her powers are limited when working with Tamina. Nice that they teased the Sharpshooter, the move that would go on to end the match. Predictably, the more interesting part of the segment was Sam Roberts on commentary, where he took a hard stance against Natalya’s alleged attitude.)
-Main Event recap session:
- Recap of the Men’s Money in the Bank match from MITB PPV
- Replay of Big E’s return party, interrupted by Owens and Zayn, from Smackdown
- Replay of Ziggler attack of Kofi from Smackdown
- Recap of Bayley’s MITB cash in from MITB PPV
- Replay of Mick Foley’s unveiling of the 24/7 Title from Raw, and the ensuing scramble
- Video package of Triple H-Orton as lead up to their match at upcoming PPV Super Showdown
- Match rundown for upcoming PPV Super Showdown
- Replay of Reigns vs. Elias, culminating with Shane-Reigns battle from Smackdown
(2) CEDRIC ALEXANDER vs. EC3
During EC3’s entrance, Byron pointed out that both of these wrestlers were recently on the hunt for the 24/7 title. The wrestlers exchanged holds for a bit, then Alexander brought some speed and took EC3 to the mat with a head scissors takedown. Alexander dodged two attacks from EC3, his third attempt, a clothesline, was successful. We cut to commercial with Alexander on the mat.
We returned from the break just in time to see EC3 lock in thrilling chinlock. EC3 put the boots to Alexander in the corner, but Alexander kicked his way out and laid in some chops to EC3’s chest, but EC3 leveled Alexander with a reverse elbow. EC3 covered for a two-count. He fired Alexander into the corner and followed-through with a clothesline, then landed a twisting neck breaker. EC3 made three successive pin attempts, Alexander kicked out of each. EC3 applied a full nelson.
Alexander escaped quickly, but EC3 immediately scooped and slammed him to the mat, then dropped an elbow after running the ropes. Alexander executed a surprise roll up – EC3 kicked out, and Alexander quickly fired a low drop kick to EC3, stunning him on the mat.
Alexander landed a flying clothesline to EC3 and covered for another two-count. The wrestlers slowly got to their feet, and Alexander landed some slow chops. He tried in vain to get the crowd pumped up. EC3 landed his modified DDT but Alexander kicked out in a believable near fall. A shocked EC3 got up and set up to repeat his finisher, but Alexander reversed and quickly landed the Lumbar Check, which was good for the three-count.
WINNER: Cedric Alexander by pinfall.
(Meyers’s Analysis: Not much more exciting than the first match, although the finishing sequence was quite good.)
SHOW SCORE (0-10): 5.8
FINAL THOUGHTS: A skippable episode unless you’re a Sam Roberts completist. He continues to make grating comments that will undoubtedly result in more attention on social media.
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