SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT
JULY 24, 2019
HULU STREAMING TV
REPORT BY MIKE F. MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Renee Young, Tom Phillips
REASONS TO WATCH…
- Logan and Naomi do not disappoint.
- Strong action in eight-man tag match.
(1) NAOMI vs. SARAH LOGAN
Naomi was visibly unimpressed with Logan’s entrance and howling antics. Naomi escaped from two holds early on, and each time celebrated by dancing in the ring. Naomi rolled up Logan for a two-count, then knocked Logan down with a running kick and hit a “splits” leg drop. Naomi covered for another two-count.
Logan rolled out to ringside. Naomi, displeased with Logan’s retreat, did a baseball slide under the bottom rope but Logan sidestepped. Logan missed a clothesline, then Naomi hit a right elbow and rolled Logan back into the ring. Naomi executed a sunset flip from the apron over the top rope, but Logan again kicked out at two. Logan missed another clothesline, then Naomi ran the ropes and leaped into a Thesz press, but Logan caught her, holding her momentarily before launching Naomi upward and back down into a pop-up head butt. Logan then landed a low altitude dropkick that sent Naomi sprawling out to ringside.
Logan rolled Naomi into the ring and covered for a two-count, then applied a brief dual-arm submission while howling skyward. Logan choked Naomi against the middle rope as the referee counted the illegal hold. Naomi returned fire with kicks against Logan before attempting a high cross body, but Logan caught Naomi again and tossed her overhead with fallaway slam. Another two-count pin for Logan.
Logan locked Naomi into a Texas cloverleaf, a maneuver that brought extra attention to Naomi’s still-flashing boots. Naomi nearly got her hands on the bottom rope to break the hold, but Logan dragged her back to the center of the ring. Naomi crawled again toward the ropes and this time got hold and Logan was forced to relinquish the maneuver.
Naomi equalized the flow of the match by landing a front kick, a reverse elbow, and then a kick to Logan’s face. Naomi slapped the mat as both wrestlers stirred, and the crowd finally woke up and reacted to the match. Naomi landed a clotheslines, an elbow, and a jawbreaker. Naomi dodged a Logan front kick, then kicked Logan in the midsection before smacking her across the face. Naomi hit Logan with another face kick, this time spring boarding off the middle rope. With Logan down on the canvas, Naomi performed a split legged moonsault off the tope rope, hitting Logan squarely, and covered for the three-count.
WINNERS: Naomi by pinfall.
(Meyers’s Analysis: This match exceeded expectations, nice job by both women. It’s good to see Naomi avoid her dreadful double kick barrage. There’s something darkly hilarious about an upbeat, smiling, dancing babyface having ring attire that flashes various colors, and having that flashing attire be featured front-and-center as the babyface is twisted into submission by the villain.)
-Main Event recap session:
- Recaps of various Reunion moments from Raw
- Replay of Kofi – Orton in-ring segment from Smackdown
- Replay of Bray Wyatt’s attack on Finn Balor from Raw
- Replay of Balor’s challenge, and Wyatt’s response, from Smackdown
- Match rundown for upcoming PPV SummerSlam
- Replay of Shane McMahon’s in-ring promo from Smackdown
- Replay of Owens vs. Reigns from Smackdown
(2) TITUS O’NEIL & LUCHA HOUSE PARTY vs. ERIC YOUNG & EC3 & BOBBY ROODE, & CESARO
LHP got the upper hand in the first minute of the match, roughing up Young in their corner, before sending their opponents scrambling out to ringside to regroup. Kalisto threatened to fly through the ropes at the foursome, but he instead bounced harmlessly off the top rope and posed with his teammates in the middle of the ring as we cut to commercial.
After the break, Cesaro had control of Kalisto with a rear chinlock in the center of the ring. Roode tagged in as Kalisto began to escape, and issued a backbreaker before tagging Cesaro back in. Cesaro took Kalisto back to the mat with a gut wrench suplex and re-applied his chinlock. Kalisto got to his feet but Cesaro quickly fired him back-first into a neutral corner. Cesaro ran in but Kalisto got a boot up to block the charge. Kalisto moonsaulted off the middle rope of that corner, but Cesaro caught him on his shoulder before military pressing Kalisto upward with full arm extension. This show of strength was cut short as Kalisto somehow slipped downward and pulled Cesaro into a DDT against the canvas. Both men fell to the mat.
The wrestlers on the aprons enthusiastically urged their teammates to make tags – EC3 and O’Neil made the hot tags and O’Neil leveled EC3 twice with a shoulder block and a clothesline. Roode, entering the ring illegally at his own risk, was tossed over the top rope by O’Neil. Young, deciding to also have a go, entered the ring and was greeted with a big boot from O’Neil. O’Neil postured to the crowd who really heated up for the flurry of offense.
O’Neil turned his attention back to the legal man and splashed EC3 in the corner. O’Neil set up EC3 for Clash of the Titus, but Cesaro rolled in and pulled EC3 down to safety. Cesaro set O’Neil up for the Neutralizer, but Kalisto and Metalik landed simultaneous missile drop kicks from the two corners opposite the hard cam. O’Neil then flung Kalisto and Metalik toward the ramp side of the ring, sending them both diving into Roode and Cesaro, who were still toiling at ringside.
Meanwhile, Young had tagged in and rolled up O’Neil for a two-count. O’Neil awkwardly fired Young against the ropes, and on the rebound caught Young with Clash of the Titus, a move good for the three-count and victory.
WINNERS: Titus O’Neil & Lucha House Party by pinfall.
(Meyers’s Analysis: It’s incredible to see a eight-man tag match still have the Main Event requirement of multiple chinlocks. Even so, the action was practically non-stop, and was laid out well. The commentary reminded the audience both of Cesaro’s recent matches against Aleister Black, and of the seldom-mentioned faction known as the Main Event Muscle Men.)
SHOW SCORE (0-10): 8.6
FINAL THOUGHTS: Both matches delivered and were successful at warming up the Tampa crowd for the three-hour Raw Reunion show that followed. It’s disappointing to see Cesaro relegated back to Main Event after his show-stealing match with Black at Extreme Rules, especially as part of an eight-man match where he is mixed into the fray.
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